While the water levels on the Cannon River have subsided since the high water mark earlier this week, Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas said taking safety precautions anytime a person is on the water remains vitally important.
Two weeks ago, a group of adults and children in canoes and kayaks ran into trouble as they were making the trip on the Cannon River from Faribault to Northfield. Sheriff Thomas said, even then, the water levels were higher than normal creating a stronger1 current than the boaters were expecting.
Two of the canoes, each holding one adult and one child became entangled with two different downed trees in the river waterway causing them to capsize.
At some point, a juvenile attempted to help one of the canoe groups and by doing so, caused his kayak to capsize, throwing him into the river. The individuals from the capsized vessels were able to hang on to the downed trees until they could be rescued by first responders.
The Sheriff said his office gets called for a river rescue more often than people would think, but just because they are a relatively common occurrence, that does not mean safety precautions can be ignored. There were many things that fell into place for this particular rescue. There were extra Sheriff’s Deputies on duty that day because of another event, and the DNR happened to have the perfect boat in Faribault for the rescue. The people in the river were located in good time, he said, which is not always the case in these situations.
“If we get a 911 call that somebody’s in distress on the river, there really isn’t a physical address for that location on the river, so it goes to whatever address is closest to that cell phone. And then we have to try and get to the location on the river. But that might be going through the woods or somebody’s backyard or a field or whatever that might be.”
Everyone was rescued in this case, and there were no injuries. All parties were wearing life jackets before the boats capsized, which was fortunate as well, he said.
Meanwhile, water levels remain high on many of the area lakes right now, to the point that many cabins in the area are facing a flood threat. Because of that, Sheriff Thomas said a No Wake Zone has been put into effect on all county lakes. He said he understands the frustration people can feel about that, but care must be taken to ensure the health and safety of people, property and the lakes themselves.
“The No Wake Zone will be in place until further notice. The lakes tend to come down slower than the river system. It depends on the lakes. Some lakes have a better outlet than others. We have some people that are appreciative of the no wake zone and some people that don’t like it because you can’t ride your jet ski, or your wake boat and you only have so many good days in the summer to get out there. But we also have to make sure we take care of our lake systems as well.”
The Sheriff encouraged everyone to get out on the Rice County waterways and enjoy the early summer weather this weekend but remember to be safe about it.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas can be heard here
KYMN will broadcast Northfield Graduation on Sunday
Yesterday was the happiest day of the year for most of Northfield’s young people, and many of the adults as well as the 2023-24 school year officially ended for students, teachers, and staff in the Northfield School District.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Matt Hillmann, praised the district’s staff for their hard work throughout the year, emphasizing the exceptional quality of the faculty and staff. He also expressed gratitude toward the district families for “entrusting their children to the district.”
For some students, the culmination of the school year was not yesterday, but will come on Sunday when the Senior Class of 2024 is honored at the Northfield High School Graduation Ceremony. According to the Northfield School District, 315 graduates will receive their diplomas during the ceremony. As is our tradition, KYMN will broadcast the ceremony live from Memorial field at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon.
Dr. Hillmann said, while the school year has come to a close, there are still many summer programs available for students, and he encouraged anyone interested to look into the many Community Education programs the district is offering this summer.
Meanwhile the Buildings and Grounds department will use what is always a limited amount of time to complete the various maintenance projects in order to prepare the buildings for the upcoming 2024-25 school year, which will begin on September 3rd.
Bridgewater Farm’s Larsons are County Farm Family of the year
The University of Minnesota Extension has announced that Ray and Darlene Larson of Bridgewater Farms, are the Rice and Steele Counties Farm Family of the Year.
Ray grew up on a small hobby farm west of Northfield and Darlene grew up on a dairy farm near Webster. Ray and Darlene were in 1977 and they were able to buy Ray’s aunts farm west of Northfield on Hwy 19. Over the years they’ve raised corn, soybeans, and canning crops with hay being the major enterprise. They also raise about 80 beef cattle a year with around 18 head being purchased directly by customers each year.
Bridgewater is a Clean Water Legacy Farm through the Livestock Environmental Quality Assurance Program from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. They implement no-till beans and minimal tilling of corn. In the fall they enjoy seeing the families come to the farm to learn about agriculture and see the animals at the Bridgewater Farm Pumpkin Patch, which is run by Ray and Darlene’s son John and his family.
Ray and Darlene have been longtime supporters and volunteers of local FFA and 4-H organizations and are active in the community. Ray serves on the Bridgewater Planning and Zoning Commission, and Darlene serves as a Bridgewater Election Judge.
The University of Minnesota Farm Family Recognition Program honors farm families from throughout Minnesota for their significant contributions to the agriculture industry and their local communities.
The Larsons will receive their honor alongside the other selected families at Farmfest in Redwood County in August.
KYMN Daily News 6/7/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
