The 2024 candidate filing periods are open today for most city, county, state and federal offices on the ballot in November.
Candidates for Northfield city office may register with the Northfield City Clerk’s office beginning at 7:30 this morning. Filing for county, state and federal offices begins at 8am. The filing period for each of those offices closes at 5pm on June 4th.
Candidates for federal offices must file at the Office of the Secretary of State in the State Veterans Services Building in St. Paul. Filing for state offices can be done at the Office of the Secretary of State or with the Property Tax & Elections Director at the Elections Department in the Rice County Government Services Building in Faribault.
Filing offices are closed next week on Memorial Day (Monday, May 27th).
The Office of Northfield Mayor is on the ballot in November. So far there are four announced candidates, Erica Zweifel, Ruth Dahl, Adam Gebler, and Tim Baginni. If at least three of those candidates follow through and file, there will be a primary election on August 13th, the two top vote getters in that election will move on to the general election.
The Northfield City Council Seats in Wards 2 and 3, as well as an At-Large seat will be on the ballot in November. There has been no word if Councilors Reister, Zuccolotto and Ness intend to file for reelection, however it would be a surprise if any of them did not. County Commissioner for the 2nd Rice County district, which includes Northfield, will be on the ballot. Commissioner Galen Malecha has said he will file for re-election.
As there is no need for a primary for the Northfield School Board election, the filing period for school board candidates will begin at 8am on July 30th and run through August 13th at 5pm. Candidates must file with the Northfield School District Clerk at the Northfield School District Offices.
The general election will be on Tuesday, November 5th.
Elliott advises those with elderly family members to help them against scams
Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott is reissuing the police department’s recent warning of an increase in electronic scams being perpetrated on people within the Northfield community.
The Northfield Police Department has taken increased reports of fraudulent activities, he said, targeting individuals through phone calls, unsolicited emails, and suspicious website alerts.
According to Chief Elliott scammers, are attempting to deceive innocent people, and in Northfield he said the scams are especially common with the Senior Community, into providing their personal information or into making fraudulent payments using unconventional methods. After making contact and gaining trust, the scammers will utilize remote access software that allows them full access to a victim’s digital devices, just as if they were sitting at the computer themselves. They then use the victim’s computer passwords to access online banking information and steal their money.
Elliott advised those who receive strange calls or unusual requests should listen to their instincts, and double check anything that does not seem right.
“Our advice to folks is if they get contacted by a business by someone with whom they think they do business, those folks need to take it upon themselves to contact that company. Don’t do anything in that e-mail, don’t click on the link, don’t give the person with whom you are on the phone access to your computer or your information. Just don’t do that. Take it upon yourself. Contact that entity and work with them, if it truly is from them. You contacting them puts you in control.”
Additionally, Elliott said those with elderly family members should have a talk with them and help them to understand that they could be targets of con artists and people looking to commit fraud.
A statement issued earlier by the City of Northfield offered some basic rules to follow when a phone call seems suspect:
- Hang up and do not answer if they call back.
- Never give anyone that you do not know access to your smartphone, iPad or computer.
- Never share online banking details or any passwords with anyone.
- Never download any applications to your computer or phone unless you are certain of the identity of the agent on the phone.
Elliott said those who believe they may be a victim of a scam should contact their financial institutions and the Northfield Police Department for assistance.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott can be heard here
Council will meet with several decisions to make tonight
And the Northfield City Council will meet tonight in the Council Chambers in City Hall.
Prior to the regular meeting, the Council will conduct City Administrator Ben Martig’s annual review, the results of which will be discussed during the meeting. The Council will recognize the graduating Northfield Seniors who have served in the Youth on Boards program, they will vote to accept the Administrative Services report which was received in April, they will vote to accept a new City Code of Conduct and will move to normalize and standardize all boards and commissions’ rules of operation, and they will consider the Northfield Police Department wellness program proposed last week by Police Chief Mark Elliott.
As always, the city and the council are asking to hear opinions and comments from the public. Anyone who wishes to do so is invited to come to the meeting and address the council on any topic they see fit. Those wishing to voice their opinions without addressing the council should email their councilors directly or post a comment through the eComment button on the “Agendas” section of the City Council website.
It should be noted that this will be the final time the Council will take public comments during a meeting. Beginning on June 4th, the Council will hold a listening session for anyone to address the council on any topic they would like, provided that topic is not on the meeting agenda that evening. After tonight, those wishing to address the Council about something on the agenda will be asked to wait until the agenda item comes up during the regular meeting.
Tonight’s meeting will begin at 6:00.
KYMN Daily News 5/21/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
