by Rich Larson
Last week, after a particularly busy night, Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service Chief Gerry Franek went out of his way to 
praise the six new recruits who joined the department on August 2.
The group is an eclectic one. Its members range from a retired nearly-thirty-year member of the American military to one of the younger members of one of Northfield’s historic families to, for the very first time, not one, but two women.
Dylan McCallum is an equipment operator and truck driver who moved to Dundas last year and is a five-year veteran of the Rosemount Fire Department. Noah Malecha is a Northfield Native, and an employee of the Northfield Public Works Department who had a childhood dream of becoming a firefighter. Amy Reding is a former police officer who works in Community Development for the City of Eagan and has lived in Northfield for 18 months. Davis Royle, who has lived in Northfield for six years, is a welder who comes from a family of firefighters. Matt Hollinger spent the first 13 years of his life in Northfield. After spending 28 years in the Navy, and another two in government service, he decided to return to Northfield with his family last year. He has joined NAFRS because he wants to serve the community. And finally, Kaitlyn Sticha, who works as the head Strength and Conditioning Coach at a gym she owns with her husband. has lived in Northfield for three years and joined NAFRS because of her deep love for Northfield.
Franek said the new recruits are still getting acclimated to the way things work with NAFRS, and they will begin their formal training this fall. They will become full-fledged firefighters after a probationary period of approximately one year.
Elliott expects Defeat of Jesse James Days to be ‘well attended’
As the Defeat of Jesse James Days approaches in less than two weeks, the Northfield Police Department is preparing for the return of the most active weekend Northfield sees on a normal yearly basis.
Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott said his department is working closely with the organizing committee in order to ensure that there are minimal public safety concerns. Of course, the major public safety concern continues to be the delta variant of the Covid-19 virus, and Chief Elliott said they are monitoring developments in Northfield and in Rice County very closely. However, as the celebration is largely an outdoor event, he expects things to move forward as planned.
Elliott called Defeat of Jesse James Days an all-hands-on-deck situation. The department is one officer short of being fully staffed, and another officer is still in field training, so the department will be making use of the full reserve corps. All officers are working their regular shift, plus, he said, at least one event each day.
He said that most other community events in the area have not been greatly affected by Covid-19 virus concerns, and he expects the Defeat of Jesse James Days will be no different.
“We have seen in other celebrations, they ‘ve been pretty well attended. I think folks are tired of being cooped up at home and they want to get out and see their friends and get back to some of those normal celebration type activities. So, everything we’re seeing even with the Dokota County Fair is that things are pretty well attended.”
The Defeat of Jesse James Days will begin Thursday, September 9 and will run through Sunday, September 12.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott can be heard here
Child settling in as new United Way Director
Last week the Rice County Area United Way announced their list of organizations to whom they will be awarding grants. 
Elizabeth Child, the organization’s new executive director said the recipients are both county wide agencies and smaller organizations with a more focused mission, but all are worthy of the resources they will receive.
As one of the largest non-profit organizations in the world, the United Way is a foundation distributing grants to other, smaller non-profits. United Way Worldwide acts as an umbrella group overseeing more locally focused organizations like the RCAUW. In 2019, the United Way of Faribault, which began in 1956, merged with the Northfield Area United Way, which was founded in 1972. By combining their resources, and using the best parts of both institutions, the new organization has been able to better serve all the communities of Rice County.
Child was formerly the ED of the Northfield Area United Way and has returned to the larger post after the previous director, Penny Hilleman, left to become assistant program director with Laura Baker Services Association. She said the process of determining who should receive grants is largely unchanged from her previous tenure. Applications are vetted by volunteers who understand finance, and then are passed on to teams of donors from the community who make their recommendations. The RCAUW board then makes its decision for recipients in three categories, health, education and financial Stability & basic needs.
Child said working with an organization as well known as the United Way has its rewards outside of awarding grants to their partner organizations, as well.
“What I’ve found so amazing about the United Way is that people will call me up and they know the United Way, and they’ll say ‘I need help.’ And I think that’s one of the strengths is that people know they can turn to the United Way. Sometimes, I don’t know, and I’m right in the building with a couple great agencies and I walk down the hall and I say ‘This person doesn’t have a home. Where should he turn?’”
With the grants awarded for the year, child said the focus will now turn to fundraising. The United Way will accept donations all year long, but she said the fall is always their biggest time of year to raise money. Those interested in making a donation should visit ricecountyunitedway.org/donate
