Despite the wet weather over the past week, much of Southern Minnesota, including Northfield and the Greater Northfield area, remains under drought conditions. Because things are still very dry, Northfield Area Fire Chief Tom Nelson is warning people about the dangers of open burning, and why getting a permit to burn anything is so important.
The only fires that are legal without a permit within the Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service coverage area are recreational fires, which are defined by Nelson as 25 feet from a building in a 36-inch fire pit. In Rice County, permits are issued by the Department of Natural Resources, but in Dakota County, they are issued by the fire department.
Permits will be issued to those who live in townships for the purpose of burning anything that is legal to burn. Burning without a permit, however, can be expensive. Nelson said if someone sees smoke and reports it, the 911 dispatcher will check to see if a permit has been issued for that location. If no permit has been issued, the fire department will be dispatched. Should firefighters arrive for a false alarm, Nelson said the property owner will receive a bill from the fire department.
“If you have a pile of brush out by the shed out in the townships and you decide to light it without a permit it could be a problem. If the Fire Department gets called – even if it’s through no fault of yours – if we get out there, you’re going to get an invoice. It’s a response fee. And if you’re burning tires or carpet remnants in the burning barrel, you’re going to get a response fee and probably a citation from the deputy, because that’s illegal burning. You’re burning the stuff that’s polluting.”
Permits will be issued to people living in townships on a routine basis, Nelson said, but it is far more difficult to get a burning permit within the Northfield city limits, because the population density makes burning so much more dangerous.
“You can’t just burn a pile of leaves in your backyard in the fall. That’s illegal burning. You’re supposed to take it to the compost site. Most of the open burning permits that we issue in the City of Northfield are for the Carleton Arb or the St. Olaf natural lands, or to Prairie Restoration or other people that are doing some type of native plant burning.”
Recreational fires under the legal parameters are allowed without a permit.
He also reminded Northfielders that they have issued permits to the Prairie Restoration company to perform controlled burns around some of the city’s storm retention ponds. Those burns will be happening in the next few weeks, depending on weather conditions.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Area Fire Chief Tom Nelson can be heard here
Pursell looks for helium discovery to ‘boost’ Northern Minnesota economy
While most of the state legislative committee hearings were finished more than a week ago, Representative Kristi Pursell (D-Northfield), had one more hearing on Wednesday of last week to discuss an important helium deposit discovery in Lake County.
Helium is a valuable commodity with many uses beyond filling balloons. It is a necessary component for MRIs, and is used by NASA, the military, and by search and rescue teams. In fact, the United States has been experiencing a helium shortage since 2006. The discovery in Lake County might be the largest deposit in North America, although Representative Pursell said that doesn’t make it an enormous deposit and could produce as little as one truckload each day. On the other hand, the helium is thought to be concentrated at 12.4%, which is a rate roughly 30 times the industry standard for commercial helium.
Pursell said extracting the gas is not as easy as installing a well and pumping it out. There are no laws in Minnesota regarding the mining of gas, so the legislature must start from scratch to define the best way for the helium to be brought to market.
The deposit is surrounded on three sides by state forfeited lands, she said, so a survey must be done to map the deposit out as much as possible to know exactly where it all is.
Furthermore, she said, provisions must be put in place to ensure that the right people are properly compensated, and that the entire region sees the benefit from a major discovery like this.
“Where this is found, there is state forfeited land on three sides. They’re trying to figure out where the deposit is exactly, and we are making sure that if local people are doing the extraction that they can be compensated for that, and that it’s not leaving the counties and the communities behind. It needs to be a boost.”
The hope is for the legislature to pass some basic regulations before the end of the session, or at least a moratorium on extraction until the situation can be studied further. The session is constitutionally mandated to end on May 20th.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Representative Kristi Pursell can be heard here
Second term for Butler would look for ‘continued success’ in several areas
Northfield School Board member Corey Butler has announced he will seek a second term on the Northfield School Board.
Butler was first elected in the 2020 election, receiving the third highest total of votes behind Amy Goerwitz and Claudia Gonzalez-George. As a member of the board, he has served on the legislative, early childhood, community education, and labor committees and has emerged as a straight-forward voice of fiscal responsibility in balance with the school district’s responsibilities to its students.
In a statement, Butler said school financing and budgeting are critical for the short-term and long-term success of the school district. He wants the district to build on its success to help ensure recruitment and retention of the best staff and faculty while also providing quality, robust programming and activities for students.
He would also like to see the continued growth, development and success of the early-childhood education and community education programs, calling the school district a community hub for learning, engagement and culture, with the opportunity to serve every resident, regardless of age.
Finally, the statement said Butler is concerned for students due to the times in which we live.
“As education evolves in the early part of the 21st century,” he said, “in the face of ever-changing technological and societal advancements, it is imperative we remain focused on our students’ achievement and sense of belonging. This is especially true as some continue to face challenges academically and emotionally as a byproduct of the pandemic.”
There will be four seats up for election to the school board in November. Butler is the second incumbent to announce for re-election, following Gonzalez-George.
Election Day is November 5th.
KYMN Daily News 4/29/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
