adam.gurno's blog

The Northfield Union of Youth as a great blog entry recapping their recent omelet breakfast fundraiser and the amounts raised...

For over 6 hours Coalition members set up, greeted people, sold t-shirts, bussed tables, served drinks, spilled silverware, cleaned messes, ate omelets, and straightened up the joint. For their hard-working efforts the Coalition raised about...

I won't give it away.  To find out the amount click here and don't forget to check out the photo gallery.

Griff has posted an excellent photo set taken at last night's Auction for the Arts at the NAG theatre.  Click here to view the gallery...

Miriam Mueller sent in these great pictures from yesterday, including the first rainbow of the year.  (Click here to see the images in a slideshow.)

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Faith and begorrah, it'd be near a fortnight since I was last kicked to be a cocked hat about this Internet thing.  I'm right gobsmacked with the number of specky four-eyes writing who-knows-what since they're a bunch of billy no mates, the lot of 'em.   Cor blimey, I'd best be writing this up, lest I'm too knackered to sneak out for a pint after the missus turns in.  Also: starkers, Guinness, shrimp on the barbie.

Chris Tassava has an entry on the non-motorized task force getting a grant for safe walkways to school...

Though it has been a draining week in every respect except the one related to my sinuses, I was elated to learn today that the Northfield Public Schools have been awarded a $30,000 grant to plan for safer walking and biking routes to our various schools.

I don't know how we missed this before, but if you have 9:59, a good use for it would be to watch this video of the St. Olaf wind turbine being built...

Many thanks to Jonathan Larson for creating and uploading the video.

The Strib has a story on Ole Bria Schurke, ultra-marathoner and globe-trotter...

In the morning she got up and clicked back into her skis, just 20 miles to go. By noon she skated across the finish line, 135 miles and 53 hours from the start. "Physically, it was the most challenging thing I've done in my life," she said. "It opened my eyes to what the human body is capable of doing."

She finished the race on Wednesday, exhausted, feet frozen and wrecked, mind swimming. School began at St. Olaf on Thursday.

If you haven't done so already, consider subscribing to the Northfield.org Daily Email.  It's a once-a-day round up of all the new stories that have appeared on Northfield.org that day.  (Also: No new news, no email. :)  It's an easy way to stay on top of what's happening.  It's easy and quick to do - four minutes max.

Click here to visit the subscription page, enter your email address, and go!

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1991 Yearbook; Gardening in February; Eating local grocery list; Dahle on the transportation bill

It's March 1, 2008 and March has entered like a lamb this year, unless you count the fact that everyone in town is sick.  Most people have "Adult" sicknesses, while I have been saddled with an ear infection like some two year old.  I was going to go to the doctor, but I feared being scheduled for a tonsillectomy and tubes being put in my ears.  Enough complaining - onwards!

(Submitted by Peggy Prowe)

Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Parks and Trails Council Day on the Hill

Thanks to Councilman Jon Denison, Steve Janusz, LaNelle Olsen, and Randy Perkins for their help.  We met with Representatives Patti Fritz, David Bly, and Patrick Garafalo.  Made contact with Representative Sandy Wollschlager and Senator Kevin Dahle.
We heard from DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten about how the State Parks and Trails are the key to getting young people involved in the outdoors, active in healthy pursuits that may lead to adult hunting and fishing.
Forrest Boe, DNR director of Trails and Waterways, discussed the need for maintenance and renovation of trails.  He emphasized the importance of citizen involvement with Legislators to encourage funding of development and maintenance.

The Just Food Co-op blog has a short entry with a video made by a Carleton student of the JFC.  It's about a minute long, but very well done.  Click here to view the video.

Please note: Northfield.org is a member of the E.O.G.V.C. (Equal Opportunity Grocery Video Consortium) and we'll be happy to link to any other videos of local grocery stores, whether it be the "Plastic OK?" video from Econo, puzzling over where to buy spaghetti sauce from Cub ("Is that considered 'Ethnic'?"), or buying seven pounds of bananas for $1.07 from Kwik Trip.

Christopher Tassava has a great blog post about... well, exactly what the title says...

[F]ive businesses which could separate this fool from significant fractions of his annual adjusted gross income:

• Pizzeria selling New York-style pizza by the slice: Walk in, choose a giant slice of pizza (in all the usual varieties), throw five bucks down, grab your pizza and a soda, walk out. Two minutes, tops.

Read the rest of the suggestions by clicking on this link.

There's a wind chill advisory until noon Wednesday for Rice County.  From the advisory:

FRIGID ARCTIC AIR WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING PROPELLED BY GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS. ACTUAL THERMOMETER READINGS BY MORNING WILL RANGE FROM 15 BELOW TO 25 BELOW ZERO. THESE COLD TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WILL PRODUCE WIND CHILLS OF 30 TO 40 BELOW ZERO. SOME AREAS OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA MAY SEE WIND CHILLS EVEN COLDER THAN 40 BELOW.

(Emphasis added)  The link for the wind chill advisory may change - the Weather Underground is a good source of Northfield weather.  See also: WCCO weather.

Tim Freeland delivers a very nice photo gallery of local grave stones on his personal site...

I have spent hours photographing our beautiful and historic cemeteries in town. This includes the Northfield Cemetery, Calvary (Catholic), Oaklawn & Grover in Dundas. Not have I just found a source of peace & beauty, but I have learned of Northfield history by noting family names, birth & death dates & epitaphs.

Let's take a break from the hustle and bustle of this week to reminisce about your very first Valentine - the first time you realized that this wasn't just a holiday for eating colored bits of blackboard chalk with words on them.  That knee-buckling, stomach-flipping moment when you put a Valentine out for that little red-headed girl, eh Charlie Brown?

Feel free to add your own stories in the comments attached to this story.  You don't have to use real names either, if you don't mind sullying the reputations of John and Jane Doe.

Since I suggested it, I'll go first...

(Submitted by Jane B. McWilliams)

Four Minnesota Legislators and over 50 citizens gathered Saturday at the Public Library Saturday to talk about health care. (Click here for the photo gallery, click here for a slideshow.)  Representative Bly introduced his colleagues Senator John Marty, Representatives Carolyn Laine and Shelley Madore. Staff member Laura Northfield and advocate Joel Clemmer also participated. Northfield was the seventh community the group has visited this week to talk about the Minnesota Health Care Act, legislation the authors say will provide quality, affordable, comprehensive health care to all Minnesotans through all stages of life.

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