Cass plans to offer resource guide to new residents

LONGVILLE -- New Cass County residents will receive a resource guide, probably beginning in 2001.

The county board voted Tuesday to allocate up to $4,000 to publish and distribute a guide for new property owners. The county will seek a matching grant from Central Minnesota Initiative Fund for the project.

Mardi Harder, extension educator, reported to the board Tuesday on preliminary content concepts for the publication.

It will provide information about county zoning and land management and explain when county or DNR permits are required. It will touch on hunting regulations and enforcement on and off Leech Lake Reservation.

It also will answer questions that may be new for a property owner who has not lived in this area before, like what to do if a deer dies in your yard or you hit a deer on a road.

It will cover ways to feed birds without attracting bears to your feeder. It will cover what to do if a beaver floods your property.

Harder said there currently are 34,000 land parcels in Cass, with 23,000 private land owners.

In 1999, 1,637 people became new Cass County land owners. The first six months this year, there have been 916 new Cass land purchasers, Harder said.

These numbers do not reflect properties split into more than one parcels.

The county recorder's office registered a variety of property deeds last year, totalling about 3,300. Harder said this is the number she expects would receive annually a copy of the county's new resident guide.

Cass initially sought a state board of government innovation and cooperation grant to fund this project, but was unsuccessful in that bid.

Harder reported only 12 projects from other counties were funded. Cass' proposal ranked 21st of 38 applications.

The county board will review the final draft before the "Welcome to Cass County Resource Guide" is printed.