Local Issues

The spring season is officially upon us and the public is invited to check out what’s happening in the Carleton College Cowling Arboretum.

Wildflower Tour

Come learn about the wildflowers of the Cowling Arboretum on a field trip led by Arboretum director, Nancy Braker. Learn flower identification tips and see what is blooming. The field trip will visit Stork Forest, the oldest forest restoration project in the Arboretum. Wild ginger, trillium, bellwort, hepatica and bloodroot all grow here, but what will be seen on the trip depends on how far advanced the spring is. This will be a joint field trip with the Prairie Partners Chapter of the Wild Ones.

The field trip will take place on Thursday, May 14 from 6-7:30 p.m. Participants will meet at the entrance to the Upper Arboretum at the intersection of Second and Oak Streets. Casual clothing and walking shoes are recommended.

Annual Spring Bird Count

Peter Kageyama, the author of "For the Love of Cities," writes:  "Instead of merely livable, I think we need to start thinking about how we can make our cities more lovable.  When we love something, we cherish it; we protect it; we do extraordinary things for it."  Northfield's Arts and Culture Commission invites the public to Carleton's Weitz Center for Creativity Cinema on Thursday, April 23rd, at 7:15 pm for a screening of a TED talk by author Peter Kageyama and a panel discussion of his ideas.  The panel moderator will be Suzie Nakasian, City Council Member, First Ward; respondents will include Scott Bradley, MnDOT Office of Environmental Stewardship, Director of Context Sensitive Solutions; and Nick Haggenmiller, City Administrator of Northfield.

Best Summer Ever!
Friendship, Accomplishment, Belonging

Register for Y Navigator Camp in April and get rewarded! If you register between April 1-15, you’ll receive a $15 gift card, good towards merchandise in the Y Store! Register between April 16-30 and receive a $10 gift card. It’s easy– register today!

Y Navigator is a flexible 3-, 4- or 5-day-a-week camp, available from 6:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with programmed activities from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., that is based at the new Northfield Y facility.  Come one week or come all summer! Kids will enjoy trips to local and not-so-local destinations, all designed to strengthen their imaginations and stretch their bodies. Includes swimming at our pool.

Your kids will have an amazing experience, all in a safe, inclusive, nurturing environment.

Mary Jo Christofaro reminds readers that the Northfield community will be springing into its sixth Perennial Earth Day Celebration on April 17th and 18th. "Mark your calendars for a great event. The kick-off will be Northfield AreaCommunity Solar’s 'Sun Power Hour' on Friday, April 17th from 5pm-7pm at First UCC.  Join us for a community gathering with appetizers, tea and coffee. Learn more about Community Solar and take advantage of this opportunity to subscribe."

Becky Morrison, a proponent of collecting and refurbishing electronic waste and converting it into usable instruments around the globe, will present Carleton College’s weekly convocation on Friday, April 10th from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel.

Entitled “ Revolutionary Ideas: How to Achieve the Impossible,” Morrison’s presentation is free and open to the public. Carleton convocations are also recorded and archived online at go.carleton.edu/convo.

Do you want to complete a triathlon? The Northfield Y is offering a 6-week Y "Tri" to Get Fit program that will teach you proper form and strategy to train for a triathlon. Each session will include an educational and a workout component. Work with Kyle, one of our Certified Personal Trainers; he will take you through a 6-week course meeting once a week (no class April 22) to learn about the training process for a Sprint Triathlon, and give you workouts to complete for the next week. Ages 15 and up.  

More information on the Y's website, including online registration and more details on Kyle's Personal Training experience. 

The Northfield Arts and Culture Commission will sponsor two events in April surrounding the book “For the Love of Cities: the Love Affair between People and their Places” by Peter Kageyama.  On April 16 there will be a book discussion from 7:15 to 9:00 p.m. at Carleton College Great Hall, located in Severance Hall.  Philip Spensley of the ACC will facilitate the discussion.   Books can be ordered at Content Bookstore, 314 Division St. in downtown Northfield or requested at the Northfield Public Library.

Join us this year in reading Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario and to discuss the unique challenges of the immigrant experience.

• Sunday, March 29 at 4 pm: Weitz Center Film: “The Beast/La Bestia’ “
• Monday, March 30 at 7 pm: Content Bookstore Small group discussion
• Thursday, April 9 at 7:50 am or 8:45 am: Northfield High School Conversation: Talk with NHS students about their immigration stories.
• Monday, April 13th at 7-8:30 pm: Community Discussion & Presentations at St. Dominic’s Church.
  

2015 WINGS Board of Directors: (Front row) Vicki Stevens, Patsy Ophaug, Leah Eby; (Middle row) Corinne Smith, Meleah Follen, Barb Altstaetter, Laura Riehle-Merrill; (Top row) Alice Carson, June Hiza, Nancy Carlson, Diane Lyman  (Not pictured: Jacqui Dorsey, Mary Douglass)

Mark your calendar for the Northfield community celebration of Earth Day, Saturday April 18th.  There will be a full day of free Skill-Sharing Workshops at the First UCC Church from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by a Community Potluck and Soup Supper, with Earthly Exhibitors at Carleton’s Weitz Center, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

To kick off the day, on Friday evening, April 17th, from 5-7 p.m., there will be a presentation about Northfield Community Solar.

Among the Saturday activities there will be goat cheese making, clothes mending, info about creating a garden bed for “Free Food Help Yourself and many more!

Registration starts March 17 at: www.transitionnorthfield.org. 

Northfield Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Community - Supporting our local veterans

Call to Action:  Join us for our Kick-Off Event, When:  Mon March 2nd 6:00-8:30 pm at the National Guard Armory

A Yellow Ribbon Community unites key areas within a community to create a comprehensivenetwork that connects and coordinates agencies, organizations, resources and employers for the purpose of creating access toresources that meet the needs at the local level of Service Members, Veterans and Military Families across the state ofMinnesota.

Why Become a Yellow Ribbon Community?

A large crowd gathered at St. Dominic Church Sunday to talk about the need for legislation allowing everyone to apply for a driver’s license, regardless of immigrant status.  Local members of ISAIAH, a statewide organization whose mission is to act collectively toward racial and economic equity, sponsored the gathering.

Following a lunch served by the Latino community, the crowd gathered in the St. Dominic sanctuary to listen to stories of local residents who reluctantly, but of necessity, drive without a license.  Father Denny Dempsy greeted the crowd.

The Northfield Area United Way’s grant application process is now underway. Registered 501 (c)3 non-profits providing health and human services to residents in the Northfield area are invited to apply.  The Northfield Area United Way’s area of service includes Northfield, Dundas, Lonsdale, Montgomery, Dennison, Webster  and Kilkenny.

Completed applications are due March 20, 2015. Applicants  can retrieve the three-part application and instructions online at www.NorthfieldUnitedWay.org. Each applicant will be required to make an in-person presentation to a panel of community volunteers as part of the process. Panel presentations are expected the week of April 27, 2015. 

"The Marketplace of Ideas" will be the subject of a presentation by Chuck Samuelson next week. The presentation is scheduled for 6:30-7:50 p.m., Feb. 12, 2015, in the meeting room at the Northfield Public Library, 210 Washington St. The event is free and open to the public.

Samuelson is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota. Founded in 1952 as the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Minnesota protects the civil liberties of all Minnesotans through litigation, public education and lobbying.

WINGS (Women in Northfield Giving Support) invites Northfield area non-profit organizations to apply for a 2015 WINGS grant. These grants are given in support of projects benefitting women and children in the Northfield area.  WINGS gives grants to qualified non-profit organizations, public schools and government organizations for the purpose of general community support.  Projects funded must benefit residents of the Northfield School District.