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Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn offers winter driving tips, talks about incidents during the holiday season and goals for 2019. Sheriff Dunn 1-3-19  

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Many Oles on the New York Art Interim last year were supported by the Steven Fox ’77 International Studies Fund, established to increase access to international and off-campus study programs. Last year the fund benefitted 45 Oles; this number will grow to 150 as the fund builds.

Siriana Lundgren '19 created a digital exhibit that focuses on the overlooked influences of music in the American West. Her work has been offered as curriculum to educators in Montana, and she will present it at St. Olaf this month.

The Carleton College women’s basketball team showed some rust as the Knights absorbed a 63-48 loss to St. Catherine University int he first game of the new year.

Wrapped up another great year here on 95.1 The One — such a genuine honor to be able to share my favorite music with y’all each and every weekday from 3 to 7 pm, all year long! As it’s the season for year-end best-of lists, on this final show of 2018 I shared a wee

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A Northfield man was arrested Christmas Day after allegedly choking and punching a woman while a young child was in the home.

Tomorrow, at 10 a.m. (gasp!), there’s a Prehearing Conference for the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission project in Wisconsin.

Notice of Prehearing Conference

WATCH HERE!! (info and link posted soon??)

This Prehearing Conference is being held for the express purpose of addressing the multitudes of potential intervenors in this docket.  After that, there will be yet another prehearing conference for scheduling purposes.  Here’s the ALJ’s missive outlining the situation and his probable approach:

ALJ Newmark’s Prehearing Converence Missive_ERF 354955

I’m not at all happy about having to take a full day out of my intense work week (LOTS due next week!) to go to Madison and deal with this fiasco.  Oh well…

From Judge Newmark’s prehearing missive:

The 76 requests break out into the five following groups: 1) three units of government; 2) eight organizations; 3) four individuals filing electronically; 4) 11 individuals filing by U.S. Mail; and 5) 50 individuals, municipalities, and an organization that appear to have common interest, and to whose requests appear filed in a common fashion.

“50 individuals, municipalities, and an organization that appear to have common interest, and to whose requests appear filed in a common fashion.”  Appear??  That’s a generous description.  It’s clearly orchestrated, with form interventions that are not individualized.  The “Group 4” intervention requests also use the same form, but were mailed in, by likely Amish potential intervenors, presenting another issue, both in that ERF filing is required, and that if they would be allowed to intervene using paper copies, that means each filing would need to be printed out and mailed to them, creating a large burden on all the parties, particularly intervening parties.  This is an area where assistance in ERF filing is needed, it’s crucial to assure Amish can participate.

Why are there “the multitudes” showing up in this docket, the 11 in “Group 4” and the 50 in “Group 5?”  Rob Danielson and cohorts of  SOUL and “EPIC” held meetings in and around the project area and recruited people to sign up to intervene.  They used forms, where people just had to sign the forms.  The forms were collected and much later uploaded to ERF, the PSC’s eFiling system.  What information did they receive before signing, what did they know about the rights and responsibilities of intervention?  See for yourself:

Intervention Requests – ERF page

Note that it’s form/boilerplate language that’s been used in both Groups 4 & 5, and note the many that only list “WI, USA” as the address — the people who signed the document did not upload those “intervention requests.”  Was there a detailed description and warning of what’s required, the commitment necessary, to intervene in a docket?  Did they understand the commitment necessary?

This is one of those “too clever” machinations, strategy, tactics, that gums up the works.  See SCR 20:3.5(d).  It looks like there was little attention paid to the potential results of this action, or that attention was paid, and this result is what they wanted.  It’s important that people be informed of, understand, and agree to what it is that they’re signing up for.  See SCR 20:21 Advisor.  I don’t think that’s been happening.

What are they signing up for?  Well, SOUL just filed “SOUL Intervention focus and limits on representation 1-2-2019” which shows that SOUL has no intention of helping them through the process.

There’s also been ex parte contact, somebody thought that that was a good idea (?!?!?!), somebodies who should have known better.  The “no ex parte contact” rules need to be clearly spelled out, the ALJ’s “Intervenor Communication” missive about that was not as specific as it could have been.  Contact the judge?  JUST DON’T!!

Apparently, part of the SOUL speil is that people must intervene to have the right to appeal, that you must intervene or you lose your rights.  THAT’S NOT TRUE!!  Here’s part of the notice that follows at the end of every PSC transmission order, clearly stating that “a person aggrieved by this decision has a right to petition” for rehearing and/or judicial review:

You can find this language, for example, at the end of the Badger Coulee transmission Order:

Final Order 05-CE-142

Judge Newmark’s proposed consolidation approach makes sense to me for a few reasons:

• When someone solicits and recruits interventions, they have an ethical and moral responsibility to give full disclosure of the meaning and responsibility of intervention.  How many of these “intervenors” would intervene if they knew they’d have to show up for Prehearing Conferences, Public and Technical Hearings, review the thousands of pages and participate in a meaningful way?
• When someone solicits and recruits interventions, they have an ethical and moral responsibility for the result of their solicitation and recruitment.  In this case, consolidation may be the result.  That’s one way to hold the solicitor/recruiter responsible.  I’m thinking about this, trying to come up with other options.
• Non-attorneys and attorneys not licensed to practice law in Wisconsin are allowed to practice before the Public Service Commission.  As Judge Newmark clearly noted in the Badger Hollow prehearing conference, non-attorneys are bound by Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct. Non-attorneys may be held to this standard when practicing before the Commission.  All parties need to review the rules, in light of its solicitation and recruiting, and can and should shoulder their responsibility for what they’ve created, as an “umbrella” or helping individually those who want to participate.
• Line up assistance to Amish participants so they can participate and intervene if they are granted intervention, and help to comment if they are not.  Because the “Group 4” have used the same form as “Group 5,” a SOUL member with filing expertise could be assigned to facilitate their participation.
• Line up assistance for “Group 5” people so they can participate meaningfully.  It’s a lot to figure out, and many have no idea what ERF is.  Intervention is a part-time to full-time job.

Something Judge Newmark has utilized previously could be useful here.  He has allowed “non-party briefs” if requested and approved prior.  This is authorized under Wisconsin Code PSC 2.20(3). If this option were provided to potential intervenors, for those not wanting to or prepared to dive in, for those not meeting intervention requirements, that would give the multitudes the opportunity to weigh in with more weight than just a public comment, to address their concerns, and would require less commitment than participating in a full-blown intervention.  Intervention lite.  Perhaps those not wanting to be consolidated under SOUL’s umbrella could be extended the opportunity to file a non-party brief, in their own words uniquely addressing their own specific concerns (unlike the many form “interventions” that have been filed).

Tomorrow?  Oh, it will be a circus…

The holidays might be over, but the fun continues in Downtown Northfield this Friday!

5:00-9:00 pm – Visual Art Gallery at 502 Studio & Gallery                                                         6:30-8:00 pm – West Coast Swing Dance Class with Brian Sostek at Northfield Dance Academy  $40 per couple, $20 per single. 640 Water Street S.                                            7:00-10:00 pm – Live Music with Pushing Chain at Imminent Brewing, 519 Division St S.
8:00-11:00 pm – Live Music with Dan Ferstenou at Tanzenwald Brewing, 103 Water St. N.
8:00-10:00 pm – Live Music with Nostalgic at the Contented Cow
8:00-11:00 pm – Live Music with Julyda at the Tavern Lounge, 212 Division St.
8:30-11:30 pm – Live Music with Bruce Burniece at Froggy Bottoms PADio, 307 Water St

After her 4th failure to appear in court, an Owatonna woman was arrested December 26th.  With conditional bail set at $75,000, 33 year old Jennifer Dawn Marx is in the Rice County jail.  A settlement hearing was held this morning on a 1st degree Arson charge stemming from an incident in August of 2016.   She’s

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Event date: January 4, 2019
Event Time: 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Location:
801 Washington Street
Northfield, MN 55057

The Governing Board of the Rice County Family Services Collaborative is announcing possible funding opportunities for next fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2019.  The mission of the Rice County Family Services Collaborative is to support the availability of comprehensive services designed to enhance and strengthen functioning for families with children ages 0 to 18.  The Collaborative Board is accepting proposals to fund projects congruent with its mission and will entertain proposals in the following five areas:

• Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention
• Mental Health
• Chronic Absenteeism
• Support to Families with Young Children
• Children of Incarcerated Parents/Justice-Involved Parents/Families

Applicants are required to submit a proposal that details a plan to address the identified issue within the mission of the Collaborative.  Successful applications will: be based on collaboration with identified partners; detail how the work will change systems serving Rice County children and their families; and include a plan for sustainability. Grant awards have historically ranged from $5,000 – $25,000.  Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 31, 2019.

For more information or to obtain an application, please contact the Rice County Family Services Collaborative at rcfsc@northfieldhci.org.

The vision of the Rice County Family Services Collaborative is for safe, healthy families with children ages 0 to 18. Governing Board members include representatives from Rice County Social Services, Rice County Public Health, Rice County Community Corrections, Faribault Public Schools, Northfield Public Schools, Cannon Valley Special Education Cooperative, and Three Rivers Community Action, in addition to community members.

When it comes to discussing end-of-life care, it’s often hard to know where to start. A new program hopes to make these conversations a little easier.

Happy New Year! I have a feeling 2019 is going to be a productive and rewarding year. Here's to music, family, friendship, and all the pleasures that make life worth living.

Cheers!

Joy and her brother, Pete, in Alexandria, Minn., Dec. 1970
Joy in Petra, Jordan, Dec. 2018
William Riggs (with trumpet) playing a gig in Alexandria, Dec. 2018

While some new buildings, businesses and residences can be expected to pop up around Northfield in the next 12 months, a lot of the work in 2019 will be in planning and designing projects to come.

Two area men were injured Monday evening after a northbound pickup reportedly lost control on I-35, rolled into the interstate’s southbound lanes and crashed into two SUVs.

Because it’s New Year’s Eve, it must be time to review 2018, right? What I Read in 2018 Although my favorite novel of the year was Michael Ondaatje’s Warlight, I’m having a huge amount of fun with The Art of the Fold, and I failed (again) to finish Gravity’s Rainbow, here’s the list of blog-relevant …

Continue reading "2018’s Greatest Hits (and misses)"

As the calendar prepares to flip to a new year, Knights Online looks back at some of the top storylines from the last 12 months. Our panel of judges painstakingly whittled down the nominees to select the top 18 of '18. We hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane...and get excited about the prospects of what might happen in 2019. Happy New Year!

A Northfield man accused of supplying three people with pills that caused them to overdose is claiming a traffic stop leading to his arrest was improperly conducted and evidence from the stop should be suppressed.

It’s that strange time of the year when every day seems like a Sunday, and there’s plenty of time to think about what you’ll change for the year ahead. For gardeners, the failures of the previous season have faded enough and it’s time to stiffen our backs, page through the seed catalogs arriving daily and […] Related posts:

1. Seed Starting Basics It’s still too early to start seeds indoors but that...
2. Best Tips for Starting Seeds Indoors Over the years, I’ve had lots of successes and failures...
3. Book Review: Keeping Vegetable Gardeners on Track If growing more vegetables is one of your New Year’s...

The new year has barely begun, but Northfield’s art directors and leaders are already filling calendars with performances, activities, galleries and more. Here is a sampling of what’s to come in 2019: