Misc

Along with other members of the Northfield Garden Club, I will be leading a group of volunteers in removing buckthorn from Hauberg Woods city park on Saturday, May 17th from 1pm to 4pm. Left unchecked, buckthorn will take over the forest and displace native trees and wildlife. Hauberg Woods is located at the corner of Lockwood Drive and Thye Parkway on the north edge of Northfield. It is a natural park with forest and wetland.

Our group has been working on this project for three years and we have cleared about two or three acres. In order to keep buckthorn out of the twenty or so acres of wooded area, we will need our efforts to grow. Please join us in our quest to rid Hauberg Woods of this menace.

I have a large area of land N. of Webster, by the Hazelwood Church I'd like to make into garden spots for people that don't have there own space. Minimal fee. Anyone interested, or have ideas for me to get this going?

Thanks
Peg
mandmconcessions@integra.net

We've added Sweet Lou's Waffle Bar to the list of places that offer free Wifi access to its customers. 

If we've missed any, please let us know and we'll fix it ASAP.  Or, if you know of another list that would be valuable for Northfielders tell us that as well.

From the Strib:

For at least a day, Faribault, Minn., convenience store clerks Jared Gustafson and Kim Bourn were among an elite handful of Rice County residents.

When it came to who might have won this weekend's $180.1 million Powerball jackpot ticket, sold somewhere in the southeastern Minnesota county, they were considered in the know by curious customers and reporters.

Okay, fess up. Did you win $180 million dollars this weekend? I was in the Kwik Trip tonight and they were claiming that they had sold it...

Thomas Osborn, MD, a specialist in rheumatology from Mayo Clinic, now provides care at FamilyHealth Medical Clinic in Northfield.

Dr. Osborn will provide services on selected Tuesdays once each month at the clinic on the Northfield Hospital campus. He will work closely with community physicians to provide care for patients with diseases and disorders of the joints, muscles, bones and tendons such as arthritis and degenerative joint disease.

“The addition of a Mayo Clinic rheumatology specialist in Northfield significantly expands local access to these services,” said David Oliver, clinic operations administrator for Northfield Hospital. “It will give local residents access to specialty care not previously available this close to home. Any time we can provide more specialty care locally, patients and their families benefit.”

The Star Tribune reports that a pedestrian was killed at 7:30 this morning when struck by a truck near the corner of state highway 246 and Jefferson Parkway.

Editor's Note: Northfield.org is not really a breaking news organization, but we did receive this notice a few hours ago and just spotted it now. The accident is being reported in the Northfield News and elsewhere.

Northfield Dog Park continues to have high usage, with people willing to brave the spring mud also going to the new, very spacious, Dundas dog park as well. The Nfld. dog park may close for a bit when pipes go in at the bleacher area, but owners are undeterred getting to the park as long as possible, and enjoying the spring and their dogs romping.

Toxic substances arising from technological developments have significantly impacted our world during the past century. As part of the 10th annual Honors Day Science Symposium this Friday, May 2, three environmental experts from across the country will come together at St. Olaf College to consider what it means to thrive in a "toxic" world. Their lectures will be streamed online. All Science Symposium events are free and open to the public.

Each of the three experts will examine the impacts of toxic waste from a different perspective. Warren P. Porter, professor of zoology and environmental toxology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will kick off the symposium by addressing the health effects of pesticides. Porter's research focuses on how environmental contaminants affect the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, as well as developmental processes. His lecture will begin at 2:15 p.m. Friday.

Minnesota author Marya Hornbacher will read and discuss her new book, Madness: a Bipolar Life, at St. Olaf College Wednesday, April 30, at 7 p.m. in the Kings' Dining Room of Buntrock Commons. Following the discussion she also will be available for a book signing.

Hornbacher's new book describes her battle with bipolar disorder, which remained misdiagnosed by doctors until she was 23. Madness depicts her struggle to cope with a disease that has afflicted her with extreme mood swings and led to self mutilation and eating disorders, among other problems.

Read the rest of the story at stolaf.edu.

Around 7:00 tonight, while my cat was huddling under the kitchen table and I was trying to figure out what that loud sizzling noise was outside, intrepid citizen journalist (and NCO Board member) Jane McWilliams was rushing outside with her camera.

She managed to catch quite a bit of drama as a power line on West 1st Street caught fire and the fire department arrived on the scene.

I could be wrong, but it looks to be another example of the sort of "phase to ground arc" that Glenn Switzer caught on video last June.

The Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division Summer Brochure is arriving in your mailbox soon. The brochure contains information on youth and adult recreation, KidVentures, youth and adult enrichment, Early Childhood Family Education, Project ABLE, and Adult Basic Education. Online registration is available for all programs.

Northfield Community Services; 1651 Jefferson Parkway, Northfield, MN 55057; www.nfld.k12.mn.us (follow the Community Services links); tel. 507-664-3649.

Northfield Relaxed Homeschoolers

Join us for informal weekly gatherings this summer at Oddfellows Park (Forest Avenue and Lincoln Street) on Thursdays between noon and 3 pm. This is a secular support group for unschoolers and relaxed homeschoolers in and around Northfield. We are open to families with children of all ages. Opportunities to arrange for fieldtrips, family activities, classes etc. Prospective homeschoolers are also welcome. First gathering is on Thursday May 1st, 12-3 pm (In case of rain, meeting will be cancelled)

RSVP to Josefina da Fonte Hanson 507-645-5561 josefina.dafonte@gmail.com

Local photographer Robb Long sent us a set of photos and this great man-on-the-scene report about an event that gave him quite a surprise a few days ago: some guys setting fire to the park behind his house.

Here are some photos that were taken at Prairie Hills Park over by Cannon Valley Drive. It was quite the experience. All of a sudden, while looking out my back window, a few guys set fire to the park and smoke filled the air.

We're running low on blinker fluid and the muffler bearings are shot (That's that grinding you've been hearing for the past week), so tonight we're going to take the site down for some tinkerin' and some hammerin' and some why-do-we-have-all-these-extra-screws and we-have-to-promise-never-to-mention-this-to-anyone.

If you need something to do, watching this news report on fainting goats always goes over well. :)

A number of Northfield organizations, along with other national, state and community groups, are joining forces to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making — an effort that has culminated in the formal designation of April 16 as National Healthcare Decisions Day .

The main event of the day will include a presentation and panel discussion about advance care planning and advance directives (in accordance with Minnesota state laws) from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Northfield Public Library, followed by free consultations until 5 p.m. Panelists who will discuss advance care planning and advance directives include a local social worker, a nurse practitioner, a family member, a chaplain, an attorney and a physician.