by Rich Larson
Yesterday, Rice County officials charged one of four suspects in the apparent murder of Chris LaFontaine in Greenvale Township last week. Stephanie Peabody, age 25 of Red Wing, has been charged with fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle and fleeing an officer by other means.
Authorities said Peabody led Northfield police on a high-speed chase in LaFontaine’s vehicle after they attempted to stop her.Once the vehicle had been brought to a halt, the suspects bolted from the car, two people, including Peabody, were detained, while two more evaded arrest and are still being sought by authorities.
Once Peabody was charged, unconditional bail set at $75,000, and conditional bail at $50,000.
The other person taken into custody on Friday was released from the Dakota County Jail on Tuesday afternoon, pending further investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The Dakota County Sheriff’s Department said they are still seeking two suspects, a man and a woman, in connection with the investigation. The man is described as 6’0″ tall, 155 pounds, with blond hair shaved on both sides of his head and in a pony tail.
Draheim calls hearings ‘Senate Responsibility’
When the state House of Representatives passed the tax bill last week they adjourned, ending their participation in the special legislative session. However, the Senate unexpectedly did not adjourn and announced that they would take the opportunity while in session and with the budget work done to review many of Governor Tim Walz’s commissioner appointments.
Any time a new governor takes office, the administration appoints commissioners to head the various state departments and agencies, and it is the responsibility of the Senate to confirm those commissioners. However, state law says commissioners do not need to be confirmed to assume their position and go to work. Because of this stipulation, and with dozens of appointees, it is rare that the senate actually takes the time to hold confirmation hearings on all commissioners.
State Senator Rich Draheim said that this is a convenient time for the Senate to uphold its responsibility and finally confirm a few of the commissioners after two years of the Walz administration. Draheim said that it’s a good opportunity to review the job performance of some of the commissioners and address any issues if they believe some are working in a partisan fashion. Most of the commissioners have the best intentions on their area of responsibility at heart, he said, but not all of them.
“There are other commissioners that I think don’t. Commissioners aren’t supposed to be political. You know, they are supposed to be whatever their area of responsibility is, that’s what they’re supposed to focus on. And I think some of them aren’t doing that, so we’ll see what happens this week when we start hearings. We should confirm them or remove them. It should be a thumbs up or a thumbs down vote.”
Members of the DFL have decried this as a political move. Last August after Governor Walz declined to end the State Emergency during the Covid-19 pandemic, in what was then an unprecedented action, the Senate stayed in session for confirmation hearings and ousted two of Governor Walz’s appointees. Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent called the decision this time a “political vendetta,” and a result of legislative Republicans not getting everything they wanted during the session this year.
Representative Todd Lippert said “This is not good governance. It’s not normal, nor should it be seen as normal. The Senate should hold hearings at the beginning of an administration and not this late into a commissioner’s tenure. Hearings should not be the end result of policy debates.”
As hearings got underway yesterday, Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Laura Bishop resigned after she was informed that the senate would not confirm her. Senator Draheim, the chair of the Senate housing Committee, led an informal hearing on the confirmation of Housing Finance Agency Commissioner Jennifer Ho. A vote on her confirmation is expected today.
Draheim re-iterated that this is a Senate responsibility, and it is not fair to keep the unconfirmed commissioners in limbo. He expects the hearings to conclude within about two weeks.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Senator Rich Draheim can be heard here
MetroNet to begin fiber build out right away
Last week, the city announced that the Northfield City Council has approved an agreement for MetroNet, a fiber optic telecommunication company, to
begin construction of a network for high-speed fiber optic internet, TV and phone service throughout the community. The network is expected to reach more than 85 percent of the community using both underground cable and existing cable hung from utility poles.
The company will offer fiber-optic connections directly to homes and businesses with speeds, the company said, ranging from 100 Megabits to 1 Gigabit per second.
MetroNet plans to begin construction in July 2021 and expects the build-out to take approximately one year.
City engineer Dave Bennett said MetroNet’s process will be minimally invasive.
“You’ll see a lot of activity. They’re going to move quickly, though, through the neighborhoods. They have indicated a really good process where they are following right behind with a restoration crew. That’s one of the biggest things; if your yard is disturbed, how long will it take until it’s put back together? It seems like they are really going to be on top of that.”
When construction of the fiber optic network begins, residents and businesses will receive more information about construction in their area, and how to become a MetroNet customer.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with City Engineer Dave Bennett can be heard here.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. He can be reached at rich@kymnradio.net
