The Crookston City Council met on Monday night at the Crookston City Hall Council Chambers.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT APPLICATION
The city council approved submitting an application to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) for funding under the Business Development Public Infrastructure (BDPI) grant program for the Industrial Park project. The estimated project cost is $7,112,000 and the city has received a U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Public Works and Economic Assistance grant for $3,312,233.15. The city will request up to $2,000,000 in BDPI grant funds to be used as matching funds against the Federal grant. Cheda was out here today, and it dates back to a few council meetings ago where the city approved the grant…so what this is is a grant to try and help offset the half of the 50% match that the city would have to pay,” says Interim City Administrator Darin Selzler
CONTRACT WITH INTERIM CITY ADMINISTRATOR DARIN SELZER APPROVED
The city council approved a contract with interim Crookston City Administrator and current Police Chief Darin Selzler. Effective January 1, 2026, Selzler will receive additional compensation equal to 25 percent of the Administrator’s current Police Chief base salary. “I was appointed as a dual role with City Administrator and Chief Police on September 5th…this agreement is just for 2026, and it would be in effect January 1st,” says Selzler.
LIBRARY BUDGET CONTRIBUTION
The council approved the 2026 Lake Agassiz Regional Library budget contribution of $256,380 for Crookston Public Library operations.
VIOLENT CRIME ENFORCEMENT TEAM GRANT
The council approved entering into a grant contract agreement for the Violent Crime Enforcement Teams for $509,760. The grant funding will come in two payments, with $254,880 available from January 2026 through June 30, 2027. The second amount is also $254,880 and available from July 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027. $322,460 will be used for salary reimbursement, and $54,000 will be allocated for office expenses, including equipment, supplies, investigative expenses, and cell phones. $50,000 will be used towards liability insurance, $30,000 towards training, $22,800 for records management, the rest of the budget is for various services and products.
PINE TO PRAIRIE DRUG AND VIOLENT CRIME TASK FORCE
The council approved the amended and restated joint powers agreement for the Pine to Prairie Drug and Violent Crime Task Force. Members of the task force include the City of East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls, and Ada. The counties of Polk, Roseau, Norman, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake, Lake of the Woods, Kittson and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations. Selzler explains that this has been going on for nearly two decades. “We’ve had this task force since 2008, and not only do they investigate drug crimes, but they do everything in between. This is just a boilerplate contract that we do every two years.”
TOBACCO AND LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS
They approved the 2026 Tobacco license renewals for Ampride, M & H, Hugo’s Family Marketplace, Superpumper, Circle K, Casey’s, and Crookston Smoke.
The council approved the 2026 Liquor licenses for the following –
On and Off Sale – Irishman’s Shanty, IC Muggs, Crooks Club, Drafts Sports Bar and Grill, Crookston Inn (on-sale only), Minakwa, and El Loro (on-sale only).
On Sale – Crookston Eagles Club
Sunday On-Sale – Irishman’s Shanty, IC Muggs, Crooks Club, Crookston Inn, Minakwa, Drafts Sports Bar and Grill, Crookston Eagles, and El Loro.
3.2 Malt Liquor license – Wal-Mart, Happy Joe’s Pizza, Amerivu Inn and Suites
Wine license with strong beer authorization – Happy Joe’s Pizza
CITY COUNCIL AND WAYS AND MEANS MEETING DATES
The Crookston City Council approved the 2026 schedule for City Council and Ways and Means committee meeting dates.
January
Monday, January 5, 2026 @5:30PM
Tuesday, January 20, 2026 @5:30PM (Moved from Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr.) Day)
February
Monday, February 2, 2026 @5:30PM
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 @5:30PM (Moved from Monday due to Presidents’ Day)
March
Monday, March 2, 2026 @5:30PM
Monday, March 16, 2026 @5:30PM
April
Monday, April 6, 2026 @5:30PM
Monday, April 20, 2026 @5:30PM
May
Monday, May 4, 2026 @5:30PM
Monday, May 18, 2026 @5:30PM (Memorial Day does not affect meeting dates)
June
Monday, June 1, 2026 @5:30PM
Monday, June 15, 2026 @5:30PM
July
Monday, July 6, 2026 @5:30PM
Monday, July 20, 2026 @5:30PM
August
Monday, August 3, 2026 @5:30PM
Monday, August 17, 2026 @5:30PM
September
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 @5:30PM (Moved from Monday due to Labor Day)
Monday, September 21, 2026 @5:30PM
October
Monday, October 5, 2026 @5:30PM
Monday, October 19, 2026 @5:30PM
November
Monday, November 2, 2026 @5:30PM
Monday, November 16, 2026 @5:30PM
December
Monday, December 7, 2026 @5:30PM
Monday, December 21, 2026 @5:30PM
2026 ELECTION POLLING LOCATIONS
The City Council designated the 2026 election precinct polling locations as follows –
FIRST WARD – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
SECOND WARD – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
THIRD WARD – First Presbyterian Church
FOURTH WARD – First Presbyterian Church
FIFTH WARD – First Presbyterian Church
SIXTH WARD – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
WINDCONE PROJECT PAYMENT
The council also approved the payment of $21,450 to Neo Electrical Solutions for one of the 2025 windcone replacement project at the Crookston Municipal Airport.
