Distracted driving was likely the cause of an early morning rollover. Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn reports that a semi-trailer driver was heading southbound on Cabott Avenue in Walcott Township at about 12:30 this morning when he looked down at his phone and went into the ditch. 39 year old Dale Marx of Madison Lake was airlifted to North Memorial
with non life-threatening injuries. The trailer was empty at the time of the crash. Faribault fire and rescue, North ambulance and the State patrol also responded to the scene.
Rice/Steele 911 offers advanced technologies
Rice and Steele Counties consolidated their 911 dispatch system in 2000, the first of it’s kind in the Nation and still the only combined dispatch in Minnesota. Administrator Jill Bondhus presented to the Northfield Council last week. She said they received 143,711 calls last year and that 78{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} were wireless. There are about 700,000 radio transmissions each year. 58{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} of the calls come from Rice County, 41{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} from Steele County and 1{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} from Dispatch. Northfield used 16{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} of those calls. Dispatchers work 12 hour shifts as a Call taker/dispatch team. One person talks with the caller, the other dispatches the services necessary. Technology is always evolving. Administrator Martig commented on the automatic vehicle locator, saying, “when they’re dispatching units they can actually track them and help guide the emergency responders that if there are issues at intersections or things coming up they can actually give advanced warning”. Bondhus said they’re looking forward to NextGen 911 wherein you can text an emergency, which she says, will be very helpful to the hearing impaired. The Rice/Steele Dispatch runs on a $2 million yearly budget. .
Bell ringers fewer while needs are greater
Rice County Salvation Army co-chairs Ed Little and Sheriff Troy Dunn talked about the Red Kettle program, their largest and most visible fundraiser. They rings bells in Faribault, Northfield and Lonsdale from the day after Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. They want to remind folks to etch some time out to ring those bells. Numbers of ringers have slowly declined but the needs have increased. The kettle dollars support programs like Shop with a Cop where at-risk youth are paired with law enforcement personnel including Northfield Police, Reserves, MN Troopers, Conservation officers, Deputies and the Sheriff! They shop for about $100 worth of clothing for school. Dunn added that it’s so rewarding, not just for the kids but the officers too. He had a boy who’s toes were showing through his shoes and his socks were worn. The boy got socks, shoes and boots. He had been afraid of police before but now calls the sheriff “Deputy Dunn”. For every dollar in the local kettles, 88 cents stays local. KYMN will remind you again about signing up. They’re also looking for volunteers for the store at the Faribo West Mall. Call Jennifer at 507-333-1336. The full interview is on kymn.net.
