Tuesday, March 26 12-2 pm

STORIGAMI Learn origami skills by listening to stories. For school age beginners! This is an easy, painless way to learn the basics of origami. For school age kids 6 and up.

Wednesday, March 27 12-2 pm

OPEN LEGO TIME! Come create something with the library’s Legos! Or use this time  and Legos to create an entry in the LEGO CONTEST on Thursday!  For school age kids 6 and up.

Thursday, March 28, 12-2 pm

OPEN LEGO TIME! Come create something with the library’s Legos! Or use this time and Legos to create an entry in the LEGO CONTEST at 2!

Library Creative Lego Contest! 2 pm. 2:30 VOTING BEGINS. RESULTS@ 3 pm. Cash prizes! (Donated by the Friends & Foundation of the Library!)

Carleton College’s Political Science Department will present James C. Scott, the Sterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology at Yale, and Director of the Program in Agrarian Studies, on Monday, April 15. His lecture is entitled, “Two Cheers for Anarchism.”  It will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Leighton Hall, Room 305, and is free and open to the public.

“Jungle Adventure” is the theme for this month’s edition of the Northfield Area Family YMCA’s popular Kids Night at the Y, set for Friday, March 22, at the National Guard Armory, 519 Division St.

Kids Night—an evening of fun conducted by the Y—is open to children ages 3 to 10. It features games, crafts, music and dinner. The program runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Dinner is served at 5:30 p.m.

YMCA members pay $10 each for the first two children in the family – a fee that include dinner – and $5 for each additional child. Nonmembers pay $15 each for the first two children in the family, then $10 for each additional child.

The Northfield Public Library is pleased to host a reading by local author and Carleton professor Gregory Blake Smith, as part of the Minnesota Book Awards Author tour, presented by Selco (Southeastern Libraries Cooperating).  The talk will be on Thursday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the Northfield Public Library meeting room.   Greg Smith won a Minnesota Book Award for the novel  and short story category in 2012 for his book The Law of Miracles.  He has written three novels, The Devil in the Dooryard, The Divine Comedy of John Venner, which was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times, and The Madonna of Los Vegas. His short fiction has appeared in various literary journals, including The Kenyon Review, the Antioch Review, and StoryQuarterly.

Greenvale Park Community Garden is now making applications available for the 2013 gardeningseason. A limited number of 10 x 10’ and 10 x 20’ plots will be available. Gardeners can plant what theychoose and will be responsible for weeding, watering, harvesting and otherwise maintaining their plotsthroughout the growing season. All gardeners at the community garden will use organic gardeningmethods, and experienced gardeners will be available to help newer gardeners learn the necessaryskills. In addition to gardening in their own plots, gardeners will participate on work teams to sharetasks like maintaining the compost, mowing and trimming grassy areas, and tending the Sharing Plot.

All the produce from the Sharing Plot is donated to the Northfield Food Shelf.

The final concert in the Senior Center Winter Concert Series will be Sunday, March 17, at 3pm, with music by the Lars Skjervheim Spelemannslag.  The “Lag,” composed of St. Olaf students, was founded by Andrea Een, and led by her until her retirement from St. Olaf last June.  Marybeth Stull, adjunct professor of music at St. Olaf, has taken over the direction of the Lag.  Stull meets with each of the hardanger fiddle students weekly, and with the group twice per month.  Musicians at the Sunday concert will include three students, Stull and her husband (on guitar). Admission for the concert is $5.

The Association of Community Cancer Centers recently recognized Patrick J. Flynn, MD, a hematologist-oncologist with Minnesota Oncology and a longtime medical provider at Northfield Hospital, for his leadership in clinical cancer research. Dr. Flynn received the David King Community Clinical Scientist Award at the 39th national meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers in Washington, DC March 8. Award winners are physicians who have demonstrated leadership in the development, participation and evaluation of clinical studies and/or are active in developing new screening, risk assessment, treatment or supportive care programs for cancer patients. 

Dr. Paul Niemisto was recently named "Northfield’s Living Treasure." A special award ceremony took place on Saturday, March 9th, at the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra (CVRO) concert. Niemisto has created and led several musical ventures, including the CVRO, the Vintage Band Festival (coming again in the summer of 2013) and numerous other musical events throughout the years. Read about the highlights in the Northfield News and this esteemed citation that now resides at Northfield’s City Hall, compliments of Northfield’s Arts and Culture Commission.

Paul Niemisto, was born and raised in a small Finnish immigrant community on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, an environment that was rich with homegrown music.  Although his mother taught piano to kids outside the family, including some of Paul’s friends, Paul followed his own path and, in fifth grade, took up the trombone.  That path subsequently led him to a Doctorate in Music Education at the University of Minnesota and, eventually, after a slight detour to teach in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, to a teaching position at St. Olaf College, and thus, to Northfield. 

Paul’s impact on Northfield has been significant and sustained. 

Shortly after arriving here, he founded the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra which he continued to lead for thirty-four years, giving opportunity to local amateur and professional musicians to make music together, and providing the community with access to locally performed classical music they would not otherwise have had.

The world premiere of Paul Krause's new documentary, "Genesis: The Art of Creation" will take place 7pm, Thursday, March 21 at the Weitz Center for Creativity's Cinema.

The documentary features the artistry of local artist Fred Somers as he worked to create the largest and most significant painting of his long career. Fred has received numerous national awards for his oil and pastel paintings. Most recently Fred received the Bronze Award from the 2012 International Birds in Art Traveling Exhibition, International Association of Pastel Societies 20 Juried Exhibit.

Jim May, Professor of Classics at St. Olaf College, will present a travelogue on Greece on Monday, March 18 at 7 PM at the Northfield Public Library.

Jim is an author and scholar and has traveled to Greece over 30 times  (including  a stint as a rower on a replica of an ancient Greek warship around the Aegean Sea) and has led over 20 study travel programs there.

Come explore this interesting country through a seasoned traveler’s eyes. This program is free and open to the public.

Call 507-645-6606 for questions or to make disability arrangements.

Lynne Young, Director of the Northfield Public Library and Community Services, will be retiring on May 1 after serving our community for 28 years.  Who would have guessed that one of her dreams was to drive the Northfield Ice Arena Zamboni!  She did on March 8 at a celebratory "Lynne on Ice" party, and she did it well!

We have been celebrating Lynne's many skills and interests in anticipation of her retirement.  First, one of her favorite MN authors William Kent Krueger spoke to a packed house in January and commended Lynne on her role as Library Director in a community-that-reads.  

In February the renowned Minneapolis Guitar Quartet played a concert to over 100 people in the library, continuing a musical tradition in the library that Lynne initiated during the centennial celebration of the Carnegie building in 2010.  

The Ron Griffith Young Leaders Fund announces a new grant recipient, Alex Beeby, operations manager at Just Food Co-op.

Alex participated in the Rising Star 2 (RS2) leadership training that was offered by Cooperative Development Services. This training has resulted in Just Food implementing trainings, communications and evaluations systems and establishing an employee personal development plan.

This opportunity allowed Alex to refine and reinforce approaches he has learned over the years and will continue to have an impact on not only Just Food Co-op, but on the larger community as well.

Runs now through April 7, 2013 (closed spring break, March 23 - April 1)

Flaten Art Museum, Dittmann Center, St. Olaf College

Axis Mundi: Levittownis a re-invented miniature neighborhood deconstructing the ideals and pitfalls of the famous post-World War II housing enclave for returning veterans. Levittown remains the quintessential American suburb. This exhibit is an installation that includes a house constructed in the gallery, sculpture (mini houses), light, and sound.

The Defeat of Jesse James Days Committee announces the  2013 board members. Wayne Eddy serves as chairman, and the newly elected members are:  Hayes Scriven, General Chairman; Deb Anthony, Treasurer;, Margaret Haugen, Secretary; Danny Ayotte, Director; Mel Miller, Director and T. J. Heinricy, Director.

This year’s events are planned for September 5th-8th. After the Minneapolis Aquatennial and St. Paul Winter Carnival, the Defeat of Jesse James celebration is largest volunteer celebration in the state.  It is also the largest all volunteer in Minnesota and is always looking for new volunteers. If interested and for more information about DJJD, go to: http://www.djjd.org/ 

Northfield Historical Society Director Hayes Scriven announces that on March 14th at 6:00 p.m. the society will continue the series on the Civil War as part of the sesquicentennial  observance of the that important period our history.  There will be a presentation by Civil War enthusiast and amateur historian Jim Stark entitled, Murfreesboro to Chancellorsville. Following the horrific defeat at Fredricksburg, Lincoln was facing new pressure from both his own Republican Party and the Peace Democrats.  Within his own party and cabinet political intrigue was at work while the Democrats began to push for a peaceful solution to the war.  Lincoln also faced a near mutiny within the Army of the Potomac and General Burnside’s leadership came into question from many fronts. Both England and France questioned if the union could be held together as one nation.  Early 1863 would challenge Lincoln’s leadership on all fronts.