A powerful lightning strike created a grass fire in Greenvale Township that threatened homes and destroyed acres of yet-to-be 
Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Squad Interim Chief Tom Nelson said the fire department was called to the area around 7pm on Sunday night. The dry conditions and strong winds created problems for the fire fighters from the very beginning. Nelson said Assistant Chief Jesse Faust, seeing the situation, called for backup right away in the form of pumper trucks and grass fire rigs from both Farmington and Lonsdale.
“The storm we were supposed to get never happened,” Nelson said. “We had the wind and the lightning, but not the rain, which made things difficult.”
Nelson said the firefighters had to make a stand to protect some of the houses in the area, which included land East of Highway 23 and north of 320th Street.
“It moved very fast,” he said. “The fact that Jesse called for help right away was the key to protecting those homes.”
Nelson said they also got lucky in that farmer Rusty Kluver had been working in his combine and had already cleared some of the area, although pulling a firehouse through a freshly harvested corn field is not easy.
“It was like working on top of a peg board,” he said.
The firefighters fought the blaze for about three hours before it looked to be under control, and then they were called back to the area around 5am for another round.
“It got into a slough,” he said, “so the firefighters had to work through that.”
In all, Nelson said the fire consumed about 25 acres of standing corn but indicated the damage could have been much worse if not for the assistance from Farmington and Lonsdale.
One firefighter, Nelson said, was treated for smoke inhalation at Northfield Hospital and was released early Monday morning.
Toastmasters inviting community to take a look
The Northfield Community Toastmasters Club will hold an open house tonight in the Bunday meeting room at the Northfield Public 
Library.
Toastmasters International is an organization that promotes communication, public speaking and leadership. Known mostly for its public speaking seminars, members of a Toastmasters club get together to practice and refine their public speaking skills through opportunities to speak and evaluation by their peers.
Founded in 1924, in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International is in 145 countries with more than 300,000 members in nearly 16,000 clubs, including one in Northfield.
The local chapter was started in 2016 and has met every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month since then. Karsten Singh and Rich Graves, both recent members of the organization, said they have greatly benefitted from the experience.
Among the exercises practiced at a Toastmasters meeting are the Table Topics, which helps to create skills to quickly organize one’s thoughts and speak off the cuff, and the longer seven-minute speeches given by two members at each meeting. After the speeches, they are evaluated by the rest of the Toastmasters group, which can be a learning experience for everyone involved.
Singh, who two weeks ago became the newest salesperson with KYMN Radio, said he had always been interested in sales, and the work he has done with Toastmasters has helped him to express his ideas more clearly, which, he said, will serve him well in his new position.
Graves, meanwhile, said the lessons to be learned with Toastmasters are things from which all of greater society could benefit.
“The thing you learn in Toastmasters is how to express a different speaking style to different audiences. You know we’ve got into this weird situation in this country where the people think they’re in different tribes. You can’t do that if you want to communicate an idea. The great thing about Toastmasters is it brings people together to build a real community.”
Tonight’s Open House, said Graves, will be structured like a regular meeting. Those who attend as guests will not have to participate but will be welcome to do so if they wish. The meeting will begin at 6:30. For more information visit northfieldmn.toastmastersclubs.org
Library expands homework help program
Thanks to a partnership with Carleton College’s Community-Based Work Study Program, Northfield Public Library is now offering 
bilingual homework help Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. Carleton student tutors Ambar Galaviz, Carlos Trejo, and Daniel Estrada can tutor in English or Spanish. They can help in any subject area for youth in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The bilingual offering builds on a program that was started last year.
“With COVID learning loss, we know there is great demand for homework help,” said Northfield Library Reference Services Manager Katlin Heidgerken-Greene. “We’re thrilled that Carleton College’s Work Study Program builds the library’s capacity to meet this need.”
In addition to homework, tutors can also help with reading. At a recent session, a child read aloud to Trejo as he offered encouragement.
“Reading aloud to someone other than a parent or caregiver can help build young readers’ confidence,” said Emily Lloyd, a youth services librarian. “The stakes feel less high, so they’re more willing to attempt daunting words.”
Heidgerken-Greene added, “We invite all Northfield youth to make use of this valuable service. Ambar, Carlos, and Daniel are here and eager to meet-and-work beside [the community’s] young students.”
No appointment is needed to receive help; students can simply stop in at the library between 4 and 6pm.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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