Board of Commissioners approves reopening of mine near Nerstrand and Dennison; Underdahl talks about retirement; School board approves referendum wording

The Rice County Board of Commissioners approved an interim use permit Tuesday morning allowing mining company Milestone to move forward and reopen a controversial gravel pit. In doing so, the Commission denied a request and petition regarding the environmental assessment worksheet that the affected locals had requested, and even demanded.

Early last month, the Rice County Planning Commission recommended approval of Milestone Materials' application to reopen the mine to facilitate work that will be done on Trunk Highway 246 over the next several years. But many opposed the request citing strong environmental concerns, including possible contamination of Spring Creek and the Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area.

After hearing more than two dozen people provide public comments, most of them calling for the office to conduct an environmental study, the commissioners voted against it, 4 to 1. Only county commissioner Galen Malecha was in favor of the MAE. When it came to the permit, the results were the same, 4 to 1, with Malecha again the only dissenter.

The Milestone organization is expected to begin mining operations in the coming weeks.

Covid was the biggest challenge of Underdahl's career

Northfield Hospital + Clinics CEO and President Steve Underdahl announced last month that he would retire at the end of 2024.

Underdahl has served as President and CEO of NH+C for eleven years. Under his leadership, the organization achieved great success, even in extremely difficult situations. During his tenure, the organization launched and expanded its obstetrics and midwifery, inpatient, orthopedics, general surgery and cancer care programs. The hospital's surgery center expanded in 2015, the Faribault Clinic expanded in 2019. In 2021, NH+C opened a clinic in Kenyon, unveiled its wildly popular expanded birth center and opened this which is now recognized as one of the most successful wound healing centers. centers of the country. NH+C also opened two urgent care clinics, one in Lakeville in 2013 and another in Northfield in 2022. NH+C's revenue increased 60% during his tenure as president and CEO.

He said he has been planning to retire at 65 for some time and will turn 65 this summer. And while he said finding the perfect time to step away was a difficult task, this seems like the right time to do so.

“It’s a really good time for me personally, and the organization is in good shape right now. We're on the other side of the pandemic, and some of the financial mitigation initiatives we put in place last year really seem to be having the impact we hoped for. We have a really good board of directors right now, and we have the leadership team and the clinical teams here at the medical center that are just really strong.

We will miss Underdahl. A gifted communicator, he has proven to be a particularly effective community leader during the pandemic. His regular updates on the status of things at the hospital, his understanding of the vaccine development process, and his empathetic yet common sense and pragmatic approach when speaking to the community during times of need. challenges of the pandemic were appreciated across the region.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic was the defining challenge of his career.

“It was exciting, challenging, terrifying and frustrating at the same time – it was all of those things. But I came away absolutely convinced that community health care, having a good hospital in your town, having good health facilities where you live is really the first line of defense when unforeseeable problems arise.

Underdahl said he expects the list of candidates to become NH+C's next president and CEO to be long and of very high quality. The hospital board contracted with research firm Gallagher to create the list, but the board itself will make the final decision. Underdahl indicated he could stay on until they found a suitable successor.

Jeff Johnson's full conversation with Northfield Hospital + Clinics President and CEO Steve Underdahl can be heard here

School district prepares for November election

With the school year now over, Monday evening the Northfield school board turned its attention to election issues. Not only will the district hold a referendum 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 of trustees 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 plan and the idea of ​​a referendum in March, the board on Monday evening approved the three-question referendum design and the language that will appear on the ballot.

Northfield Schools Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said the district will make legal writing on ballot questions much easier to read by displaying a side-by-side description and definition of the ballot and what each says question.

In fact, he said, it is another initiative in the district's information campaign aimed at helping people understand the purpose of the referendum and why it is necessary. The district is offering tours of the building to allow voters to see the problems firsthand, including a tour scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, and Dr. Hillmann will spend the summer making presentations on the referendum to any group that asks him to do so. . He said this project is too important not to release the information to the public.

“We want to make sure that people, when they go to the polls on September 20,^th through early voting, we gave them all the information they could want or need. The unofficial motto of our educational campaign is not spared. We now have several months until Election Day, so we have plenty of time to make sure the community is very clear on what they are voting for, for or against.

Meanwhile, preparations are also underway for school elections. At its meeting, the Council approved the application period which will begin on July 30 and end on August 13. The four board members whose terms are expiring are board chair Claudia Gonzalez-George, vice chair Corey Butler, Amy Goerwitz and Noel Stratmoen. Both Gonzalez-George and Butler have indicated their intention to run for office. There has been no news from Goerwitz or Stratmoen yet.

Dr. Hillmann, who is a strong advocate for public service, said there is plenty of information available for those considering running.

“If you are interested in running for school board and want to learn a little more about it, we have a section on our website regarding elections. There are videos and other information from the Minnesota School Boards Association about what it means to be a school board member. And of course, if you are interested in learning more about the school district and are considering running for school board, I would be happy to meet with anyone. Simply call our office and Anita Aase will be happy to schedule an appointment.

For more information about the referendum, visit northfieldschools.org/reimagine. For more information about running for school board, visit northfieldschools.org/about/school-board/members/.

Jeff Johnson's full conversation with Northfield Schools Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann can be listened to here

KYMN Daily News 06/14/24

Rich Larson is KYMN's news director. Contact him at [email protected]