A Scott County judge sentenced 34 year old Matthew Hartley of Farmington to 10 years in 
prison Wednesday for the hit-and-run death of 24 year old Army Specialist Mollie Mahowald. Hartley was found guilty in February on three counts of vehicular homicide for the crash that happened on Sept. 25th last year in downtown Elko. The criminal complaint states that Hartley was driving his motorcycle at a high rate of speed when he hit her. He fled the scene and tried to hide the damaged motorcycle. The judge said it was clear Hartley
thought only of himself. He’ll be eligible for supervised release after 6 and a half years. Hartley has a very lengthy criminal history that includes alcohol, drugs, theft and forgery.
Two injured, one airlifted after morning crash
Two men injured this morning in a 2 car crash. Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn reports that they responded to Gates Avenue and 240th St. east in Faribault at about 7:40 this morning. 63 year old Grant Meese was taken by air ambulance to HCMC. 73 year old Anthony Tonga was taken by ambulance to District One. They were in separate vehicles. The crash is currently under investigation. They were assisted by the State Patrol, Faribault and Nerstrand Fire and Rescue and North Ambulance.
Whittling down their priorities
It was a long week for the Northfield City Council and staff leadership who wrapped up their strategic planning work sessions Wednesday night at 10:30. They began the afternoon by breaking into four groups with one topic each, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Their job to prioritize those based on informational surveys both staff and council had completed earlier. They then divided in half with one group on Strengths and Opportunities and the other Threats and Weaknesses. Consultant Craig Rapp tried to keep them on task but they were derailed a few times. Ultimately they whittled down from nearly 2 dozen to 6 priorities for a 3 year strategic plan. Those include economic development, Housing, Infrastructure, addressing Changing demographics, Operational effectiveness and Climate change. They then broke into smaller groups to add 3 key objectives to each priority, without specific tasks. Those were also discussed with some amendments. Consultant Craig Rapp will summarize the outcome and continue to work with staff on the 18 objectives. Rapp reiterated to the group that Council sets policy and its staff’s job to implement it or give good reason why it can’t be. There’s still more tweaking that can be done and a plan won’t likely be ready until the end of June.
Cleaning highways could be hazardous
With the warmer weather there are folks out cleaning up along the roadways. Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn cautioned those, especially the Adopt a Highway groups, that if you see a closed plastic pop bottle with a cloudy or milky or “weird” substance, “don’t open those up because, we haven’t seen it here in Rice County yet but officers and agencies have had reports that that’s the Shake & Bake method of making methamphetamine and if you expose those substances to oxygen, they can become explosive and burn you”. Dunn says leave them there and call law enforcement.
A student’s view of St. Olaf hate hoax
St. Olaf Senior, Dan Hagen, opened up about the revelation that the hate note that sparked a near 3 day protest at St. Olaf College was a hoax in an interview posted on kymn.net. He talks about his feelings immediately after and gives some thoughtful answers to questions regarding the movement called The Collective for Change on the Hill and school administration. Dan was my intern for the past 3 months.
Stamp Out Hunger
Tomorrow is the 25th annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive. You should have been given a blue plastic bag. Fill that up with non-perishable food items and your postal carrier will pick it up tomorrow. They suggest having it ready tonight and setting it out early so you don’t miss them.
