KIMT Minnesota News

Local Police Officers Honored

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:47:05 -0500

Rochester, MN - Some local heroes are being honored in Southern Minnesota.

The Rochester Police Department handed out awards to several officers who have done everything from saving lives to putting their own lives on the line.

Nearly 15 officers were recognized, including one K-9 officer. Two citizens were also given lifesaving awards for their actions.

Rochester's Mayor Ardell Brede said recognition like this doesn't happen often enough.

"When you hear these stories, they're lifesaving stories that have taken place because they're on the job and they're doing their job. I mean that is something to give recognition to that publicly," said Brebe.

The Rochester Police Chief handed out the awards and gave a brief description of why each person was being honored.

Grassley, Franken Agree on Education Reform Bill

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:21:22 -0500

MASON CITY, Iowa - It's something states across the country are trying to accomplish: education reform.

Both Iowa and Minnesota have applied for waivers from the No Child Left Behind law. Tuesday we told you about Minnesota’s recently approved plan, but Iowa is still in the application process.

Both Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Senator Al Franken of Minnesota say state waivers are a good first step, but more needs to be done in Washington to make permanent reform.

“We've got to rewrite the 2001 law No Child Left Behind and give it more flexibility and we're in the process of doing that,” said Chuck Grassley.

Senator Grassley supports Iowa's application to waive out of No Child Left Behind but wants more to be done. He says a bi-partisan bill currently in the Senate would do just that.

“It's still going to measure progress as No Child Left Behind did but it's going to do it in a less rigid way,” said Grassley.

Minnesota also applied for a No Child Left Behind waiver and have already rolled out their new program.

“This is just a small step forward,” said Al Franken.

Senator Franken helped pass the senate education bill out of committee and says it has support from many on Capitol Hill.

“I would like to see some version of the bill that we passed through the education committee, a bipartisan comprehensive reform of No Child Left Behind, I'd love to pass a bill so we could really reform this,” said Franken.

However, Franken doesn't think the House will take up the measure until after this year's election, leaving both of these lawmakers waiting.

“I think we made a lot of progress in the bill we passed out of the education committee and the senate and I have a lot of hope,” said Franken.

“I think if a bill was brought before the U.S. Senate, it's on the calendar now, but if it's actually brought up for debate it'll pass,” said Grassley.

Both senators say this bill would create uniform goals all schools would have to meet, just like the current No Child Left Behind law. The difference is states would be able to decide how those goals would be accomplished.

MnDOT Saves Big with Warm Winter

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:14:00 -0500

WYKOFF, MN--Minnesota's Department of Transportation is thanking mother nature for keeping their budget in check.

The mild winter meant less snow and ice days, a total of $45 Million was spent keeping things safe, versus the previous season, when more than $80 Million was spent.

$21 Million was saved compared to an average winter with snowplows deployed just 28 times all winter, mostly to fight ice.

MnDOT says they were able to catch up on put-off projects.

Supervisor for the Stewartville MnDOT Substation Brian Wolfgram says, "Cutting trees, brush control that kind of stuff. We even did a culvert replacement I think in january or february believe it or not. That's unheard of in the winter".

The budgetary savings means some old snowplows will get replaced and other machinery as well.

Wolfgram says, "We've had a few snowplows that are out of cycle and we're going to purchase a few more of them statewide. And also some patching equipment and maybe put some more effort into pothole patching or resurfacing".

MnDOT also expects to save money on salt. Sheds are totally full now, with prices expected to rise this fall.

Circus Performer Allegedly Steals Truck

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:31:37 -0500

AUSTIN, MN – On Monday, a 45-year-old man from Kasson told police that his 2000 Ford Ranger was stolen. He believed it was taken by a circus performer who called himself Mervin Murphy. Austin Police Chief Brian Krueger said that the truck has since been found and recovered in Wisconsin by State Patrol. The driver at first refused to identify himself but when he was taken to Juneau County Jail, he said his name was Mervin Bundy. However, it is believed that he was the same circus performer that was working in the Austin area at the time of the theft. The suspect is facing two charges in Wisconsin: operating a vehicle while under the influence and possession of a stolen vehicle. Krueger could not confirm if the suspect will be extradited to Mower County.

Closing the Achievement Gap

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:13:13 -0500

Minn. - Earlier this year Minnesota received a waiver for the No Child Left Behind Act. That's the federal law that went into effect in 2001 as a way to measure school success and student progress.

One condition of getting a waiver is that states must come up with an alternative way to measure student achievement.

Minnesota's alternative system ranks schools based on how well they are closing the achievement gap and improving student skills. It then assigns certain schools with a label.

Reward schools are those that are doing well, focus schools are those that need some improvement and priority schools are the lowest ranking.

"This new method not only measures proficiency, it measures growth, and it also measures something called achievement gap reduction," said Albert Lea School District Superintendent Mike Funk.

One of the district's schools, Sibley Elementary, is ranked as a reward school.

"It's a great honor to be identified as a reward school. It shows that some good things are happening in our system," said Funk.

But not all schools in our area received such good news. Southgate Elementary in Austin is ranked as a focus school. That means they're in the top 10 percent of schools that are widening the achievement gap.

"Focus ratings are really focused primarily on the achievement of historically underperforming populations in Minnesota," said John Alberts.

Alberts is the Director of Educational Services for the Austin Public School District. He said Southgate will now start looking at how they can improve.

"Ultimately, what this means for the site is that they will need to provide an improvement plan to the Department of Education by September 1st," said Alberts.

That's a challenge Alberts said the district is up for. And overall, he's happy with this new system.

"In the past, it was simply a school is failing, or a school is not failing. Now at least we're seeing some nuances to that," Alberts said.

That's something his neighbor to the west agrees with.

"We're still looking at baseline proficiency, are our kids being successful in school on the ability to perform at a certain level. That's still an important thing, and we're doing that," said Funk.

An important thing to note is that while all schools are evaluated, only schools that receive Title One federal funding can be labeled as one of the three categories. So the rankings of reward, focus or priority are not given to every school.

Another important piece is that these rankings are based on data from 2009 through 2011, so the rankings will be reevaluated once the latest information is available.

There are other schools in our area that also received rankings. St. Charles Elementary, Pinewood Elementary in Rochester and Blooming Prairie Elementary are all reward schools.

Bicycle Paradise

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:00:00 -0500

ALBERT LEA, Minn. -- Minnesotans may have a cyclist's heaven.

Minnesota is recognized as one of the best states for bicyclists.

It’s the second most friendly bicycle state to be precise.

It follows behind the state of Washington.

They are recognized as the best trails state in the nation because the feature more than 600 miles of paved trails that are managed by the department of natural resources.

“More of them are using the trail,” Poole’s Bike Shop Owner David Poole said. “If they get this built out here, they will start here and go to the state park or Hartland.”

Another thing Minnesota has going for it, many of its residents ride bikes and many even use them to commute to work.

Agreement Leads to Opportunity for College Students

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:13:00 -0500

AUSTIN, Minn. -- A new agreement between educational institutions is providing an opportunity for area students.
Riverland Community College and Cardinal Stritch University have come to terms on an articulation agreement.

This allows Riverland students to transfer their business course credits to Cardinal Stritch.

This new agreement allows students a cost effective way to get a great education.

"Students can complete their first two years of education at Riverland and then pursue their four year degree at Cardinal Stritch and it’s more cost effective for them to take courses at Riverland and then transfer to Cardinal Stritch,” Riverland Business Instructor Jill Holmes tells us.

Holmes says one of the nice things about the agreement are both schools are accredited by the accreditation council for business schools and programs.

Farm to School Documentary

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:08:26 -0500

Austin, MN - It's a school program designed to provide students with more nutritious options.

The Farm to School initiative encourages school districts to provide food from local growers.

Monday night in Austin, folks saw a documentary about the program, called Farm to School, Growing Our Future. This screening is meant to stimulate conversation on local foods.

"We are watching, discussing and then doing. So we're talking about what does this documentary mean for us in our community and then we're talking about what can we do, what are some next steps for us and how can we move to action," said Stephanie Heim, a Farm to School educator with the University of Minnesota Extension.

The screening was one of more than 20 taking place across the state. For more information on the documentary, click this link: www.extension.umn.edu/farm-to-school

Covering Your Family: Foster Families Open Their Homes

Sun, 20 May 2012 22:30:00 -0500

It’s been more than a year since we first told you about a southern Minnesota couple accused of chaining their child to a crib and keeping food from both him and his brother. Brian and Charity Miller spent six months in jail for the crime. Their parental rights were also terminated earlier this year, a decision the Millers are appealing.

In the meantime, the guardian ad litem for the boys says they’re doing great, and that foster care, and the system, saved their lives.

It’s a similar story for former foster child, Mike Tobin. He says he was a juvenile delinquent getting into a lot of trouble. “My parents simply couldn’t control my behavior so the DHS system and juvenile court system decided that foster care would be the best placement for me.”

Raymond and Joan Beebe are Mike’s foster parents. It was a rough start for the family when Mike came to live with them. He was just 13 years old and caused quite a bit of trouble. Mike says “I stole my foster parent’s vehicle always getting in arguments with about everybody I was in discussion with.”

But the Beebe’s didn’t let that stop them. They have dealt with many different situations during their 13 years as foster parents. The couple raised 14 foster kids, 2 adopted boys and 2 biological children.

Joan Beebe says “we have a little different philosophy when we take children, we tell them in the beginning you are one of our children now and you’ll always be one of our children no matter what.”

And their influence changed Mike’s life.

Mike is now married, with a brand new job and is very active in the community.

It’s that kind of change, those who work in the foster care system say is possible for other kids in similar situations. But they need more families to take part.

Iowa KidsNet is an agency that is contracted through the Department of Human Services. They are in charge of recruiting, training and supporting foster families.

And the process is intense, including a 10 week training course and home study . Financial help is also available for foster families. A basic maintenance payment is made to families for providing family foster care, to reimburse them for items like food and clothing. In Iowa, foster parents receive an average of 17 dollars per day. In Minnesota the daily basic maintenance rate averages out to 23 dollars.

And according to the USDA , it costs about 9,000 dollars a year, or about 25 dollars a day to raise a child in the midwest. Those from Iowa KidsNet say people are not in it for the money, and often end up spending more on the children than the money provided by the state.

The end goal of foster care is almost always reunification with birth parents and agencies like Iowa KidsNet and DHS work together to make the transition smooth for both sides.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a foster parent in Iowa, visit http://www.iowakidsnet.com. And in Minnesota, you need to contact your county human services department and let them know you are interested in becoming a foster parent and they will guide you in the right direction.

Donut Days Wraps Up

Sat, 19 May 2012 18:18:00 -0500

Albert Lea, MN - The Albert Lea Salvation Army is wrapping up their annual Donut Days fundraiser.

It's similar to their holiday Red Kettle Campaign, but bell ringers hold doughnut boxes instead. Volunteers were collecting donations at six sites in Albert Lea on Saturday.

They' also got some help from a local business. Mrs.Gerry's Kitchen will match donations up to $10,000.00.

"It just continues to add to the benefit of the Salvation Army, what we do, and the belief in the bigger picture of the Salvation Army in our community," said Albert Lea Salvation Army Captain Jim Brickson.

The money raised during Donut Days stays in Freeborn County to help support local programs like summer meals and day camps.