by Rich Larson
Congresswoman Angie Craig visited Northfield on Saturday morning looking to build support for the Federal Build Back Better Bill.
As written, the budget reconciliation bill would spend $3.5 trillion dollars over the next ten years on a host of different programs including childcare, education, clean energy, and Medicare. It would seek to cut the prices of prescription drugs, raise taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, and offer two years of free community college for all students.
Craig visited Imminent Brewing, Content Book Store, The Sketchy Artist and Farmstead Bike Shop.
Derek Meyers, who along with his wife Laura, owns Imminent Brewing spoke to Craig about how helpful the Payment Protection Plan loans were during the pandemic, but also asked about some irregularities in the Employee Retention Tax Credit.
Another issue Craig has been involved with is Paid Family Leave. Content owner Jessica Peterson-White discussed her experience having a baby just prior to the onset of the pandemic and balancing the need to be a mother in the earliest days of her daughter’s life with saving her business in a time of economic crisis. Paid family leave, she said, would have allowed her to hire someone to take some of the burden off of her as a business owner to give more time to her newborn child.
Congresswoman Craig said pushing the bill through the senate will be a challenge. She acknowledged that the bill as it is written will most likely be trimmed by as much as $1.5 trillion in order to appease moderate and conservative Democratic senators. But she said it is important to “level the playing field” so small businesses are not at as much of a disadvantage, and she believes this bill will do that in any form.
District will offer drive-in Covid testing
After updating the Covid-19 numbers on Friday and Saturday, the Northfield Public School District is reporting 22 active cases, and 56 positive cases of Covid-19 since August 31.
Northfield Schools Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said the school district remains committed to its goal of full-time, in-person learning for all students this year, and because of that the mask and quarantine safety protocols will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. The number of students required to go into quarantine is down from this time last year, a number Hillmann attributes to the masking mandate, and the district is formulating a program to bring the numbers down even further.
After receiving a state grant and several thousand swab tests that can show results within about twenty minutes, Hillmann said the school district will begin offering Covid-19 tests at the district office. Any student who has been informed that they must go into quarantine is allowed to return to school with a negative result, and Hillmann said this program will make it easier for those students and their families to get tested.
While the district does not want to see anyone go into quarantine, Hillmann said the protocols are necessary for the safety of all students, staff and faculty.
“Our goal is to keep this out of our schools to the best of our ability. But you can’t. It’s a virus. As Dr. Osterholm says ‘It’s going to find you.’ We just want to make sure that we take all of the reasonable steps that we can to try to keep it out of our schools so we can keep after our goal of uninterrupted in-person learning.”
Dr. Hillmann said the district hopes to announce the testing program later this week.
NH+C closes Express Care, opens waitlist for Moderna boosters
Northfield Hospital + Clinics made two major announcements late last week. 
The first is that the organization is temporarily closing the Express Care Clinic located at 706 Division Street in Northfield. A statement issued by NH+C said the clinic is closing beginning today as they “consolidate resources to better serve patients and staff, using centralized clinic locations to efficiently meet high demand.”
NH+C said they will expand same-day care at the Northfield Clinic, to compliment the already existing evening appointment schedule. Those who require walk-in care on the weekends are being referred to NH+C’s Urgent Care Clinic in Lakeville, which is open Saturdays and Sundays from 9am-1pm.
Secondly, as the FDA is expected to authorize booster shots for selected groups who have received the Moderna vaccine for Covid-19, NH+C has opened its booster shot waitlist for Moderna vaccinated people.
The FDA is expected to authorize booster shots of the Moderna vaccine for people 65 and older, those 18 to 64 with certain health conditions, and those whose jobs put them at high risk. Northfield Hospital + Clinics will offer the boosters after FDA authorization and after the CDC and Minnesota Department of Health offer their guidance. All requirements could be complete as soon as the beginning of next week.
As has been standard operating procedure at NH+C, they are requesting that people not call the clinic to make a booster appointment until after they are contacted by the clinic via phone call or text message.
For more information visit northfieldhospital.org.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net.
