After a weekend of sit-ins, the organizers of The Collective for Change on the Hill, met publicly with the St. Olaf College Leadership Team, including President David Anderson, yesterday afternoon and came to a first step in negotiations. Professor Griggs, spoke to the packed Tomson hall and gave this analogy of the movement, “this group is not the root of the civil rights movement, it’s not the stem of the civil rights movement, it’s the flower of the civil rights movement. Ya’ll are blooming and I can tell you, I was part of something like this before and I know this may be hard to hear but you’ve done a great job at keeping the pedal to the metal”. Udeepta Chakravarty, of The
Collective’s Drafting Committee thanked 3 St. Olaf faculty including Pete Sandburg and Greg Kneser for their help in the revised terms of negotiations. He read them to the crowd including the public acknowledgement of the receipt of the demands, “the public acknowledgment has to be in the form of an email to the constituents of St. Olaf, St. Olaf parents and Alum. The Presidents leadership team has shared these documents with the Board of Regents and has provided for members of the Drafting committee to meet with the Board of Regents in person”.Updated Terms of Engagement_TheCollectiveforChangeonTheHill. The document also calls for a Task Force to be set in place by May 24th. President Anderson addressed the crowd saying, “I think it’s a great win for you guys, I think it’s a great win for the college. And so I’m pretty eager to sign it and send it around”. The crowd erupted in applause. He signed the document immediately and showed it to the audience. The plan is for a joint meeting with the Board of Regents, College Leadership Team and the Collective drafting committee on Thursday which they want open to the public with a goal of streaming it live.
Northfield woman beaten, her mother found with the accused
A Northfield woman was allegedly assaulted by the father of her children. 34 year old Pedro Gonzalez Dunagan is charged with multiple counts of felony assault after witnesses called police to 309 Poplar Street south on Saturday morning. Witnesses reported yelling and saw Dunagan take a metal stool away from the victim who was reportedly holding it in defense. According to the criminal complaint, he threw it at her and when she was on the ground repeatedly hit her with his closed fists. The victim had various bruising and marks on her body and was transported for medical treatment. Dunagan had fled the scene but early that afternoon, Rice County deputies were called to a crash in Shieldsville, it was the victim’s mother and Dunagan, who attempted to walk away. The most serious charge is 2nd degree assault with a weapon and carries a maximum 7 years. He has 2 prior domestic violence convictions. His initial court appearance is scheduled for May 15th. Dunagan complaint.
Morristown and Sheriff’s dept make it official
Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn confirmed that they’ve signed an agreement with the City of Morristown to provide police protection. The City Council approved the move in April after 5 meetings and the County Commissioners approved it last week. Last night was the official signing of the 2 year contract. The County will provide 60 hours per week in the City limits. Some citizens expressed their disagreement and signed a petition, most of them lamenting the loss of Officer Langer. Mayor Kurt Wolf commented last week that Langer served them well butfor the community as a whole “this is the right choice for us”. They’ll receive a great level of service and guaranteeing themselves 60 hours in town each week. They’ll save about $20,000 a year. Police service starts today.
