Authorities Give All Clear at Rice County Government Center

Employees at the Rice County Government Services Center in Faribault were evacuated this morning after the discovery of a suspicious package.

Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn told KDHL they called the Bloomington Bomb Squad after the package was found and said there was a note written on the package. Dunn said the note was to the sheriff and mentioned a probation officer's name.

There was no indication of a bomb from the note, but Dunn says they wanted to err on the side of caution so they decided to evacuate the building and contact the Bloomington Bomb Squad.

The package was removed and Dunn said no explosive device was discovered. Inside were pieces of wire and a three-ring binder.

Investigators from the Faribault Police Department and Rice County Sheriff's Office are interviewing a person of interest.

The package was discovered on the west side of the Government Services Building and the employees were evacuated to the courthouse. As a precautionary measure, streets were closed in the area.

The Government Services Building houses most of the county offices. The Rice County Commissioners meeting was moved to the County Attorney's office during the evacuation.