Published reports say the man who was the reason authorities shut down I-35 on Sunday had been the subject of a narcotics investigation and the car he was driving contained 44 pounds of methamphetamine, and a vast number of pills, many containing fentanyl.
According to KROC News in Rochester, 41-year-old Donald Ray Sanderson of Minneapolis was under investigation by the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team.
Sanderson was arraigned on Tuesday in Rice County Court on a list of charges including two counts of first-degree drug sales, two counts of first-degree drug possession and possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to the criminal complaint, investigators were aware that Sanderson was returning to Minnesota from California and initiated a traffic stop on I-35 in Steele County that included the use of tire deflation devices. Sanderson initially pulled over and a 24-year-old woman got out of the car before he continued traveling north on the freeway, when he stopped his car, walked out and into the southbound lanes where the standoff ensued.
The woman, who as of yet has not been identified, was also taken into custody.
Sanderson is expected to make his next court appearance at the beginning of August.
School District is gearing up for the election
The filing period to become a candidate for the Northfield School Board will begin next week, on Tuesday, July 30th.
Members of the school board are elected differently in Northfield than in other local elections. Rather than two people vying for one position on the board, the candidates are grouped together and those who receive the highest vote totals are seated on the board.
This year, there are four total seats up for election, so the four candidates with the most votes will serve four-year terms on the board beginning in 2025.
The four seats up for election this year are currently occupied by Board Chair Claudia Gonzalez George, Vice-Chair Corey Butler, Board Clerk Amy Goerwitz, and Noel Stratmoen. Gonzalez George and Butler have both announced that they will seek re-election. Stratmoen, who has served on the Northfield School Board for 44 years, is the longest continuous member of any school board in Minnesota. However, earlier this summer, he was forced to take a leave of absence due to health concerns, which is the second time he has had to do so in the past 18 months. Neither he, nor Amy Goerwitz, has announced if they intend to run again.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said all the filing information will be made available on the school district website at northfieldschools.org.
Meanwhile, school board candidates will not be the only matter local voters will be asked to address on the ballot this November. The school district has also placed a referendum on the ballot, asking the community to approve a massive renovation and remodel of Northfield high School. The referendum will ask voters for permission to issue bonds in order to build a three-story classroom structure, demolish ineffective sections of the building, vastly expand the gymnasium facilities, and build a geothermal system to heat and cool the building.
The district has been offering educational seminars for the past several months, and Hillmann said another tour of the high school that will allow voters to see and feel the issues with the current building firsthand, will be offered from 9-11am this Saturday morning.
Hillmann said the educational campaign is in place to give voters the information they need to make an informed decision.
“We just want people to be informed. Our job is to make sure that the community knows about the referendum, that they know what the positive impact would be should it pass, and that they know what the potential impact for the district and for the community would be should it not pass. At the end of the day in a democracy, the people get to choose. So, on November 5th, the people will give us our direction as to what we’ll do with Northfield High School.”
The school board candidate filing period will run from July 30th until August 13th.
Election Day is November 5th.
Dundas looks into the next five years
On Monday night, the Dundas City Council approved the latest edition of the Dundas Capital Improvement plan, focusing on 2025 – 2030.
A capital improvement plan generally consists of one or more capital improvement projects, which are permanent structural changes to a property to prolong its life, increase its value, or enhance its capabilities. A CIP can also include assets like heavy equipment that require maintenance or replacement. Typically projects and equipment are financed through the city’s capital budget. CIPs are seen as important tools for local governments, allowing them to plan strategically for community growth and transformation.
Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen said the plan over the next five years isn’t focused as much on equipment as it is necessary improvements to the city infrastructure.
“It includes things like sidewalk repair and installation trail extensions. We had a neighborhood meeting in Tower Park a couple of weeks ago, talking about what kind of playground equipment that neighborhood would like to see up there, so that’s included as well.”
Teppen also noted that a sanitary sewer line beneath Schilling Drive is in need of reconstruction. The City had planned to stretch the work out over two years, but the final decision was made on Monday night to do all of the work in 2025.
Street projects, such as the one currently underway on Forrest and Depot Streets, she said are taken into consideration in the CIP, but the city has also adopted a pavement management plan which handles the major details for those improvements.
Teppen said, while the Council passed the overall plan, each individual project within will still need to come back for Council discussion and passage.
“Every single project, every single expenditure that’s listed on there has to come back before the City Council for individual approval as time goes on.”
The plan was passed by the Council unanimously.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Dundas City Administrator Jenelle teppen can be heard here
KYMN Radio Daily News 7/24/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
