Five fire departments responded to a barn blaze Saturday morning. Shortly after 7am the Faribault Fire Department, Rice County Sheriff’s Office and North Memorial Ambulance responded to a turkey barn fire at 24811 Cabot Ave. just south of Faribault. Fire Chief Dustin Dienst reports the barn was fully engulfed upon arrival of fire crews. Medford, Morristown, Nerstrand and Kenyon fire departments were called in to assist with water supply and manpower. Firefighters were on scene for nearly 4 hours. The building is a total loss and all 18,000 day old turkeys perished
inside. The Faribault Fire Department will work closely with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the owners of the barn and private investigators to determine the cause. Dienst commented, “Responders were presented with some unique challenges on this fire, their training and professionalism showed as damage was limited to the structure of origin and no one was injured.
NH&C Express Clinic update
The Senior Housing project slated for space across from the Northfield Hospital and Clinics is moving forward. NH&C President and CEO Steve Underdahl said the City and Yanik Companies, the Developer, are working through the development agreement. The Contractor, as Underdahl reports, is working to stage subcontractors to be ready to “rock and roll” when they can get into the ground. The plan is to break ground in early Summer and complete the project by 2019. In other construction news, the Hospital’s Express Care Clinic buildout and remodeling is nearly complete. It is attached to Sterling Drug on Division Street across from EconoFoods. New signage is up. The Express Clinic is for folks that may wake up with an ailment and want to be seen right away. Underdahl said this will be a helpful level of service for the community and offers walkability in the downtown area for folks that can’t always drive to other locations. Underdahl said they’re doing the last hiring and hope to be open by mid-April. He said the primary providers will be mid level practitioners, nurse practitioners and P.A.’s. Family Physician Dr. Adam Ailabouni will be the Medical Director. HealthFinders has already moved in and are up and running.
Nfld School Board presents letter to legislators on gun safety
School safety is top of mind around the nation. The Northfield School Board drafted a collective letter to present to legislators. Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said the letter encourages them to focus on providing long term work on mental health, making sure they provide some opportunity for reasonable security enhancements including additional personnel and facilities expenditures. They’re also asking Legislators to look at effective firearms regulations and funding public health research on firearms related issues. Hillmann said there’s just not enough data to make the best policy decisions. In general the letter is for Legislators to know how much Northfield cares about their students, “it’s our responsibility for every one of these students”, added Hillmann. Each Board member signed the letter. Hillmann and Board members Pritchard, Iverson and Goerwitz hand delivered the letter to Representative Bly and delivered letters to Sen. Draheim and Governor Dayton last week. School Board letter on school safety
