The Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service is now under new management. After 36 years of highly respected work and leadership, former
Chief Gerry Franek retired at the end of January and Tom Nelson was named as interim Fire Chief. About that same time, the revolving chair of the NAFRS board passed from Brad Ness to Paul Liebenstein.
The two men said they are not looking to completely reinvent the department. Rather they are making adjustments to modernize and are looking at areas to improve what they feel is an already good organization.
Nelson said he has instituted re-organization of the command team. Where once the leadership was the chief and then there was everybody else, Nelson is delegating authority to the two Assistant Chiefs, and the four Line Captains below them.
“The goal is to try to spread it out,” he said. “Before, everybody reported to the fire chief. This way will help develop leaders and get them to supervise people and build a chain of command.”
Liebenstein added it is important to give more responsibilities to different firefighters, just so the department is not dependent on any one person.
Nelson said they also need to create more opportunities for training. The training budget is being increased, he said, in order to have more optional training classes more often. Along with that, they are looking to other resources outside of the NAFRS area. In years past, training was done internally but, Nelson said, in recent years the organization has brought in training from outside sources to bring a different perspective on things. The key, he said, is to be able to apply that perspective to the NAFRS community to make things work properly.
He said they will be looking at and updating all of the organization’s standard operating guidelines as well.
Nelson was quick to give credit to his predecessors in the face of the re-organization.
“I’m lucky enough to be building. I’m not re-building, I’m building off of the things that Gerry Franek and the team did. And John Mahacek before him. Some of the things, obviously construction and other things, change in the fires that we’re fighting. But still, the managing of people, and the dealing with the community, that hasn’t changed.”
Nelson credited Franek and former Chief John Mahacek for creating a department that was serious about their work, but left room for some fun as well.
“You have to have some fun,” he said. “There has to be a reason people want to be a part of this.”
Grabau’s candidacy will focus on climate, housing, needs for working families
On Wednesday Northfield City Councilor Clarice Grabau officially announced her candidacy for State Senate. She will be seeking the DFL nomination in the newly drawn District 58.
A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Grabau has lived in Northfield for more than 20 years. For the past eleven years, she has worked as an Adult Basic Educator in the Northfield School District with adults pursuing a high school credential.
Grabau was elected to the council in 2018 and had decided to run for re-election in the fall when she was approached about a run for Senate.
“I really had to think about that,” she said, “because it’s a big decision. But I came to the conclusion that this is the logical extension of the experience and the knowledge that I have gained both as a City Councilor and as an educator.”
As a candidate for Senate, Grabau said there are several issues with which she is concerned, not the least of which, is Climate Change.
“Climate’s going to be a big one. And that’s not just important for our health, but it has financial ramifications as well. There are infrastructure issues that cities need to deal with that are extraordinarily expensive. There are expensive issues for farmers as a consequence of extreme weather events and soil erosion and things like that. We’re going to need state and federal funding to help with these things.”
As an adult educator, Grabau said she works with people in vulnerable situations every day, seeing first-hand the struggles of working families.
“These are adults who have jobs and children, and they are really struggling to make ends meet,” she said. “They face barriers and challenges with the rising cost of housing, childcare, transportation, and health care in a very real way.”
Her work with the Housing and Redevelopment Authority has made it clear to her that housing is a central issue for all communities, and she will make affordable housing a priority while serving in St. Paul.
Grabau said she has a new appreciation for the intersection of housing with education and business. A lack of housing, she said, can undermine the ability of businesses and school districts to attract staff.
“Housing,” she said, “is fundamental.”
Grabau said she comes from a family that values public service, and she wants to continue to serve.
“It’s really what I’ve done all my life in my volunteer work and even in my jobs.
“It’s part of who I am.”
Rich Larson’s conversation with Clarice Grabau can be heard here
Rice County ADA compliant voting machines will be ready for primary
Rice County issued a statement yesterday announcing that their newly purchased assistive marking devices for voting will be in
place in most precincts in time for the special 1st Congressional District primary on May 24th.
Called OmniBallot Tablets, they will allow voters to make text larger or smaller by zooming in or out, use headphones to listen to voting instructions and lists of candidates for each office on the ballot with adjustable speeds so the listener can understand the speaker clearly, select a white screen with black lettering or a black screen with white lettering, or read the ballot in Braille.
The federal government requires devices that meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards be located in polling places with more than 500 registered voters during township elections, and all polling places during state and federal elections.
The devices will be set up to ensure privacy when voting and placed on tables that allow wheelchairs to slide underneath them. The tables are hardened, do not access the internet, and do not calculate vote totals.
The machines will be available for public display weekdays from Thursday, March 24 to Monday, May 23 at the Rice County Government Services Building in Faribault.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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