Santa Claus listens intently as 10-year-old Sean Gohman delivers his Christmas list during a visit to the Santa House in Litchfield’s Central Park. Gohman was accompanied on his visits by parents Dan and Jenna Gohman of Litchfield.
Matt Stone and Rebekah Orsatti of Litchfield capture their 6-month-old daughter Daphne’s first visit with Santa Claus.
Jase and Savannah Turnbough of Litchfield chat with Santa Claus.
Miss Litchfield Claudia Toenjes, middle, and princesses Haylie Magoon and Abby Shoutz welcome visitors to the Santa House in Central Park. Santa's visits to the house are sponsored and planned by the Litchfield Fire Department.
Bonnie Braam and Heide Homaan, who live in a Lutheran Social Services group home in Litchfield, were among those who ventured out to see Santa Claus at his temporary home in Central Park.
Santa Claus returned to his familiar location in Litchfield’s Central Park this year, and from all indications, he was missed.
The Santa House at the southwest corner of the park was visited by a steady stream of youngsters and their parents throughout the Jolly Old Elf’s three-weekend visit to the house in December, which concluded this past Sunday.
This was the 10th year that Litchfield Fire Department members have been part of Santa’s entourage in Central Park. Firefighters took over the duties in 2011 when it looked like a tough economy and waning volunteer support might end Litchfield’s longstanding tradition of the Santa House.
The department has continued its support — along with financial support from area businesses — during the past decade. The only year the Santa didn’t appear at his house in Central Park was 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those plans.
Still, the fire department didn’t let that keep Santa from visiting town last year. Instead, they paraded around town with Santa on a flatbed trailer, waving to young and old alike.
This year, he and firefighters returned to tradition. They cruised through town in a fire truck, lights flashing and siren blaring, then parked at Central Park, on Third Street East, where Santa disembarked and made his way to the house, where he sat for two hours each Saturday and Sunday to listen to the Christmas wishes of all the good little girls and boys.
— Brent Schacherer, general manager
ROCHESTER — Mayo Clinic data scientists are urginzg Minnesotans to consult the Mayo coronavirus map tracking tool when making plans for holiday travel.
The website is a public-facing web portal created by the clinic’s COVID-19 Predictive Modeling Task Force. It offers up-to-date, region-specific information on case rates, daily case numbers and two week forecasting.
The tool is searchable by state or county, nationwide.
Consider it a COVID crystal ball of sorts for staying safer when considering travel.
“COVID-19 cases are already high or increasing across much of the United States,” said Dr. Shannon Dunlay, co-leader of Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 modeling team “and it’s a busy holiday season.”
“This is occurring in the context that many hospitals are full not just with COVID-19 cases but patients with other needs.”
The tool reflects the fact that COVID-19 prevalence varies widely by region, with different parts of the U.S. experiencing spikes that rise and fall over time, while some parts of a given state can broadly separate from other parts of the same state in terms of case growth.
These are trends which are largely independent of population density, moreover. Less populated rural areas, for instance, can have high readings while urban areas report relatively modest rates of transmission.
Minnesota, a state known for advanced public health mechanisms, now has far higher spread than Florida, a state which has often led the country in case growth.
“First and foremost, we encourage people to get vaccinated,” said Dunlay. “When eligible, get your booster. If you’re sick, avoid others, and get tested for COVID-19. Consider wearing a mask, even if you’re vaccinated, if you’re going to be around others.”
The Mayo forecasting model incorporates a variety of data to predict case activity in a given region, including cellphone data that can anonymously inform the closeness of individuals to each other and whether there is a higher than usual amount of intermingling.
The model even incorporates waste water data in some areas, according to Curtis Storlie, a Mayo Clinic data scientist who explained that a model can teach itself from past activity of the virus.
“The things governing the rate of spread and reproduction numbers are going to vary over time,” he said. “There is a certain amount of the model learning over time.”
Last week, the Mayo tracking tool showed that Minnesota had more than 71 cases per 100,000 residents, for nearly double the national average. But with 64% of the population vaccinated, the state slightly led the national average for vaccination.
Minnesota case counts have been climbing a series of waves since late October. The state now approaches the holidays facing another climb, albeit with upper and lower bounds that favor the possibility of greater departures upward rather than downward.
Minnesota’s 71 average daily cases per 100,000 could rise to 123, in this calculus, or drop to 66. Alabama, by comparison, currently sits at 11 average daily cases per 100,000 residents, with an upper bound of 13.
Statewide, at 38 daily cases per 100,000, Polk County in the state’s northwestern corner is half the daily case rate of the rest of Minnesota, while those traveling to Waseca county, at 173 cases per 100,000 are almost certainly entering an area of greater spread.
“We want to hit some of the lower bounds by doing everything we can,” said Storlie. “We can’t allow ourselves to have this big spike … now is really the time to take precautions.”
“We’re in a much better position because of vaccination,” Dunlay said of Christmas 2021. “The wild card is the omicron variant …. Had the delta and omicron variant not emerged, we would be in a fantastic place for travel.”
Litchfield School Board adopted a 2022 property tax levy Monday that is a 1.21% increase over the current levy.
The district will bring in $5,563,321.91 with the levy, or $66,404 more than the current levy.
The board’s unanimous approval followed the annual truth-in-taxation hearing, during which Business Manager Jesse Johnson broke down the various property tax regulations, as well as information on the district’s 2022-2023 budget, for which the levy will provide revenue.
School district funding, Johnson noted in his truth-in-taxation presentation, “is highly regulated by the state,” with the state setting the formulas for funding per student that determine revenue for all districts in the state. The state also sets the maximum property tax levy for all districts, which can set their levies lower but not go above that amount.
Districts’ only option to increase funding above the state-set maximum is to appeal to district voters in a referendum for operating and capital dollars.
The property tax levy does not determine changes in district budget, Johnson noted, as some levy increases equal not net gain for a district, as they are offset by reductions in state aid. Rather, state revenue formulas, voter-approved levies and fund balance, in addition to the property tax levy, determines funds available.
Litchfield School District’s budget includes five funds — general, food service, community service, building construction, and debt service.
The district’s 2021-2022 budget includes general fund revenue of $19,406,436, with 78.5% ($15,234,094) coming from state funds and about 4% from state funds. Local funding comprises $3,382,570, or 17.43%.
The largest expenditure from the general fund is salaries and wages at $11,043,104 or 57.13%, with another $3,223,597 or 16.67% spent on benefits.
Litchfield School Board gave preliminary approval to the proposed levy during its Sept. 27 meeting, setting it at the maximum allowed by the state. Its vote Monday made the levy official.
Johnson’s presentation showed how the school district property values have risen 11.9% between 2019 and 2022. Based on projections using those valuation increases, a homeowner with a $150,000 property will see a $7 increase, to $611, in property taxes in 2022. Taxes on a $250,000 home will climb to an estimated $1,076, from $1,069.
In other action, the board:
- The board formally accepted a $1,000 donation from Litchfield Kiwanis Club to help fund a yoga program at Lake Ripley Elementary School.
- Approved a trip by the girls golf team to Kansas City, Missouri, March 20-23. “The girls want a fun experience to bond while playing different courses to get ready for the season since the Minnesota courses will probably still be closed due to the weather,” coach Bill Huhner wrote in his trip approval request. Almost all costs of the trip will be covered by the girls golf student account or by players themselves.
- Approved the hiring of an assistant coach for the boys swimming and diving team. The position is one that had not been filled since coach Mike Warpula retired. The team, which is a cooperative with Dassel-Cokato, has 41 members, including 17 from Litchfield. The goal is to split practices between D-C and Litchfield pools, according to Activities Director Justin Brown’s memo, with the newly hired assistant planning and running practices in Litchfield. Pay for the position is $4,832, with that amount being prorated for the rest of the season.
- Approved a list of winter-spring instructors for Community Education programs.
- Several personnel moves also received board approval, including:
Therese Kulzer was hired as a part-time pool lifeguard at $10.22.
Wanda Wilner was hired as a part-time Dragon Kids Club aide.
Josh Tinklenberg was hired as head junior varsity boys hockey coach for 2021-2022 a salary of $2,666. Tinklenberg played hockey at Willmar High School and coached bantams in Willmar youth program while he attended college. He teaches social studies at Litchfield High School now.
Mason Schroeder was hired as assistant JV boys hockey coach at a salary of $2,166. Schroeder played in the Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato program, including serving as captain on last year’s state tournament team.
Joey Hyde will take over the C-squad basketball coaching duties, effective Dec. 6, for Andrew Weber, who has taken a leave of absence. Salary for the position is $3,865.
Resignations of JV hockey coach Tyler Halonen, and special education paraprofessional J.T. Tanner also were accepted.
- The board agreed that it would not have a second meeting in December “unless there is something pertinent that needs action,” a common move in recent years. Its next meeting will be Jan. 10.
