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Brown County cow confirmed for rabies
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirmed a Brown County Hereford heifer tested positive for rabies earlier this month. The cow's owner noticed odd behavior on Sept. 1, including lying flat with its head down. By Sept 3. The animal began showing other symptoms including uncoordinated hind legs, was high-stepping, vocalizing, hyper-salivating, and had a high temperature. The animal was euthanized and tested for rabies, which came back positive.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recommended nine people obtain rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), as they may have been exposed to saliva from the infected animal. The Minnesota Board of Health quarantined 13 cows, and more than 40 cattle will be kept under observation for rabies. This rabies scare shows that rabies continues to be a real threat to animal health. The only effective method of treating rabies is to prevent it. Once an animal begins to show symptoms of rabies, it is too late to save it. Vaccinating animals against rabies needs to be a priority.
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Building River Bend's library
For the last 10 years, the school library at River Bend Education District has been an afterthought. The school receives no funding for library materials and there is no dedicated staff person to manage the collection. Fortunately, the staff at River Bend is working to change that around. In May, a fundraiser started to help build up the library. River Bend's first goal is to fund new library shelving. Once the new shelving is in place, the school will look into acquiring new books to fill the space. Most school's in New Ulm have a dedicated library space that is kept up to date. It is only fair that River Bend students have the same access to books. The Journal applauds River Bend staff for taking on this library project.
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Lead pipe water service removal
Across the state and the nation, there are several communities that still have lead pipe water service lines. This poses a potential health risk to the public, which is why many communities are being proactive in finding the lead lines and removing them. Recently, New Ulm Public Utilities received a grant from the Public Facilities Authority (PFA) to pay for lead line removal. The city does need to submit money for the upfront costs to the project, but once completed the grant will cover New Ulm's loan. The end result is New Ulm will remove over 70 lead lines in the community. This will not eliminate all lead from the city's water infrastructure, but it is a strong start.