By Rich Larson, News Director
A single engine airplane crashed about half-a-mile southwest of the Faribault Airport yesterday afternoon, according to the Rice County Sherriff’s
Department and the Faribault Fire Department.
The crash occurred shortly after 2pm yesterday in a field west of the airport. According to the fire department, the airplane’s two occupants were outside and walking around uninjured when first responders arrived. They examined the two, and then tended to a small fuel leak from one of the wings.
In a statement, Fire Chief Dustin Dienst marveled at the good fortune of the airplane’s occupants.
“It’s not common to respond to the scene of an aircraft crash and not have injuries or worse. We are thankful that no one was injured in this incident.”
The FAA and NTSB were both notified, and the aircraft will remain in its location until an investigation is completed.
Rice County Public Health further expanding vaccine program
President Biden announced on Tuesday that the United States had met his goal of 200 million Covid-19 vaccine doses distributed in his first 100 days in office. Here in Minnesota, nearly 53% of all eligible people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 37.5% are fully vaccinated.
The Director of Rice County Public Health, Deb Purfeerst, said that the county is keeping pace with the state’s vaccination rates, with 52.5% of people having received at least one dose, and noting that the county is ahead of the state pace with seniors. Purfeerst said that 94% of Rice County citizens 65 and older have received at least one dose, which is nearly 10% better than the rest of the state.
Purfeerst said the progress being made right now is due to vaccine availability. She said when the county first began to vaccinate people in the last week of December, they were receiving as few as 200 doses each week, and for the first 2-3 months of the program, the supply was very limited. However, vaccine inventory has increased so much since then that most providers are receiving the supply they are asking for each week.
Purfeerst said the next step in the vaccinating process is outreach. There are still many segments of the community who are not finding it as easy to get vaccinated, and the county intends to do something about that.
“We will be doing more mobile vaccination locations, targeting areas of our community where we know it’s just a little harder for people to get vaccinated. Maybe they don’t have a regular health care provider, or maybe access is an issue because of transportation or a language barrier. That’s where our efforts will move in the future.”
The segment of the population that is fueling the recent increase in Covid-19 cases is young people, and Purfeerst said that is another area of concern. The plan is to make vaccine available to and through the schools, using different distribution partners.
Purfeerst said as of this week, anyone over the age of 18 is eligible to be vaccinated and there are many different options through pharmacies and clinics. The county is conducting two vaccination clinics each week at the Government Center in Faribault. For information about how and where to be vaccinated visit the state’s Vaccine Connector Website, or the Rice County Public Health website.
Northfield activist Krieger looking to promote ‘One Smell Step’
And a common refrain these days among those who shy away from political conversation, and for that matter, among those who engage in political conversation, is the polarization that has become commonplace in society. Rather than thoughtful debate, all too often these conversations tend to talk past each other, with neither side listening to the other.
Midori Krieger of Northfield is doing her part to revive the art of polite and civil conversation by promoting One Small Step, a program started by Storycorp, a non-profit organization that seeks to record and preserve the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and belief’s. The One Small Step program, according to their website, is “an effort to remind the country of the humanity in all of us – even those we disagree with politically.”
Krieger, while working with the Northfield chapter of Healthcare for All Minnesota found it was very easy to bring liberal-minded Democrats out to engage in conversation about universal healthcare, but it was not as easy to bring out the more conservative Republican types. In search of some way to foster more dialogue between people, she came across One Small Step, and found the program to be a worthwhile endeavor. She said the thing that works for One Small Step is the effort it makes to help people find common ground.
“You’re not going to change people’s minds, but you can ask the question ‘Why?’ and be opened to hearing their story. And you can share your own story. And that can help [open their] minds because they can start to feel like there is common experience, or ‘You’ve gone through this struggle as well,’ and we need to work together in some ways to change that or influence it.”
The program asks people to register at their website and offer some basic interests. If that person desires, they can indicate that they would like to be matched with someone, or if they have found a willing partner, the program will mediate a conversation between them.
Krieger said that One Small Step goes into communities where they find interest, and she hopes Northfielders will sign up in order to promote more conversation within the community.
“It’s really important to make this effort,” she said. “You have to put yourself out there.”
For more information visit storycorps.org/discover/onesmallstep
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Midori Krieger can be heard here
