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Business owners urge city and county to fix dumpster site that litters riverbank
Summary
Two local business owners told the council that overflowing dumpsters near Hugo's routinely blow trash onto the riverbank and into the river; they asked the city and Pennington County to consider fencing or moving the bins and requested timely follow-up.
Two local business owners urged the Thief River Falls City Council to address recurring trash and wind‑blown debris originating from a dumpster area near Hugo's that they say has fouled the adjacent riverbank.
"Hello, I'm Rhonda Lockberg," said Rhonda Lockberg, owner of Sister Sister Family Salon. She told the council she has worked at the location for three years and that staff regularly pick up large amounts of garbage from the riverbank. "We have seen abundance amount of garbage that comes across from Hugo's," she said, and reported collecting two 13‑gallon bags of trash in two days.
A second speaker who said he has owned his building since 1995 described repeatedly picking up debris that blows into the river on strong south winds and said fencing or moving the dumpsters might stop the flow but raised concerns about snow removal and access.
Bruce Holty, who identified himself and said his building operates short‑term rentals, told the council he would like notice and an opportunity to comment before any vote on short‑term rental rules. Staff responded that a public hearing on short‑term rentals is scheduled for the next night in the council chambers.
The chair and staff said a fence could be "doable" and suggested a joint effort with Pennington County to determine the best approach; no formal action was taken at the meeting.
