By Rich Larson, News Director
On Tuesday night the city council heard a presentation from Northfield Hospital & Clincs President and
CEO Steve Underdahl regarding the hospital’s strategic plan.
The city council and NH& C have had what can be described as a bumpy relationship over the years. NH& C is a municipally owned medical center, which therefore requires oversight from the city. However, the specific day-to-day needs and operations of a hospital require specialized knowledge and skills that members of the hospital board might have but would not normally be skills held by many other people, including city councilors. This led both organizations to create a joint committee to clearly define the roles of both the city and NH&C in this relationship. The committee produced what they called a “playbook,” which was adopted on the council’s consent agenda Tuesday night, and Underdahl’s presentation on the operations and goals of the hospital provided a natural closure to what had been a difficult era.
Among the topics he touched on was, of course, the global pandemic and the Covid-19 vaccination program. When asked to discuss the dissemination of information, Underdahl offered that people should find one or two trusted sources and follow them, adding that whenever the opportunity to receive a vaccination arises, it is one that should be seized.
“I also tell people, ‘You know what, if you’ve got an opportunity to get a vaccine, then go get a vaccine.’ This is kind of a Minnesota thing, where people follow the rules, and they want to do it right, they don’t want to cut in line in front of somebody and all that. And especially with older adults who are talking to me about this. I’ve just said ‘If you have an opportunity to get it, wherever you can get it – as long as it’s not in an alley – go ahead and get a vaccine.’”
Northfield Hospital & Clinics are currently vaccinating people 72 and older.
Malecha sees options for new Rice County Jail
Rice County Commissioner Galen Malecha said that while discussions about a new Rice County jail continue to move forward, there is quite a bit of work yet to be done before the county reaches a decision on how to approach things.
The state department of corrections has notified Rice County that the current jail, which opened in 1975, is no longer a sufficient facility, as it lacks enough space for recreation and programming. Should the county fail to act, the DOC would reclassify the jail as a 90-day lockup and could even reduce that to a 72-hour lockup.
The county has been considering three options. They could renovate the existing jail, build a larger facility on the jail annex property, or build a new facility. Last month the Jail Study Committee presented their findings and recommended the construction of a new jail and sheriff’s department, at a cost of anywhere from $46-$57 million dollars.
Commissioner Malecha said he believes there are still other options.
“We still have a lot of work yet to do on this project. We’re looking to see some numbers come back on a couple of different scenarios. What if we build just a jail and not a sheriff’s department, and we build a sheriff’s department later on down the road. Sixty million dollars is a lot of money to put on the backs of the taxpayers.”
Still another option Commissioner Malecha mentioned would be partnering with Steele County in a regional jail program housed at the current Steele County jail. Malecha said there are exploratory conversations being had about such a program. Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn has expressed skepticism that such a program would be feasible.
Rice County Commissioner Galen Malecha’s full conversation with Jeff Johnson can be heard here.
Fifty North offering more online programming
As Fifty North has learned to adapt during the Covid-19 pandemic, Director Craig Swenson said they are
adding more programming all the time.
Swenson said along with their 70 online fitness classes they, are now offering online art classes as well. Artist Kate Douglas will lead a class on March 16th and March 18th called The Bridge Between Seeing and Drawing. Meant for people of all skill levels, the class explores the difference between looking and seeing, and how that translates to drawing.
There are several Lifelong Learning Classes as well. Next week they will offer two online classes, one looking at the first 100 days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency and another that will discuss the art collection of Marion Koogler McNay which became the foundation of the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio Texas.
Not everything is online at Fifty North, however. Swenson said that their swimming pool is open and available under standard Covid-19 protocols.
Fifty North is opening up when and where they can, said Swenson, but they want to be smart about it.
“We want to make sure that we are opening in a cautious and a healthy way for everyone involved with it. We’re also making sure that we’re staying within the guidelines from our governor and the State of Minnesota and making sure that we follow the right precautions in a slow process.”
For more information on classes and how to use the swimming pool, visit fiftynorth.org.
Craig Swenson’s full conversation with Jeff Johnson can be heard here
