Rice County law enforcement officers were busy over the holiday weekend. The beginning of the holiday season is also the start of the 
While County officers arrested six people for driving while impaired over the holiday weekend, 492 arrests were made statewide. That number is an increase over the 440 arrested in 2021 and 267 in 2020. The statewide total year-to-date is 23,795.
Holiday parties, celebrations and other gatherings inevitably mean a spike in DWIs and distracted driving. That increase has hundreds of Minnesota law enforcement agencies, including the Rice County Sheriff’s Office, and Faribault, Lonsdale and Northfield Police departments, adding patrols funded by a grant from the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety.
Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas said anyone who will be celebrating the season should have a plan to get home. He said if a person is going to drink, the best plan is to not drive at all.
“The best way though, I think, to avoid driving from a bar or friends’ houses is to get a ride there versus driving your vehicle there. Because you know after a couple beverages you know you. You don’t think at all clearly and you think you’re okay to drive and you get in the car. And if that vehicle is not there you don’t have that option.”
Getting impaired drivers off the road helps ensure not only their safety, but the safety of everyone on the road as well. Too often, Thomas said, those being pulled over do not think they’re impaired. This leads to poor judgement about getting behind the wheel, and it can also lead to unfortunate confrontations with officers and deputies.
“Our goal is to keep everybody safe. If you choose to have too many beverages at a party and get behind the wheel and you get stopped, that was your choice, right? So, when our guys or my guys stop you and confront you and process everything, just remember that they’re not the ones who created the problem. You were.”
The Office of Traffic Safety grant will continue to fund extra law enforcement shifts through New Year’s Eve.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas can be heard here
Martig details city snow removal process
After receiving 6-8 inches of snow on Tuesday, the task of removing the snow from city streets and the downtown area began. Northfield City
Administrator Ben Martig took the opportunity to clarify the city’s policies and procedures on the entire process.
“Northfield uses a number of winter-season policies to promote safety and efficiency during winter weather events,” he said in an email to KYMN. “These policies aim to clear snow from streets, sidewalks, and trails so that students can get safely to school, residents can get to their homes and jobs, and local businesses can operate with as little disruption as possible.
“The city performs snow plowing, snow removal, ice control and associated winter maintenance on the local City streets (74 center lane miles), portions of MnDOT TH 19, TH 3 and TH 246 (7.35 center lane miles), portions of CSAH 28 and CSAH 43 (5.35 center lane miles), sidewalks adjacent to City property, bituminous trails (31.3 miles) and municipal parking lots.”
A Snow Emergency is declared when more than two inches of snow falls on the city. During a snow emergency, no parking is allowed on city streets until they are plowed curb-to-curb. City snow plowing begins on primary snow emergency routes. After the main arteries in the city have been cleared, plowing begins in residential areas. Downtown snow removal, which involves clearing parking lanes and hauling snow out of the downtown, generally occurs between one and three days after a snow event.
Under normal conditions, the goal is to have all City streets plowed curb-to-curb approximately 12 hours after a snowstorm has ended, however the actual completion of plowing may exceed the 12 hours based on the timing, amount of snowfall, blowing and drifting, and/or equipment breakdown.
Mayor Rhonda Pownell expressed he gratitude to the city’s snowplow drivers.
“The main corridors and then going out into our neighborhood streets. It’s all really important to get the snow removed. And in this day and age, when people sometimes don’t feel very well and need to stay home because they’re sick, I feel really grateful for all of our people that are out there moving snow on our behalf, because it’s really important to getting around.”
Magic Train and Christmas celebrations at Dakota City Heritage Village
The Dakota City Heritage Village will be open this weekend and next weekend to celebrate Christmas through the lens of an early 20th 
Century village on the Minnesota prairie.
According to its website, the Dakota City Heritage Village is a 1900-era village and museum dedicated to connecting people to the rural past. Located on the Dakota County Fairgrounds, it is 22 buildings on five acres of land, where visitors are greeted by in-costume villagers who will explain what life was like 120 years ago.
Dakota City has been a can’t miss stop at the Dakota County Fair for years, and the Christmas presentation is now an annual tradition as well. The Village will, of course, be decorated for the holidays. Visitors can expect to hear Christmas music playing in the church, and watch, and perhaps ride on horse drawn trolleys. Demonstrations of wintertime chores will be found at the millinery and the Harris House. A new attraction this year will be the Magic Train display. The library will host a model railroad set-up with trains decorated for Christmas running through their own Christmas Village. Food and beverages will be available at the Drug Store, as will candy and merchandise at the Gift Shop.
The Ahlberg Heritage Center will be open to show more than 10,000 artifacts depicting social and rural history with an emphasis on agriculture, and how farmers lived in the winter months. The museum offers first-hand information about how locals met their needs for food, clothing, shelter, and social connections.
Visitors will also be able to talk to Santa Claus inside The Depot. Children are invited to bring letters for Santa Claus to the Dakota City Post Office.
The Dakota City Heritage Village will be open from 3-8pm December 3rd and 4th, and the 10th and 11th, this weekend and next. Admission is $5 for adults and children over 5 years old. Children under 5 get in for free. Tickets can be purchased at the gate.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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