These are the featured news items in today's Northfield News, as summarized on their news web page.

Governing magazine, December, 2004
The Artful Blogger
Scott Neal, the city manager of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, [Northfield resident and former city administrator] keeps a blog that offers readers an insider's view of what it's like to manage a local government... Griff Wigley, a consultant who coaches Scott Neal on his blogging technique...

Star Tribune
Northfield schools review budget, uncover deficit
The Northfield School District faces a $653,000 deficit as it begins to prepare its 2005-06 budget. That's a surprise to school leaders who had expected the district to have about $60,000 left over from 2003-04.

Web site is fast becoming new college meet market
The free Web site, called thefacebook.com, is for college students only, and it's spreading faster than a computer virus. To date, it has nearly a million users at more than 250 colleges nationwide. Three Minnesota schools are among the latest: Carleton College in Northfield, Macalester College in St. Paul and the University of Minnesota.

These are the featured community items in today's Northfield News, as summarized on their community/people web page

A random selection of posts in the past week from some of Northfield's civic leader bloggers: Betsey Buckheit, Diane Cirksena, Ray Cox, Kathleen Doran-Norton.

Just Food Co-op will be open for a preview on Thursday, Dec. 2, from 5-9pm... during Winter Walk. They plan to open for business on Dec. 15.

Their Oct/Nov newsletter is online, as is a photo album of construction.

These are the featured news items in today's Northfield News, as summarized on their news web page.

These are the featured community items in today's Northfield News, as summarized on their community/people web page

The Northfield News reported on Wednesday:

Northfield Area United Way has reached 40 percent of its goal as of the latest numbers released by the organization. The local United Way has set a goal of $475,000 for the 2004-05 community campaign. "The goal of $475,000 is our challenge," United Way Board Chair Steve Schmidt said, according to the group's Web site.

If anyone knows the URL/address for the local United Way's web site, please contact me.

11/28 update: Mike Blaha, web and multimedia designer at Spirallic.net contacted us with the URL: Northfield Area United Way.

Chronicle of Higher Education

Colleges Harness Wind Power to Cut Energy Costs

A handful of colleges in Minnesota are planning major wind-power projects like Carleton's. Saint Olaf College, just across town, has already picked a site for its turbine and is preparing to construct it next year.

Star Tribune
First All-Metro football team: Tim Smisek, Northfield, DL

Second All-Metro football team
Kyle Thomforde, Northfield, DB; Zach Larsen, Northfield, LB

2004 Minnesota Girls State Swim Meet

50-yard freestyle:
3. Maggie Perrott, Northfield, 24.27.

100-yard butterfly:
3. Jenna Smith, Northfield, 59.51.

100-yard freestyle:
3. Maggie Perrott, Northfield, 53.923

200-yard freestyle relay:
2. Northfield/ARTech, 1:40.66

400-yard freestyle relay:
3. Northfield, ARTech, 3:42.32.

Pioneer Press
11/24 Sports Notes

Among players who will be named to the Vikings' all-state high school senior football team that will be announced during halftime of Sunday's game against Jacksonville at the Metrodome: Kyle Thomforde, Northfield.

Walgreen's opens tomorrow at Hwys 3 & 19.

The Village Drug building is undergoing an upgrade. Other tennants: Mayo's new Cannon Valley Clinic, Navarro Chiropractic, & Heidi Cole, MD.

The Kitchen in the Archer House, is now a wi-fi hotspot. The signal carries downstairs to the two lower-level conference rooms.

Patron Debby Nitz, reference librarian at the Northfield Library.

The Kitchen joins four other eating & drinking establishments in Northfield that offer free wi-fi: the Goodbye Blue Monday, the Contented Cow, and the James Gang Coffeehouse. Are there others? Let me know!

Northfield City workers got the lights and the holiday decorations up this week.

The November 2004 issue of Project for Public Spaces' newsletter names Downtown Northfield as number 17 in the article titled: The 20 Best North American Districts, Downtowns, and Neighborhoods.

1. Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia
2. East Village, New York, NY:
3. North Beach, San Francisco, CA
4. Camden, ME
5. Coyoacan, Mexico City
6. Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA
7. The Plateau, Montreal, Quebec
8. Kensington Market, Toronto, Ontario:
9. Center City, Ponce, Puerto Rico
10. Fells Point, Baltimore, MD
11. Lower Garden District, New Orleans, LA
12. Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, FL
13. Lake Street, Oak Park, IL
14. 23rd Street, Portland, OR
15. South Beach, Miami, FL
16. Federal Hill, Providence, RI
17. Downtown Northfield, MN
18. Chautauqua, NY
19. Venice Beach, CA:
20. Adams Morgan, Washington, DC

They have a special section focusing on downtown Northfield, evidently the original nomination written by Northfielder Kathy Phillipsen.

Thanks to John Tymoczko for the tip!

Star Tribune: Diver still missing in river near St. Paul park
Today, the 21-year-old St. Olaf College junior is still missing after somehow becoming entangled in a submerged car... Also today, a daily prayer service at St. Olaf was to be devoted to Nic Harter and the rescue workers... The Harters said their son, a Hopkins High School graduate and English and Ancient Studies major who had also published his own book of poetry, had begun taking scuba diving as part of a physical education class this fall. When that ended, he pursued a more advanced certification through an independent scuba instruction program in Northfield, Minn.