Misc

WINGS (Women in Northfield Giving Support) invites Northfield area non-profit organizations to apply for a 2010 WINGS grant.  These grants are given in support of projects benefiting women and children in the Northfield area.  Applications can be completed online at www.wings-mn.org.  Applications must be submitted by March 26, 2010. 

There will be a grant applicants workshop on Thursday, March 18th, at the Northfield Public Library from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.  This is an optional workshop for those who have questions or would like to learn more about completing a WINGS grant application.  Applicants for WINGS grants must be non-profit organizations or have a sponsoring fiscal agent.

Citizen!  Our struggle to overcome the winter season has been another success!  Again, we stand on the precipice of another beautiful spring in which to be productive!  Accordingly, it is your duty to report treasonous potholes to the glorious city so that they may be repaired!  Failure to report potholes leads to discord!  Click here to submit pothole reports to the authorities!  Be diligent in your reporting!  The return to general economic prosperity is around the corner if we take good care of our vehicles!

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.

Communication with your young one can be challenging before speech is an option. Baby language can be a fantastic option for parents and caretakers to conquer this barrier.

“Baby Sign Language,” led by local instructor Amanda Heinritz, will be held from 9-10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 20. “Baby Sign Language” is a Northfield Public Schools Community Services class and costs $16 per person. Pre-registration is required.

Participants will learn more than 50 signs and several songs that will introduce this way of communicating with babies or toddlers. Using sign language with children impacts brain development and diminishes frustration with parents in trying to understand a child’s needs. This interactive class is for adults only and participants should not bring their baby.

Carleton College’s Information Technology Services (ITS) department will sponsor a personal and home electronics equipment recycling day on Saturday, March 20 from 9 a.m. – 12 noon.

The event’s partner, Material Processing Corporation (MPC), allows local residents to recycle personal and/or home computing equipment for a small fee. MPC will have a large truck available for local residents to drop their items in the parking lot south of Laird Stadium, which sits adjacent to Highway 19. (For a Carleton College map, visit http://www.carleton.edu/visitors/.)

Allowable equipment includes computers, monitors, printers, keyboards, mice and other basic computing equipment. This disposal is for individuals only and is not available to businesses.

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.

Calling all parents looking for a school focusing on science, technology, engineering and math with an emphasis on outdoor education!  The Cannon River STEM School, a K-8 public charter school, is accepting applications for the 2010-2011 school year and will conduct its public lottery to fill available openings on Saturday, March 13th at 11 a.m.

Applications can be found on the CRSS website (www.cannonriverstemschool.org) and must be completed for students interested in attending CRSS for the 2010-2011 school year.  As a public charter school that limits its enrollment numbers, applications received by 4 p.m. on March 11th will be entered into a public lottery, scheduled to be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 13th.  Openings for enrollment for 2010-2011 school year will be filled through this lottery drawing.  In accordance with Minnesota Law, siblings of already enrolled students are granted sibling preference in the lottery process. 

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.’

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.

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.

The annual meeting of Northfield Citizens Online, the nonprofit organization behind Northfield.org, will hold its annual meeting Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. at the downtown office of Carleton College's Science Education Resource Center (200 Division St., just north of the Archer House and KYMN radio).

The public is welcome to join us. We'll be celebrating the accomplishments, conducting a bit of business, and discussing hopes and dreams for the next year.

A few 2009 highlights from the annual report (acrobat pdf format):

• Over 200,000 visits to the site.
• Great content work from intern Amy Sack and student worker Maia Rodriguez.
• Some technical changes resulting in much improved site response time.

 The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church is hosting a 2 day event on Faith and Sexuality this weekend February 13-14 called  “Standing on the Side of Love - Rainbow Dinner & Forum,” Saturday night pasta dinner starts at 5:30 and features David Weiss, theologian and author of “To The Tune of a Welcoming God” a collection of essays calling for a Christian faith that extends an affirming welcome to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons. Dr. Weiss is speaking at 7pm. Menu includes meat or vegetarian pasta entree, salad, bread, and dessert. Tickets are $10 for adults, $4 for children under 12, and children under 5 free. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

Carleton College’s Panel on Haiti on Wednesday, Jan. 27 was packed to the brim with students and members of the Carleton and Northfield communities. The event featured four guest speakers who discussed not only the current situation in Haiti, but also the country’s economic, social, and political history to this point.

The panel was organized by Carleton junior Hunter Knight (Brookline, Mass.) along with several groups on campus, including the Black Student Alliance (BSA) and International Relations Council; both groups have been providing and organizing fund-raising events since Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake on January 12, 2010.

Read the full story on the Carleton news site.

Get outside and enjoy the fresh, new snow. Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division is offering Snowshoeing 101 on Saturday, February 13th, from 10:30 a.m. – noon at the middle school.  Learn about the different types of snowshoes and then go outside and try them. Snowshoes will be provided for the class. This class is open to anyone ages six through adult.  For more information or to register for this class, visit the Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division office located on the first floor of the Northfield Community Resource Center (NCRC) at 1651 Jefferson Parkway in Northfield, call 507-664-3649, or go online to www.nfld.k12.mn.us (follow the Community Services link) .