Today is election day for many Rice County citizens.
County Townships will hold elections throughout the day today, and the citizens of each township will gather together this evening for the annual Township Meetings to voice their opinions about local issues with other residents of their township. They will also vote directly on their annual tax levy. While elections and each township’s annual meeting are pre-scheduled by state statute on the second Tuesday of March, voting hours vary from township to township.
The treasurer’s seat is up in all but one of the 14 county townships. 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. Set E, currently held by Hart, is the only contested race in the county this year. Supervisor Hart is being challenged by Emily Fulton-Foley and Derek Kruse.
Bridgewater is the only Rice County township with five supervisors. All others have three. Supervisor terms are three years long, while treasurers are elected for two years.
Township voting hours and the annual meeting schedule are as follows:
Bridgewater
Vote from 10 a.m-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 500 Railway St, Dundas Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Cannon City
Vote from 4-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 4490 Crystal Lake Trail, Faribault Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Erin
Vote from 3-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 12378 Independence Ave., Lonsdale Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Forest
Vote from 2-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 3625 Millersburg Boulevard, Faribault Annual meeting: 1 p.m.
Morristown
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)
Vote from 2-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 10901 Jacobs Ave., Northfield Annual meeting: 8:10 p.m.
Richland
Vote from 5-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 9985 240th St. E, Faribault Annual meeting: 4 p.m.
Shieldsville
Vote from 3-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 7250 154th St. W, Faribault Annual meeting: 2 p.m.
Walcott
Vote from 5-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 4020 240th St E., Faribault Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Warsaw
Vote from 4-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 22955 Dalton Ave, Faribault Annual meeting: 3 p.m.
Webster
Vote from 3-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 4175 Delano Ave, Webster Annual meeting: 1 p.m.
Wells
Vote from 2-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 18400 Roberds Lake Boulevard, Faribault Annual meeting: 1 p.m.
Wheatland
Vote from 3-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 9641 50th St W, Veseli Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Wheeling
Vote from 5-8 p.m. at Town Hall, 8492 Nerstrand Boulevard, Nerstrand Annual meeting: 8:15 p.m.
Pursell pushing several bills for a variety issue
The first Committee Deadline was Friday in the Minnesota House of Representatives. The first of three deadlines in the House, any bill that
had not been acted upon favorably in the house of origin by Friday is at least set aside, if not altogether dead.
Representative Kristi Pursell (D-Northfield) said she introduced five bills last week, all of which made the deadline.
One of the bills on which she is working would allocate money for rural broadband throughout the state. Pursell said she has seen the need fr broadband in rural areas firsthand, as a mother, as the executive director of a rural non-profit, and as a former farmer. Having broadband in place throughout Minnesota would have made each of those roles easier.
“After the pandemic with kids moving to school online, and there are actually statistics about how much more productive farms can be when they have broadband, we know that this is an important way people access healthcare, access education and run their businesses.”
Last year, Congress approved money for rural broadband throughout the country, and some of that money is starting to arrive in Minnesota, but, Pursell said, the pace isn’t fast enough. Her bill would use the federal money along with money from the state to ensure that broadband cable will be put in place ths summer, so as to not waste another construction season. It would also create a mechanism to see that the federal money is being used as it is funneled to the state and does not languish or go unused.
The bill calls for $276 million to be allocated for smaller communities to install broadband cable, and she said there is language in the bill to ensure acceptable speeds at which information will travel. IN some cases, the communities will be able to access funds to cover 50% of the costs, and in others it will cover 75% of the costs. Her hope is to see this program folded int the Agriculture Omnibus bill.
Pursell said she continues to work on a variety of areas, with bills either scheduled or hoping to be scheduled for her to present in several different committees.
“I’m scheduled to present to the Commerce Committee for my bill about the labeling of compostable packaging. I’m hoping that I can still get in front of the Higher Education Committee to talk about my bill that makes it easier for college students to vote, and I’m also trying to get a bill in front of the Local Government Committee for a beginning farmer tax credit.”
The next committee deadlines in both the House and Senate are March 24th and April 4th.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Representative Kristi Pursell can be heard here
City Council will discuss bicycle lanes in a work session tonight
And the Northfield City Council will meet for a work session tonight in the Council Chambers at City Hall. 
Among the items on the agenda this evening will be an update on the Strategic Plan. But the majority of the evening will be dedicated to a discussion of the two-lane bikeways the city intends to construct throughout Northfield
The plan has been met with quite a bit of resistance. Residents in the two areas where the bicycle lanes are scheduled to be constructed this summer have voiced concerns about safety, cost and the practicality of constructing another curb on city streets to separate the bicyclists from motorized vehicles. The recent protest about the plan from residents of the Heritage Drive/South Lincoln Street area has gained some sympathy on the council, and therefore will make for an interesting discussion.
As always, the City Council and the Northfield City Staff are eager to hear the opinions of the public on any matter, whether the subject is on the Council agenda or not. Tonight’s meeting is a work session, so the Council will not hear from the public. However, those who do wish to make a point, air an opinion or ask a question, can email their councilor directly or make use of the eComment function which can be found in the “Agendas” section of the city website.
The meeting will begin tonight at 6pm.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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