Northfield was coated in a layer of hazy smoke at times yesterday due to a fire at the Rice County Landfill.
Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service Chief Tom Nelson said firefighters were called to the landfill late Monday afternoon when the fire was reported. Nelson said he, in consultation with Faribault Fire Chief Dusty Dienst, decided, due to the difficulty of reaching the fire and potential danger to firefighters, to let the fire burn itself out. Chief Nelson reported that the fire had indeed gone out around 5pm yesterday afternoon.
Rice County issued a statement reporting that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency had been notified of the incident and Rice County staff were continuing to monitor the situation with the Northfield Area Fire Department. As issues and concerns surrounding the fire continue to be assessed, the statement said, county officials wanted to provide an update and address certain questions and concerns that had arisen.
Landfill fires can pose several hazards to both human health and the environment. The smoke and ash generated can contain particulate matter, which can cause respiratory issues, especially for individuals with pre-existing conditions. In addition, due to the wildfires burning in Canada there are already existing air quality issues in Southern Minnesota.
Precautions should be taken when the air quality is unhealthy. If possible, stay away from local sources of air pollution, limit or postpone physical activity and stay indoors. Anyone with asthma or other respiratory conditions like COPD should make sure they have their rescue or relief inhalers with them.
The statement said updates will be provided as needed to ensure members of the public are kept abreast of the situation, should the fire flare up again.
Activity fees increase as school district finances even out
On Monday night the Northfield School Board approved the five remaining components of the 2023-2024 school year budget: the Internal Service Fund, which handles the self-funded insurance program, the Debt-Service Fund, the Community Education Budget, the Childhood Nutrition Budget, and the General Fund. The sixth component, the Operating Capital Budget, was approved in March in order to make arrangements for summer projects and maintenance.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann pointed out again that the budget for the next school year is the district’s first budget that has not run a deficit in four years, and in fact, the district was able to put slightly more than the 14% goal in reserve. He also acknowledged that after years of financial difficulty caused by declining enrollment, Covid-19 difficulties, and the way the State of Minnesota has funded education, balancing the budget did involve some sacrifices and some uncomfortable changes.
One of those changes was reflected in the activity fees that were also approved by the school board. Rather than cut most Middle School activities, which had been the original plan for this year’s round of budget cuts, the School Board heard parents saying the activities for middle-schoolers were necessary. So, instead of cutting the activities, the decision was made to take a new approach to the activity fees.
“We’re taking a little bit of a different approach. Rather than segmenting those fees at the two different levels, we’re trying to look at them more holistically, 6th grade through 12th, because it is a system. It is a 6th through 12th grade system. And so, looking at them a little bit more holistically was the approach that we took.”
Most of the fees were increased dramatically, depending on the costs associated with the activities. Hillmann said the baseball activity fee will increase from $188 to $285. Alpine Skiing will increase from $296 to $445. Even the Knowledge Bowl fee will increase by 50% from $80 to $120.
He also said the district will be looking for scholarship help to ease the burden of the fees on students from lower income families. The district will not turn away a kid who wants to participate, he said, but they are going to need help in that area.
The district can be proud to have a net-positive budget this year, Hillmann said, but balancing that budget comes at a cost.
“I think you can be proud of a process like our budget prioritization, we can be proud of the way it was inclusive and really brought a number of voices to the table over the last couple of years, and still not like the outcome. We know getting to this first net positive budget that we’ve had since 2019 really came from a lot of hard work, pain, and some loss that we have moving forward.”
Finally, he said there are positive signs that further cuts to the budget might not be necessary any time soon. The new funding from the state’s just passed K-12 Education Finance Bill will help, as will some of the housing steps the city has taken that could ease the declining enrollment. But the district has found its “new normal,” and Hillmann said there are no plans to restore anything removed from the budget over the last two years.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Superintendent Matt Hillmann can be heard here
Applications for all Northfield Shares grants open July 5th
Northfield Shares announced on Monday that the recently concluded matching-gift challenge to support the Environmental Sustainability Fund issued by Mary Lynn and Clay Oglesbee was such a success that the fund will begin distributing grants in 2023, rather than in 2024, as had been originally planned.
Northfield Shares Executive Director Carrie Carroll said the Oglesbees were moved by the cause to help things along.
“The Oglesbees felt it important to not only support the fund, issue a challenge and inspire others,” she said, “but also that as a community we shouldn’t wait to ‘get started’ in supporting sustainability programs and projects making Northfield better today and for generations to come.”
Grant distributions from the Northfield Shares Environmental Sustainability Fund will support local projects and programs overseen by local organizations. Such work may include, but is not limited to, clean energy, reduce/reuse/recycle projects, environmental upkeep, community engagement, and education.
Applications for a grant from the fund may be submitted beginning July 5th, when the foundation will begin accepting applications for grants from all of its funds.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
