By Rich Larson, News Director
The regular Minnesota legislative session began on Tuesday after a tumultuous summer and fall that saw legislators called to seven special sessions to deal with social unrest, disaster relief and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Representative Todd Lippert was sworn in for his second term prior to the session, and he said that the day was quite different from the first time he was sworn in.
“It was different. It’s still exciting to get back to work. It’s exciting for new members. But, I posted a photo of the difference between this year and two years ago. What I was seeing [back then] from my seat in the House Chamber with family all around and the place was just packed. This year I was looking at a Zoom screen from my office. We’ll be doing this work remotely, and we’re figuring it out. But it’s definitely different.”
Lippert said that the State, and the people who work for the state, have overcome some real obstacles in order to give legislators the opportunity to focus on their work, rather than deal with the logistical difficulties that are accompanied by a different way of doing things in the House.
“There have been public servants working behind the scenes to make this work, to keep staff and the legislators safe and to keep business going for Minnesotans. We’re installing this new technology allowing us to vote remotely rather than by phone. I was talking with an IT person who was putting this software in and he said they’ve been working on this since September, and it’s been a huge project. And it will take us a little while to get the bugs out, but it makes sure our vote is secure, it makes sure we can do this work more quickly, and it’s going to be a huge help for us.”
This particular session will be challenging for many reasons, not just because the session is being conducted remotely. He said the current political climate is something both parties will have to overcome.
“I think there are a couple things that make it more challenging. One, the mood at the capitol reflects the mood in the country. It’s a difficult time for us together. Relationships at the Capitol are strained. There is no getting around that. And then doing this work remotely, figuring out how we govern in a pandemic makes things more challenging, too.”
The need to overcome that polarization was most evident on Wednesday when Lippert said he watched the riot at the Capitol in Washington D.C. from his office and could look out his window to see a demonstration happening at the state capitol as well. Lippert said that everyone is going to have to listen to one another and look for common ground in order to heal the rifts in our society.
“The politics of fear and division has led us to this point. I think we need to say no to that and turn from that. We need a unifying division, we need to be able to see ourselves in one another, regardless of the color of our skin, where we live, how we pray and see the needs we share. And we have to start focusing on how we do this work of addressing our needs together.”
With a budget on the docket for this session, Lippert said he is confident that he and his House colleagues will be able to have honest conversations in order to do the work that needs to be done.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Representative Todd Lippert can be heard here.
Hospital makes changes to visitor policies
As the State is beginning to loosen up some of the restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so is the Northfield Hospital. Beginning today, hospital patients may have one designated adult visitor for their entire stay at the hospital. One visit is allowed per day with no overnight stays. Patients with disabilities or dementia may also have one designated support person, who may stay overnight. Children in the hospital may have two parents or guardians as visitors.
Birth Center patients may have one designated adult visitor for their entire stay who is encouraged to stay overnight. The Birth Center will also permit a doula or labor support person during labor and for two hours after delivery.
Outpatient surgical patients may have one visitor wait in the car. Staff will notify the visitor at discharge time to pick the patient up.
Emergency patients may have one designated adult visitor for the entire stay. Children may have two parents or legal guardians. Visitors must stay in the patient’s room and may not re-enter the Emergency Department after leaving.
Outpatients in hospital departments may have one visitor during appointments. This includes the Cancer Care & Infusion Center, Imaging, Breast Care Center, and the Lab. Children may have two parents or legal guardians during their appointment.
Clinic restrictions will remain unchanged for now.
Northfield Chamber announces 2021 awards
And the Northfield Chamber of Commerce has announced their Business and Business Person of the year Awards. Chamber President Lisa Peterson visited the KYMN studios on Friday morning to make the announcements, and she began by announcing the Chamber Ambassador of the Year.
“Our Ambassador of the year is Chris Lampert. He is with Higher Standards which is a credit card processing company. Chris is an amazing guy. He’s the father of five daughters, so we have to give him props for that. Chris is always willing to lend a hand. He is always willing to come in and do whatever it takes when we have an event or a program going on and most recently, he has become one of our new board members.”
Peterson continued her announcements with the Business of the Year.
“The 2021 Business of the Year recipient is Capital Construction, for their civic and
community work alongside of their work with the Chamber. They are such great supporters of the Chamber and have been, even previous to the pandemic. But they have really stepped up during the pandemic. So we’re just really excited for them as a company, and as an owner group. We’re thrilled.”
That civic engagement includes a match donation of up to $15,000 for the new Northfield Area Fire & Rescue Heavy Rescue Vehicle.
Finally, Peterson announced the Business Person of the Year.
“This year, the award is going to Joan Spaulding, of the Hideaway Coffeehouse and Wine Bar. One of the overriding factors was the fact that Joan and her team have done this Christmas dinner for [eight years]. And even during the pandemic, when their restaurant was shut down and take out only, they didn’t think about themselves, they thought about the community, and doing good for their patrons. They gave away more than 450 meals to people on Christmas Day and they raised over $1000 in donations for the food shelf.”
The Chamber Business Awards and Annual Meeting will be a virtual event this year, held on January 28. Peterson said she hopes another function to honor the award winners can be put together this summer or after the pandemic subsides.
Lisa Peterson’s full announcement conversation with Jeff Johnson can be heard here.
