The Northfield Police Department has identified the man who passed away at Fifty North on Friday as 70-year-old Larry Celander of
Northfield.
Fifty North was closed over the weekend after Celander was found unresponsive in the senior center’s swimming pool.
According to a statement released by the Northfield Police Department, Northfield Police were called to Fifty North just before 6pm due to a report of an unresponsive male in the pool. Upon arrival, officers located Celander, who was being removed from the water by staff and patrons. Life saving measures were attempted by emergency personnel, however those attempts were not successful, and Celander was pronounced dead at the scene.
The statement said that the Rice County Sherriff’s Department is assisting the Northfield Police Department with this investigation, as they are responsible for investigating drownings, per Minnesota State Statute. The Rice County Coroner will also assist with this investigation.
Fifty North reopened today.
Initial Fire Chief candidates will be internal
When the Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service board voted to create the position of full-time fire chief at their most recent 
meeting, they did so for several reasons.
In the nearly eight years since the joint powers agreement between Northfield, Dundas, and the Rural Fire District created the Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service, three organizational reports have recommended the department make the chief’s position full-time. Board Chair Paul Liebenstein said this has not been an easy decision to make but is the right time to do it.
Liebenstein said enough has changed in eight years that having a full-time chief makes sense now. More information is required both from the chief and about the organization itself. Fire prevention and the role of the Chief as the Chief Municipal Fire Official is most likely the biggest reason the board chose to make the change, but according to Liebenstein, there were plenty of other factors as well.
Better records are necessary. Some of those records are requirements, and others are for internal decision making. Liebenstein said it is important the department start to look at how many fire fighters to send out on a call, and which trucks to send as well. The cost to operate any one of the NAFRS fire trucks is escalating, he said, and it has become quite important to start paying more attention to cost savings.
Another idea that factored into the decision was how to post it. Liebenstein said the job will be posted internally first, for some specific reasons.
“A lot of things to consider. Not only with the budget, but just how the department and the firefighters will react over the course of time. That’s the main reason at this point that we’re going to go with an internal posting. And we have several very qualified people that are available.”
The internal posting went up last week. Liebenstein said the job title will be Fire Chief and Chief Fire Official. interviews will be conducted at the end of November, and the department will hope to make an offer by the end of the year.
Interim Chief Tom Nelson said his interim term expires on January 18th, so it will be necessary to have the full-time position filled by then. Nelson has indicated that he has interest in the newly created position but has not formally made an announcement on his future.
Age Friendly Northfield advocating for more ways for seniors to stay
Tomorrow is the first day of November which means, despite the weather report for the next few days, the cold weather months have
arrived.
Age Friendly Northfield is currently searching for more opportunities over the next five months for older adults to be able to be more active, specifically walking or pickleball opportunities.
Pickleball, in particular, has become a very popular activity with the over-sixty crowd, and CC Linstroth of the Age-Friendly Northfield steering committee said the availability of courts on which to play in Northfield during the winter amounts to two hours each week at Bridgewater Elementary School which is simply not enough.
Linstroth said the work the city did on the Riverside Park pickleball courts was very well done. But when those courts aren’t available, there is not another good option.
“If we can’t play on those beautiful courts,” she said, “there is no place for us to play.”
And while the Faribault Community Center does have a large pickleball facility, Linstroth pointed out that many older adults are reluctant to drive very far in the wintertime due to weather events and icy conditions.
“We’re hoping someone in Northfield has another idea,” she said. “Maybe it’s earlier in the morning, or the use of more than one school.”
Linstroth also mentioned the opportunities to walk through the high school in the afternoons, which has been something the district has offered the past couple of years. She said she recently met with Northfield High School Principal Shane Baire and Community Education Director Erin Bailey hoping to formalize that agreement.
Linstroth said it is time for the community to start offering more for older adults, because of what they mean to the community.
“We’ve got to look at things differently because older adults are so valuable in our community. They’re such an asset. Every adult that walks through the door of your place of business or whatever is an asset. And older adults vote like crazy, and they are volunteers, and they provide many financial supports throughout the community. They’re very valuable.”
Linstroth also mentioned Age Friendly Northfield is currently seeking more volunteers and new board members. For more information, visit agefriendlynorthfield.comfit
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with CC Linstroth can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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