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Resident urges county enforcement after years of alleged junk-yard violations, reports rat infestation
Summary
A longtime International Falls neighborhood resident told the Koochiching County Board of Commissioners that repeated property cleanup orders have not been followed and that rodents are becoming a public-health worry; he submitted petitions and asked the county to enforce existing ordinances.
Don Fuller, a property owner in the Pointe Pines neighborhood, told the Koochiching County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 9 that a nearby property has repeatedly violated local ordinances for years and that rodent activity has become a public-health concern. Fuller said he and neighbors circulated petitions, pursued court action and asked the county to enforce the prior judgment.
“At night he would ferret out his prize junk to another location, and then after the work was done, they brought all the junk back,” Fuller said, describing repeated returns of material to the site after county cleanup. He said a prior court judgment required the owner to keep the property clean for one year, but that requirement has expired.
Fuller told the board a neighbor found a live rat on Aug. 14 and brought it to Fuller, who has kept it frozen as evidence. He described the risk of rapid reproduction, saying a female rat “can give birth can get pregnant again 4 days after it gives birth” and warning the board of potential spread in his denser neighborhood.
Fuller said petition signers feared harassment if their contact details circulated, and he supplied a redacted copy for the county to file. He asked the county to pursue a longer judgment when the matter next reaches court and to allow a county agent to perform follow-up inspections.
County officials acknowledged receipt of the materials; the board asked staff to accept the redacted petition for the record. Commissioners and staff present indicated the county’s enforcement process is complaint-driven and described prior steps taken to clean up the property. Fuller said he and his neighbors will continue to press for enforcement.
There was no board vote tied to Fuller’s remarks. The transcript records no change in policy or immediate staff assignment beyond the acceptance of Fuller’s petition for the record. The public-comment sequence closed before the board proceeded to its agenda items.
