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STURGIS — Town of Sturgis Mayor Dean Harris gave his projected view for the new year for the Town of Sturgis.
"As we welcome an excited new council to the council chamber, we worked overtime learning how to be effective as a councillor, and were able to experience more valuable learning at SUMA, and were able to network with other communities
"Locally, we supplied necessary water and sewer infrastructure to our new Coop food store and are overjoyed to welcome them to serve our community for a long time to come. It’s interesting they are established on land that was incorporated as Coop Farm land in 1935, who would have thought.
"We are working to provide safe travel to our new Coop food Store as the entrance to the property needs to be safe.
"Council successfully established bylaws for many boards in our community that help the boards collaborate with the town council going forward in a positive manner, as now we will all “know our lane”.
"In 2025, we established an inventory of our available residential lots and set pricing, and ended up selling lots
"We also welcomed a couple of new homes to town, and some Reno’s are taking place. We have a strong desire to establish more suitable housing for our young families all the way up to retiring seniors in Sturgis. If you have a desire to get involved in our residential development, please contact Shawna at our admin office
"In the scope of our economic development, we are proud to welcome some new small businesses to our town; everyone contributes to our tax base and are very important in the growth value of the economy of our small town. We are proud of all of our small businesses and wish a year of growth and success in 2026.
"2025 has seen many successful events hosted in our facilities. We are blessed to have a beautiful community hall, curling rink, arena, READ club, Kinhut, Sports and Rodeo, Spray park, Park, and Campgrounds to name only a few.
"Regarding infrastructure, we are so proud of our ultra-modern water treatment facility that ensures a huge supply of safe secure water for our town for a long time to come.
"Our streets are in amazing shape and are well-maintained.
"As a priority toward safety, we have installed 'know your speed' digital signs in town, and many new stop signs have replaced yield signs with the goal being to providing a sense of protection to our citizens.
"Council has been diligent about keeping our facilities maintained and comfortable for the users. We have replaced furnaces, hot water heaters, etc as they wear, and a strict maintenance schedule for replacing filters, fire extinguishers, etc., to prolong the life of existing equipment.
"Due to your diligence to reducing household waste, you are protecting our valuable landfill by recycling, reusing, returning, and free-cycling. We have received an extension to permit using our landfill for a few more years to come.
"Many new, exciting events and opportunities are on the horizon for 2026. Everyone has something to offer. By volunteering, our actions help shape the town we love to call home.
"We are famous for the big hill at the sports ground with “STURGIS” proudly looking down on us 24 hours a day.
"As 2025 draws to a close, we offer thanks for a successful year, and we eagerly welcome 2026.
"Your council are your neighbours and have a heart to hear your concerns as well as your bouquets.
"I want to challenge each person to make kindness the centre of our community,” concluded Harris
