The Northfield High School Gymnastics team was preparing to start their season in Farmington as negotiations with the Northfield Gymnastics Club fell through. Their long history dissolved over the summer and the District searched for alternatives. Farmington was chosen but due to construction issues they were not able to accommodate the team on time, so it’s off to another situation. Superintendent
Dr. Matt Hillmann said, thanks to the Brown Family, they will be using space at the old K-Mart building. The space will be free, however, the School Board approved the purchase of nearly $72,000 for equipment for the team. The unfortunate piece is that they cannot host events. The team expects to begin practice on November 26th. In the meantime, School officials will be working on more permanent quarters.
Dundas considers re-zoning of storage facilities
The City of Dundas has placed a moratorium on self-storage facilities as they take time to study whether there should be amendments made to the City’s comprehensive plan. According to engineer, Nate Sparks, these units can be considered a commercial or an industrial use. Frequently, as communities develop and commercial land gets more scarce, communities may consider these facilities more of an industrial use due to lack of commercial cross-traffic and employment opportunities. Currently Dundas zones the storage facilities as highway commercial. The moratorium is in place until April 8th, 2019. The City has had another developer interested in putting in more storage.
Local DWI enforcement starts Wednesday
The holiday season really gets underway this week. Northfield Police Sgt. Kevin Tussing said Blackout Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) is traditionally associated with a night of drinking. Many college students are returning home for a night of celebrating with friends and with no work on Thursday, many adults get together after a short work-week. The Northfield Police Department calls Blackout Wednesday one of the most dangerous nights on the road in the state. Last year, 133 drivers were arrested during the 12 hour period between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. . For a typical 48 period (Wednesday-Thursday), roughly 100 people are arrested in Minnesota. There are multiple consequences to a DWI, and that doesn’t include if you’re involved in an accident. Local agencies including Dundas, Faribault, Lonsdale and Northfield Police Departments along with the Rice County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Patrol are participating in the statewide enforcement campaign. Sgt Tussing says don’t be a statistic, plan for a sober ride. Enforcement begins November 21st and continues through December 29th. Full press release here: dwi-pre-release-partner-nov-2018 (1)
VFW Post 4393 searches for local military deployed overseas
For the 15th year, Northfield VFW Post 4393 is sending out holiday care packages to our local military who are overseas. Jill Landsteiner said, “we just want to thank them and let them know we’re thinking about them”. She knows there are 17 from the area but needs their addresses. So, if you know of any local military serving overseas right now, contact Jill at the VFW at 507-645-8546. Post 4393 raises the funds during Winter Walk selling hotdogs and other items. Landsteiner added that they do NOT accept items to send overseas but would be happy to take cash donations for them to purchase items.
