“No Fishing” could have some bite
The Northfield City Council approved the First Reading of an Ordinance that would restrict fishing on the west RiverWalk around the area of Froggy Bottoms and Lily Padio. Owner Laurie Hoheisel said this isn’t a “fishing thing” but a “safety thing”. She said,”they cast and it goes up. I have taken lures out of our umbrellas continuously. I know a few people that are here [in council chambers] that have had lures that have gone right past their face as they’re sitting there. If they get hooked, they’re going to come after me”. she had one confrontation that caused her to call police. She asked a man fishing within a few feet of diners having lunch to move down. She said he got “right in my face” and told her she couldn’t do anything about it. While “No Fishing”
signs were posted some time back, there was no ordinance to back it up. Police Chief Monte Nelson said there was nothing they could do. Staff crafted the ordinance to restrict fishing within a 220 foot area. Some questioned the legality of imposing the restriction on a public right of way. City Attorney Chris Hood said, “as I understand it that the river walk is a public right of way and the City has the legal authority to manage public rights-of-way. This is being done in this particular area for public safety reasons”. Council voted 4 to 2 in favor of the ordinance with DeLong and Ludescher voting no. Councilor Nakasian walked out of the meeting prior to the vote due to . There has to be a 2nd reading before it’s made into law.
Primary candidates DeLong and Zweifel interviews
David DeLong is running for re-election in Ward 2 along with 3 others. KYMN has talked with each candidate. DeLong said, “I’m seeking re-election to continue to provide a realistic counterpoint to certain spending proposals along with providing a voice for the under represented”. With the turnover in staff, “I feel my experience and institutional knowledge can be a resource to new staff and citizens”. DeLong added that, “it’s not what I can accomplish as an individual, it’s what the Council wants to establish as a whole. Not what one person wants but what seven people think are best”.
Erica Zweifel, Northfield City Council member for Ward 3 is running for re-election against 2 others. She said she enjoys working on the Council, “I especially enjoy working on projects like as the library, like street reconstruction projects and the overarching projects that are working to improve the safety of the community in terms of multi-modal transportation”. She wants to continue that work. If re-elected, this will be Zweifel’s 3rd term. Polls are open August 9th from 7a to 8p. All the candidates interviews are posted on kymn.net. You will also hear each one on the air through Tuesday. The Primary will narrow Council choices to 2 per Ward for the ballot in November.
There’s no (potty)break for speeding
Rice County handed out 81 citations during the speed saturation in July. They get funding from their Toward Zero Death program for deputies and officers to work extra hours. Sheriff Troy Dunn said crashes, crashes with injuries and/or fatalities come down to three things speeding, distracted and/or impaired driving and seatbelt use so they move the focus of the saturation patrols to focus on those areas. He said people use lots of excuses. A recent one was a woman going 85 in a 55. When pulled over she told Dunn that she had to use the bathroom. He followed her to a gas station, let her go to the bathroom and then ticketed her. An often used excuse is that they’re just staying with traffic, going with the flow, “well if the flow is going 10 over the speed limit you better slow it down”. Sheriff Dunn’s full interview is on kymn.net
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