Northfield Hospital + Clinics reported yesterday that they will soon be offering second booster shots in accordance with new FDA and CDC
guidelines. This week the CDC said adults ages 50 and over and those who are twelve and over with specific risk factors may get a second booster, which would be a fourth dose, four months or longer after their first booster.
On Tuesday the FDA authorized a second booster of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for older people and certain immunocompromised individuals. And the CDC has updated its recommendations based on the FDA’s decision.
NH+C is waiting for guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health before scheduling second boosters for eligible individuals. NH+C follows CDC and MDH guidelines for COVID vaccination.
In a statement, NH+C said that it is recommending vaccination for everyone.
“It’s important to get unvaccinated people protected against COVID-19,” the statement read. “The CDC reported that during the recent Omicron surge, unvaccinated people were 21 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than fully vaccinated and boosted individuals.”
HCI preparing a year-long anniversary celebration
The Healthy Community Initiative is celebrating its 30 Year Anniversary in 2022. 
Since 1992 HCI has run a vast array of programs centered around youth development. After a humble beginning, the organization is now run by 40 local staff members and supports more than 30 programs in Rice County.
Founding board member Scott Richardson said the organization came together through a confluence of events. A group of Northfielders attended a Community Leadership Program offered by the Blandin Foundation, while local medical professionals attended the Healthy Community Conference. The groups found common ground in the things they had learned and decided to create an organization focused on helping the youth of Northfield to develop.
“The focus of HCI,” said Kris Estenson, a board member since 2010, “has always been about youth and collaboration.”
Richardson said HCI itself has always worked in the background and has let individual programs it supports take the spotlight.
“You might recognize the TORCH program,” he said, “Take it to the Box, Rice County PRIMETime, Northfield Promise, or the Northfield Community College Collaborative.
“All of those things rolled out of the Healthy Community Initiative mission.”
Joy Riggs, the HCI Communications Coordinator, emphasized the way HCI pivots to community needs, pointing to programs they began during the pandemic providing food and internet access for families in need.
“People see a need,” she said, “and let us know what’s going on.”
Estenson echoed that idea, and said the hope is that instead of having to predict where needs might arise, they can respond to current youth-oriented conversations within the community.
“If we had that crystal ball to just see what the need is going to be, we hope that HCI doesn’t necessarily have to keep starting programs, but whenever there is a conversation within the community and youth are involved, we would hope that HCI could be part of the conversation.”
As a part of the yearlong anniversary celebration, HCI will host a drive-through breakfast next Thursday from 7:30-8:30am. Members of the community are invited to enjoy Caribou Coffee and scones provided by Martha’s Eats & Treats, and to talk to HCI members about the organization and the things they do.
For more information, visit healthycommunityinitiative.org.
New KYMN show to feature Supreme Court Justice Gordon Moore
Yesterday, KYMN announced a new show that will be presented on the third Monday of every month featuring Minnesota State Supreme
Court Justice Gordon Moore. The as-yet-to-be-titled show will feature discussion on general legal topics and the inner working of the legal system.
Justice Moore is a recent transplant to Northfield, although as a 1985 graduate of Carleton College, he is no stranger to the area. After receiving his law degree from the University of Iowa, Moore went to work in the office of Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey. After Humphrey’s term was up, he joined the Worthington legal firm of Von Holtum, Malters & Shepherd, and served as one of Worthington’s city attorneys. In 2012 he was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton as the lone District Court Judge in Nobles County.
In May of 2022, Moore was selected from a group of four candidates by Governor Tim Walz to fill the seat vacated by Justice David Lillehaug after his retirement.
As a Minnesota Judge, Moore is governed by the state’s Judicial Code of Conduct, which means he cannot make a public statement regarding any case that might come before the Supreme Court. He said, because of that, the show will have some topics that are off limits.
“I can’t talk about any case that may come before us. I wouldn’t want to talk about my opinion on any legal issue that could potentially come before us. I wouldn’t want to talk about decisions that we have made or critique the decision. And your listeners may have heard some attorneys that have appeared on radio shows talking about some of the high-profile cases in Minnesota over the last couple of years. I may have opinions on those things, but those aren’t things that would be appropriate for me to share.”
He will, however, be able to share insight into the American legal system and give people a better idea of how things work both at a state and federal level.
Justice Moore’s show will be at 9am on the third Monday of every month. It will premiere on April 18.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Justice Gordon Moore can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
