A house fire late last Friday night destroyed Rice County Deputy Derek Estrem and his wife’s home. Nerstrand fire responded at 11:30 that night to a structure fire. Faribault Fire was requested for mutual aid and a while later, Northfield Fire was called. No one was home at the time. Sheriff Troy Dunn said there’s nothing left inside the home. The Estrems had just got married last summer and bought the old farmhouse. They had been doing some renovations. While there’s nothing suspicious about the fire, the Fire Marshall is investigating the cause, something Dunn says, could take weeks. In the meantime, Deputies got together and donated $2,000 for the Estrems to buy some clothes and other necessities. They’re living with family right now.
Farmers Bank moves forward on location off Hwy 3
Farmers State Bank intends on developing a new bank at the corner of Hwy 3 and Clinton Lane. The proposed project includes a drive-through area as well as a small retail coffee shop at 1520 Clinton Ln. The proposed project met all of the general requirements, however, four variances were required. City Planner, Scott Tempel, explained to the Zoning Board of Appeals, “the need for the variances is mainly triggered by a unique lot that has roads, local or collector streets, on 3 sides of the property. The functional site components of the building require parking, site circulation, functionality of the drive up”. Staff has been working with HTG Architect Ed Muehlberg for nearly 2 years on the project. They (staff) recommended approval of the variances. Commissioner Will Schroeer questioned the parking arrangement, asking if on-street spaces would be available. Tempel said, “according to the code only 10{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} of the spaces can be waived in that manner, so you’re looking at 2 to 3 spaces”. The LDC prefers the use of shared spaces and/or on-site parking. Muehlberg answered questions from the commissioners including parking, 2 story option brought up and more. Schroeer thanked him adding, “it’s been my experience that it’s a fine line between understanding the applicants view of the constraints on one side, which is our job, and on the other side trying to design the project for the applicant which is most definitely not our job”. Still,he and Tracy Heisler were not convinced of the arguments for variances and wanted to postpone the vote for a work session. A motion was made to approve. Schroeer then asked Commissioner Carla Hanson to vote no on the variances due to earlier concerns she’d voiced. He said, “so I would just raise that for your consideration………… does that make sense? You don’t have to agree with it, I just want you to understand it”. She then said, “is this proper parliamentary procedure?”. Halverson said, “I think we need to call the vote”. Halverson, Hanson and Stuart voted in favor, Schroeer and Heisler against. Here’s the link to the project: Farmers project
The colleges make their annual donation
St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges made their annual donation to the city of Northfield this week. Each gifted $78,000. Carleton’s Fred Rogers and St. Olaf’s Janet Hanson presented the donation to Mayor Rhonda Pownell and City Administrator Ben Martig. The gift dates back to the 1920s. Carleton and St. Olaf are among the first colleges in the United States to make such a gift. Local schools and organizations use student volunteers while the community is offered a wide range of athletic, art, and musical offerings at both colleges. Most are free and open to the public. The colleges are two of the largest employers in Northfield employing more than 1500 combined. Both colleges are on non-taxable land.
