On Tuesday, Northfield police made an arrest in connection with the overdose death of a young Northfield man, and 
Separate statements made by the Northfield Police Department and the Rice County Attorney’s office said 22-year-old Chalin Riley Marcum of Faribault, has been charged with third degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Josiah Schirmer. Schirmer was found to have Fentanyl in his system during an autopsy. The charges state that Marcum supplied Schirmer with drugs containing Fentanyl.
The arrest came after months of investigation by Northfield Police and the Cannon River Drug and Violent Offender Task Force. Authorities say they were alerted to Marcum’s involvement in the death from an anonymous source who alleged that Schirmer died after ingesting drugs taken from Marcum’s vehicle while Marcum was in jail for violating a no-contact order.
Members of the task force listened to phone calls Marcum made from jail with Schirmer and another individual and learned that Marcum had asked the unnamed person to remove the drugs from his car in one call, and in a phone call with Schirmer the two agreed if Schirmer would put money into Marcum’s jail account, Schirmer could have a portion of the drugs.
Searches of Marcum’s car and Schirmer’s residence turned up drugs, including a small earbuds case containing pills and some white powder. The Rice County Attorney statement said during an interview with task force agents, the unnamed individual told them Marcum had claimed the white powder was Fentanyl.
In addition to the third-degree murder charge, Marcum is also facing charges of third-degree sale of a narcotic and fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance.
Northfield Chief of Police said in the NPD statement that his department has zero tolerance for those distributing deadly narcotics.
“We have all seen the rise of fentanyl in our illegal drug supply throughout the region. Those dealing illegal drugs in our community are dealing death to our children, siblings, and friends. We will do everything in our power to arrest these dealers and bring them to justice.”
Both the NPD and Rice County attorney statements said there is help for those struggling with substance use. The Rice County Mobile Opioid Support Team (MOST) has staff to assist those in need and the availability of resources to assist with treatment, transportation to treatment, and medication assisted treatment to help people with recovery. Rice County residents can contact the MOST program at MOSTlead@ricecountycmhc.org or (507) 299-0204 for help connecting with resources.
Help wanted in the County Corrections Department
Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas reports that his department is now fully staffed with patrol deputies, now that 
the most recent person to be hired has finished his field training. However, Thomas said the staff of corrections officers is still in need of five more people, and over the course of the next year, he will be looking to hire even more.
Corrections officers are, of course, the people who watch over the Rice County jail. Typically, they enforce the rules and regulations of a correctional facility for inmate conduct and accountability and keep a careful eye on what comes into and leaves the building. As the county continues to work on the new Public Safety center, which will house both the Rice County Jail and the Sheriff’s Department, Thomas said he will have three more positions coming open in July, and most likely two more after that in January. Combined with the five empty corrections positions, Thomas said he will most likely have to hire ten new correctional officers in the next fourteen months.
Thomas said he started his law enforcement career as a correctional officer in 1996, and the job has improved over the last 27 years. In fact, he said, once the news facility is complete, he believes the job of a Rice County Correctional Officer will be easier and safer.
“At our new facility, we’ll have a larger area so the detainees can get out and run, maybe play basketball, handball, whatever that might be. We don’t have that ability [at our current facility], so now when they get frustrated, their target is our staff. That’s why our staff are trained to be able to talk and de-escalate. So, what we’ve seen from other facilities that built new and had more programming is the confrontations between the detainee and the staff have gone way down.”
Beyond that, Thomas said the benefit and compensation package for a correctional officer is far better than the $8.00 he was being paid in his first job. Starting pay for a Rice County Correctional Officer is $26.11 an hour, with, he said, somewhere between 40-80 hours of overtime, on average, each pay period. The compensation package also includes shift work uniform maintenance and a holiday bonus. All of that, he said, can add up to an excellent starting salary.
“So that starting package [is pretty good.]. The minimum qualifications are a high school education or a GED and a valid driver’s license. And we like experience, but you don’t need it because we train you. So that starting package is right around $57,000-58,000 a year.”
Thomas also stressed that while experience is beneficial, the county trains correctional officers, so no experience is required. For more information on how to apply for a correctional officer position, visit the Rice County website, and click on the employment page.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Sheriff Jesse Thomas can be heard here
Northfield Public Library makes it easier to return books
Northfield Public Library patrons will now have an easier time getting their books back to the library with two new book returns at convenient off-site locations. One of the returns is located outside the main entrance of the Northfield Community Resource Center and the other is located in the main lobby of the Northfield Community Education Center.
In addition to more ways to return books, the library is no longer charging fines on late returns and is expanding bookmobile service and outreach efforts, which will include a satellite location called the Northfield Public Library Oasis at the NCRC later this year year.
To learn more about the project and how to support the efforts of the Friends and Foundation of the Library, visit: mynpl.org/oasis.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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