{"id":143456,"date":"2025-07-25T06:53:56","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T11:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/?p=143456"},"modified":"2025-07-25T10:58:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T15:58:16","slug":"nu-journal-8th-grader-raising-awareness-for-grain-bin-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/nu-journal-8th-grader-raising-awareness-for-grain-bin-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"NU Journal: 8th grader raising awareness for grain bin safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/The-Journal-Logo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-57071 size-full\" title=\"NU Journal\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/The-Journal-Logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/The-Journal-Logo.jpg 719w, https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/The-Journal-Logo-300x73.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 719px) 100vw, 719px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Joins expert on entrapments in conducting training exercise<\/h2>\n<aside id=\"article_details\">\n<nav><a title=\"View all posts in Communities\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nujournal.com\/news\/communities\/\">Communities<\/a><\/nav>\n<p>Jul 25, 2025<\/p>\n<div class=\"half_article_details\">\n<h4 id=\"author.name\">Fritz Busch<\/h4>\n<h5>Staff Writer<\/h5>\n<h6>fbusch@nujournal.com<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<section id=\"article_content\">\n<div id=\"single_article_image_blur\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"single_article_image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com\/www.nujournal.com\/images\/2025\/07\/24141602\/Kylie-Fischer-in-rescue-device-2-1100x733.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1100\" height=\"733\" \/><\/div>\n<p id=\"caption\">Staff photo by Fritz Busch Kylie Fischer of Sleepy Eye starts bailing herself out of a grain bin entrapment device at a grain bin and farm safety seminar at the Sleepy Eye Hockey Arena Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>SLEEPY EYE \u2014 Two individuals with a powerful passion for grain bin and farm safety led a program for farmers and first responders at Sleepy Eye Hockey Arena Wednesday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_premium\">\n<p>Kylie Fischer, who will be an eighth-grader at Sleepy Eye Public School this fall, said her concern for grain bin and farm safety drove her to lead the program as a 4-H and FFA project.<\/p>\n<div id=\"NJNM_Article_300x250\" data-google-query-id=\"CN_h2JOv2I4DFcyCpgQdzAYLTA\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/1032081\/NJNM_Article_300x250_0__container__\">Brown County Free Fair 4-H show-goers should be familiar with her. Fischer was advanced to the Minnesota State Fair a number of times, mostly for her rabbits and a rug that was grand champion.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI did this to raise awareness and get everybody trained on grain bin safety. You\u2019re never completely safe around a grain bin. You never really know everything that could happen. They\u2019re very unpredictable,\u201d said Fischer.<\/p>\n<p>She volunteered to climb into a grain bin (entrapment) training trailer and began sinking into a pile of small plastic pieces that simulate grain.<\/p>\n<div id=\"single_article_image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com\/www.nujournal.com\/images\/2025\/07\/24141647\/Kylie-Fischer-in-grain-bin-rescue-device-with-firefighters2-1100x733.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1100\" height=\"733\" \/><\/div>\n<p id=\"caption\">Staff photo by Fritz Busch Surrounded by Safety and Security Consultation Specialist company owner Jack Volz, left, and Sleepy Eye farmers and first responders, Kylie Fischer of Sleepy Eye starts sinking in a grain bin entrapment training device in Sleepy Eye Hockey Arena Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Fischer sank up to her waist. After firefighters placed an entrapment extraction device around her, they began bailing her out with buckets and an auger before she climbed out.<\/p>\n<div id=\"NJNM_Article2_300x250\" data-google-query-id=\"CLe835Ov2I4DFcyCpgQdzAYLTA\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/1032081\/NJNM_Article2_300x250_0__container__\">\u201cIt was a little hard to breathe. It wasn\u2019t fun, but it was a good training experience,\u201d Fischer said about the extraction.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>She said FFA and 4-H programs have helped her develop into a program leader.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve really helped me become comfortable with public speaking. I encourage students to join both organizations,\u201d said Fischer.<\/p>\n<p>She plans to show rabbits, a goat, cow and her projects for the Northwest Wildflowers 4-H Club and Sleepy Eye FFA at the Brown County Fair.<\/p>\n<p>Safety and Security Consultation Specialists business owner Jack Volz of Minnesota Lake said important grain bin safety includes turning off the grain unloading equipment before a farmer gets into a bin, having another individual watching them, labeling switches and shut-off breakers, turning on bin fans and calling 911 for help.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve worked 17 entrapments in my life. A week ago, I was called to a (fatal incident) near Milroy where a 61-year-old man was trapped at the bottom of a 50,000 bushel bin of soybeans. There was a lot of grain to be moved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Volz said he\u2019s responded to entrapments in bins holding up to a million bushels of soybeans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve responded to four Minnesota entrapments so far this year. I\u2019ll gladly come and work with fire departments at bin entrapments. I\u2019ve been doing this since a close, personal friend of mine was in an entrapment in 1995. It lit a fire in me. Back then, 95% of people trapped in a bin didn\u2019t live. Now, 65% of them make it, thanks to more education, training, tools and equipment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Other program speakers were Sleepy Eye Fire Chief Aaron Schauman, Gibbon Fire Department Captain Nate Firle, Redwood Area Hospital Dietician Natalie Mathiowetz, Safety, an American Red Cross representative and Security<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKylie (Fischer) put a lot of time and effort into this (grain bin and farm safety program). She deserves a round of applause for doing this,\u201d said Schauman. \u201cThe Gibbon Fire Department is here with their grain bin extraction equipment. This training is very beneficial to all of us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Gibbon Fire Captain Nate Firle said his fire department responded to a grain bin entrapment in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were able to rescue a farmer from the bottom of a grain bin. We did fund-raising and got a trailer with equipment so we are better prepared for grain bin entrapment and other rescues,\u201d said Firle.<\/p>\n<p>Sleepy Eye Ambulance Service Director Shari Hittesdorf talked about the importance of training.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is always huge. Please keep training. Know how to do CPR and First Aid procedures. It\u2019s huge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joins expert on entrapments in conducting training exercise Communities Jul 25, 2025 Fritz Busch Staff Writer fbusch@nujournal.com Staff photo by Fritz Busch Kylie Fischer of Sleepy Eye starts bailing herself out of a grain bin entrapment device at a grain bin and farm safety seminar at the Sleepy Eye Hockey Arena Wednesday. SLEEPY EYE \u2014 &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2030-08-25 10:53:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143457,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143456\/revisions\/143457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}