On Tuesday morning, the Rice County Board of Commissioners approved an interim-use permit allowing the Milestone mining company to move forward and re-open a controversial gravel pit. In doing so, the Board denied a request and a petition for the Environmental Assessment Worksheet that concerned locals had asked for, and even demanded.
Early last month, the Rice County Planning Commission recommended approval of Milestone Materials’ request to reopen the mine in order to facilitate the work that will be done on Trunk Highway 246 over the coming years. But many objected to the request citing strong environmental concerns, particularly with respect to the possible contamination of Spring Creek and the Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area.
After hearing more than two dozen people make their public comments, most of them asking the board for the environmental study, the Commissioners voted against it, 4-1. Only County Commissioner Galen Malecha was in favor of the EAW. Moving on to the permit, the results were the same 4-1 vote, with Malecha again the lone dissenter.
The Milestone organization is expected to begin mining operations in the next few weeks.
Covid was biggest challenge of Underdahl’s career
Northfield Hospital + Clinics’ CEO and President Steve Underdahl announced last month that he will retire at the end of 2024.
Underdahl has been president and CEO of NH+C for eleven years. Under his leadership, the organization has seen great success, even in some extremely challenging situations. During his tenure, the organization launched and expanded their OB and Midwifery, Hospitalists, Orthopedics, General Surgery and Cancer Care programs. The hospital’s surgery center expanded in 2015, the Faribault clinic was expanded in 2019. In 2021, NH+C opened a clinic in Kenyon, unveiled their extremely popular expanded birth center, and opened what is now recognized as one of the most successful wound healing centers in the country. NH+C also opened two Urgent Care Clinics, one in Lakeville in 2013, and the other in Northfield in 2022. NH+C revenues have grown by 60% during his time as President and CEO.
He said it had been his intention to retire at 65 for some time, and he will turn 65 this summer. And while he said finding the absolute perfect time to step away is a difficult task, this does seem to be a good time to do so.
“It’s a pretty good time for me personally, and the organization is in good shape at the moment. We’re on the other side of the pandemic, some of our financial mitigation initiatives that we put in place last year seem to really be having the impact that we hoped they would. We have a really good Board of Directors right now, and we’ve got the leadership team and the clinical teams here at the Medical Center that are just really robust.”
Underdahl will be missed. A gifted communicator, he showed himself to be a particularly effective community leader during the pandemic. His regular updates on the state of things at the hospital, his understanding of the vaccine development process, and his empathetic-yet-common sense, matter-of-fact approach in addressing the community during the pandemic’s toughest moments was appreciated throughout the area.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic was the defining challenge of his career.
“It was equal parts exciting, stimulating, terrifying, frustrating – it was all of those things. But I came away from it absolutely convinced that community healthcare, having a good hospital in your town, having good healthcare assets where you live is really the first line of defense when bad stuff happens that you can’t predict.”
Underdahl said he expects the list of candidates to be the next President and CEO of NH+C to be long and of very high quality. The hospital’s Board of Directors has contracted with the Gallagher search firm to create that list, but the Board itself will make the final decision. Underdahl has signaled that he can remain until they have found a suitable successor.
School District prepares for November election
With the school year now ended, on Monday night the Northfield School Board turned its attention to election matters. Not only will the district have a referendum on the ballot in November asking voters to approve a massive renovation and construction project that would make major improvements to the high school building, but there are also four seats on the seven-member board up for election this year.
Putting a referendum on a ballot is a multi-step process, and most steps must be approved by the School Board. After approving the project and the idea of a referendum in March, on Monday night the board approved the three-question design of the referendum and the language that will go on the ballot.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said that the district will make the legal writing on the ballot questions much easier to read by posting a side-by-side description and definition of the ballot and what each question says.
In fact, he said, that is another initiative in the district’s informational campaign to help people understand the purpose of the referendum, and why it is necessary. The district has been offering tours of the building to let voters see the problems firsthand, including a tour set for 9am tomorrow morning, and Dr. Hillmann will spend the summer making presentations about the referendum in front of any group that asks him to. He said this project is too important to not take the information to the public.
“We want to make sure that people, when they go to the ballots as early as September 20th because of early voting, that we’ve given them all the information they could want or need. Our unofficial educational campaign motto is no stone left unturned. We have several months now before Election Day and so we have a lot of time to make sure the community is very clear about what they’re voting on, either for or against.”
Meanwhile, preparations are being made for the school board elections as well. During their meeting the Board approved the candidates’ filing period, which will begin on July 30th and end on August 13th. The four Board members with expiring terms are Board Chair Claudia Gonzalez-George, Vice Chair Corey Butler, Amy Goerwitz and Noel Stratmoen. Both Gonzalez-George and Butler have indicated their intentions to run for re-election. There has been no word yet from Goerwitz or Stratmoen.
Dr. Hillmann, who is a strong champion for public service, said there is quite a bit of information available for those thinking about running.
“If you have an interest in running for school board and you want to learn a little bit more about it, we have a section on our website about elections. There are some videos and some other information from the Minnesota School Boards Association about what it means to be a school board member. And of course, if you have an interest in knowing more about the school district and you’re thinking about running for school board I’d be happy to meet with anyone. Just call our office and Anita Aase would be happy to set up an appointment.”
For more information about the ballot referendum visit northfieldschools.org/reimagine. For information about running for the school board, visit northfieldschools.org/about/school-board/members/.
KYMN Daily News 6/14/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
