State Senate Committee Visits Halstad

HALSTAD, MN—The Minnesota Senate Capital Investment Committee visited Halstad Wednesday afternoon to learn about a project that would improve water quality in the region.  The West Central Regional Water District covers 31-hundred square miles of Norman, Polk and Clay Counties…and includes the cities of Climax, Halstad, Hendrum, Perley, Nielsville, Beltrami, Georgetown, Borup and Felton.  Lucas Spaeth, West Central Regional Water District Board Chairman, says much of the water in the area has unhealthy levels of arsenic.

The Water District is asking for $10 million in the State Legislature’s 2026 bonding bill.  Senator Sandy Pappas of St. Paul, the Capital Investment Committee chair, gave her reaction to the proposal.

Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson of East Grand Forks also attended Wednesday’s meeting in Halstad and spoke about the project.

The Senate Capital Investment Committee is on a tour to see potential projects that would be included in the bonding bill.  Other stops include East Grand Forks, Crookston, Moorhead, Little Falls, New York Mills and St. Cloud.