The Northfield Council held the First Reading to change the Mayor’s Task Force on Youth alcohol and drug use to a commission. In January of 2017, the Council approved a motion to make the group more permanent. The task force was formed in 2006. Administrator Martig said they’re rebranding themselves as Northfield Alliance on Substance Abuse Prevention aka ASAP. The task force has been very successful, for example, they’re Take It to The Box program ( a medication collection box) which
has been modeled around the country. They’ve advocated for Steve’s Law, are involved in community education and outreach as well as campaigns around Prom time. They’re staffed through HCI, Healthy Community Initiative, in which the City donates some funds too. Martig says the group has matured into something more permanent than a task force. The Commission will continue to serve youth 18 and under with an added focus to other critical times in someone’s life and more on mental health. There will be 11 members, 7 regular and 4 youth. Rice County Chemical Health Coalition Coordinator Katie Reed said, “we’re very excited to have the potential of an official City commission. This really reflects the permanence and commitment to ongoing comprehensive substance abuse prevention in Northfield because a task force seems more temporary”. The 2nd reading, and full establishment of the Northfield Alliance on Substance Abuse Prevention, will be held in April. Martig and Mayor Pownell will be in studio at 7:20 with a full recap of the meeting.
Sen. Smith goes to Washington with an opioid bill
Newly appointed Senator Tina Smith has hit the ground running in Washington, D.C. as she introduces a bill regarding ways to address the opioid epidemic, something she focused on while Lt. Governor as well. She spoke with KYMN this morning saying, “now that I’m in Washington D.C., I’m bringing all of those stories that I heard in Minnesota from every different community across the State and working to try to improve what the federal government can do to help States address this crisis”. They know that treatment and recovery programs are very hard to find, in particular in tribal nations. One of the bills will help improve treatment for people living in our tribal communities. She said this is not a law enforcement problem nearly as much as it is a health problem. She is also co-sponsor on the Penny a Pill bill, it charges the drug companies a penny per pill produced. Addressing the question as to whether they would just pass that onto the consumer, she said, “big drug companies are making billions of dollars, they are spending hundreds and hundreds of millions on marketing and advertising and they’re CEO’s are making 2, 5, 10, 20 million dollars a year, so I see no reason why they should pass that on to consumers who are paying the price”. She addressed the President’s idea of death to the dealers saying the focus should be, first of all, providing education to physicians so that they don’t over prescribe opioids and then having a good monitoring system so people who start to become dependent on opioids can’t shop around from doctor to doctor. She’s encouraged that there is bipartisan support for more resources for dealing with the epidemic and the fact that it touches every State. Her full interview is on kymn.net.
Chief disappointed over 3 DWI’s in 24 hours
Northfield Police Chief Monte Nelson sent out final numbers regarding enforcement over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Northfield Officers performed 24 traffic stops and made three DWI arrests. Two had blood alcohol levels well over twice the legal limit, and were charged with 2nd Degree DWI. Nelson said it was disappointing to have three alleged DWI Offenders in a 24 hour period but they’re glad to have taken them off the road. Once again, he says, plan ahead, have a sober driver, use a cab, but don’t Drink and Drive.
CAC’s Blaha retiring
The Community Action Center is announcing the retirement of Executive Director, Jim Blaha. He has served the CAC for 17 years and is stepping down this Fall. The CAC will celebrate 50 years as community conduit for those in need. The non-profit is dedicated to providing programs that meet the basic needs of our community members. They’re seeking to hire a new Executive Director to continue to lead them. Blaha will help in the transition. He and Succession Committee Chair, Kim Decker, will be in studio April 16th to talk more about Blaha’s tenure and the CAC’s search for a new Director. We’ll also hear from Anika Rychner about the CAC’s Super Shelf program coming up on March 29th.
