BREAKING NEWS: Petition on public safety project in Owatonna exceeds goal

In less than five days, efforts to establish a reverse referendum for the public safety project approved by Owatonna officials have more than exceeded the group’s goal.

By Monday afternoon, citizens against the location of Owatonna’s proposed police station collected 940 signatures for a petition, according to Melissa Zimmerman, who’s spearheading the effort. The group needed only 721 signatures, but they’re not stopping just yet.

“We surpassed our minimum, we surpassed our goal and we’re well on our way to our next goal,” said Zimmerman. “We want to collect as many signatures as possible to allow anyone that wants to have a voice to have a voice,” she said.

The group’s deadline for the petition is March 30 so it can be submitted to city officials by April 2. Even though the goal has been hit, the group now hopes to achieve “at least 2,000,” Zimmerman said, adding “We’re going to keep going.”

Zimmerman said at least 100 volunteers to date have been involved in helping to collect signatures. “We started with a few like Carl (Wieman), and as we got out there, other people wanted to help us collect signatures,” she said. She noted some volunteers have been canvassing door-to-door