As 2023 approaches changes are happening with many organizations as terms on boards come to an end and others begin.
The Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service board will see a major change as Paul Liebenstein, who has been on the Rural Fire District Board for 25 years and the NAFRS Board since its inception, spending the past year as the Board Chair, is stepping away, because, as he put it. “It’s time to let somebody else do it.”
Liebenstein had great praise for the people he has worked with over the years.
“I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the firefighters. We are so blessed in this Community to have such dedicated people who are willing to drop whatever they are doing and come running and when people need help. It was an honor to get to know these people and get an inside look.”
Liebenstein said there is quite a bit of work that needs to be done in the oversight and management of a fire department, and he has learned quite a bit over the last 25 years. He said he will continue to support the organization
Newly named full-time NAFRS Chief Tom Nelson praised Liebenstein and some of his longtime rural colleagues, Glenn Castor and Jerry Anderson, for the support they have consistently shown the fire department and the events the department has both put together and taken part in.
Nelson said the coherence of the Board as the organization navigated the past year, with debate over the role of the fire chief and the possible establishment of a NAFRS taxing district, has been very important.
“Most of them we’ve known, I mean most of them grew up here, so there’s a lot of us that were all in it together. It’s important to have that context, especially if you’re working through change, because the rural board this past year and a lot of the members of the Joint Powers Board, there were a lot of things we had to work through this year.”
Brad Ness, who previously served as the Board Chair in 2021, will resume that role in 2023. An organizational meeting is scheduled for January 12th. Indications are the Chair’s term length could be extended at that meeting.
Laura Baker seeking a 30% increase in Medicaid reimbursements
As Laura Baker Services Association makes the final push on their 125 For 125 Campaign, a monthlong fundraiser that 
hopes to raise $125,000 at the end of the organization’s 125th Anniversary, they are also asking for help with a much longer and more sustainable goal.
Most of Laura Baker’s clients pay for their services through Medicaid. However, over the past few years, Medicaid reimbursements have been dwindling for several reasons. Northfield Hospital + Clinics President and CEO Steve Underdahl said recently that if something is not done at a legislative level, he believes organizations such as nursing homes and group homes for the developmentally disabled like LBSA, will start to close at an alarming rate, leading to yet another national crisis.
LBSA Director of Community Outreach Andrei Sivanich said the organization is asking for help not just with monetary donations, although they are greatly appreciated, but also through contact with legislators to alert them of the problem and show them there is popular support for finding a solution.
“That’s actually just as important as donations. Obviously, we still would appreciate financial support, but not everybody is in a position to do that. Contacting their legislators would be just as helpful for us, because that’s sort of the long-term problem that needs to get solved.”
According to the Laura Baker website, the organization believes new policies are needed to allow for flexibility in support, to recognize that people with disabilities may want to move away from their family of origin at the appropriate time in their life, and there is a moral obligation to affirm the need to support the individual’s choice of living situation and to ensure that a variety of choices are available.
The first step toward that goal would be an increase in Medicaid reimbursements by 30%, which is what they are advocating for.
Sivanich said contact with legislators is important at both the federal and state levels, because there are so many new legislators this year. While some of them will be well acquainted with the problem, most likely most of them are not, and the problem must be brought to their attention. To that end, an advocacy page has been created on the LBSA website, asking people to email their legislators and show their support.
With a nearly $18 billion dollar budget surplus, Sivanich said, the state is in a good position to offer some help.
“We’re in a unique situation here in in Minnesota because we have the [budget] surplus. So, of course, we would advocate for some of that money to be used to help solve the the Medicaid crisis that we’re facing.”
Minneapolis business is moving to Rice County
The Rice County Board of Commissioners has authorized a 10-year tax abatement for a Minneapolis company planning a 
move to the northern portion of Rice County.
Following a required public hearing, the board authorized an abatement of about $105,000 in taxes over the duration of the agreement.
According to a statement issued by Rice County, the company, Scan Air Filter, provides heating, ventilation and air conditioning services for industrial clients. They are currently located southeast of downtown Minneapolis but there are plans to build a new $1.65 million facility in the Lonsdale Business Park off Hwy. 19.
The 2.56-acre parcel has a valuation of $112,000, according to Rice County records.
During a recent Board of Commissioners meeting, the company’s Vice President of Operations indicated that they are eager to set the process in motion in order to improve their capacity and find a more favorable working environment.
“Lonsdale is a more desirable location,” he said.
The facility will employ 11 people initially but might add another three full-time equivalent positions with a $17 per hour wage.
While the City of Lonsdale is not planning to abate its share of taxes, the city will subsidize about $284,000 in land acquisition and infrastructure costs.
The proposed abatement agreement is structured so 100% of the Rice County taxes will be abated for the first five years, beginning in 2023. The abatement will then be incrementally reduced for the next five.
The statement said tax abatement is one of several tools utilized by local governments, including counties, to attract new businesses or assist existing employers looking to expand.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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