People

Join the League of Women Voters Northfield-Cannon Falls on Monday evening, March 15th, from 7 to 9 pm at the Hideaway (421 Division) to find out what's up in local and state politics, and to schmooze with League members and other politically-inclined types, all while enjoying a latte, a glass of wine, or your treat of choice.

At this, our first event in the What's Up series of get-togethers,  President Jessica Peterson White will update us on recent legislative interviews with Rep. David Bly, Rep. Pat Garofolo, and Sen. Kevin Dahle. Find out what priorities they named for the legislative session, and where they stand on League issues such as education funding, health care, and more.

 Neighbors of long time Northfielder Lloyd Harkness invite the community to join them for a party in his honor on Saturday, March 13, 2-4 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church Commons Area. Lloyd and his family  have lived adjacent to Way Park park for decades. He has been an invaluable neighbor, keeping an eye out for kids' safety on the skating rink, planting and tending  the landscaping, clearing neighbors' sidewalks and giving way the bounty from his garden. The Harkness family donated the much used mini-basketball court in the park in honor of his widow, Mavis. 

ITEM ONE: BIG NEWS!! Starting in March the Bag price for our monthly Bag Sale will be $7.00. The price has remained the same for the past 20 years and due to rising costs of everything we will be raising the price. The Clothes Closet holds their Bag Sale on the Third Thursday of the month, in March that will be the 18th.

ITEM TWO: Thanks to the wonderful generosity of our Northfield Community the Clothes Closet will not be taking donations March 15th to April 5 to make room for the awesome amount of food we receive during our Minnesota Food Share Drive. On April 5th we will begin taking spring and summer clothes. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our patrons.

It’s going to a rainy weekend in Northfield so bring your family to see Prairie Fire Children’s Theatre’s original musical production of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” will be performed at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 12 and again at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 13. Performances will take place at the Northfield Middle School auditorium. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. 

Everyone, young and old, is invited to attend a special benefit concert honoring Northfielder Sarah Henson on Friday, March 12 at the Grand Event Center in downtown Northfield.

Featuring a line-up of three fantastic local bands, the evening kicks-off at 7 pm with Mark & Alec, followed by Sweet North at 8 pm and Chance Meetings performing at 9 pm. Expect everything from rock, folk, pop, country, bluegrass,  and gospel -- along with some "home-grown originals"!

The mother of four teens -- Zoe, Abe, Max and Sam -- Sarah was diagnosed with an aggressive grade four glialblastoma brain tumor in 2008. Proceeds from this benefit concert will help raise funds for her ongoing medical and living expenses.

Update: Flickr photo set now posted

The Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP) celebrated it 20th anniversary last Tuesday evening at the Northfield United Church of Christ. The highlight of the evening was a series of stories told by local people for whom the river and its tributaries play a significant role in their lives.

Brynnie Rowberg, one of the earliest CRWP board members, described winters on the Cannon during her childhood. A man would sweep the snow away from an area and kids of all ages would clamp on their skates, playing tag, “hockey” and crack the whip. Blocks of ice cut from the river were hauled in horse-drawn wagons to Fremouw’s 5th Street Icehouse, ready to be delivered to local homes’ iceboxes.

Marjorie Jobson, human rights activist  who has been contributed in many ways to  the  STO programs in S. Africa since will receive the degree of Doctor of Human Letters, honoris causa,  from ST. Olaf during chapel on Thursday March 11  at 11 a.m. Also on Thursday,  Dr. Jobson will  give a public lecture "Living with Legacies of Trauma:  Healing and Reconciliation in Post-Aparteid South Africa" at 4 p.m. in Viking THeater (Buntrock Commons).

 The Community Action Center Clothes Closet can be a destination for the outgrown and surplus clothes we all have in our drawers and closets.The Clothes Closet seeks gently used clothing to replenish the rapidly disappearing donations its many customers have purchased. This local resource provides the public low-cost clothing, generating money for the operation of other CAC programs. The current economy has made contributions to the Clothes Closet more necessary than ever.

On the draft winds of the Olympics it is timely to consider rating systems. For example, if a public organization were to be judged, what would the rubric be? How can an organization be a ’10?’

The Olympic skater we saw at Vancouver skating, jumping, and doing other elements was given a total score. They may have been flawless with their jumps and yet other elements could bring their score down.

Organizations must perform well too. Like athletes, they have to perform with a number of variables.

As a consultant, I am often asked to assist an organization develop one of the fundamentals. For example, a frequent request is to help with strategic planning. A clear plan and goals is important. However, I usually request that the organization also allow some time to discuss ‘the eight fundamentals of great organizations.’

Cary J. Griffith's book, Opening Goliath: Danger and Discovery in Caving, is a true story that reads like a novel.

Griffith will talk about his book and the dangers and controversies around people who explore caves (sometimes legally, sometimes not) at the Friends of the Library annual meeting, beginning at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 9 at the library. The event is open to the public.

Griffith’s book has been nominated for a Minnesota Book Award. It describes the fervor with which cavers are driven to explore the subterranean world and the ways in which caving clashes with politics, conservation, and sometimes safety.

Roses and lilies are all very nice, but sometimes a regular old border garden just doesn't seem interesting enough.  Or it's not quite right for the space.  Or you really want to go do something environmentally sound.  How about returning your yard to a natural prairie setting or creating a rainwater garden that captures and filters storm water before it enters our lakes, rivers and wetlands?

If these ideas capture your imagination and raise some questions in your mind then we have just the thing.  John Pauley of Prairie Restoration, Inc. will present a free lecture on the basics of creating these gardens. John has managed the Northfield area farm for Prairie Restorations, Inc for 13 years and has consulted on hundreds of garden landscapes for people in the Midwest.

Angelica Koch and Monica Caldwell have been awarded grants by the Ron Griffith Young Leaders Fund. These grants will enable Koch and Caldwell to pursue additional training contributing to their future leadership in Northfield.

Many of us wonder what we can do to help relieve the suffering of the people of Haiti in the aftermath of last month’s devastating earthquake. The Haiti Justice Alliance of Northfield, a collaboration between St. Olaf and Carleton students and staff and local Northfield residents, invites everyone to Singing for Haiti/Chante pou Aiyti.

The event, held Feb 27, 2010 at the Grand Event Center, is an opportunity for the community to contribute to Haiti’s relief and at the same time to gather to enjoy lively music.

Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to U.S. Congress, spoke Friday afternoon at Carleton College about the state of religious tolerance in America. Despite public controversies over his swearing in to office using the Koran [the central Islamic holy text], Ellison was largely optimistic about religious tolerance in the United States, saying, “Americans in general are tolerant of other peoples’ religious belief… These news-gathering events that smack of intolerance are actually the exception. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be concerned… but the fact is, we are way ahead in the struggle for religious tolerance in the United States.”

Ellison’s speech on Friday afternoon was casually structured and often conversational in tone, yet his speech nonetheless touched on weighty themes, including the importance of diplomacy and education in fostering greater understanding and peace, and his role as a United States politician given his identity as a Muslim.

Early in his speech, Ellison firmly asserted that in his role as a House Representative, his duty was first and foremost to serve his constituents, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. He repeatedly drew a distinction between his personal identity as a Muslim and his role as a public official, and dismissed the idea that he would decide on important issues based on his religious background.

As one preschooler who visited the St. Olaf Natural Lands this fall noted, the fun thing about being outdoors is that there aren’t any doors.

Groups of young learners will return to St. Olaf this month to tour the natural lands and learn about the environment. It’s part of an ongoing collaboration between the college and Northfield’s Open Door Nursery School that aims to give St. Olaf students experience in environmental education while providing the children with an opportunity to learn about nature.

Read more at stolaf.edu ...