Minnesota edition

CogniLocal

Waverly / Howard Lake

Your Community, More Completely.

Wednesday, September 30, 2026 · Permanent link to this edition

City seeks multiple full-time police officersLocal 4-H leader presents county proclamationHLWW teams have a full competition slate todaySchool-board work session has passed, but minutes are not yet posted

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Today in Waverly / Howard Lake

HLWW volleyball defeated Kimball in four sets September 29.

The school calendar marks September 30 as midquarter and October 2 as a two-hour late start.

Wright County's previously announced Oracle camera rollout enters the local AI coverage inventory.

Waverly's lead-exceedance notice remains a continuing water-system issue.

NEW: newly reported developments or upcoming opportunities. UPDATE: later substantive information on a covered story. ONGOING: continuing useful information. RESOLVED: the reported issue has ended. BACKGROUND: dated historical context, not a new development or confirmation of current availability. UNCONFIRMED: a story, continuing story or detail that could not be confirmed against its cited source on the edition date; the note under the headline says what is not confirmed. Today and countdown lines carry "(unconfirmed)" for the same reason. All local times are Central Daylight Time.

Public Safety & Courts

ONGOINGHoward Lake

City seeks multiple full-time police officers

Howard Lake is accepting applications for multiple full-time police officer positions to address current staffing needs and prepare for a possible expansion of the department's service area. Minnesota POST-licensed or license-eligible applicants may apply. The stated pay range is $39.48 to $53.70 per hour. Applications remain open until the positions are filled, with the first review scheduled for October 15 and initial interviews anticipated in the first week of November.

Publication date: Not stated on the detailed posting; verified September 29, 2026
Application milestone: First review October 15, 2026
Source: City of Howard Lake, Howard Lake Police Officer - Full Time

Schools & Youth

ONGOINGBoth

School-board work session has passed, but minutes are not yet posted

The HLWW School Board work session scheduled for September 28 at 6:30 p.m. is now past. The district calendar and BoardBook search listing confirm the meeting date and location at the HLWW High School Media Center. As of September 29, the public BoardBook archive does not yet expose minutes or an audio record, so no board action can be confirmed from the official record.

The scheduled meeting time passed; the story is now in the records-pending stage

Latest confirmed status: Meeting listing and agenda exist; minutes or another official account of action are not yet available
Unresolved: What was discussed, what action was taken and whether any votes occurred
Publication/status date: Verified September 29, 2026
Event date: September 28, 2026
Sources: HLWW District Calendar and BoardBook public archive

NEW

Two-hour late start is scheduled for October 2

HLWW's district calendar marks September 30 as the first quarter's midquarter date and October 2 as a planned two-hour late start. Families should account for the later school start when making Friday arrangements.

The same calendar lists varsity football against Litchfield on October 2 from 7 to 9 p.m. These are scheduled events, not changes announced September 30.

Communities: Both. Status: NEW to this report; existing school-calendar entries. Source publication date: Not displayed. Dates: September 30 and October 2. Source: HLWW district calendar.

City, Roads & Planning

ONGOINGWaverly

EDA meeting date passed without a published meeting record

Waverly's city calendar listed an Economic Development Authority meeting for September 28 at 6 p.m. The scheduled time has passed, but the city's BoardBook archive still does not show a September 28 EDA agenda, minutes or meeting record. The city calendar lists the next EDA meeting for October 26 at 6 p.m.

The September 28 calendar date passed

Latest confirmed status: The event remains on the city calendar; no official record confirming that the meeting occurred or documenting action was found
Unresolved: Whether the meeting was held and whether the EDA acted on its revolving-loan-fund review or any other development item
Publication/status date: Verified September 29, 2026
Event date: September 28, 2026
Sources: City of Waverly home and meeting calendar and BoardBook public archive

Business & Commercial Development

ONGOING

Nuvera fiber rollout nears another milestone in both communities

Nuvera's September 22 construction updates show fiber work continuing in both Waverly and Howard Lake .

In Waverly, one construction area is already ready for fiber while another remains on an estimated September completion schedule. Howard Lake shows the same pattern: one area ready for fiber and another still on an estimated September completion schedule.

For local businesses, expanded fiber availability can affect internet capacity, remote work, payment systems, cloud services and other digital operations.

Latest construction updates cited: September 22. Completion remains unconfirmed.

Sources: Nuvera Waverly updates · Nuvera Howard Lake updates

Community & Culture

ONGOING

Howard Lake Library offers public space; next Senior Group date needs confirmation

Howard Lake Library is at 817 8th Avenue . The city’s calendar identifies its community room as the location for Senior Group gatherings.

Correction to September 27 coverage: the calendar accessible for this review shows September meetings. The previously reported October 1 and 15 dates could not be confirmed. Check the city’s calendar or call 320-543-3670 before arranging an October visit. For library access and hours, call 320-543-2020 .

Calendar and library checked September 28; October Senior Group dates unconfirmed.

Sources: Howard Lake city calendar · Howard Lake Library

Arts, Culture & Events

ONGOING

HLWW offers an October 3 household cooking class on carnitas and tortillas

HLWW Community Education lists a live virtual class with Tess Georgakopoulos on October 3, 4 to 6:30 p.m. Participants prepare carnitas, flour and corn tortillas, and pickled red onions in their own kitchens.

The listed fee is $39 per household . An electric multicooker and a nonstick pan are listed equipment needs. The district page says online registration is over; contact Community Education to ask whether any places remain.

Source checked September 28; original posting date not stated.

Sources: HLWW class details and registration

ONGOING

Applications are listed for HLWW’s November 21 arts and crafts expo

HLWW Community Education lists its Creative Arts & Crafts Expo for November 21, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. , at the Middle School and Activity Center, 8700 County Road 6 SW, south of Howard Lake .

Exhibitors must participate in making what they sell. Applications are considered in order received, subject to available space; a standard 12-by-12-foot booth is listed at $69 . The district’s registration page provides exhibitor requirements, options and contact information.

Source checked September 28; original posting date not stated.

Sources: HLWW expo and exhibitor applications

AI in Your Community

CogniLocal tracks where artificial intelligence and related automated systems are already entering the institutions that serve this community, who is deploying them, what they are being used for and what changes next.

ONGOINGWaverly

Wright County Sheriff wearables bring AI-powered law-enforcement technology to Waverly

Waverly contracts with the Wright County Sheriff's Office for police services. Oracle says that office is deploying its AI-powered Public Safety Wearable Computer System, making the technology directly relevant to the agency that provides Waverly's policing.

Oracle said the officer-worn devices automatically record interactions and were planned to add live video streaming to the command center. At the October 2025 announcement, Oracle said 70% of Wright County's 176 sworn personnel were already using the system, with full deployment planned.

Oracle announcement: October 20, 2025
Local connection: Waverly contracts with the Wright County Sheriff's Office for police services

Sources: City of Waverly, Public Safety · Oracle, Wright County deployment announcement

The October 2025 announcement does not establish completion of later dispatch and records phases or identify which AI features are currently enabled. It also does not establish use by Howard Lake Police.

ONGOINGWaverly / Wright County

Wright County's automated plate-reader network is already in active use

The Wright County Sheriff’s Office operates fixed and mobile Flock automated license-plate readers around the county. The sheriff says the system can alert deputies to stolen or wanted vehicles and can be searched after an incident to identify vehicles connected with criminal activity.

On September 3, 2026, the sheriff’s office said Flock cameras helped deputies locate a person of interest after a fatal stabbing in Monticello. The agency said the person was taken into custody roughly 10 miles from another residence investigators feared he was headed toward.

Current local footprint: Countywide fixed and mobile automated plate readers
Recent documented use: September 3, 2026 Monticello investigation

Sources: Wright County Sheriff, Flock transparency page · Wright County Sheriff, September 3 investigation

ONGOINGWright County

AI-generated fake citations reached a Wright County court filing

The Minnesota Tax Court found that a Wright County filing contained five nonexistent case citations generated by artificial intelligence. The court concluded that including the false citations violated Rule 11.02(b) of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure.

The court declined to impose monetary sanctions but referred the matter involving the assistant county attorney to the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board. The incident shows AI reaching local government not as a future proposal, but through actual county legal work.

Court order: May 29, 2025
Finding: Five AI-generated citations did not refer to real judicial decisions

Sources: Minnesota Tax Court, Delano v. Wright County sanctions order

ONGOINGWright County

AI-driven data-center demand has already changed Wright County land-use policy

Wright County imposed an emergency moratorium on new data-center applications in county townships in May 2026 while officials study zoning standards and infrastructure impacts.

The county ordinance explicitly identifies artificial intelligence, cloud services and other digital infrastructure as drivers of demand for physical data centers. The county later formed a workgroup to examine environmental, fiscal, infrastructure and land-use effects.

Moratorium adopted: May 19, 2026
County workgroup announced: June 2026

Sources: Wright County, data-center moratorium · Wright County, moratorium ordinance materials · Wright County, data-center workgroup

BACKGROUNDHoward Lake / Waverly / Winsted

HLWW’s 2024 catalogs listed adult and youth AI classes

Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Community Education listed a practical ChatGPT class for adults and an “Extreme Coding: Artificial Intelligence” course for students in its summer and fall 2024 catalogs. Those catalogs document past offerings; they do not establish a current class or registration opportunity.

The youth course described machine learning and activities such as building a chatbot and a rock-paper-scissors game. The adult class focused on practical use of ChatGPT for research, writing and everyday tasks.

Adult offering: Practical ChatGPT instruction
Youth offering: Artificial intelligence and machine-learning coding

Sources: HLWW Community Education, Summer 2024 catalog · HLWW Community Education, Fall 2024 catalog

Sports

UPDATE

Lakers beat Kimball in four sets

Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted defeated Kimball 3-1 on September 29, according to MaxPreps' game recap. Set scores were 25-13, 14-25, 25-23 and 25-23.

The result updates the match listed in yesterday's report. HLWW's school calendar lists the next varsity volleyball match against Central, Norwood Young America, for 7 p.m. October 1.

Communities: Both, through HLWW schools. Status: UPDATE; a scheduled contest now has a reported result. Recap published: September 29, 2026, at 8:09 p.m., as displayed. Game date: September 29. Sources: MaxPreps game recap; HLWW district calendar.

Still Developing

The latest confirmed movement, the open question and the next checkpoint.

OPEN

Waverly Public Works superintendent search

The city continues to advertise the superintendent position at $43.98 to $48.55 per hour.

Still unresolved: The hiring outcome.

Next checkpoint: October 11 application deadline, followed by a hiring announcement.

Current bulletin lists October 11 closing date

Sources: Current job bulletin

AWAITING RECORDS

Howard Lake Sept. 21 City Council actions

The City Council met September 21 at 7 p.m. at Howard Lake City Hall.

Still unresolved: Final actions from that meeting when minutes or another official meeting record become public.

Next checkpoint: Approved minutes or another official meeting record.

Council meeting September 21 Status confirmed 2026-09-21.

Sources: Howard Lake meeting calendar

AWAITING RECORDS

HLWW school-board work session

The district's meeting portal lists the September 28 work-session agenda. A meeting record establishing discussion and any action remains the next checkpoint. District meeting records.

OPEN

Waverly water

The city continues to post its lead-exceedance notice and the letter sent to residents on August 28. The next substantive checkpoint is an official follow-up explaining sampling results and corrective work. Waverly water notice and resident letter.

OPEN

Howard Lake residency-restriction ordinance

Ordinance 26-02 creates a residency-restriction section in the city code. The city held its separate community-notification briefing September 10.

Still unresolved: Full codified text and implementation details.

Next checkpoint: The updated city code or an implementation notice.

Ordinance summary published September 25 Status confirmed 2026-09-25.

Sources: Herald Journal ordinance notice · Howard Lake briefing

OPEN

Howard Lake refuse and recycling transition

A September 9 agenda packet contemplated assigning existing refuse and recycling agreements to Waste Management of Minnesota. The transaction was then expected around September 14, with existing terms continuing through the contract period.

Still unresolved: Confirmation of the completed transition and any resident-facing rate or service changes.

Next checkpoint: Approved minutes, a contract notice or resident-service information.

Contract assignment appeared in September 9 materials Status confirmed 2026-09-09.

Sources: September contract summary

OPEN

Waverly EDA Revolving Loan Fund application

The EDA discussed adding the Business Subsidy Policy, clarifying collateral language and making the application fillable online. The existing application appeared to date from 2018.

Still unresolved: Final adoption of the application and policy changes. The subject is not confirmed on the September 28 agenda.

Next checkpoint: A revised application or recorded EDA action.

Revisions remained unfinished April 27 Status confirmed 2026-04-27.

Sources: April 27 meeting account

AWAITING RECORDS

September 28 Waverly EDA meeting

The city calendar confirms the meeting; discussion subjects were not established in the available materials.

Still unresolved: Whether the meeting occurred and what action was taken.

Next checkpoint: Agenda, minutes or a revised calendar notice.

The scheduled EDA meeting time passed; no meeting record was posted by September 29. Status confirmed 2026-09-29.

Sources: Waverly calendar

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