A recent letter to the editor in the Northfield News told the tale of injuries sustained while sledding on the hill below Old Main. A Strib article titled Sledders hit icy slopes – hard chronicled the serious sledding injuries that have been treated at Hennepin County Medical Center.
But there’s an upside. “Hospitals are hurting right along with most other businesses in this recession,” said Northfield Hospital spokesman Scotch Richmondson. “But our ER revenue has been 20% ahead of last year thus far this winter and most of that is due to sledding injuries on the local hills that got iced up a couple weeks ago. It’s been a real godsend for both us and our Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic. Icy sidewalks are our bread and butter, of course, but Northfield just doesn’t have enough sidewalks to make it lucrative for us.”
Some local attorneys were looking to capitalize on the trend. St. Olaf quickly put up a warning sign on the Old Main hill that reads, “Persons engaged in sliding, sledding, or other hazardous activity, do so at their own risk.” Dave Hviscerate, an attorney with the local law firm of Ludefisk, Hustler, and Hviscerate LLC, said (continued)