The DOT had a lot to do with the design of the pedestrian crossing at Hwy 3 and 3rd street. While it’s been an improvement, Police Chief Monte Nelson said but what they’ve been finding is that some are not using the crosswalk properly, not knowing/realizing that there is a button to push to activate the flashing lights or aren’t even in the crosswalk. He added that people in vehicles are not paying attention. Just last Friday a young girl was struck, the first one since the intersection was built, and was flown to a metro hospital with head trauma. A charge of Failure to Yield to
a pedestrian in a crosswalk is pending with the City Attorney. Hands down, Nelson says the topic of pedestrian safety elicits the most complaints from citizens on both sides. Focusing on personal responsibility and respect for the pedestrian and the driver. Nelson added that new crosswalks were also added on Hwy 3 near the Dairy Queen, a busy area. An area that drivers sometimes “stretch the speed limit”. He said drivers need to be aware of those crosswalks, be thinking, be paying attention. And pay attention to the crosswalks that have been there for a very long time, such as at Post Brands on Hwy 19.
Northfield EMS gears up for Super Bowl – Explorers assist
Even Northfield will be involved in Super Bowl weekend. Northfield Hospital and Clinics EMS Director, Brian Edwards, said one of his Assistant Chiefs has been meeting with the Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee, a group of metro providers, to discuss how to manage a possible influx of patients. Mobility will be a problem as HCMC is a referral location for some of their cases and they are also in a highly secured area right now. Navigating through the area will be difficult. Northfield is allocating resources to the south metro to “backfill” in case of a large number of calls at one time. They’ll have additional staffing 24/7. The Hospital is also on alert and ready to go, should there be a backlog of patients. Law enforcement, including Northfield, is also on standby. Edwards added that some members of Northfield Explorers Post 3300 will be helping out. He commented on the program itself, saying, it’s literally, turned lives around, “what with kids coming into this program not having any direction, not sure what they want to do, grades maybe not as good as they could be and do a complete 180 and have direction, have a purpose, have something that’s greater than themselves”. Explorers learn and experience the disciplines of emergency responders and are a go-to group as Ambassadors during Defeat of Jesse James Days, Night to Unite and more. The majority go into those types of careers.
Age Friendly survey results “reveal” and discussion on Saturday morning
As Northfield becomes an “Age Friendly Community”, a survey has been completed, the results are in and 98{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} of Northfielders feel very good about the community. Nancy Just, a member of the committee explains that Age Friendly is an initiative sponsored by AARP and the World Health Organization. The full results of the survey are online at agefriendlydlynorthfield.org. On Saturday, there will be a “reveal” party, so to speak. Results of the survey will be shared and discussed from 10a to noon at the Public Library. Going forward, they’ll develop action plans for any gaps.
