Rice County has announced that the filing period for seats on the various county townships’ Boards of Supervisors will open on Tuesday, 
Jan. 3, and will run through Tuesday, Jan. 17.
The treasurer’s seat is up in all but one of the county’s 14 townships, because in Forest Township, the treasurer is an appointed position, and not an elected one.
At least one seat will be on the ballot in thirteen of the 14 county township boards. In Bridgewater Township, two of the board’s five supervisors seats — those now held by Kathleen Kopseng and Thomas Hart — will be up.
Candidates for town board must:
• Be eligible to vote in Minnesota
• Not have filed for another office in the upcoming primary or general election
• Be 21 years of age or older upon assuming office
• Have maintained residence in their district for at least 30 days before the general election
Candidates must file with the town clerk, who should be contacted to learn when and where they are accepting affidavits for candidacy. Filing offices may be closed on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which is Monday, January 16, but must be open from 1-5 p.m. on the last day of filing, which will be Tuesday, Jan. 17.
In addition to completing an affidavit for candidacy, candidates must pay a $2 filing fee.
Township elections will be held Tuesday, March 14, 2023.
For a full listing of each Township’s town clerk, visit the Rice County website.
Salvation Army has immediate need Bell Ringers
With Christmas just six days away, the Rice County Salvation Army is heading into the home stretch of its Red Kettle Campaign, which is the
only fundraiser it runs all year, and they are pulling out all the stops to ensure that they raise as much money as possible.
The organization has met ambitious goals over the last few years, even in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the $100,000 fundraising goal set for this year is the most ambitious yet. In order to entice more donations, the Board of Directors has announced that the individual members of the board have pledged a $7000 match on all donations made to a red kettle today through Friday. Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas, who is the Chair of the Board, said he and the other members wanted to demonstrate their commitment to the success of the campaign by offering the match. This week, then, a $20 donation will become a $40 donation, and a $100 donation will become a $200 donation.
The new Counter Kettle program is helping to meet the goal as well. Don Pavek, who is coordinating the smaller kettle program said he has been overwhelmed by the generosity of both the people who are donating and the businesses that are hosting the kettles. In fact, he said there is some competition among businesses to host a Counter Kettle, and Pavek said it’s not too late for a new business to join in.
“Next year I’m going to make a list, because we’re probably going to be 50 kettles. I visit all these places and a lot of them say ‘Why didn’t you ask me? Why didn’t you ask me?’,” he said. “Well, we ran out of kettles for one thing. But I may move a kettle this week, so if anybody’s out there that would like to have a kettle, let me know.”
Jim Dale, who coordinates the county-wide campaign, said he does have some concerns, because while the donations have been very generous, they are in need of more people to stand as bell ringers and tend the kettle. He has openings every day this week at every location in Northfield, Faribault and Lonsdale. Being a Bell Ringer is not a difficult task, he said, but it can be very rewarding.
“To fill an opening means a 2-hour commitment to be at the kettle and ring the bell, greet the people who are there, wish them a Merry Christmas, and hopefully they’ll be in the giving mood, and we’ll fill up our kettles.”
And while the temperatures this week are expected to be cold, he said the Bell Ringers can stand in the breezeways of the stores to stay warm.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Sheriff Jesse Thomas, Jim Dale and Don Pavek can be heard here
City of Northfield will offer grants for downtown capital improvement projects
Applications are being accepted by the City of Northfield for grants that will go to business owners and developers in Downtown Northfield.
The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation has applied for and received $2.34 million through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Main Street Economic Revitalization Program. Of that amount, $1 million, and possibly more, will be allocated to qualifying Northfield business owners and developers. The foundation and city staff will work together to distribute grant funds.
Northfield Assistant City Planner Revee Needham said the grants are available for capital improvement projects, but within that the parameters are relatively wide.
“The eligible projects are for capital improvements on property, so this could be new construction, but it could also just be exterior alterations, facade improvements, maybe adding a patio to serve more customers, as well as interior improvements or landscaping. So pretty much anything where you’re investing into the building and the site.”
Eligible applicants will include business owners and developers who have capital improvement projects located in Northfield’s Downtown districts, who have plans to develop, redevelop, renovate, or repair their property. The maximum amount of funding available per project under this program is $750,000, while the minimum is $3,000. The amount is intended to cover up to 30% of the total project cost.
The first round of applications will be accepted through January 31. Those interested in applying should visit the city’s Main Street Grant webpage at northfieldmn.gov/MainStreet Grant where they will find a list of frequently asked questions, the full criteria for eligibility, and the application.
Those with questions regarding projects within the historic district should contact Revee Needham at revee.needham@ci.northfield.mn.us or 507-645-3041. For general questions, contact Anna Watson at anna.watson@ci.northfield.mn.us or 507-645-3070.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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