By Teri Knight, News Director
The Northfield Raiders will not be changing their name. The question that was brought before the School Board by a student council member has been a change in the mascot, which was created in the 1950’s. Superintendent Dr. Hillmann shared three things with School Board members this week, “number one, we know that for a growing portion of our student population that 1950’s cartoon logo is no longer representing them as members of Northfield High School and participating as a Raider”. But it does make a connection with a lot of alumni, and they have to acknowledge that too. Additionally, looking at societal changes. In recent years there have been plenty of mascot “refreshes”. He reminded that the Minnesota
Twins have changed their logo four times. The Golden Gopher mascot has had nine iterations since it’s beginning. With that frame, Hillmann asked the Board for consensus if they would be willing to listen to the results of a creative dialogue including, “faculty, it includes students, and possibly integrating the community into that discussion in some way, shape or form and come back to us with something in six or eight weeks”. Hillmann is in studio each Tuesday morning at 7:20 after a School Board meeting. His full interview is HERE.
Carleton College cancels classes on campus
Carleton College President Steven Poskanzer sent an email to staff, faculty, students and all affected, regarding actions they’ll implement now that the World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. He writes, As a result of extensive conversations among College leadership—including faculty governance, the College Council, and the Board of Trustees—, he writes, we are moving to limit the number of people on campus and to teach at least the first half of Spring Term 2020 courses remotely, helped by a one-week extension of spring break. We believe—based on the most current information available—that this is the best way to protect our students, faculty, staff, and neighbors, and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We have a phone call in to Carleton Associate Vice President for External Relations, Joe Hargis. This remains a fluid situation all over the world. We have links on kymn.net to the MN Dept. of Health and the CDC for scientific-based information. St. Olaf College has also extended their Spring Break but we haven’t received any other information as of yet.
Courts can’t close
The court can’t close. Rice County Attorney John Fossum commented that due process isn’t changing because people have a right to hearings within specified time periods. Within 14 days, people have to come back for their second appearance, within 28 days, they have a right to their omnibus hearing and, should they plead not guilty, they have a right to demand their trial within 60 days. The only remedy, he said, is for the Court to dismiss the cases, which would be a big problem. Fossum’s full interview is HERE.
Sen. Smith says Congress likely to get $ to States for emergency response
Last week, Congress approved dollars for therapies and creation of a vaccine to combat COVID-19. Speaking on KYMN, Senator Tina Smith added, “and maybe most important right now to get resources to State and Local governments to help them with their response. So for Minnesota that’s somewhere around $10 and $12 million that will be coming soon”. Looking forward she wants to make sure people can get the diagnostic tests they need and also not worry about whether they can afford it. Smith said there’s been a shortage of tests and blamed the Trump administration for not getting on this quicker but instead blaming others. Last night he addressed the nation and did just that. As for her working environment, they’re taking the precautions laid out by medical professionals. Elbow bumps, no handshakes, washing hands and social distance. She added that there is a lot of MISinformation about the coronavirus. We have links to reliable sources including the Centers for Disease Control. Klobuchar, Smith Join Warner & Colleagues Calling for Coronavirus Economic Response Focused on Helping Workers and FamiliesGov. Walz just announced his Emergency Preparedness and Response Supplemental Budget. Emergency Preparedness Supplemental Budget
