Yesterday, residents of townships across the State of Minnesota went to the polls to elect supervisors and, in some cases, clerks. They then convened to discuss and vote on the township tax levies for 2025.
While not every local township had a contested election on the ballot, there were a few seats that required a decision.
In Greenvale Township, Scott Norkunas, a member of the Township Planning Commission defeated former Supervisor Gregory Langer to take the seat being vacated by Supervisor Tony Rowan.
We are still waiting for the results of the elections in Bridgewater and Northfield Townships. KYMN News will bring you that information as soon as it is released.
In Bridgewater Township, Larry Alderks received 84 votes to incumbent Mike Little’s 31. Alderks will now take the Supervisor “D” seat.
The three-way race in Northfield Township resulted in a victory for Matt Estrem, who defeated Josh Malecha by just 3 votes, 58-55. Jerald Studsdahl received 11 votes.
Residents of Northfield Township were also asked to decide on two ballot questions, both of which passed. On the question of whether the county should be allowed to issue a Sunday liquor sales license to local establishments, 99 people voted yes, to 27 no. The question of appointing the Township Clerk instead of electing the position passed 102-16.
A full listing of results can be found on the Dakota County website at co.dakota.mn.us, or the Rice County website at ricecountymn.gov.
High School costs could come in below referendum request
With the Northfield School Board having approved the idea of a bond referendum for the November ballot, one of the next steps is to explain to the voters of the Northfield Area School District just what it is they are going to be asked to approve.
The referendum will be presented as three questions. The first will ask voters to approve up to $95.8 million for a combination new construction and renovation project on the school. A three-story classroom building will be constructed, and the M, D, H and S wings of the school will be demolished. The media center, the cafeteria, the gymnasium, the auditorium, the art space and the vocational wing will all undergo some form of renovation as well.
The second question will ask voters to approve up to $18.8 million to build an athletic field house. Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said it is important to define the function of this facility, because the term “Field House” can mean different things to different people. The space would be large enough to house four full size basketball courts, and Hillmann said the effects of a structure like this would have an impact beyond the high school.
“This is going to solve a number of problems in terms of allowing our high school athletes to practice after school on site. It would return the elementary gyms to the elementary schools to be able to use those after school for their own programming, which is something that we’ve not been able to really take full advantage of for some time. It would also be a dramatic increase for community access.”
The third question will ask voters to approve up to $7 million to construct and install a geothermal system to generate electricity for heating and cooling the building. Hillmann said while there will eventually be utility savings through this method, the more immediate benefit is in the efficiency of the system.
The second and third questions will be contingent upon the passage of the previous question because of the interdependence of the budgets.
The board also authorized the referendum to specify a bond length of up to 30 years. Hillmann said each of the questions specifies “Up to” a certain amount, and the bond is authorized “up to” a certain amount of time, because the possibility always exists that the project will not require the full amount the district is requesting.
“The bond term could be less than that. Thinking this through, we could have a successful referendum, and get to bid day and receive a great interest rate, or the combination of conditions is such that we could bond for fewer years and be at that same price or less to the taxpayers. We can make that decision at that time, but we need to be able to plan for what is the most possible tax impact for folks in the school district.”
Hillmann pointed to both the Middle School and Greenvale Park Elementary School projects as examples of those that were finished under budget and ahead of schedule. He said he believes past performance is a good indicator of future success, and if authorized, the high school project would receive the same type of stewardship.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann can be heard here
‘Culture Crew’ launches movie nights at The Grand
Tomorrow night, the Northfield Culture Crew will host its first public event when it presents the classic Alfred Hitchcock Thriller Dial M for Murder at the Grand Event Center.
The Culture Crew is a collaboration between the Northfield Arts Guild, the Northfield Historical Society and the Northfield Public Library. Arts Guild Executive Director Michael Johnson said when he took his position last September, he made a point of talking to as many other leaders of non-profit and public organizations as possible. He said he credits Historical Society Executive Director Sean Allen and Director of Library Services Natalie Draper for the idea that the three organizations could work together to create some interesting events in Downtown Northfield. The group began meeting on Wednesday mornings last November, and Arts Guild Performing Arts Manager Pauline Jennings said those meetings have been very productive.
“We’ve been meeting every week and anybody that can come from each group comes. So there might be 12 people in the room, or there might be 5 people in the room. And we’ve been just brainstorming ideas and figuring out ways we can support each other and coming up with this new programming. And I tell you what, we all leave that meeting energized. It’s so energizing to have this collaboration.”
The Movie Night at the Grand is the first offering from the collaboration. Every second Thursday of the month they will offer a free classic movie that is open to the public. Coincidentally, Thursday is the 120th anniversary of the opening night at the Grand, which was then known as the Ware Auditorium. Allen said one of the things he likes best about this program is the honoring of the Grand’s history as a movie theater.
“Because the library has access to all these movie titles, and because they have the license to show these movies, it lets us reinvigorate the Grand from a movie perspective. I think that they, and others, have struggled because it’s just hard to get the licensing, and it’s very expensive.”
Each month the featured movie will be preceded by a short film created locally. Allen said this month will feature a short horror film shot by Carleton students at the library,
Dial M for Murder, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland will begin at 7pm, the short film is scheduled to begin at 6:30. Doors to the Grand will open at 6:00. The bar will be open, and they will offer a limited food menu as well. The event is free and open to the public.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Michael Johnson and Pauline jennings of the Northfield Arts Guild can be heard here
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Sean Allen of the Northfield Historical Society can be heard here
KYMN News 3/13/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
