Welcome to the City of Owatonna

The City founded in 1854, now a city of just over 25,000 people (25,599 in the 2010 Census) is the heart and the heartbeat of a greater community known as Southern Minnesota.

........CODE UPDATES:  City Code on this website via American Legal is the 2015 City Code of Ordinances.  Supplemental Codificaiton S-2 completed February 2018 includes Ordinance #1574, approved February 5, 2018.  To view Ordinances approved after February 5, 2018 and listing of proposed ordinances pending final Council approval, click this Updates.  If you have any questions regarding the City's Code, please call Jeanette at 507-774-7341 to confirm recent amendments.

Owatonna is known for its quality of life, and your City Government is committed to maintaining that high quality and improving it. 

The City has received 25 years of Tree City USA Recognition and annually observes Arbor Day on the 4th Friday of April.  Information on the City's Forestry Plan can be found on the Public Works webpage.

                                 Owatonna........where progress and history entwine

Proud to be a Yellow Ribbon Community!

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What has happened in the City?

Videos of Events: - List of videos taped from various meetings, events and segments of the Owatonna Today Show and Stories of Steele with city staff members or city related topics.   

Public Access Channels on cable television: 

    If you would like to submit a video for viewing, please contact Mark Blando, Library Director at 507-774-7002.

                Charter Cable Channel 181

                Jaguar Cable Channel 900. 

2017 State of the City Presentation by City Administrator Kris M. Busse & Mayor Thomas A. Kuntz.

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Sign Up to Support Highway 14!

Completing the four-lane expansion of Highway 14 between Owatonna and Dodge Center is critical to the safety and economic success of our region.  Not only does this dangerous stretch of road have a fatality rate nearly double the statewide average, but traffic volumes are expected to more than double by 2030.  Owatonna’s population and economy are growing, but employees’ ability to get to work and businesses’ ability to move their products and provide their services are being hampered by this insufficient two-lane road. 

Four-lane expansion is needed to position Highway 14 for the future.  Right now, MnDOT is developing its 20-year state highway investment plan, which will establish the highway projects that will be funded in the next two decades.  We must ensure that Highway 14 is included in plan, or we risk the loss of additional lives and economic opportunity.   Please add your voice to the efforts to complete Highway 14!  Sign up here to learn about ways you can help get this project done!

http://ushighway14.com/sign-up-to-support-highway-14/

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Strategic Plan:  3-year Plan - 2017-2019 approved by Council on September 20, 2016.

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Get alerted about emergencies and other important community news by signing up for our Notification System. This notification system enables the Rice and Steele Counties to provide you with critical information quickly in a variety of situations, such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons, and evacuation of buildings or neighborhoods.

You will receive time-sensitive messages wherever you specify, such as your home, cell, or business phone, email, text messages, hearing impaired receiving devices, and more. You pick where, you pick how.

(Click here to enroll)

Owatonna Partners for Economic Development

 

DATA PRACTICE POLICIES & REQUEST FORMS - Click for info and form

 

Link to bus information:

SMART

 

 

Salary Compliance Notice: 

Minnesota state law, Chapter 156 of the Session Laws of 2005, requires a city or county with a population of more than 15,000 must annually notify its residents of the positions and base salaries of its three highest-paid employees. This notice may be provided on the homepage of the primary website maintained by the political subdivision for a period of not less than 90 consecutive days, in a publication of the political subdivision that is distributed to all residents in the political subdivision, or as part of the annual notice of proposed property taxes prepared under section 275.065. 

2018 Salaries:  Posted January 8, 2018 - April 9, 2018.

                                Kris M. Buse, City Administrator  – $130,457

                                Keith Hiller, Chief of Police  – $116,563

                                Kyle Skov, Public Works Director and City Engineer - $113,734