Northfield offering supplemental rebates for making sustainable in-home changes
The City of Northfield is coordinating with Xcel Energy to offer rebates for energy efficient upgrades to Northfield homes.
Xcel Energy offers rebates to all customers installing sustainable upgrades, like heat pumps, in their homes. On top of the Xcel rebate, low-income families can receive an additional rebate from the city at 50% of the Xcel rebate.
The program is funded by Northfield’s Carbon Reduction Fund, which was established last year.
Risi Karim, the new Assistant to the City Administrator and Staff Liaison to the Environmental Quality Commission, said that fund is key for Northfield’s climate initiatives and sets Northfield apart.
“It’s really fun to already have that pool of money that I can use to go out into the community and say, ‘here we want you to make these sustainable changes to your home. We want our community to be as sustainable and as green as possible and we’re willing to assist in that.’… A lot of people want change, change, change but there’s not a lot of dollars to help assist people to make those changes and I’m really happy to be in a city that’s fortunate enough to take it seriously, to put dollar amounts to it so I can actually help the community.”
The Residential Energy Rebate Program is part of the City of Northfield’s Climate Action Plan, which was adopted in 2019, and is a priority within the city’s Strategic Plan.
The three desired results of the Climate Action Plan are climate resilience, reduction of net carbon emissions, and community participation in climate action. Specific goals of the Climate Action Plan include Northfield using 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030 and being a completely carbon-free community by 2040.
For Karim, the plan is “ambitious” and that’s exciting, because it’s supposed to be. The plan includes more than 200 goals and initiatives, some of which have sat on the back burner during Covid. However, Karim emphasized how different groups, including the Environmental Quality Commission and city staff, have been able to use the Climate Action Plan as a guide to set yearly goals.
Mayor Rhonda Pownell noted the importance of the plan as well, saying it provides necessary “clarity” so that city staff, the City Council, and the community can make progress in a coordinated and productive way.
For more information about the Residential Rebate Program, contact Risi Karim at
Northfield Public Schools offering rewarding career opportunities
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development stated last week that the state’s unemployment rate sits
at 1.8%. If those numbers are correct, then it is the lowest rate ever recorded by a state in American History.
“That’s great news for those seeking employment,” said Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillman. “But not so great for the of us looking to hire people.”
With the 2022-23 school year set to begin in about five weeks, Hillmann said there are still a several teaching positions that the district needs to fill and many more non-teaching positions. As the president of the state School Superintendent Association, he said he sees that the lack of credible employment candidates has become an epidemic across the state.
“Some schools can’t even hire phy-ed teachers,” he said. “When I was an elementary school principal and we had an opening for a phy-ed position, we would get 200 applications.”
The lack of good teaching candidates is a problem, he said, and not just because schools need a body ina classroom.
“I say this with all sincerity – one of the reasons I went into public education is because I believe that our democracy can only function when we have a really strong public education system. And, it is the people who work with kids that make our public education system strong.”
The district has several options for interested people even if they do not have a teaching license. A person with a four-year degree can get a short-call substitute teaching license. There have been points over the last few years when there simply were not enough substitute teachers in the district, and Hillmann offered encouragement to anyone considering that path to look at it very seriously. The same, he said goes for the teaching assistant positions that are available to people with or without a four-year degree.
Hillmann said working in public education can be a life changing experience every day, and those who are looking for a change or want to do something that will, as he put it, “have a real impact on the future,” may find exactly what they’re looking for in public education.
For more information on employment opportunities within the Northfield School District should visit northfieldschools.org/employment.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Matt Hillmann can be heard here
Rice County Area United Way puts pilot microgrant program in place
Rice County Area United Way will soon offer microgrants for amounts up to $1,000 to local groups facing community-based
challenges.
A statement released by the Rice County Area United Way said this is being established as a pilot program designed to offer resources year-round.
“We are launching this program to respond to urgent needs in a timely manner,” said Elizabeth Child, executive director of Rice County Area United Way. “This new program will allow for groups that aren’t registered 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organizations to apply for small grants. That could, for example, help community group facing an unexpected issue. The grant could also be used by an established nonprofit to address an unexpected need.”
The microgrants are available for projects with a charitable purpose that have limited access to funding and support. The projects should affect members in the Rice County community in the United Way’s target areas of education, health and financial stability. The statement said there should be an urgency to the need for the grants.
Applications for the United Way microgrants will be accepted at any time from August 1 through May 31,or as long as funding is available.
Applications will be reviewed bi-monthly. In cases where timing is sensitive, the United Way review committee will consider granting outside the bi-monthly cycle. Grants will be awarded by the last day of August, October, December, February, April, June.
To receive an application, contact Elizabeth Child, elizabeth@ricecountyunitedway.org or call the United Way office, 507-664-3510.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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