Melrose Council Accepts Jennie-O Land Donation, Pursues Demolition Grant for Downtown Redevelopment

MELROSE — January 15, 2026 — Melrose, Minnesota City Council unanimously accepted a six-parcel downtown land donation from Jennie-O Foods and approved a state demolition grant application at its January 15 meeting. City Administrator Colleen Winter presented the redevelopment framework, under which agricultural supply company Leadstone — a top-five local employer with more than 70 employees — will enter a five-year lease with the city for roughly 15,000 square feet of the former processing plant and truck sheds, drawn by the facility's semi-loading docks. A separate 48,000-square-foot section of the Jennie-O site is slated for demolition pending a Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development grant application due February 1; the city's 2027 capital plan includes extending Turkey Lane through the cleared land to reconnect to 1st Street Southeast. The council also unanimously passed Resolution 2026-12 accepting a $95,114.12 Minnesota Office of Emergency Medical Services grant for Melrose Area Ambulance, authorized a roughly $22,000 siren purchase from DSC Communications, and concurred with paid family leave MOU language to be negotiated with the city's three labor unions.