Where Eagles Soar

March 27, 2017

 

This past weekend four young men were awarded their Eagle Scout rank in the Boy Sc outs of America. The Boy Scouts of America is an organization with over 2.5 million scouts and close to a million volunteers. The mission of the BSA is to instill a sense of morality, reverence and duty in young scouts to prepare them for being active citizens. In most cases the Eagle Project is one of their first experience in community service. I want to congratulate each of our scouts on their accomplishment in earning the rank of Eagle Scout. This is something that they will be proud of for the rest of their lives. Each of them have demonstrated their leadership skills, were able to work through some challenges and stayed focus on the end goal. Their projects helped our community and were successful at organizing donations and timelines to complete the projects.

I wanted to share my appreciation of their commitment to their faith and community; therefore, I presented each of them with a letter acknowledging their achievement and I also gave each of them a copy of the proclamation presented below.

I call upon all the people of our communities to join in recognition of the four Scouts above

 for their accomplishments and commitment to community. Well done scouts we are all proud of you.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Brand Rollout Press Release

News Release
For Release on March 16, 2017
City of Mantorville Launches New Brand, Logo and Tagline

Mantorville, MN – The City of Mantorville, one of Minnesota’s treasured historic places, will launch its new brand and logo. The event will take place at the Mulligan Stew Fundraiser, a dinner & live benefit auction celebrating, St. Patrick’s Day (a day early) on Thursday, March 16, 2017. Dinner, entertainment and a live auction hosted by the Mantorville Restoration Association (MRA) and The Hubbell House will take place at The Hubbell House, 502 N. Main Street, Mantorville MN 55955. Dinner is served from 4:30 to 7:00 pm. The City and EDA Committee will unveil the new logo at a short presentation beginning at 7:00 pm with a live auction to follow with proceeds to benefit the MRA’s historic properties.

Mayor, Chuck Bradford said, “It has never been a more exciting time than now to be a citizen of Mantorville, and this new brand and logo reflect our enthusiasm and focus on connecting our visitors and residents with our businesses, parks and trails and historic district.”

The new brand and logo represents the unique attributes of both a historic icon for Minnesota and a growing community. The new brand and logo is one of several initiatives the city officials have planned based on the findings of the Comprehensive Plan, which focused on identifying the goals, vision and direction for Mantorville’s future.

“It’s an exciting time for Mantorville,” said Karl Huppler, EDA Chair. “We are forward-thinking, but rooted deeply in tradition. So when we plan for our city’s next chapters,
 we want to capture our community’s energy and aspiration, while making sure to understand and hold on to our small town charm and deep connection to one of Minnesota’s historic places. I think this work tells a story true to our place and that
gives us a path to accomplish it.”

During the brand project, the brand committee identified four pillars of Mantorville’s identity:
•    A unique city alive with history, Mantorville welcomes visitors with it’s, charming, entertaining and memorable fun.
•    It’s about keeping the promise of Mantorville’s character and history intact for future generations to enjoy by preserving such a significant Minnesota treasure.
•    Mantorville is a timeless, romantic and convenient getaway destination.
•    Mantorville is a quaint rural community where you can live, grow and raise a family.

The pillars will be incorporated into the city’s messaging through its website, brochures, marketing, community events and other avenues of communication.

Mantorville Primary Identifier with Tagline: As for the new logo, Mantorville Minnesota appears spelled out in two lines and centered – contained in the curved cornered box background with two small flanking stars to the sides of the name. It features a wood cut heavy slab serif typeface, Acknowledgement (Weiner, 2001) for the Mantorville name with a Victorian Gothic revival, an English and German influence that represents the settlers’ heritage of the area. Gill Sans, a classical modern san serif typeface, is used for the word Minnesota. There’s a 1800s stagecoach, driver and team of horses above the name in the box. The stagecoach represents the city’s commitment to its unique past as a stagecoach stop city and it’s preservation efforts. The tag line is just below and it reads: Trail to the Past. Road to the Future.

The design of the new logo stems from the collaborative efforts of a brand advisory panel of local stakeholders as well as feedback from regional surveys, focus groups and workshops with city council members, residents, visitors, members of the business community and representatives from the area. With many strong options like the iconic courthouse, the limestone buildings and quarries, the scenic Zumbro River, the choice was difficult. The committee chose Mantorville’s role as a major stagecoach stop in the 19th century with a tag line that looks toward a bright future in the 21st century.

Implementation plans are underway to phase in the use of the new brand and logo on the city and tourism related materials. Organizations, businesses and individuals wanting to know more about the Mantorville brand can contact city hall for more information.

More than a piece of art, the logo is something that people can rally behind and be proud of. It’s a brand that fits seamlessly with the City of Mantorville’s essence and timeless traditions. For our residents and businesses, it’s a visual reminder of our truly unique city and all of the extraordinary lives, activities and stories that unfold here. For our visitors, they can experience a unique stagecoach stop city alive with history and ageless fun. It’s about simple treasures, celebrations and making memories.

About Mantorville
Nestled in a picturesque setting in a valley along the Zumbrota River, The City of Mantorville is located in east central Dodge County. The community’s history dates back to 1854 when Peter and Riley Mantor and E.P. Waterman settled in the area.  Soon after, John Shober, who established the first store in the community and John Hubbell, who constructed what is said to be the first hotel in the State of Minnesota, joined them. Generations of Mantorville citizens have been careful to record and preserve the abundance of Minnesota and U.S. history left in their care.

The Dodge County Courthouse located in Mantorville is the oldest working Courthouse in Minnesota. It was constructed with Mantorville limestone, as are many of the buildings located in the Historic District as well as the Plummer building and Plummer house in Rochester. The entire twelve blocks of the downtown area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and includes a number of architecturally and historically significant sites, including the Hubbell House and the Opera House. Mantorville limestone is probably as responsible as anything for the town surviving for over 160 years. The abundance of this quality building material was a determining factor in the Mantor brothers’ selection for this place to settle.

©2017 City of Mantorville. All rights reserved. Mantorville, Minnesota stagecoach logo and “Trail to the Past. Road to the Future” tagline are registered trademarks of the City of Mantorville.

Something to Stew About

March 1, 2017

New City Identity:
The Mantorville Economic Development Authority (EDA) has been working with the Mantorville City Council and a design firm to identify a new Image and identity for the City. After 18 months of research, hard work and several designs the City is now ready to announce the final product and image. The City and the EDA is planning on unveiling the new Community Identity before the bidding at the Mulligan Stew. The unveiling will begin at 7:00pm on Thursday March 16 at the Hubble House. Immediately after the unveiling the Mantorville Restoration Association will hold their annual auction where there will be several items with the new brand available for bidding. The Mulligan Stew is the MRA’s big annual fund raiser and this year with the combined brand roll-out the evening will be a do not miss event.

Reminders:
The City does have a snow ordinance in place, please have the streets cleared so that our street crew can do their job and get our streets cleaned off after it snows. The warm and cool cycles we have seen the last few weeks have been very hard on our streets. The street crew has been trying to keep up with the potholes as they pop up. When you notice “extra deep” pot holes please feel free to let City Hall know, we try to keep up with all of them but sometimes they can develop over-night.

Park Board Vacancy:
The park board has had some members retire, and this has opened up a couple of opportunities to serve our community. If you have an interest in identifying policy’s for our parks, keeping the plantings healthy or just an interest in helping shape the future of our parks, I encourage you to fill out an application in City Hall to be considered to serve on this important committee.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Life is Beautiful

February 20, 2017

Life is beautiful and so are you!
Our country was founded around the motto of "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" The saying was utilized because while in the old world those that did not fit into the cultural norms could come to America and still become successful. This was because as a new Nation our strength was in our diversity. Occasionally in our lives we will experience some degree of pain because we are not exactly like "the others". The more unique we are it seems the more pain we experience as we try to fit in. One of my favorite quotes is from George Bernard Shaw, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." We could easily replace "unreasonable" with different or unique in this quote. In other words if we were all the same and all focused on the same thing then progress would not occur. This is why our differences make us great. Life in this Nation is a tremendous gift a gift we should never underestimate or waste.

As the Mayor of Mantorville I normally write an article for the paper with an intended audience of around twelve hundred people. This week my audience is substantially smaller. I hope that everyone reads my article even if you are not one of the few that are in my target audience because perhaps you know someone that could benefit from these words. I started writing this article several times and it is by far the hardest article I have ever had to write. I struggled with if I should even write an article like this let alone the contents that would be appropriate for this article. After having struggled with this content I realized how hard the topic is to even mention let alone engage in a meaningful dialog about. In the end I knew that I had to write this article because if I could reach just one life, If I could just raise one question in one person’s mind, If I could just give one person a “pause”, then my efforts would be well served. The difficulty I encountered writing this article is nothing compared to the unimaginable difficulty one must face when first standing up and saying “I need some help”. Just as I had to write this article, you HAVE to standup and ask. I know it is hard, I know your scared but I also know you just don’t want to hurt any more. Trust me! We are stronger together than we are apart. Together we can and will find a solution.

The best is yet to come:
When I was in school, I would always hear people say “oh that is the best time of your life” somehow I knew even then that can’t be true. After graduation and having worked for awhile I found this in fact was not the case. There are some amazing days still ahead, days you can’t even imagine. These future days will help put any bad days into perspective. This knowledge alone may not comfort the pain your in right now, but there are solutions. I know there are many people in our community and probably even a few in your own life that have had similar experiences as the one your are facing now. The reason we have a network of people that we trust and rely on is so that together we can lean and grow from each others experiences and life lessons.

Life can be difficult, we all have to fight life challenges and remember to celebrate life's gifts. I find it helpful to look at others experiences when I am struggling with difficulties.

Angie:
In High School one of my friends, Angie, was diagnosed with Leukemia and told that there was very little hope. The doctors told her to think about what she wanted do with her last days, Angie said she wanted go to school and prepare for her future. Her parents would later tell me that they thought she was in denial, Angie insisted on going through some very painful treatments and continued to go to school. Angie has been in remission for over 30 years now, she graduated High School on time and with her class and went on to get a BS from the University of Iowa. The doctors explained that young patients are more resilient, her parents said it wasn't in God's plan, but I think the most important thing was no matter how bad the situation was she never gave up. Angie has a beautiful daughter now, she has a great legal practice and is very happy. Angie's experiences show us that no matter how hard times seem especially in our younger lives, life has a way of turning around for us, we just need to fight and give life a chance.

Pain can be reduced:
In my article a few weeks ago I spoke about some life lessons from the Super Bowl. A common thread from many of those observations dealt with our emotions, perceptions and dealing with pain. We saw Tom Brady get sacked several times, we know by the end of the game he was dealing with some pain; however, once the Patriots won the game I don't think the QB was feeling anything except excitement. We also saw several players during that game stay down and allowed the team doctor to come out and evaluate the situation. The point here is that some degree of pain will actually make the good times seem even better but we need to be able to ask for help when the pain becomes too great. If a NFL player can stop and ask for help I think anyone of us should feel comfortable asking for help when we need it. Remember what Dr. Martin Luther King said “Only in the darkness can you see the stars”

Your Not Alone:
None of us do it alone. In the first story above Angie had the support of her parents, the doctors were working to help her and she had the encouragement and support of her friends. Just as Angie did not fight her fight alone, so too we do not have to fight through the pain by ourselves. There are many people that care about you and want to help.

For any given bad situation there are a dozen of possible solutions. As with any problem, look for a solution with the least possible “side affects” first then look for additional solutions. A good solution is one that can be reversed if it doesn’t work The only bad solution is a solution that involves permanent loss. I know and understand that you don’t want to hurt yourself, but I also understand that you just want the pain to stop. Together we can make that pain stop, we can find a good solution and we can enjoy those amazing future days together, but first you have to take that first step and ask. Ask a friend, ask a parent, ask a teacher, your principal, your superintendent, your doctor ANYONE! Just ask. It is not as hard as it seems just say “I am hurting and I don’t know what to do, can you help me?” After your conversation with your trusted “other” person, be ready to try several solutions and also keep the dialog open so together you can celebrate your success or formulate a new plan. Keep the conversation going and the pain WILL go away. Before doing anything severe if you don't know who else to reach out to pick up the phone and dial 9 1 1. This is a legitimate emergency and the dispatch team has more resources available than what I was able to mention here.

Be a friend:
If you know someone that you think may need some help, the most caring thing you can do is to start the conversation. Your friend may desperately want to talk to someone but be too afraid to reach out. If one of your friends jokes or implies that life would be better with out them or anything like that, take it seriously most people that follow through on their plan to hurt themselves have joked or kidded about it in the past. If you turn out to be wrong your friend will know how much they mean to you and your friendship will grow stronger. If you are correct, you might save a life and they will defiantly be a true friend to you in return. If you are concerned about how to start the conversation Dr. Jerry Reed has written a good article on the subject. Dr. Reed has been a leader in the suicide prevention movement for many years. He says, “Each of us in this field should be committed to looking to other areas, because the answers to some of our challenges lie in places we least expect them.” his remarks can be found at: https://afsp.org/our-work/education/talk-saves-lives-introduction-suicide-prevention/

Resources:
There are several resources available both on the National and local level. There is a text line that offers assistance, there are several phone numbers and numerous web sites. Below I have included information on a few of the resources that are available in addition to your personal support circle. These resources are listed as links on my blog at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com.

THE NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE (1-800-273-8255).
Crisis Intervention - Suicide Hotline (507- 451-9100 )
Zumbro Valley Crisis Receiving (844.274.7472)

MINNESOTA PRAIRIE COUNTY ALLIANCE
Mental Health Mobile Crisis Intervention & Stabilization
Minnesota Prairie County Alliance - Dodge County
22 6th St E, Dept 401, Mantorville, MN, 55955-2235
(507) 635-6170
mnprairie@mnprairie.org

TXT4Life
 (612) 767-2846

NAMI also provides family support groups in our area.
Owatonna 
7:00 p.m., meets the 1st Monday of each month at Christ Community Covenant Church, 540 SE 18th Street. Contact Judy at 507-451-0043.

Rochester
Group 1: 7:00 p.m., meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month at NAMI SE Minnesota, 1700 Broadway Ave. N., Suite 104. Contact 507-287-1692.
6:00 p.m.,

Group 2: meets the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month, at Mayo Clinic/St. Mary's Hospital, Generose Bldg., in room 3-108 (the Rome Library). Parking validation available. Contact 507-287-1692.

A friends guide to help someone in need.
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/suicide-prevention/suicide-prevention-helping-someone-who-is-suicidal.htm

There are even several mobile applications that help with contacts, resources and establishing a safety plan. One of these is simply called “my3” and can be found here:http://my3app.org/

The ChildMind Institute has a web site devoted to the topic of suicide located at::
https://childmind.org/article/teen-suicides-risk-factors/

The American Psychological Associations web site on suicide is available at::
http://www.apa.org/topics/suicide/index.aspx

Minnesota Suicide Resources:
http://www.suicide.org/hotlines/minnesota-suicide-hotlines.html

Find Your Hope:
Remember there are people that care about you and people that want to help. There are resources available there are many sources of help to restore hope and help with eliminating the pain you don't have to go it alone. The first step in making the pain go away is asking for help. Using the resources listed above, talking to your support group and working your safety plan together we can make the pain stop and help you see the hope for the future again. Now would be a good time to take the fist step and ask for help.

MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com
Yours in service,



Chuck Bradford,
Mayor - City of Mantorville

MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Life Lessons and a Game

February 6, 2017

Once every year we put aside our differences and together watch the same football game. This year the heavily favored New England Patriots faced the Atlanta Falcons. The game started out with the so called under-dog team shutting out the Patriots. Spencer, my son, was routing for the Falcons and by half time was chanting “game over”. For three quarters of the game Atlanta held a commanding lead. A lead so great a comeback from this far down had never been achieved in Super Bowl history.
After the longest Super Bowl in history was over, my son was very disappointed. I spoke to him about sportsmanship and as I spoke to him I drew some life lessons that apply in everyday life.

Lesson 1: Never Give up
When the Patriots looked up and saw a 28 to 3 score, it would have been understandable if they would have said, “Well this thing is over”. This was the Patriots seventh Super Bowl appearance and they did not get to be the AFC Champions by just accepting their fate. Even though a 25 point deficit has never been over-come in Super Bowl history (maybe not even in NFL history) the Patriots di not give up. After a half time “peep” talk, I wish I would been privy to, Julian Edelman made a catch no-one could ever make. A toss from Tom Brady that had no chance of being caught was plucked out of the air just before it hit the ground and Edelman held on to it as his weight and the weight of a falcon came down on his left shoulder. When the dust settled Edelman still had the ball in his hand. This was just an example of the renewed focus and dedication that New England brought to the second half. The patriots were able to rally and eventually bring in a win during over-time despite having been out played for 45 minutes of the game. This win was not achieved by luck or skill but by sheer determination to achieve greatness. The take away from this lesson. Things may look bleak, everyone around may say it can’t be done but if you know it CAN be done, you will succeed. Coach Vince Lombardi said: “The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. That's the essence of it.”

Lesson 2: No matter the lead, it’s not over till the clock reads zero.
I think to some extent the Falcons were thinking the same thing as my son by half time. It was Game Over, this was their victory and they just had to relax and wait until the end of the fourth quarter when they would put their finger-prints on the Lombardi trophy. While the Patriots took the extra-long half time to perform some much needed introspection, the Falcons came out with the exact same game plan. The third quarter started with Atlanta looking strong, just as they had in the first half, but soon, the Patriots were able to make their adjustments and answer the Falcons lead with some of the needed points to close the 25 point  gap. The game came down to a two point conversion late in the fourth quarter to tie the game. The Patriots held the falcons on their final possession of the game and forced the game into the first ever over time in a Super Bowl. The Clock read zero and the board showed a tie of 28 to 28. The once sure thing had slipped away and a new game had started. Stunned, the Falcons watched as Tom Brady marched his team onto a fourth Super Bowl win, another Super Bowl first. The take away here is never assume just because things are good they will stay that way forever, make plans to assess your weaknesses and double down on your strengths. Don’t relax until that clock reads zero, not even for a moment.

Lesson 3: It’s ok to mess up, get over it
For the first forty five minutes of the game, New England was facing two opponents. The Falcons were executing a near perfect game plan and the Patriots were literally doing the opposite. While Atlanta was performing as a single cohesive unit and executing a well thought out game plan, the Patriots were making huge mistakes and were their own second opponent. To put it bluntly New England had messed up big time! Late in the game, somehow, they collectively took a breath, readjusted, looked at the situation differently and evaluated on-the-fly what they as a team were doing wrong. The team under Bill Belichick leadership “got over” the fact that they had stunk the last forty five minutes and said “You know what we still have 15 minuets left, let’s do this thing!” The New England Patriots did what had never been done in a Super Bowl, they came back from a huge deficit and forced the game into over-time . The take away from this lesson. Go ahead, mess up it’s ok. Learn from your mistakes, get over the fact that you’re not perfect, adjust and make a good situation out of a bad one.

Lesson 4: Things aren’t always what they appear.
At one point towards the end of the game, two opposing players ( Falcons DE Dwight Freeney and Patriots TE Martellus Bennett)  were standing very close together. Too close. The referee came over to break up the starting fight, but when he arrived found that the two players facemasks were interlocked. Both players took off their helmets and were able to resolve the interlock. The final lesson from this game was, don’t jump to conclusions! Just because something looks bad there are many ways to look at the same situation. If you don’t like the way something looks in your life look for a new way to look at the situation.

I finish up this article with one more quote from Vince Lombardi:

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

Remember, Life is beautiful. If life does not seem beautiful at the moment find a new way to look at the situation. Take time to assess what you’re doing and make plans to adjust anything you have messed up. Remember to forgive yourself, get over your mistakes and give yourself permission to win. These are this years lessons from a simple football game played on just another February Sunday.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

2017 State of the City

The state of the City is good:

The City still has maintained it’s AA- Standard and Poor’s (“S&P”) rating for a third year in a row. During the last review a note of “no change expected” was noted and is a strong indicator that Mantorville is on solid fiscal grounds. The City is able to move forward with the needed WWTP as well as some much needed infrastructure and the City is currently planning for the future.

Tax Levy Rate:

The City was able to once again reduce the tax rate.

Tax Year	Levy Dollar Amount	Levy Rate
2009	$406,611.00	56%
2010	$414,743.00	57%
2011	$423,037.00	63%
2012	$427,268.00	73%
2013	$427,268.00	72%
2014	$422,995.00	72%
2015	$424,525.00	72%
2016	$427,226.00	70%
2017	$440,118.00	68%

                Historical Tax Levy information for Mantorville

You may notice in the above table that the levy amount for the City exceeded the amount from 2012 for the fist time for the 2017 budget even though our tax rate has decreased. The reason for this is that the taxable values of properties within Mantorville increase around nine percent last year. The council did not want to raise our tax levy amount by nine percent (zero rate change) while the housing market is just starting to recover. The council did feel that the levy needed to increase over the 2012 dollar value in order to meet some of the construction needs during the next two years.

Park Board Vacancy:

The park board has had some members retire, and this has opened up a couple of opportunities to serve our community. If you have an interest in identifying policy’s for our parks, keeping the plantings healthy or just have an interest in helping shape the future of our parks, I encourage you to fill out an application in City Hall to be considered fort this important committee. This past year the park board was able to invest in additional development and build a new play area in Dennison park. Some of the original equipment from the old school grounds was repurposed and will see new life up at Dennison.

Waste Water Treatment:

The City was able to break ground on the long awaited Waste Water Treatment Plant this fall. With an unseasonably warm November the construction crew was able to make additional progress with installing some of the pipe-work and was able to deliver most of the materials needed for the project. The work will wrap up this week with the securing of materials for storage over the winter and progress will resume once the frost is out of the ground.

City Re branding efforts

The EDA and the City have been working on a re-branding project during 2015. The final three designs for the new look and feel for the City were on display and several citizens voted on their favorite designs. After public input the EDA choose a design and the EDA is taking the next steps to finalize this work in 2017, we will make an announcement and rollout of the new design at the Mulligan stew in March.

Streets and Infrastructure:

The City was able to start phase one of the fifth street project and plans are in place for the continued work on phase two of that project. The County invested in the restoration of the historic retaining wall along highway 57 next to the courthouse. In 2016 the county also rededicated the historic courthouse that is situated on top of the hill in Mantorville. Work continues on our parks and roads. The last year was a productive year for the Mantorville community.

Safe Routes to School:
In 2016 plans were started for the next phase of safe routes to schools. The City of Kasson, The City of Mantorville, the School Board and community members were invited to take part in the discussions to determine what the area needs were for safe routes to schools, what each government sector could do to promote this effort and how all of the stakeholders could work together to benefit our students. The design firm took the input from this meeting and worked on a plan that was presented in January.

Welcome new Council:

The new Council was sworn in at the January 9^th Meeting. Joining the Mantorville City Council is Ryan Christensen. Deputy Mayor Henry Blair, Council Member Will Lambert were also sworn in at the January 9^th meeting. Council Member Don Hofstad was not up for re-election this year.

A bright future

The last year brought both Challenges and opportunities. The Council was able to move forward with some much needed constriction projects and infrastructure needs while maintaining our S&P rating with sound fiscal policy. The state of the City is sound and healthy and every indication is that Mantorville will have another healthy year in 2017.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,

Mayor - City of Mantorville

MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com

MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Merry Christmas

December 25, 2016

In November we remembered our veterans with an observance of veterans day and in December we will celebrate Christmas. Our veterans made sacrifices for our freedom and our nation and Jesus made a sacrifice for our salvation. This is the true meaning of Christmas, giving of one’s self for the benefit of others. Last week I mentioned giving blood as a way to give to others. Some of us ring bells, others cook for a neighbor while others make an extra contribution to their favorite charity. No matter what you choose to do to “serve others” remember to keep Christmas in your heart. Rejoice in what we have been given by others and remember our freedom and salvation are precious gifts that are not free but have already been paid for by others.

This past week we once again saw the agents of evil utilize a single actor to perpetrate an act of violence against the peaceful people of faith. The army of radical Islam aims to destroy any culture that does not embrace their beliefs. There are those that say we need to remove celebrations that embrace Judea-Christian values such as Christmas celebrations so as not to offend others. They would have us secularize the Christmas season. They say we should call the Christmas season “Winter Break”, that a Christmas tree is not a Christmas tree and we should all wish each other a “Happy Holidays”. The proponents of this approach hide behind the first amendment. The idea behind the first amendment is not to remove our values from public view, the first amendment actually provides protection for us to celebrate our values. The way we win against the agents of evil who seek to destroy Christmas is not to “go along” with them but to rather embrace our values and culture. Celebrate our faith and to always remember Christmas.

My neighbor next door when I was growing up, Renate, had a numeric tattoo on the inside of her left arm. This tattoo was from was from her time in a Nazi concentration camp. If anyone had the right to be sensitive to the religious nuances in our society it was her. We always wished her a Merry Christmas and she would respond back with Happy Chanukah, neither of us choose to be offended by this exchange and in fact the warmth that we shared in this exchange was very much appreciated by both sides.

With the spirit of the season and only warmth in my heart let me wish all of our residents a  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and have a safe and happy new year!

Merry Christmas Mantorville, Merry Christmas!

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Vampires aren’t just for Halloween

December 13, 2016

A True Gift:
This time of year we are all thinking of the errands we have to run, the food we need to prepare and the gifts we want to buy for that special someone. The Christmas season has always been about giving to others, so it is only natural that we first think of our own loved ones, those that are near and dear to our hearts. There are others in our area that find themselves needing of a gift from us suddenly and often unexpectedly. This time of year with the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season and the ice and snow on the roadways, we see an increase in the number of trauma cases needing blood or blood products. One of the best anonymous gifts you can give this season is the gift of one unit of  blood or going to see the vampires as my son Spencer, would say. A single unit of blood can save a person’s life and it is so easy to donate. In this season of giving consider giving a truly anonymous gift that could change a life, you never know who might benefit, it maybe someone very close to you that benefits from this loving gift.

Last Meeting of the year:
The City Council held its last meeting on December 12 and held the annual truth in taxation meeting where we set our tax levy rate at 68% down from 70% last year. We have a new council member joining the council next year and we say good bye to Council member Roth. Ryan Christianson is filling the seat vacated when Sherry Roth chose not to run for reelection. I wanted to thank Councilmember Roth for her service and dedication and welcome our new council member Ryan Christianson.

Park Board Vacancy:
The park board has had some members retire, and this has opened up a couple of opportunities to serve our community. If you have an interest in identifying policy’s for our parks, keeping the plantings healthy or just an interest in helping shape the future of our parks, I encourage you to fill out an application in City Hall to be considered to serve on this important committee.

A Great Loss:
This past week America lost the last original member of the Mercury and Apollo era. John Glenn was an Engineer, Marine, Test Pilot, Executive, Senator and Astronaut. Glenn’s contribution to the war effort as a fighter pilot would have been enough to earn him a place in history, however, he went on to serve in a pivotal role in America’s new Space Exploration program and years later return to space on the shuttle. While Glenn was so much more than just an astronaut, it is his participation in the Space Program that he will always be remembered for. God Speed John Glenn, God’s speed.

Yearly Wrap up:
Take time and reflect on the past year. Remember the true meaning of Christmas is not about “things” but about people and Gods love. Share your love with those around you and make a real gift and give the gift of life to a stranger, hopefully this will bring a new meaning for the season and eventually become a holiday tradition. Merry Christmas Mantorville.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Fahoo Fores

December 8, 2016

Celebrate Winter:

After nine long months of only liquid precipitation, Mantorville was once again graced with promise of winter. As I watched the snow fall this past week, Spencer and I simultaneously started singing the “Welcome Christmas” song by Dr. Seuss. I have always loved this song because of it simple but clear message of Christmas summed up in the closing part of the song. “Welcome Christmas while we stand, Heart to Heart and Hand in Hand“. The beauty of fresh falling snow always reminds me of this message and also assures me that the ski season will soon start. While there are alternative ways of looking at the white gift we are given every year, I encourage everyone to find their own way to “Celebrate Winter”!

Waste Water Treatment:

The City was able to break ground on the long awaited Waste Water Treatment Plant this fall. With an unseasonably warm November the construction crew was able to make additional progress with installing some of the pipe-work and was able to deliver most of the materials needed for the project. The work will wrap up this week with the securing of materials for storage over the winter and progress will resume once the frost is out of the ground. The City is still waiting to hear about any progress with a legislative special session and the completion / adoption of this cycles biennium bonding bill.

Park Board Vacancy:

The park board has had some members retire, and this has opened up a couple of opportunities to serve our community. If you have an interest in identifying policy’s for our parks, keeping the plantings healthy or just an interest in helping shape the future of our parks, I encourage you to fill out an application in City Hall to be considered to serve on this important committee.

Yearly Wrap up:

The City Council is planning on having the last meeting of the year on Monday December 12, this is also the meeting we will set our final tax levy and hold our “Truth in Taxation” meeting. I encourage anyone that has questions or concerns about the tax rate for 2017 to come to our last meeting and ask questions. Until next time, remember to keep oil in your sled, wax on your skis and to celebrate the gift that is winter. “Fahoo Fores” everyone, “Fahoo Fores”!

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,

Mayor - City of Mantorville

MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com

MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Happy Thanksgiving

November 24, 2016

Every year around the Thanksgiving table we would tell the story of the first Thanksgiving. The cold winter of the East Coast stated to set in on the Pilgrims and they found themselves ill-prepared for the needs of the winter in the “new world”. In their moment of most need, salvation came from a most unlikely place. The Native Americans shared the bounty of that year’s harvest with their “new neighbors”. There are many variations of this story but the over-all sentiment is the same. When I think of this story I look for what lessons we can take from it. One,  if you have plenty don’t be afraid to share. This does not and should not be a government mandate, rather a genuine gesture of generosity towards your neighbor. Two, even though things look the darkest, don’t give up. If the Pilgrims had given up we would not be living in the greatest county the world has ever seen today. Three, don’t be too proud to ask for help if you truly need help. This is especially true for any of us that are dealing with issues that just seem overwhelmingly hard. There are answers, just let someone know you need help we will be there for you! Finally, look for new reasons to celebrate even during tying times. What back then seemed like a winter of starvation, turned into a celebration of life.

While we sit down around the table this holiday, let us remember those in our lives and community that has made this day possible. Let’s remember to celebrate our Armed Services personnel, our Law Enforcement personnel and our Firefighters. Remember it is the soldier not the politician that gave us the right to vote. It is the soldier not the preacher that gives u the right to celebrate God as we see fit and it is the soldier not the press that gives us the freedom of speech. Thank you to all of our service personnel, we truly do appreciate all that you do and honor your sacrifices.

From everyone at the City that is keeping our City great, let me extend a warm and heart-felt Happy Thanksgiving.

Thank You Mantorville

November 14, 2016

Safe Routes to School:
There was a meeting on Monday November 14 to start the discussions and plans for the next phase of safe routes to schools. The City of Kasson, The City of Mantorville, the School Board and community members were invited to take part in the discussions to determine what the areas needs were for safe routes to schools, what each government sector could do to promote this effort and how all of the stakeholders could work together to benefit our students. The design firm is to take the input from our meeting this week and work on a plan to be presented early next year. Each community will then determine what the best course of action will be to work towards the goals.

Fifth Street Update:
The work on Fifth Street for this year has been completed. The road is open to the east now for normal traffic. The contractor will need to come back in the spring and complete some driveway access issues and complete the landscaping; however, most of the work on the road surface has been completed and is ready for normal traffic to resume. Just as a reminder, even though the road surface has been greatly improved the speed limit once inside the City Limits is still just 30MPH, please slow down as you approach the neighborhoods along fifth street.

Waste Water Treatment:
The City of Mantorville’s plan to connect to the Kasson WWTP has been approved by the MPCA as well as the EPA and the requited permits have been granted. The work has started for the much awaited new wastewater treatment project this week. The construction crews have delivered new pipe, the fuser is on site and the drill will be here shortly. The plan is to start near Kasson and work towards Mantorville. The project will drill under the river and route along highway 57 turning onto golf course road. Both cities are working concurrently on their respective projects and final connection and flow commencement will be conditional on the finalization of both projects.

The Election:
Thank you Mantorville for your continued support and confidence in my leadership for our community. I continue to enjoy serving as your Mayor and I am looking forward to continuing our journey to improve our City. Thank you.

I also wanted to Thank Sherry Roth for her service on the council and welcome Ryan Christianson to the council. I am looking forward to working with our new council and continuing the work we have in progress as well as planning the next stages of future projects.

Veterans Day:
This last Friday was Veterans Day. The day we set aside to recognize the dedication, service, sacrifice and professionalism of our armed forces. The reason we even have free elections is the result of the vigilance of our veterans and soldiers. If you did not have an opportunity to say a special Thank You to a current or former soldier, please take time this week to let them know how much you appreciate their dedication and sacrifice. When we do take time to thank our veterans for their service, too often we over look the hardships and sacrifices that their loved one make as well. It is the veterans family as well we need to make sure we honor when we celebrate the accomplishments of our armed service. To all of our men and women in the armed service, to their families and to anyone who has ever served, THANK YOU and God Bless!

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

November is here

October 31, 2016

 Law Enforcement Celebration:

The celebration for Dodge County Law Enforcement personnel last week was a big success. The event was attended by many of our local area officers from Kasson, West Concord and the Sheriff department and we enjoyed the comedy of Mark Poolos. I would like to thank all of our Sponsors for this event, with out who support this event would not be possible.

v  Mantorville City Council member, Will Lambert

v  Mantorville Mayor, Chuck Bradford

v  The City of Mantorville

v  The Dodge County Republicans

v  Mark Hanson

v  Senator Dave Senjem

Thank you so much to each of our sponsors and more importantly thank you to all of our officers, clerks, bailiff, posse members and staff! The Citizens of Dodge County do appreciate all that you do for us!

Fifth Street Update:

The work on Fifth Street continues. The crew is installing new drainage under the road and is working the gravel down to be a firm base. Fifth Street between Bergmann Drive and Highway 57 is open and passable, however, the portion of Fifth Street past Bergmann Drive is still blocked. Once all the drainage is installed, the road surfaced leveled the new surface will be paved. Anticipate some road closures as the pavement is being laid down later this month.

The Election:

Next week we go to the voting booths. With political fireworks still going off at this late hour, this election season has been an interesting one to watch and participate in! I want everyone to remember that voting is one of the honors we have that separate us from the rest of the world, we all should take this responsibility seriously and vote for those candidates that will make our Nation, State and City stronger for our children and their children. While I am running UN-opposed, I would still ask for your support and vote next Tuesday. It has been my honor to serve my neighbors and I hope I will continue to earn your support for the next two years as well.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,

Mayor - City of Mantorville

MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com

MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Prepared Remarks for LEO Party

When I was growing up I remember an officer that was killed in the line of duty. There was a county wide man-hunt to apprehend the perpetrator. Unfortunately he was apprehended alive. Later he was found guilty and sentenced. Just a few years ago they released him and the story was covered all over again. I remember thinking to myself “Why are you releasing him?” I remember this story because it was so unusual to hear about an officer that was killed in the line of duty, what I didn’t understand then was that there is a difference between “hearing about” and the real life events that take place within our community.

The National press has been brutal on the Law Enforcements Community lately. This adverse public exposure has had a detrimental effect on our officers and their families. This exposure has resulted in an even larger risk exposure for our officers in the area of embolden attacks and also on officer behavior. In Chicago last week we heard of a female officer refusing to fight back because she was worried about how the press would cover it, luckily she survived the attack, others have not been so luck. Does anybody here think, Enough is Enough already? Really?

The proud sponsors of this event wanted to take an opportunity to thank our officers in a meaningful and real way, and we wanted to change the narrative from “look what they messed up again” to “Look how lucky we are to have them”. This is the narrative we are starting tonight.

Just this week we heard of another officer involved shooting. The suspect is still on the run and the FBI is helping in the search for this individual.

So what type of person wants to be an officer?

Well lets look at one of the officers shot this week. He was shot in the foot, fell to the ground (because I’m sure getting shot in the foot stings just a little) regained his composure, stood up again and re-joined the firefight. That is the type of person who signs up to be an officer.

According to officer down memorial page

Gunfire related deaths are up an alarming 53% this year

Here in MN we have seen a member of the community take his own life partially due to job related stress.

In Minnesota

We have lost

Since 2000 MN has seen 22 duty related deaths and 3 K9 officer duty related deaths

Last 10 Years: 14

Last 25 years: 36

Last 50 years: 89

Last 100 years: 206

Last 200 years: 239

If you google the term “What not to say to an officer” several interesting hits come up. Most of the list say things like “Don’t say well done Barney, they don’t have a sense of humor”. Well, were going to challenge that assumption tonight. So to start us off I put a short list of to do and not to do if you’re a bad guy and are confronted by an officer.

Things not to do

1)   Do not reach for your black wallet and pull it our fast

2)   When told to get down don’t complain about your new jeans your girl friend just gave you, just get down

3)   Do not strike an officer, no mater how justified you think you are this will not end well for you

4)   Don’t blame your stupidity on the officer

5)   If you threaten an officer with a weapon, don’t blame them when you get hurt

6)   No, you not going to be on an episode of COPs, don’t even try to break a records

I would like to turn the comedy over to a professional now.  Our sponsors wanted to share our featured entertainer as a token of the communities appreciation of our law enforcement community’s service and dedication. We also wanted to extend a thank you to the families of our law enforcement community. We know that when one member of the family puts on that badge and steps into the patrol car that the whole family has their future on the line and we wanted to tank all the family members for their support for our officers. Our featured act has been on Fox Comedy as well as appearing locally at some comedy clubs in Rochester. His act has open for Louis Anderson and his home city is Minneapolis MN. We are lucky to have him for tonight’s entertainment please help me welcome Mark Poolos.