A Webster man is airlifted after ATV crash. On Wednesday afternoon, 32 year old Michael Colden was riding his ATV in the area of Elmore Avenue just south of 57th street in Webster Township when he lost control and hit a tree. He was not wearing a helmet. Colden sustained significant injuries and was flown to HCMC. He is reported in stable condition. Rice County deputies responded along with Lonsdale Police and Fire Departments, Northfield Ambulance and the MN State Patrol. The crash is still under investigation.
Man pleads guilty in stabbings
In late December, 41 year old Martin Velazquez was charged in Rice County with stabbing 2 men. Faribault Police responded to the stabbings on December 20th that left a 58 year old man and a 26 year old man each with multiple stab wounds. Both were airlifted to a metro trauma center. At the time, Police Chief Andy Bohlen said that, in his career, he’s been to some bad scenes but there was “an enormous amount of blood on the scene” and without the quick response of First Responders, he believed at least one of the men might not have made it. Bohlen added that alcohol was a factor. Velazquez had claimed self-defense. Yesterday he pled guilty to 2 counts of 2nd degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The charges carry up to 7 years in prison, sentencing is scheduled for May 30th. Fernandez-Velasque Complaint
Draheim and distracted driving
Senator Rich Draheim has 2 bills regarding distracted driving working their way through the legislative process. One that would put dollars toward addressing the issue in Drivers Education classes, both public and private. The other one triples the penalty. He said, “if you’re caught texting (or any other distraction) the first penalty is $175 then goes up to $350 then $700. None of these are going to solve the problem but I think that we’ll get the message across”. He compared it to wearing seat belts. Everyone fought it at first and now almost everyone wears a seatbelt. Draheim added, “it’s been hard to get all the bills through. We’re hitting, between the House and the Senate, we’ll have 8,000 bills, I’m sure by the end of this session and you can’t get them all through”. His full interview is on kymn.net.
New literacy program for Nfld Elementary
It’s Spring Break but Northfield Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann talked about literacy, calling it a gateway to the world. Not satisfied with good scores for the District, he wants to increase students literacy further, especially by 3rd grade. There are multiple studies that show if a child is reading proficiently by the end of Grade 3, the “table is set for success”. For Northfield, 3rd graders were above the State average but it was still about 58{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9}, which is pretty low for Northfield comparatively. He said, “and that was just one example of a series of symptoms that our District had been looking at over the last several years”. Parents and grandparents, he said, can’t underestimate the power of singing the ABC song! He added that there’s quite a bit of research that suggest that if books are simply IN the home, not even read to the children, that that helps students be proficient readers by 3rd grade. The District will start a new curriculum for the 18/19 school year. Teachers are already receiving training for it.
VFW celebrates 72nd annual Easter Egg hunt
The Northfield VFW is putting on their 72nd annual Easter Egg hunt tomorrow morning, if the weather holds! Kids 12 and under will gather at the bottom of Old Main hill on the St. Olaf campus beginning at 9 o’clock. KYMN will keep you posted if it’s cancelled due to weather.
