Rice County is reminding all residents that County offices, including the Solid Waste Facility, will be closed on Monday, June 19th, in observation of the Juneteenth holiday.
Northfield City Hall and the Public Library Will be closed.
Banks will be closed on Monday as well, and there will be no mail delivery.
The holiday, which marks the historical pronouncement of the end of slavery in the United States, was to be observed as a state holiday beginning in 2024. However, an amendment was offered at the end of the 2023 session of the Minnesota Legislature modifying the effective date.
The law does not allow public business to be transacted on Juneteenth except in cases of necessity.
A statement on the county website said the Solid Waste Facility will reopen at 7:30 am on Tuesday, June 20. All remaining county offices will reopen at 8 am that same day. The City of Northfield Offices will re-open at the normal time of 7:30 on Tuesday. The Northfield Public Library will open at its normal time of 9am.
Hillmann encourages community to thank school district staff
With the 2022-2023 school year now ended, Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann took some time to reflect on the year and discuss the changes that will be seen for the 2023-2024 school year.
He said every year has its own ups-and-downs, and this was no different. The passage of the operating levy questions during the election was a positive development, as was the addition of new voices to the School Board. He also noted that losing other members of the board, and seeing Julie Pritchard retire from the board after more than a decade of honorable service was difficult. Another round of budget reductions was not easy, either. However, he said, in the first year since the Covid-19 Pandemic has largely subsided, preliminary data is showing positive growth for Northfield students, both academically and emotionally. That, he said, was the major goal for the year.
“This was the first full year that really wasn’t as impacted by the pandemic. We started with a theme for this year of ‘Reset,’ so resetting all of the expectations, resetting the systems that we use to support students, making sure that we’re prioritizing the things that are most important. So, we had a great start to the school year. It felt regular for the first time in a while, and I know everyone was grateful for that.”
Looking forward to next year, Hillmann said the K-12 Education Bill that was passed by the legislature last month will mandate changes for at least 27 different policies. Some will be easy, he said, and others, like sorting out unemployment insurance for hourly workers, and paid family leave, which will be implemented over the next two years, will require more attention. However, change from year-to-year, he said, is nothing new.
“Schools reinvent themselves. We don’t have the exact same group of people each year. We have a graduating class that leaves us, and we have a new set of kindergarteners that come in every year. We have some staff who retire or move on to other positions and this year we had some budget reductions that caused some staff reductions. We’re always reinventing ourselves. Every school year is different.”
One of the important keys to any successful year, he said, is the staff throughout the entire district, and he praised the people who work for Northfield public schools, from administration and faculty to the custodians and the child nutrition staff, for their dedication and perseverance over the last few years. And he suggested a way for everyone who lives in the school district to thank the staff as well.
“If you could take a minute, and ideally, you’d write them a little card just saying, ‘Hey, thanks for your public service and doing good things for kids.’ I can’t tell you how much that means to our staff that the public has support for them, not just at the ballot box, but there is that individual level of support to say, ‘We are grateful that you’ve chosen this public service for our students.’”
Hillmann said he and the rest of the district staff will spend the summer focused on preparing for the coming year and offering the best possible service to the community and the students of Northfield Public Schools.
Lieske helps Dundas get funding for pedestrian crossing
The Dundas City Council met on Monday night during which City Administrator Jenelle Teppen said the Minnesota State Legislature, and Senator Bill Lieske in particular, came through for a project she has been working on for quite some time.
When County Road 1 was widened in 2018, there were no pedestrian crossings put in at Highway 3, leaving a somewhat dangerous situation for people who have to cross in that area. Teppen said she has been working to have the situation rectified since she took office in 2019.
This year, she wrote a long and detailed letter to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, copying Senator Lieske and Representative Kristi Pursell.
Lieske, Teppen said, was able to have $370,000 allocated for the project in the state’s $2.6 billion infrastructure bill, and the city is expecting to receive the funding later this year.
Teppen said the project will be more than just a crosswalk and flashing lights.
“And there will be some trail connections. Trails along County Road 1 and Hwy. 3 kind of just end. If you want to make your way from one trail to the other trail, you have to walk or ride your bike or whatever through the ditch. Seems kind of crazy to me that there were no connections made during that project, but here we are.”
In other developments from the meeting, Teppen said the Department of Natural Resources has been granted the request to increase the amount and timing of a water surcharge applied to cities. Teppen said currently, in an effort to curb water use during the summer months, the DNR imposes a surcharge of $30 per 1 million gallons used by a city between June and August, and that will now be expanded to a $50 surcharge between May and September. Teppen said that will affect the city’s watering restrictions moving forward, most likely to include the months of May and September.
She said the Council also renewed the city’s liquor licenses at the meeting on Monday night and included in that a special license for Chapel Brewing to host an event with the Minnesota Brewers Association on July 9th.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
