A Faribault woman walked out onto I-35W at hwy 13 yesterday morning and was killed. Just before 3 am, the Minnesota State patrol reports that 60 year old Laura Lucille Lavine walked into the northbound lane at a right angle. She was struck by a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by 40 year old Laura Lee Koeppl of Burnsville. Lt. Tiffany Nielson said Koeppl had been drinking but her blood alcohol level was within the legal limit. She also tried to avoid Lavine but was unable to. Lavine had a hood up over her head and may not have seen the Jeep. The investigation will continue. The northbound lanes were closed for over 2 hours.
Commissioner confuses tv news
Last week Rice County Commissioners gave the nod to Morristown to contract with the Rice County Sheriff’s department for police protection. But a commissioner commented. Morristown Mayor Kurt Wolf said, “Jake Gillen I believe is the Chair. He said something along the lines of, we’re putting this back to Morristown for their decision, well that was misleading and I think that’s where some of this [confusion] is coming up”. Wolf said the Council approved the move at their April 10th meeting. The news story reported on tv was made more confusing as citizens discussed a petition, which Wolf says, “the entire petition came after we made the vote”. He added, “we actually had 5 meetings where we discussed the entire decision and process. Meetings started in February. He said they addressed many misconceptions. Wolf said, “it would take some pretty serious allegations against the County Sheriff’s department for me to go back on that decision I’ve already made”. Wolf said that some of the angst citizens may be loyalty to Officer Langer, who was the only part-time officer left in the department of 3. Wolf said Langer served them well, “but when I look at the community as a whole, it’s the right decision for us. We get a great level of professionalism by going with Rice County for police services, we’re guaranteeing ourselves 60 hours of contracted police services in Morristown”. Sheriff Dunn remarked last week that the training he can provide is significantly more than a small local department because they have money set aside for specialized training. They also have an Investigations unit. A smaller department just doesn’t have those resources. On Monday the City and the Sheriff’s department will formally sign the contract. Morristown has a population of 987. It’s not unusual for smaller towns to contract with County Sheriff’s departments.
Sons of Norway award Nfld Senior
Northfield High School Senior, Synneva Bratland, has been awarded the Sons of Norway Foundation Helen Tronvold Scholarship to study in Norway. Bratland’s high school activities focused on the fine arts, including orchestra, choir and drama. She has also performed in community theater and has been a member of the Northfield youth choirs since the first grade. She’ll study Cuban Dance in Norway among other musical genres. The class will take a 10-day trip to Cuba. Bratland plans on attending St. Olaf College after her year in Norway. She’s the daughter of Doug Bratland and Amy Boxrud. Northfield’s Prom is tomorrow night – be safe on the roads. The Grand March starts at 3pm and then dinner, dancing and Jesse james lanes will hold an after-prom party.
