Northfield man killed in head-on crash
A Northfield man was killed in a car crash yesterday afternoon in Wells Township. Rice County deputies, Faribault Fire/Rescue and North Ambulance were dispatched to a report of a head-on collision in the 15,000 block of Bagley Avenue just after 2 o’clock. Upon arrival, deputies discovered 83 year old Gerald Cleland dead at the scene. 57 year old Robert J. Erickson of Faribault was transported to Allina Hospital with non life threatening injuries. A preliminary investigation indicates that Cleland’s 2014 Chevrolet Equinox crossed the centerline and struck the Ford Expedition in the southbound lane of Bagley Avenue. The crash remains under investigation at this time.
Northfield elects new Mayor
The votes are in and Northfield will have a new Mayor. Rhonda Pownell took nearly 52{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} of the vote while incumbent Dana Graham received 48{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}. This morning she said she’s “very excited”. She said it was wonderful to have knocked on thousands of doors and listened to the community’s thoughts and concerns are. Pownell says it will serve as a foundation for her term. Adding that she’s enjoyed running alongside Dana for the 2nd time and, “I think he did a nice job”. In a facebook post, Mayor Graham said “We came up just a little short of our objective tonight. It was a close race and I leave with my head held high. We accomplished things that had never been done before. We live in a great city. Thank you for all your love and support. Congratulations to our next mayor, Rhonda Pownell”. He will be in studio tomorrow morning at 8:45 and Pownell will be in at 7:20. In the meantime, incumbent Council were re-elected. Erica Zweifel handily won her Ward 3 seat over Norman Butler with 70{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} of the vote. In Ward 2 David DeLong took 55{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} over the vote over Jack Hoschouer who had 44{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}. The new Councilor-at-Large position held by David Ludescher will now be filled by Brad Ness. Ness received 55{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} of the votes with Greg Colby at 44{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}.
Northfielder’s re-elected Noel Stratmoen to the Northfield School Board. He’ll have served 40 years after this term ends in 2020. He commented that he believes this vote is an expression of the confidence the taxpayers have in the staff and leadership of the School system. Also re-elected are Ellen Iverson and Rob Hardy. A new voice is Amy Goerwitz. Stratmoen said, “Amy will bring ideas and thoughts to the mix”. Stratmoen acknowledged the professionalism of all the candidates and said it’s a real pleasure to be part of “the local demonstration of democracy in action”.
Farmington says No to referendums
Farmington voted down the 2 referendums asking for $12 million for an outdoor sports complex but not by much. 581 votes separated the yes and no votes with nearly 11,000 voting. For results of all the elections, including all the local townships and school boards, go to the MN Secretary of State and click on Election Results.
District races get shake-up
Republican Rich Draheim pulled out a win over District 20 Senator Kevin Dahle. Draheim took 52{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} of the votes to Dahle’s 48{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}. District 20B chose to re-elect David Bly by about 7{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} over newcomer Aramis Wells. He commented that he and his wife Tiana have been involved in politics for other candidates for some time but as a candidate, “to actually have the name saddled to your back and carry that all the way home to November, it’s a whole different experience”. He added that they formed many relationships that they hope to hold on to. Will he run again? He said, “they teach you in campaign school that if you really want to win, unless you have a shoe-in district, then you have to plan on running 2 or 3 times”. While he’s not ruling it out another run, he and his wife will be decompressing for a few months. District 58 was a very tight race between Tim Pitcher and Matt Little. Little just barely squeaked by with 50.2{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} to Pitcher’s 49.6{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}. On the House side District 58B re-elected Patrick Garofalo with 65{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} to Marla Vagts 35{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}.
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