The Northfield City Council heard a presentation at their meeting on Tuesday night from Will Schroeer, who is a board member
with an organization called HOURCAR, about the possibility of establishing an electric vehicle car share program in Northfield.
Schroeer’s presentation was based on two basic ideas. The first being, the way our society is set up, people have a challenging time getting to where they need to be without access to a car, which can cause hardship for people with lower incomes. The second is the idea that combustion engine vehicles are a prime contributor to the environmental problems we are facing today. HOURCAR’s Evie Program addresses both of those concerns.
The idea behind the program is for registered members, who can join at varying rates, to have access to a vehicle that they could take to work, school, medical appointments, to visit family, or just anywhere they would like to go. The “free floating” nature of the program allows for the cars to be picked up and dropped off anywhere, however, Schroeer said, if they are left at a charging station, the person leaving the car will receive a discount on their next use.
Members of the Council seemed to see value in the idea. Councilor Clarice Grabau, who is an educator helping adult students pursue their high school certification said, a program like this is exactly the type of thing her students need. Mayor Pownell saw potential in working with businesses in the extended area, like Owatonna or Lakeville, as this would allow people to live in the communities where they want to live and diminish the concern of proximity to their jobs.
HOURCAR has been in communication with the Environmental Quality Commission and new Assistant to the City Administrator Risi Karim. Those conversations are still in the initial stages, and there is no timetable on moving forward with the program at this time.
Draheim looks to end moratorium on hospital beds
As the legislative session begins to run down at the State Capital, Senator Rich Draheim said he is still hopeful for several bills he has authored, particularly those that deal with mental health, and one in particular that will make it much easier for hospitals to add mental health beds.
As the state battles with health care systems to keep the mental health beds that are in place, many will be surprised to learn that the state has had a moratorium in place for decades on hospitals adding more beds. Draheim said he was approached by Childrens’ Hospital looking for help in the matter, as they were forced to turn away some 850 patients in 2021 looking for mental health treatment.
The moratorium was put in place in the 1990’s when the approach to hospital funding was quite different. At the time, said Draheim, hospitals received money from the state based on the number of beds they had. However, the funding is now based on a reimbursement model, making the moratorium obsolete.
Without the ability to simply add beds, and with issues of mental health on the rise, Draheim said organizations are having to fight through bureaucratic red tape to provide a service that is greatly needed.
While the problem would present itself to be an easy fix, Draheim said that has not been the case. The support to end the moratorium has not always been there he said, and the reasons for that are not easy to come by.
“Why. Why, why, why. That’s a question I ask myself every day. There are just some goofy things in statute that you think everybody would be okay with changing, and it’s harder to do sometimes. But I think everyone thinks this makes sense.”
The bill is one of several Draheim has authored to support mental health care, and he said he believes there is enough support on both sides of the aisle to push them through.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with State Senator Rich Draheim can be heard here
Evolving Cemetery Tours now a student-led program
The Northfield Historical Society will present the annual Cemetery Tours program on Saturday. 
Historical Society Executive Director Cathy Osterman said the program has continued to evolve from the old Cemetery Stories event that was traditionally held on Halloween. Last year, the Historical Society teamed up with Northfield Public Schools and the Student Community Outreach Program Experience, or SCOPE, for students to take over the responsibilities of researching and presenting the chosen Northfielders from the past.
The major difference between the presentations from years past and this year are in the diminished theatricality. Rather than an actor portraying a person while standing at their graveside, the students will tell the stories of the people without acting or using costumes and props.
The program is led this year by two Northfield High School students, Senior Brecken Modory and Junior Henry Verdis. Five members of the 9th Grade Class have been working since early this year learning the art of technical writing and research before selecting their subject and as Osterman put it, finding a way to present their subject in a way that is “scholarly, but still fun.”
She said, the subjects of the tour this year are as much a mystery to her as they are to anyone else who will attend.
“We have five different people that we will be featuring: Karl Knutson, Elmeron Westcott, Mary Madson, Adam Drentlaw, and Oscar Perkins. And I have to admit, I don’t know a thing about any of these people. So, I’ll be learning right alongside everyone else in the community to find out who these people were, when they lived, and what their Northfield was like.”
Cemetery Tours will be this Saturday. Walking tours are scheduled for 6, 7, and 8 pm with a special non-walking tour at 5pm. The event will be held at Northfield Cemetery with parking available at the high school.
Ticket prices are $6 for adults, $5 for NHS members and for seniors, and $3 for students (6 to 16.) Tickets can be purchased at the museum or reserved by calling 507-645-9268.
Rich Larson is the KYN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
