Woman severely injured in fatal crash “won’t survive”
The mother of Elizabeth Calderara, says her daughter won’t survive. Calderara was involved in the fatal crash that killed her husband, Jason and daughter, Melody on Monday. Suzanne Brantly posted an update on her facebook page saying that, Betsy, as she calls her, suffered signifant brain and spinal injury and the medical team has done all they can. She also lost her 35 week old male fetus and they will remove her from life support after family members are able
to say goodbye. The crash happened in Randolph on Hwy 56 at 280th street. Jason attempted to pass another vehicle as he was northbound but didn’t have enough time. A vehicle headed southbound went to the right shoulder and braked, the semi behind them then braked which caused the trailer to jackknife hitting the Calderara vehicle head on. Jason’s son, 9 year old Nicholas, will recover and will return to Willmar where he lives with his mom. That’s where the family was headed at the time of the crash. Brantly is in the process of setting up a gofundme account.
Farmington man accused of stealing car from Dokmo lot
A Farmington man is accused of stealing a vehicle from Dokmo Ford after a Rice County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a disabled vehicle blocking a lane of road in Erin Township. 31 year old Simon Michael Schmitz told the officer that he took the orange Ford Mustang for a test
drive. He admitted to taking it without permission, said he drove it hard and that’s probably why it blew up. Schmitz is charged with Vehicle Theft and faces up to 10 years in prison. The Mustang’s approximate value is $42,000. Schmitz next court appearance is August 2nd. His criminal history includes multiple DUI’s and fleeing a police officer.
Council postpones Noise Ordinance decision
The Northfield Council postponed a decision over the Noise Ordinance after attempts to tweak Staff’s recommendations confused everyone. Staff recommended a 10pm shutdown Sun – Thurs and 11:30 on Friday and Saturday. In an attempt to satisfy business owners and the community, Councilor Nakasian made a motion to parcel out the C1, C2 and Industrial zones for a Thursday shutdown at 11pm and midnight on Friday and Saturday but leave residential areas as recommended by staff. It seemed to have traction from some Councilors and audience members, 7 speaking, all of which were in favor of a later shutdown time for the weekend. Peterson White said she’s concerned about the enforce-ability and practicality of divvying up the City the size of Northfield in this way. DeLong attempted an amendment that left out the parceling. Things got muddier from there and DeLong made the motion to postpone the reading so Staff could come back to Council with clearer language that would include parceling out the downtown zones and another option. It will be back on the agenda August 2nd. The ordinance includes loud parties and more.
Northfield EDA gets presentation on Retail Development Strategy
As Northfield looks to boost economic development, the EDA heard a presentation by Cody Gunstenson, Director of Sales for Buxton, a company focused in customer analytics and retail site selection. He provided a brief presentation on the potential benefits of partnering with them on a retail development strategy for Northfield by, “increasing and diversifying your taxable revenue base from sales tax revenue to property tax to hotel occupancy tax” and retaining existing businesses. The approach would find the “gaps” in service to the community and help locate and recruit appropriate retailers. Buxton uses software to match retailers and restaurants to the City then put together a marketing package and help the City implement it. Gunstenson is proposing a 3 year deal with the City with an opt-out after a year. At $50,000 a year, EDA members discussed inviting Dundas into the talks. You can view the materials and the video on the city’s website.
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