By Rich Larson, News Director
The man who attacked the Allina Clinic in Buffalo on Tuesday will make his first appearance in a
Wright County court today. Authorities said Gregory Paul Ulrich shot four people in the clinic, killing one and seriously injuring the other three.
Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn said, for law enforcement, that is one of the worst situations imaginable.
“It’s one of the worst calls you ever want to hear. That’s why we train, state-wide, on active shooter training. The training happens all over Minnesota, and we’ve done it here in Rice County.”
Sheriff Dunn said the training to respond to active shooters has evolved over the years. Law enforcement has realized that departments can no longer arrive, surround the building and wait for the SWAT team to show up. He said now all deputies, officers, troopers, even conservation officers are all trained to handle a situation like that.
“It doesn’t matter what color your uniform is. If you’re there first, you’re going in.”
Another change law enforcement has taken to their approach is to bring medics and firefighters into the building as they go in in order to treat shooting victims as quickly as possible.
Sheriff Dunn said it’s the kind of training they hope and pray they never have to use, but they are prepared for any situation that would arise.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Sheriff Troy Dunn can be heard here.
Joint Hospital Board/City Council Committee presents recommendations
On Tuesday night during the city council work session, members of the Northfield Hospital Board joined the meeting to present some recommendations worked out by a joint City Council/Hospital Board committee with regard to the governance of the hospital.
Northfield hospital is municipally owned, and is therefore overseen by the City Council, however the proper oversite requires a certain level of technical knowledge that members of the hospital board have, and city councilors do not have. Therefore, the hospital and its board have been left to run with a certain amount of autonomy. From time to time, the circumstances have caused some communication problems and rather than allow situations like that to fester, the joint committee came together in 2018 to work out all the intricacies of that complicated relationship.
City administrator Ben Martig, who sat on the committee, said the first thing the committee learned was that they have a unique situation.
“One of the things we found in our work, not surprisingly, is that there aren’t a lot of municipally owned hospitals anymore. Over time, they have gone away for various different reasons. However, there was a lot of recognition that we’re really fortunate, also, and that this model does serve Northfield and its communities as well as the communities outside of Northfield. So, we’re very fortunate with that.”
The committee produced what they call a playbook, specifying which organization handles specific areas. Mayoral appointments to the board, authority over real estate transactions and authority over restructuring were powers left to the city, while the general day-to-day business, which can be enormously complicated, was left to the hospital board.
Administrator Martig said that the playbook also contains some value statements regarding the type and quality of service offered by the hospital. He said it will be a valuable tool moving forward, in both long-term communications and orientation of new board members and city councilors.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with City Administrator Ben Martig can be heard here.
Ruth’s House to host virtual gala
And on Saturday, Ruth’s House of Hope will become the latest local non-profit to host a virtual
fundraising gala. Like most other not-for-profit organizations, the global pandemic has severely limited the ability of Ruth’s House to raise money over the past year, and while a virtual gala is less than ideal, it is a good way for an organization to reach out to the community, promote awareness of the organization and the things they support, and of course, bring in some much-needed funding.
The “First Annual Helping Hearts Event,” will feature music by Abigail Engbrecht, comedy by Brenda Elshager, a live auction and an expansive silent auction featuring items ranging from gift baskets and jewelry. To golf packages and resort stays.
Ruth’s House of Hope outreach is a Faribault based organization offering help to women and children who have experienced domestic violence, poverty, addiction, health challenges, or other issues.
The First Annual Helping Hearts event is Saturday at 6pm. Attendance is free. To register, click here.
