By Rich Larson, News Director
With nearly two years of conversation about what to do with the Rice County Jail behind them, and with several options in front of them, the Rice
County Board of Commissioners was asked yesterday to decide on the direction the county should take toward solving the jail question.
The Board voted to table the vote until their next meeting.
The Department of Corrections informed Rice County in 2019 that the current jail, which opened in 1975, is inadequate and would be downgraded to a 90-day lockup facility. A task force was formed and after a year-long study, which was facilitated by a Department of Corrections extension on the jail decision, the task force came back earlier this year to recommend that a new jail and law enforcement center be built in a green space where there were no previously existing buildings. The cost of the project would run somewhere between $46 and $60 million dollars. Several members of the Rice County law enforcement community, including Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn, Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott and Rice County attorney John Fossum, have voiced their support for the new jail, while at the same time stating disapproval for a proposed regional jail in Steele County, where Rice County inmates would be housed.
Commissioner Galen Malecha, who has been both the most vocal critic of the price tag on a new facility and has been the most vocal champion of the Steele County partnership, said during the meeting that many of his questions have not been answered and he is not yet ready to vote on the measure.
“If Steele County doesn’t – if we can’t come to an agreement with them, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m not going to vote for another option. But I need to eliminate options, until we get to what we think we need to get. Is this an easy decision for any of us? Absolutely not. When you’re dealing with spending other people’s money, I suppose for some people it’s easy, but for me as their commissioner it’s not.
While it appeared that the rest of the board was ready to make a decision, Malecha moved that the vote be delayed. The motion was approved, and the Board of Commissioners will once again take the topic up at their next regular meeting on May 11.
Hillmann discusses testing and vaccinations
Northfield School District Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said yesterday that while there have been cases of Covid-19 in Northfield schools since all students returned to full time, in-person learning, the rate of new cases has been well below the State Department of Health’s line of concern. With that said, however, Dr. Hillmann did say that there are necessary precautions that must remain in effect, not just within the schools, but within the community as well.
With the end of the pandemic nearly in sight, Hillmann said there are plenty of people letting their guard down, which is exactly the wrong thing to do. The recent spike in cases has been due to community spread, and it is important that people adhere to the now familiar guidelines of wearing a mask indoors, keeping a safe distance from others, and frequent hand washing.
Hillmann said the school district is offering services to help. Last week the state began to allow covid testing within the schools, and Hillmann said they have expanded the testing program for district staff and are now offering it to the students as well. Vaccination is still the strongest tool out there to prevent the spread of the disease, and Hillmann said getting vaccinated now will pay dividends as spring turns to summer.
“Remember that once you’re 14 days past your final dose of the vaccine, you are no longer asked to quarantine if you come into close contact with someone who has Covid-19. As we get into the summer and there are the normal celebrations that we would all like to have, if a person’s vaccinated 14 days after that final dose you no longer have to quarantine.”
Hillmann said now that students aged 16 &17 are able to receive the Pfizer vaccine, the district is acting as a resource to families who want to have their child vaccinated and said their website offers information about several different options in and around the Northfield area.
Hillmann also said that no student is required to be tested or vaccinated. He said that these are personal choices, and the district respects the individual wishes of everybody in the community.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann can be heard here
Dundas EDA back on line
The Dundas City Council revived the city’s Economic Development Authority on Monday night. 
Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen said the Dundas EDA had served a purpose when it was first formed, and after that was largely forgotten.
“They created it, as they were required to by state statute back in 1999, and it was around the time of Menards and the TIF district, so they kind of needed it to go hand-in-hand with that development. And after that they never met again as a separate group.”
Teppen said the council appointed themselves as initial members. As the year progresses, and the new EDA sets by-laws and goals, they will begin to look elsewhere in the community for new membership.
The new Dundas Economic Development Authority will hold its first meeting on May 10.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen can be heard here
