Next Wednesday, March 22, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., at the Northfield Senior Center (1651 Jefferson Parkway),  Alice Thomas will provide an update on the progress of the major restoration project with a “video tour” of the depot.  Find out what has been happening this winter on the exterior (under the  plastic shelter), the interior progress and the summer work plans.

Eliminate the possibility of nasty March weather and the difficulty of navigating the mud and building materials to join others in the warm, comfortable Senior Center, Room #106.

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Carol and Gerry Gengenbach were honored last week with the Northfield Rotary Club’s Good Neighbor Award. The award goes each year to someone outside the club whose community work reflects Rotary’s commitment to “service above self.”

Carol, a retired teacher, has served for four years on the board of Northfield Community Action Center, one year as vice president. She has been a member of the program committee and was a leader in CAC’s Bridges Out of Poverty workshop. Carol currently chairs the organization’s Housing Task Force, serves as a mentor for Northfield Works and volunteers at Thursday’s Table and the Northfield Food Shelf. Carol tutors children in math and reading as part of Accelerate Northfield. She also serves on the board of Northfield Retirement Community Foundation. Previously, she served on the NRC Board of Directors. 

Star Wars is a great franchise that has made most of us dream and almost visit a galaxy far, far way.  Andres Aragoneses, Professor of Physics at Carleton College will help us distinguish between the science and the fiction in a talk at the Northfield Public Library on Thursday March 30 at 7:00 pm.  Professor Aragoneses will give a brief review of the science in the saga to see "when the science is with them and when the force is with them".  This program is free and open to the public.  For more information please call the library at 507-645-6606.

Let’s mark the day by recognizing the enormous value that women add to our socioeconomic system – all while receiving lower wages, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity. Let’s stand together for equity, justice and the human rights of women and all who are gender-oppressed. Join us and wear RED for a group photo to be sent as a reminder to our representatives! The talented Wendy Smith will provide music!

The International Women’s Strike on March 8th, 2017 is an international day of action, planned and organized by women in more than 30 different countries. In the spirit of solidarity and internationalism, in the United States March 8th will be a day of action organized by and for women who have been marginalized and silenced by decades of neoliberalism directed towards working women, women of color, Native women, disabled.

Kate Buckmeier, of Kate: Declutter & Redesign will present a program at the Northfield Public Library on Tuesday March 14 at 7 p.m. on how to declutter our homes and work places.  She will share inspiration, practical tips and specifics on how to decrease the "stuff" that overwhelms us.  You will leave motivated and ready to dig in and clear out!  This program is free and open to the public.  For more information please call the library at 507-645-6606.

Barb Evans, Cannon Valley Elder Collegium instructor and member of the Historic Preservation Commission, will present a program on Northfield architecture on Monday March 13 at 7 p.m. at the Northfield Public Library.  This talk will focus on some of the buildings in the Downtown Historic District with a special emphasis on some built by J.C. Nutting.  Come learn a bit about our historic downtown buildings.  This program is free and open to the public.  For more information please call the library at 507-645-6606. 

The Northfield Poet Laureate invites writers to submit poetry or prose to Writers Night: Cultivate Your Garden, which will be held on Thursday, April 27, at 7pm, in the Northfield Public Library.

How do you “cultivate your garden”? Do you work to make the world or your community a better place? Do you practice self-care? Do you cultivate your own talents, interests, or hobbies? Do you care for your family and friends? Are you an actual gardener? Interpret the theme as broadly or narrowly as you wish.

Writers are invited to submit up to three poems (no more than three pages) or up to 750 words of prose. Please email your submission in a single Word (.doc or .docx) file, or in the text of an email. Include your name on the submission; it will be removed for blind judging. If you are a student, please include your age and grade.

Submission period: March 1-31, 2017

Steve Kelly, Professor Emeritus of Music from Carleton College, will present a program on jazz age culture of the 1920s as told by New Yorker columnist Lois Long on Monday March 6 at 7:00 p.m. at the Northfield Public Library.  Writing under the name "Lipstick", she produced over one hundred columns, which provided a richly textured description of the entertainment and social world of the Roaring Twenties.  Kelly examines "Lipstick's" columns and attempts to place them in the wider history of "jazz age" culture.  This program is free and open to the public.  For more information please call the library at 507-645-6606.

Northfield Reads is a community initiative to encourage people from across the Northfield area to come together to talk, share ideas, connect, and to open themselves to diverse perspectives.  The hope is that through shared readings and conversations, we will create more and broader connections and understandings within the community.  This year, Northfield Reads is focusing on mental illness, with a goal of destigmatizing mental illness.  We will discuss the book Unholy Ghost: writers on depression edited by Nell Casey.  The book will be a springboard for discussions.  Participants need not read the entire book, but by reading several selections, they will be prepared to discuss the book and topic.  Mental illness is very prevalent in our society.  Most people have either experienced a mental illness themselves or have a family member or friend who suffers from mental illness.  The goals of

Northfield - On February 21, 2017, the Northfield City Council approved the 2017 City Council Meeting schedule and 6pm as the new start time for meetings effective March 7, 2017. 

 Parkinson’s Support Group meets February 22

The Northfield Parkinson’s Support Group will meet on Wednesday, February 22 at Northfield Hospital. Individuals who have Parkinson’s, or those with a loved one who has Parkinson’s, are invited to attend. 

Northfield Parkinson’s Support Group

Wednesday, February 22

2:00 - 3:30 pm

Northfield Hospital, Conference Center

2000 North Avenue

Guest speakerNancy Haight of the Northfield Hospital Pharmacy department will give an overview of FDA-approved Parkinson’s medications: how to take them, possible side effects, and drug interactions.

Northfield's Arts & Culture Commission reminds local poets of the February 28th Sidewalk Poetry Contest submission deadline (8 pm at the Northfield Library). Contestants must reside in the Northfield School District or be enrolled in a Northfield school (including the colleges).  Important contest rules—including maximum length and width—can be found on the Arts and Culture Commission page of the City of Northfield website or on the attached brochure. En Español. 

This is the seventh year of the contest and the Commission is looking forward to another significant response from local poets of all ages.  Of the fifty-five poems selected over the first six years of the contest, over 200 impressions appear in concrete in downtown and neighborhood locations. Previous winners have included poets of all levels of experience and a wide range of ages.  The selections are made through a blind judging process, in that the judges have no identifying information regarding the poets.  Let this be the year you enter the contest!   Encourage your friends and family members to participate!  Winners will be announced at the start of National Poetry Month in April.