As the Northfield School Board takes a step back to spend more time looking at options for the high school facility, Northfield
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillman has laid out some possibilities and is working to further define the needs of both the building and the students it serves.
In a report to the School Board for their work session on Monday night, Hillmann offered what he sees as the possible pathways forward. The first option would be to look at the existing building as it is and make upgrades within the basic framework. This would mean fixing the infrastructure, remodeling classrooms and upgrading furniture for students, faculty and staff. The second option would entail demolishing parts of the school, and rebuilding around others. It would create a multi-story space for academics, student commons areas and a new cafeteria. It would, like the first option, fix the infrastructure in the parts of the building that are not demolished, and would also construct a storm shelter.
Finally, a third option, and the one the board seems to favor, would entail going directly to the people of the school district, and asking what they think. This would mean conducting focus groups, surveys and polls to find out exactly what the community wants from the high school, what they think about the direction the district is taking in this matter, and how much the community is willing to pay for the things it wants.
Another topic that will be embedded in these conversations will center around athletic facilities. The facility task force convened this spring identified the need for a field house at the high school, and the City Council has passed a resolution asking the district to consider building an indoor ice arena as well.
Hillmann has treated that request respectfully while also keeping it at arm’s length. He has said a district owned municipal ice arena is unusual in Minnesota, but not unheard of, and he acknowledged that, in the face of an already declining enrollment, the district does have a vested interest in seeing the issue resolved by keeping indoor ice in Northfield. He estimated that there are at least 80 Northfield High School Students who play hockey at the varsity or junior varsity level, and he knows what could happen if the school had to eliminate its hockey program.
“Hockey is a passionate sport as you weel know, and it really is part of Minnesota’s culture and our fiber. If [Northfield] were to have the worst-case scenario where we didn’t have ice, I fully expect that at least half if not more of those students would leave our district and go to another school district that offers hockey as a varsity sport.”
The board will be looking at all of these options very closely over the next few months.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Matt Hillmann, can be heard here
Ground set to be broken on new Rice County Safety Center
Almost 15 months to the day after the Rice County Board of Directors approved the construction of a new Public Safety Center, the county
will break ground on the project next Tuesday.
The day has been a long time coming.
In 2019, the state Department of Corrections deemed the current jail which was designed in 1970 and opened in 1975 to be an inadequate facility. The county was informed of the decision at that time and told the jail would be downgraded to a 90-day lockup if action was not taken.
In turn, the county investigated several different possibilities. Renovation of the existing facility was explored but found to be unrealistic, as was expansion of the current facility. Steele County offered to create a joint powers agreement to share the new jail space it had built. However, for several reasons, the Rice County Sheriff’s Department and the Northfield Police Department both objected to the idea of keeping those incarcerated by Rice County in Owatonna. There was discussion about relocating the jail to the annex space on the far west side of Faribault, but civic leaders objected to the site of a jail being the first thing people would see as they came into town.
In the end, after a long process, the decision was made to construct a new safety center that would house both the jail facility and the Rice County Sheriff’s Department, and a green space was located and acquired by the county on the North side of Faribault close to the intersection of Highway 3 and 30th Street.
The new jail will not increase much in capacity. The current jail is licensed to house 71 people, while the new jail will be built for 76-78 inmates. However, the new jail will offer more space for inmates with mental health issues, more space classified for medium and maximum security, and less minimum security, dormitory style housing. There will also be expanded space for recreation and programming which were the two reasons the DOC deemed the current building inadequate.
The groundbreaking ceremony will begin at 10:30 on Tuesday morning.
Dennison Days!
And it’s Dennison Days this weekend. 
The official summer celebration for Northfield’s Southeast neighbor will begin tonight at 8pm with a street dance sponsored by MarLea’s Bar & Grill featuring DJ Justin.
Most of the events are scheduled for tomorrow. There will be an all-you-can-eat waffle breakfast from 8-11 tomorrow morning. A 5k run will also begin at 8am, as will the Classic Car Show. Other events throughout the day include a truck & tractor pull, a cow milking contest, a euchre tournament at the Fireside Lounge, and Purse and Power Tool Bingo. Judging for the famous Dennison Days BBQ Cookoff will begin at 2:30.
The main event, of course is the parade, which is set to begin at 1:30. The celebration will wrap up tomorrow night with live music from Driver 5, beginning at 8pm.
For more information visit dennisondays.org
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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