Highway 3 was closed for more than three hours yesterday morning after a tragic incident forced authorities to shut traffic down during a peak time.
Authorities said at approximately 5:30 yesterday morning, a man in his mid-thirties was struck and killed by a construction dump truck near 321st Street and Highway 3 near Waterford Township.
It is believed the man stepped in front of the vehicle and intended to cause his own death.
Dakota County Sheriff’s Deputies and members of the Minnesota Highway Patrol responded to the call while Northfield Police assisted with traffic diversion.
The deceased man’s name has not been released. The driver of the truck was uninjured.
Underdahl calls Closing NH+C Long-Term Care Center necessary, but ‘sad and disappointing’
After announcing on Monday that Northfield Hospital + Clinics would close the long-erm Care Center at Northfield Hospital, NH+C President and CEO Steve Underdahl said the decision was both sad and disappointing. However, he said the decision was also made to protect the overall financial health and stability of the organization.
“We lose several hundreds of thousand dollars a year on our nursing home practice. In good years when we’ve got more bandwidth from an enterprise-wide perspective, we can support that kind of underwriting. It’s just in a in a circumstance like this, we just can’t. And as we look to the future, we don’t really see this trend getting better.”
That decision, however, comes at a cost.
The NH+C long Term Care Center began operation in 1963 as the H.O. Dilley Skilled Nursing Facility in the hospital which was then located on what is now Way Park, with a $250,000 bequest from Minnie Dilley. In the 60 years since it began, the center has received five-star ratings from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, based on health inspections, staffing, and the quality of resident care. Underdahl said it was very hard to end a “really good program that had been around for so long.”
The operation is licensed for 40 residents, but Underdahl said for several years they have been staffed for 30. There are currently 24 residents in the long-term care unit, and he said NH+C will work with each of them and their support people, both through the search process to find a new home and in their physical relocation.
“We’re committed to doing this well. One of the important differences between this unit and other units within our organization is that these people live here. This is their home. I mean, I work here every day. Some of these people have lived here for decades. This is a different transition for them. We’re working really hard to make sure that we do this well.”
Along with the residents, Underdahl said the closing will affect eight full time staff members, 28 part-time staff, and another 20 whom he said were “casually” connected to the unit. The organization is working with each of them as well. Some will be offered employment elsewhere within NH+C, he said. One small benefit of the closing, he pointed out, will be an influx of well-trained professionals into the job market that will most likely be picked up quickly by other long-term care facilities in the area. Underdahl said they will run a job fair in the near future to facilitate that transition, and he said they are also working with the state Department of Employment and Economic Development through the Displaced Worker Program to offer help as well.
The long-term care facility is expected to close in early October.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Hospital + Clinics President and CEO Steve Underdahl can be heard here
Rice County United Way announces microgrant awardees
The Rice County Area United Way announced this week that microgrants will be awarded to three grantees this month, as approved by a community-led committee.
The microgrants are given throughout the year to groups that have urgent needs or innovative programs with a charitable purpose. The projects funded by a microgrant affect members of the Rice County community in the United Way target areas of financial stability, health, and dducation. While the applying entities do not need to be registered as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization, they should be able to demonstrate limited access to funding, and the project for which they are applying should focus on a charitable, tax-exempt purpose.
A statement issued by the Rice County Area United Way singled out the local development group Rebound Partners as an important benefactor of their program with a donation this year of $6000.
The Statement said $900 will be awarded to the Rice County Salvation Army, who, in collaboration with Community Action Center, is instituting a program that will provide children heading into the new school year with a $50 voucher at Burkhartzmeyer Shoes to buy a new pair of shoes for school. A grant of $500 will be awarded to Ruth’s House of Hope to purchase 400 bus tokens from Hiawathaland Transit so Ruth’s House residents, including women and children, can get to work, school, appointments or other destinations. And $250 will be awarded to Champion Force of Faribault to fund underserved students who may not otherwise be able to participate in athletic programs.
Rice County Area United Way Executive Director Elizabeth Child said in the statement that the program, which was piloted in 2022, has been successful as a stop-gap source of help for unforeseen issues that do not fit into the annual grant cycle, and has been a good way to reach charitable groups that may not have established funding sources.
For more information on the Rice County United Way microgrant program, visit ricecountyunitedway.org.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
