NRHEG Star Eagle

137 Years Serving the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Area
Newspaper of Record for NRHEG School District
Newspaper of Record for Waseca County, MN
PO Box 248 • New Richland, MN 56072

507-463-8112
email: steagle@hickorytech.net
Published every Thursday
Yearly Subscription: Waseca, Steele, and Freeborn counties: $52
Minnesota $57 • Out of state $64

For the second day in a row, NRHEG High School was in a hard lockdown Wednesday. The measures were taken in response to a threatening message written on the wall of a girls’ bathroom. The lockdown began at approximately 11:15 a.m. and was still in effect as of 1:30.

At approximately 1:45, the school went into a soft lockdown, which was lifted before school dismissed at the usual time. Buses were to run as scheduled.

NRHEG Superintendent Dr. Dennis Goodwin issued the following statement on the school’s Web site Wednesday afternoon: “The NRHEG Secondary Building is responding to a comment that was written on a bathroom wall. Law enforcement is at the school interviewing individuals. The students are currently safe and secured in classrooms.”

A press release issued by New Richland Chief of Police Scott Eads read, "Members of the police department responded to the school and, along with school administration, checked the school’s surveillance system for activity and conducted interviews throughout the afternoon of students and staff observed near the particular area prior to the message being discovered. Finally, school staff conducted locker searches while members of the New Richland Police Department searched publicly accessible areas and visually inspected the interiors of vehicles parked near the building. No weapons were observed or found during these searches. At approximately 2:40pm it was determined that no threat was present and students would have a standard dismissal at the regular time. Members of the police department monitored both the interior and exterior of the school facility during the dismissal and subsequent loading and unloading of buses. The investigation regarding this matter is still open and on-going and further information will be provided when available."

The school went into a hard lockdown on Tuesday when a man escaped custody after a traffic stop just south of New Richland and ran toward town. It is believed he stole a black 2004 Honda Pilot, license #131 GCH. He was wanted on a felony charge of failure to appear in court. Tuesday's hard lockdown lasted approximately an hour and 10 minutes.

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