A late night ride through Lonsdale on a dirt bike came to an end after the man crashed into a utility box in a neighborhood. 36 year old John Thomas Schultz was riding the mini dirt bike with no lights on around 11 o’clock last Wednesday night. A Lonsdale officer spotted him and activated his emergency lights. According to the criminal complaint, that’s when Schultz looked back at the squad car and then took off. He blew through 3 stop signs and then cut through a vacant lot at 2nd Ave. NE and Cottonwood. He then crashed into the utility box, flying over the handlebars and landed on a mailbox. He then tried to run from the officer.
He didn’t make it far. Schultz was placed under arrest and a blood alcohol test was taken at the Northfield Hospital. He also had a cut on his knee that required stitches. Schultz’s drivers license had been revoked and he has 2 previous drunk driving convictions. He’s charged with fleeing an officer, a felony, 2nd degree DUI, fleeing an officer on foot, reckless driving and driving after revocation. His initial court appearance is June 27th. Schultzcomplaint
Windschitl retiring – Commissioners support legislation to appoint successor
Auditor/Treasurer Fran Windschitl announced his retirement. After 26 years with Rice County, the last 19 as the elected auditor/treasurer, his final day is September 30th. Windschitl ran for office in 1998 after serving 7 years as the Finance Director. Throughout his career he’s fostered full disclosure and transparency in County government. He and his staff have achieved 25 years of recognition of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finances Officers Association. Windschitl had originally planned on a July 31st exit but with the appointment legislation and some of the staff wanting him to stay a little longer, he chose to push his retirement to the end of September. The Rice County Board unanimously supported legislation to appoint his successor rather than the position being elected. Fewer counties in Minnesota appoint their auditor/treasurer. The Board will now conduct two public hearings discussing the appointment and will be considering how the duties may be assigned. Windschitl thanked the voters for supporting him for the better part of his career. He said “it’s been wonderful”. He’ll be spending more time with his wife and family and his aging mother. He will also look at managing County portfolios.
Clever chimney facade for the Depot
“Is that a chimney going up on the depot?” is a frequent question to Save the Northfield Depot board members. Alice Thomas says, Yes, indeed, it is! She gave us the scoop saying, when faced with the need to identify the exterior location of the vent pipe for the bathroom, the idea of reconstructing the chimney to hide it was quickly adopted. The 1888 depot blue prints show a stove in the center of the depot. It served the two waiting rooms (one for the women and one for the men) separated by a wall down the middle of the depot. Thomas said, they’re fortunate to have the original drawings. I have pictures on kymn.net. The chimney will be completed before the roof is reshingled next week Save the Northfield Depot encourages residents to follow the progress with new images posted frequently on their web site. 
