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BACKUS -- Cass County commissioners voted Tuesday, Oct. 15, to award a $157,040 contract to Young Excavating, the lower of two bidders, to replace two culverts under County State Aid Highway 3 in the unorganized township area.

Both are 24-inch culverts. One will be cement. The other will be metal. Both are currently failing.

Assistant County Engineer Joshua Howe reported the new bridge on County Road 129 in Inguadona Township has been completed. The board approved final payment to the contractor.

Howe obtained board approval to raise the amount the county pays trappers from $30 to $50 each to trap beavers, which have caused damage to county roads. He said the statewide average is $70 per beaver.

The county will apply for a Federal Land Access Program grant to enable the county to complete a $920,000 improvement to Tamarack Point Drive NE, an unorganized township road. A $184,000 township road fund match will be required if the grant is approved.

The 2021 or 2022 improvement will involve raising the roadbed to improve drainage, then paving the surface.

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