The Rice County Board of Commissioners approved the merger of the County Social Services Department with the County
Corrections Department on Tuesday, creating a new County Department of Community Services. While the move to streamline services in an effort to provide more holistic care to the citizens of Rice County was not a surprise, the manner in which the Commissioners chose to go about the merger was a mild one.
Earlier this month, County Administrator Sara Folstad, Director of Social Services Mark Shaw, and Director of County Corrections Rick Gieseke proposed the merger offering three different options with varying costs. The Board selected the option that offered the most sweeping changes, and the highest price tag.
The new structure replaces the two department head positions with a single Deputy Administrator of Community Services who will report to the county administrator. It also splits the social services manager role into two, one Adult Services Manager and one Child and Family Services Manager. The new department also includes an Operations/Family Support Manager and a Community Corrections Manager.
Rice County Administrator Sara Folsted estimated it will cost the county up to an additional $260,200 annually – before reimbursements – to implement the new structure.
According to the statement issued by the county announcing the merger, Rice County ranks near the bottom in overall expenditures per capita, despite being the 14th largest county in the state. Overall, it said that Rice County ranks 75th out of 87 Minnesota counties when it comes to spending,
“Having the lowest ranking per capita isn’t the best thing,” said Commissioner Galen Malecha noting the need for more county mental health services.
“Sometimes you’ve got to spend money to correct issues that have been happening.”
Administrator Folstad will provide updates on the departments’ merger throughout the process.
Hillmann says the school district is in good shape to fight Omicron
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said the school district is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of students and staff in the face of sharply rising numbers of new cases of Covid-19.
As predicted, the Omicron variant has made its way to Rice County. Last week Rice County Public Health reported 748 new cases of COvid-19 per 100,00 people. By comparison, there were weeks last summer when the number was 15 per 100,000 people. Still, he said, the district is in a better position to handle more adverse conditions than at any time in the past.
The district estimates approximately 59% of the student population is vaccinated, where a year ago there were no vaccinated students, and he pointed out that they have maintained a mask mandate since the beginning of the school year. More recently a drive-in testing service has been started, and during the winter break, they distributed 1800 at-home testing kits, which resulted in a large number of students not returning to school right away after the break was over.
With numbers going up in every Northfield school, however, the district is now planning a new program that might keep some students from having to quarantine and stay away from school if they are directly exposed to the virus. If an unvaccinated student is directly exposed, but shows no symptoms, they will be allowed to stay in school if they test negative on what would be the second and fifth days of their quarantine period. As long as test results come back negative, they will be allowed to attend school. This will be a voluntary program, and should the student decline to be tested, they will be required to quarantine for five days.
Dr. Hillmann said the biggest challenge the district will face over the next few weeks will be in staffing.
“Our staffing is going to be one of the biggest things. With that, do we have enough staff to effectively run the school? Right now, we’re doing okay. I’m not going to say it’s awesome. I’m not even going to say it’s good. But we’re making it go. We’re reassigning people within the district who are able to substitute. So that mans, someone who might have normally been teaching small groups of kids reading through the day, they may have to be reassigned to a general education classroom. Things like that.”
Right now, the district has 205 active cases, which is not quite the high point from a week ago but is still substantially more than have been in the district prior to this month. Hillmann, said, however, they remain committed to protecting in-person learning, and will take every step they can to keep from shifting to distance learning.
Northfield Shares has suggestions for observing Martin Luther King Day
The observance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday will be on Monday. For many people that means a day off of work, for others it means closed banks and no mail delivery. But the day set aside to honor one of the greatest voices and organizers of the 20th century is actually a National Day of Service, when all Americans are encouraged to do something for the betterment of their community.
Northfield Shares is offering a list of suggestions and volunteering opportunities for those looking to honor the day as it was designed. The local area foundation operates a Volunteer Hub on their website, where visitors will find dozens of ideas and opportunities to give back to the Northfield community. “The day should be considered ‘a day on, not a day off,’” read a statement issued by the foundation.
That statement also highlighted a pair of local celebrations to honor the day. A special St. Olaf College Chapel Service featuring Assistant Professor of Religion Timothy Rainey II will be live streamed at 10:10 on Monday morning. And the Northfield Human Rights Commission will host its annual Martin Luther King Celebration on Monday night at 7pm. For the second year in a row, this will be a virtual celebration. The event will feature music, the Reverend Cindy Maddox of the First UCC Church, and the presentation of the annual Human Rights Award, which this year will be given to Northfield Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Matt Hillmann.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
