As the buds of spring anticipate blooming, the city of Owatonna turns to a different sort of renewal – that of its streetscape. Chosen for their clear need for attention, McKinley Street SW and Anderson Place SW are on the docket for the 2024 street reconstruction season, set to receive not only a fresh pavement layer but also crucial utility updates.

This initiative is born from the City Council's decision on February 6, outlining the need to bolster these thoroughfares' structural and functional integrity. The area residents can gather on February 27, in the Civic arena of the City Council Chambers, to meet with a fulsome presentation by the city staff, who will unpack the project's outline.

Funded through City reserves and assessments, the project presents an estimate of $1,855,930, an investment in infrastructure that without doubt will touch the lives of some 24 property owners through direct financial impact.

Voices from the community will find their forum at the Public Hearing on March 5, housed once more in the Council Chambers. It's a moment for the shared fabric of Owatonna—property owners and council members alike—to craft the future aesthetic and utility of their streets. In the balance hangs not only the fiscal implications but the very form and function our city will take moving forward.