By Rich Larson, News Director
After delivery of Covid-19 vaccine was hampered by the disastrous winter storm that swept through the southern United States last week, Northfield
Hospital & Clinics announced yesterday that they have now received a limited amount of new vaccine and will resume contacting patients 72 and older for vaccination appointments.
The temporary shortage NH&C experienced does not affect those who have received the first dose of the vaccine and are waiting the prescribed amount of time for the second. Authorities at the hospital are asking those who have an appointment for a second dose to keep it.
In what has now become standard protocol NH&C is reminding all patients that they should not call the clinic. Those eligible will receive a text or phone call from NH&C with a phone number to call to schedule an appointment. Allina patients will also be contacted via email or phone call. Those over 65 or not a patient with either NH&C or Allina may register on the NH&C waitlist. And they continue to encourage anyone who has not been vaccinated to register on the state’s Vaccine Connector Website at vaccineconnector.mn.gov. The Vaccine Connector will alert you when you are eligible to receive a vaccine, connect you to resources to schedule a vaccine appointment, and notify you if there are vaccine opportunities in your area. Insurance and identification are not needed for the Vaccine Connector.
Greenvale Township Preservation Watch to host candidate forum
The Greenvale Township Preservation Watch will sponsor a virtual candidates forum on Friday, March 5 prior to the Greenvale Township Supervisor Board Elections on March 9.
In a statement, the GTPW said that past Greenvale Township campaigns have been marked by conversations about lack of transparency. The forum will be hosted by Reverend Mark Rydberg, and is intended to put candidates in front of the voters, if not face to face, to share their ideas and answer questions. Candidates will be given the opportunity to talk about their qualifications, accomplishments and plans for Greenvale Township. The forum is not designed to be a debate.
There are three candidates on the ballot this year. They are Treasurer Wayne Peterson, who is running unopposed, and David Roehl who is running against incumbent Supervisor Anthony Rowan. As of now, Supervisor Rowan is the only candidate who has accepted the invitation to participate in the forum, and it is unclear if candidate Roehl will participate. Treasurer Peterson has declined the invitation.
Questions for the forum may be submitted by emailing them to GTPreservationWatch@gmail.com. Names will remain private and will only be used to verify residence. The questions will be selected by a bi-partisan committee. The deadline to make submissions is Monday at noon. The meeting will also be recorded and posted to YouTube.
A link to the virtual forum can be found by clicking here.
Budget forecast expected to bring mixed news
Minnesotans should receive more information today on the relative financial health of the state, as the
Minnesota Management and Budget office is expected to release the latest budget forecast.
The most recent forecast, released in November predicted a much better budget situation than had been expected. MMB Officials said they were predicting a $641 million dollar surplus at the end of the current biennium. That was a surprise as many economic experts had predicted a shortfall due to the economic effects of the global pandemic.
State Senator Rich Draheim said that he believes the budget surplus is largely the result of federal stimulus and aid money.
“By my math, we have to be close to $20 billion dollars that the feds have pumped into Minnesota. And that’s created a lot of activity, which creates a lot of tax dollars into the state’s coffers. So I think we’ll have a better than projected budget.”
The announcement is expected to reinforce the good news from last fall. However, there may well still be leaner days on the horizon. The same report that predicted the surprise surplus also foresaw a shortfall of just over $1.2 Billion during the state’s next, 2022-23 biennium, and some experts think that number could grow as high as $2.5 Billion, after the effects of the federal stimulus money wear off.
