As the Rice County Salvation Army heads into the final week of their annual Red Kettle fundraising campaign, they are still looking for
people to volunteer as bell ringers to encourage donations.
Jim Dale, the Rice County Kettle Volunteer Coordinator said there are four shifts open at Cub Foods in Northfield and 2 at Family Fare, and 7 openings at Fairway Foods in Faribault. The biggest area of need, Dale said is in Lonsdale, where there are still 14 available time slots to ring the bell at Mackenthun’s Fine Foods throughout the week.
The Red Kettle Campaign is the only fundraiser the Salvation army does throughout the year to pay for the services they provide, which can run from help with transportation and lodging to emergency utility help to sheltering those displaced by a natural disaster. In fact, he said, the tornadoes that came through Southeast Minnesota last week have elicited some response from the organization. In order to help in those situations, Dale said, hitting their fundraising goal at the holidays is vitally important.
This year, the Rice County Salvation Army is halfway to the goal of $60,000. Dale said almost as a rule, much of the funds raised every year comes in the last week of the campaign, which is why it is so necessary to find volunteers to ring the bell.
“This is our big week, and that’s why it’s so important that we staff the kettles. If we’re out ringing the bell, people give. They’ve been very generous so far this year. We’re about halfway to the budget that we were planning on, so we have halfway to go this week. This is it for sustaining all the needs that we might have next year.”
He said for those inclined to donate, there is no time like the present. Donations do not have to come through the kettles, either. Checks can be mailed to the Rice County Salvation Army care of St. Vincent de Paul’s Church in Faribault. Any amount from $2500 or more down to $5 is greatly appreciated.
Volunteering to ring the bell is very easy. Registration can be done online by visiting registertoring.com, or Dale said, he will happily take volunteers by phone as well. He can be contacted at 715-733-0575.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Jim Dale of the Rice County Salvation Army can be heard here
New NPD patrol officer a welcome addition
Earlier this month, the Northfield City Council approved the city budget for 2022, which included the creation of a new patrol officer position for the Northfield Police Department. Polic Chief Mark Elliott said, with the addition of that position, the department could finally be fully staffed sometime next year.
The new patrol officer position is the result of a 2019 staffing study commissioned by the city for the NPD. Elliott said they need one more officer to be adequately staffed and for his department to do their job properly. Another officer will allow for more work in crime prevention and community outreach, which is a key component to public safety. Elliott said they had a couple of officers leave the department last year, and while they have hired new people to fill those roles, the training process for a new officer can take a year, so they have been a little short lately. The department has been making things work through schedule adjustments and overtime, he said, but it is important to have a fully staffed department so they can cover the important work they do as efficiently as possible.
“If I have a patrol officer out, it’s not like he can respond to a 911 call when he gets back the next day. Or if I have an officer on vacation for a week, it’s not like she can respond to your 911 call next Monday. That just doesn’t work.”
The next challenge, he said, will actually be hiring for the new position. Elliott said the number of people looking to join the law enforcement ranks have been down this year. There have been fewer people applying for jobs, and fewer people enrolling in law enforcement education programs. It’s an issue that has been mirrored in all local law enforcement departments. Last month Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas said they had a pool of twenty applicants from which they hired two new deputies over the summer. Thomas said when he first started in law enforcement in the 90’s, he applied for a job in the Metro area that drew 450 applicants for one position. Recently retired Sheriff Troy Dunn said before he stepped away that the dwindling number of applicants was one of the issues that troubled him the most.
However, Elliott said the good news is they still have plenty of quality candidates to fill the positions, and he expects that they will begin the hiring process for the new patrol officer early in 2022.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott can be heard here
Draheim concerned about increasing energy costs
As the nation faces an inflation rate that is hovering somewhere above 6%, State Senator Rich Draheim said the thing that alarms him the
most is the increase in the cost of energy.
Earlier this month, the state Public Service commission signed off on an Xcel Energy interim rate increase of 6.4% on electricity and 4% on natural gas. Xcel, the state’s major energy service provider has requested a 21% increase by 2023.
Inflation is being driven by several factors around the world, mostly surrounding Covid-19 which has greatly disrupted the global supply chain. Senator Draheim said there is a lesson to be learned in this situation. As country, he said, we need to be more self-reliant and focus more on manufacturing products domestically.
However, he said, the supply chain issues are not why the cost of energy keeps rising. The reasons for the increases, he said, are complicated, and not simply tied to the catastrophic damage suffered to the Texas energy grid last February.
What the current situation shows, more than anything, he said, is how the country needs to have a balanced energy grid. The Senator said he hopes that we can one day rely more on renewable energy sources, but he does not believe that solar and wind energy can provide for all the needs of the state.
“We need what we call baseload power. In Minnesota we rely quite a bit on nuclear and coal. And there are a couple of different kinds of coal. There’s clean burning, low carbon plants. And then, of course, we have natural gas.”
Senator Draheim said he also has hopes for Tidal Energy in the future as well, which is something that could even possibly be generated in Lake Superior to benefit Duluth and Northern Minnesota.
In the meantime, Draheim’s concerns are on the immediate effects of higher energy costs, which Draheim does not believe will be easily absorbed by most Minnesotans.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with State Senator Rich Draheim can be heard here
Rich larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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