With the Minnesota Legislature in session looking at a possible $17.6 billion surplus, it would seem every city and state program and 
department is looking to St. Paul lawmakers to help them out with a specific project or idea. Public Safety departments would tend to be at the top of the list, and most likely should get some of the strongest consideration.
Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott said there are a number of issues that law enforcement professionals see statewide that he hopes will be addressed.
Officer wellness is a serious concern right now. Elliott said the number of disability claims filed related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for police officers in recent years has been very high. He said he hopes the legislature will fund programs to help that situation, particularly in the face of plummeting officer recruitment and retention numbers, which is another of his concerns. The Chief said he understands that no industry has been untouched or unburdened by the shrinking labor force, but law enforcement agencies, he said, are really struggling to hire new officers and keep the good ones that are already in place.
Another concern, he said, is transparency in charging. Quite often, he said, he sees someone who commits a serious crime that he believes should not be out on bail in the first place, and he would like to at least understand the reasoning behind how some decisions are made.
“It’s not just in the metro. We’ve seen around the state too, where we’ve had folks commit serious crimes that are out on release before trial from another serious crime. So, we want that transparency out there to make sure that everybody understands what those decisions are that are made by judges and by county attorneys on whether we hold someone and whether it’s safe to return them to our community.”
Chief Elliott said he has his eye on the marijuana legalization bill making its way through both the House and the Senate right now, because legalization obviously has a lot of different aspects that would affect law enforcement. Starting, he said, with safe driving.
“We know that we can test and make determinations on alcohol related issues quite reliably, because the scientific methods are there. We don’t have that with marijuana, and that’s a safety concern. If we have legalization, we don’t have a way to easily and quickly determine if someone is impaired at that moment, and whether or not they should be out driving.”
Finally, Chief Elliott touched on the Community Coordinator program, and how helpful that has been. He said he hopes that there will be some funding made available so that the county can keep the program running.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott can be heard here
Not all Township offices have candidates
The deadline to file for elected office in a Rice County Township was Tuesday, and while the slate of candidates for the 2023 elections is 
set, there are some offices still seeking a candidate.
According to statement issued by Rice County, no affidavits for candidacy were filed for Bridgewater Township treasurer; nor were there affidavits filed in either the treasurer or open supervisor seat in Richland Township, both raising the likelihood of write-in campaigns for those seats.
The treasurer’s seat is up in all but one of the townships. In Forest Township, the treasurer is appointed, rather than elected. One seat on each township’s board of supervisors will also be on the ballot, except in Bridgewater, where two races – Seats C and E, currently held by Kathleen Kopseng and Thomas Hart, respectively, will be decided. Bridgewater is the only Rice County township with five supervisors. All others have three, for three-year terms. Treasurers’ terms are two years long.
Tuesday, Feb. 21 is the last day to pre-register to vote for the 2022 township elections. Paper applications must be delivered to the Elections Office at the Rice County Government Services Building in Faribault or should arrive by mail by 5pm on Feb. 15. Voters registering online through the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State’s secure website have an 11:59pm deadline.
Residents can vote absentee beginning Friday, Feb. 10 and running through Monday, March 13 at the Rice County Government Services Building. The office is open weekdays from 8am to 4:30pm, except for Monday, Feb. 21, when county offices will be closed for Presidents Day. Voters can also cast an absentee ballot from 10am-3pm on Saturday, March 11 and from 8am-5pm on Monday, March 13 at the Government Services Building.
Township Election Day and annual meetings will be held Tuesday, March 14.
Here is the full slate of candidates for Township offices:
Bridgewater
Treasurer: No affidavits of candidacy were filed
Supervisor Seat C: Kathleen Kopseng
Supervisor Seat E: Emily Fulton-Foley, Thomas Hart and Derek Kruse
Vote from 10 a.m-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 500 Railway St, Dundas
Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Cannon City
Treasurer: Pam Wunderlich
Supervisor: Clayton F. Mechura
Vote from 4-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 4490 Crystal Lake Trail, Faribault
Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Erin
Treasurer: Elgin A. Trcka
Supervisor: Joseph LeBrun
Vote from 3-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 12378 Independence Ave., Lonsdale
Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Forest
Supervisor: Charles Peters
Vote from 2-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 3625 Millersburg Boulevard, Faribault
Annual meeting: 1 p.m.
Morristown
Treasurer: Vicky Timm
Supervisor: Andrew Wagner
Vote from 5-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 402 Division St. S, Morristown
Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Northfield (Precincts 1 and 2)
Treasurer: Jessica Hubers
Supervisor: Foster Transburg
Vote from 2-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 10901 Jacobs Ave., Northfield
Annual meeting: 8:10 p.m.
Richland
No affidavits for candidacy were filed
Vote from 5-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 9985 240th St. E, Faribault
Annual meeting: 4 p.m.
Shieldsville
Treasurer: Kimberly Pesta
Supervisor: Todd S. Schilling and Andy Ernste
Vote from 3-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 7250 154th St. W, Faribault
Annual meeting: 2 p.m.
Walcott
Treasurer: Carrie Heiderscheidt
Supervisor: Tom Donkers
Vote from 5-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 4020 240th St E., Faribault
Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Warsaw
Treasurer: Ron Kuball
Supervisor: Steve Drewitz
Vote from 4-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 22955 Dalton Ave, Faribault
Annual meeting: 3 p.m.
Webster
Treasurer: Bob Michel
Supervisor: Dwayne Harnack
Vote from 3-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 4175 Delano Ave, Webster
Annual meeting: 1 p.m.
Wells
Treasurer: Flavia Berg
Supervisor: Jeff LaCanne
Vote from 2-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 18400 Roberds Lake Boulevard, Faribault
Annual meeting: 1 p.m.
Wheatland
Treasurer: Sara Chlan and Maria Prange
Supervisor: Travis J. Simon
Vote from 3-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 9641 50th St W, Veseli
Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Wheeling
Treasurer: Marilyn Danks
Supervisor: Mark A. Bongers
Vote from 5-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 8492 Nerstrand Boulevard, Nerstrand
Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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