(Update log 12/2 11:30 a.m.) One Northfield resident is concerned the City Council could dismiss a good opportunity for a new liquor store location because it would lie beyond the area specified in September’s request for proposals.

Virginia Gleason of Oak Street proposed to sell the city a nearly 50,000-square-foot vacant lot across from Target on State Highway 3 for just $1. Her son, James Gleason, also of Oak Street, helped his mother with the proposal and he said he wants the general public to know about the offer.

“Our family has been in Northfield forever and we made the offer because we’d just really like to get ‘er done,” James Gleason said on Monday.

The site, which has been for sale for about six years, does not appear to fulfill at least one of the minimum requirements set by the City Council and members of the city’s staff in September.

That requirement is that the property lie “in an area which is currently or proposed to be zoned C-1 or C-2 in the City of Northfield zoning code or located in a area zoned C3 within one quarter mile of an area zoned C-1 or C-2.” The property is zoned as C-3, which is a “gateway commercial district” and is nearly a mile* from the nearest C-2 district, which is the “downtown fringe district.” C-1 is the “downtown district.” (*I checked the zoning maps online again and it appears the site would actually be a little more than a mile from a C-2 district).

James Gleason said he learned by reading a Representative Journalism story online that officials began to consider five proposals via a scoring process two weeks ago and his was not among them. Gleason said city officials had yet to tell him whether his proposal had been rejected or to return his $1,000 “good faith” deposit.

Brian O’Connell, Northfield’s Community Development Director, said the City Council would still review Gleason’s proposal and that the proposal was still one of seven listed on a scoresheet that the council and staff designed to collect input from four knowledgeable groups of people.

The members of one of the groups, however, said on Monday that they scored only five proposals two weeks ago. Steve Engler and Victor Summa said Gleason’s proposal and another submitted by A.K. Kayoum were not on the list because staff members took them off. Engler and Summa represented the Economic Development Authority’s Infill Committee. Joel Walinski, interim city administrator, said he could not comment about how many proposals were on the scoresheets that Engler and Summa completed.

Gleason said he would not want to ask the City Council to make any decision that would result in a detriment to the city’s downtown. He said he believed building a new liquor store on the site his family proposed could be the most lucrative for the city.

Councilor Scott Davis, who represents the City Council at Economic Development Authority meetings along with Councilor James Pokorney, did not return a phone call or email message about the matter by Tuesday morning.

Update 12/2 11:30 a.m.: Griff Wigley uploaded a clearer version of the property map in the first comment below this story.

The images below show the five sites the Economic Development Authority’s Infill Committee rated two weeks ago. The first shows a lot on Water Street with two buildings, the second shows a lot on the “Q-Block” and a lot on the property across the street from the “Q-Block” where The Crossing residential building lies, the third building is on Division Street, the final photo shows a residential lot on the southern end of Water Street (Note 12/2 12 p.m.: the final photo is of a residence built in a Downtown Fringe district).

Photo by Josh Rowan Students displayed "Elephant in the Room" in Buntrock Commons to draw attention to alcohol consumption on the "dry" campus.

“We have a pretty articulated policy that alcohol is not allowed on campus, and that applies to faculty and students,” Greg Kneser, vice president and dean of students, said last week, “That doesn’t mean everybody abides by it.”

Kneser said consequences for breaking the policy can range from the offender to pay $25 to complete a 90-minute program called “My Student Body” to expulsion, after multiple offenses. He said administrators also address a student’s behavior if Northfield residents or police catch him or her doing something inappropriate off campus.

Kneser said he does not believe the amount of problems associated with Saint Olaf students drinking on or off campus has changed in the 20 years he has worked at the school.

He guessed that the only change might exist in the attitude students and parents have about alcohol. They could be less conservative today, he said. So he believed there could be a greater percentage of underage students now who have at least tried alcohol.

The one requirement that seems to directly address “concern from some neighbors about the conduct of students living in residential neighborhoods,” reads, “Renters and Police must be given an answered phone number of the landlord that will be answered by a person able to address problems and complaints.”

Northfield Police Chief Mark Taylor compiled lists of of the number and nature of calls to Saint Olaf and Carleton College campuses that officers responded to in the past few months. According to the data tables, police responded to seven instances of drug “activity,” one instance of drunkenness, and one loud party between April and November at Carleton College and no apparently alcohol-related calls to St. Olaf in that same period of time.

Taylor said, however, that the numbers do not say how many calls involving college students police responded to at off-campus locations.

He said he would like to see the City Council support greater effort to regulate problems associated with late-night drunkenness among those students and others who imbibe and then create a public disturbance by making loud noise or destroying property.

Kneser said that, in his experience, there is a problem with the belief that a person can “drink responsibly” very easily. After two or three drinks, he said, a person’s judgment has already grown impaired. He also said, statistically, many students have a perception that their friends drink more than they do, and so a student will over-indulge to meet that perceived high expectation.

In the words of the student columnist, Julia Aaker, “We talked a lot about alcohol, a lot about what how much we consumed, but we never really communicated. I was drinking so much because I didn’t know how to communicate that I didn’t want to drink. Even if I had said, ‘I’m not going to drink tonight,’ my words would not have been understood.”

Police charts for Carleton College:

no_-_total_cad_calls_for_address-1

no_-_total_cad_calls_for_address-4

Charts for Saint Olaf:

no_-_total_cad_calls_for_address

no_-_total_cad_calls_for_address-2

City officials have ordered David Lansing to dismantle a structure that houses Christmas trees on the Division Street property where his family operates a decorative plant-selling business.

Dan Olson, staff liaison to the Planning Commission, said in an email on Monday that David Lansing had a permit for outdoor sales and for a temporary greenhouse-type structure at 600 Division St. from April until Sept. 30, 2008.

“The outdoor sales persisted after that date, and we worked with David and his father Mayor Lee Lansing, who was given power-of-attorney to discuss the matter with the city, to halt the sales and remove the temporary structure,” Olson said. “The Lansings halted the sales they had previously undertaken, but did not remove the temporary structure. The matter was turned over to the city’s prosecuting attorney, Tim Morisette. Mr. Morisette has given the Lansings until Wednesday to remove the structure.

The Mayor did not return a message to his cell phone by 4:30 p.m.

Update 11/24 6 p.m.: I added a comma after Mr. Olson’s title and the word “that” in the first sentence of the second paragraph to correct the sentence structure. I changed “Lansing’s” to “Lansings’” to correct the grammar. Mr. Olson wrote “Lansing’s” in his email response to me originally.

Update 11/25 1 p.m. I apologize for yet another grammatical mix-up! Lansings’ should be Lansings.

Victor Summa and Steve Engler, members of the Northfield Economic Development Authority (EDA), reviewed five municipal liquor store proposals at 3 p.m. on Thursday and scored them on 28 criteria, which were devised by City Council and city staff.

Click play to listen to the EDA’s discussion on the liquor store proposals. 23 minutes.

Jody Gunderson, the authority’s director, also scored the proposals. Last week, officials expected to score seven proposals, but two ultimately did not meet the requirements listed in the request for proposals document.

Late on Thursday, Engler said he found the scoring process much simpler than he anticipated. City Councilor James Pokorney said on Friday the score sheets are just one tool the City Council expects to use in making its decision about which proposal is best.

The four members of the Economic Development Authority met at 7:30 a.m. Thursday to talk about which members would fill out the score sheets. Originally, members Rick Estenson and Marty Benson had volunteered to fill out the sheets, since they are also members of an EDA subcommittee called the infill development committee.

However, the city’s attorney determined Estenson and Benson had a conflict of interest in the matter because each works for one of the city’s banks. Those banks have a financial interest in some of the proposed liquor store sites. The proposed locations are: 618 Division Street; the property containing The Crossing residential building off State Highway 3; the “Q-Block” off Highway 3; the southwest corner of Fifth and Water Streets; and 717 South Water Street.

Three other groups are expected to fill out score sheets. There is a city staff group comprising Joel Walinski, interim city administrator; Brian O’Connell, community development director; and Steve DeLong, liquor store manager. Donnelly Development representatives form a second group and Northfield Enterprise Center representatives form a third.

During the Economic Development Authority’s morning meeting, Engler and Summa asked some questions about the proposal scoring process.

Engler asked if there would be someone present during the scoring meeting who could answer any questions he had about the criteria. He said, for example, he had little knowledge of how to judge the quality of stormwater systems.

Gunderson said he believed Joel Walinski could attend the meeting and answer questions. Engler said later Walinski did not attend but DeLong did and he provided some information.

Estenson told Engler if he felt he could not give a good opinion on any particular item, he should simply not give an opinion.

Summa asked if Donnelly Development representatives and DeLong could also present conflicts of interest.

The request for proposals document reads: “The City of Northfield has retained Donnelly Development to provide real estate services throughout the municipal liquor store development process. Accordingly, please provide for a seller-paid fee equal to three percent of the purchase price of the land and/or a $4 per square foot fee on a lease of 10 years. For lease proposals greater or less than a 10-year term, please adjust on a prorated basis.”

Victor said DeLong could also conceivably be biased since he has to work in the new liquor store. Gunderson said Walinski could have an answer to that question. However, Walinski was out of his office.

On Friday, O’Connell said staff did not ask the city’s attorney if Donnelly and DeLong could present a conflict.

“We did not see it as a problem,” he said. “The fee paid to Donnellly is to help us negotiate with the developer after we select who it is we want to go with. We’re going to do decide on a particular development project based on our criteria. As for Steve DeLong, he’s a salaried professional and he’s not going to be paid more or less based on the site we select.”

Greenvale Township’s supervisors and Northfield city officials drew closer to reaching an agreement at the end of a fifth annexation negotiation meeting at the township hall on Tuesday night.

O’Connell and Joel Walinski, Northfield’s interim city administrator, offered a new payment plan to reimburse Greenvale for the property taxes it will lose when 530 acres of undeveloped farmland goes onto the city’s tax rolls. Northfield would like to attract industrial developers to the site.

The proposed payment plan would reimburse Greenvale in the amount of about $3,854 a year for five years. That figure is the amount of money Greenvale currently collects in taxes on the property. In the sixth year, Northfield would pay a “balloon payment” that would equal about 20 more years of annual payments. In all, Northfield would pay Greenvale about $96,362, using today’s property tax rate figure.

That amount is significantly higher than the $7,708 figure O’Connell and Walinski presented at first, which would have met the state minimum requirement of reimbursing a township for two years.

Greenvale’s three supervisors appeared happy with the offer, but said they would have to investigate if the township would be allowed by law to accept such a large lump sum of money. They also were unsure if they would be able to invest the money as they pleased.
“We might be required to use it to lower taxes,” Supervisor Robert Winter said.

O’Connell and Walinski said they would compose a new draft of the agreement while the township found out about its ability to receive large payments. Walinski said he hoped to see the annexation process complete in February. City Council will have final say on the terms of the agreement.

Northfield Mayor Joseph Lee Lansing will attend his omnibus hearing on Dec. 17 at 1:30 p.m. in Rice County District Court in Faribault. District Court Judge Warren E. Litynski set the date Wednesday afternoon after an arraignment that lasted about 10 minutes. The mayor is facing five charges of misconduct by a public official and two charges of conflict of interest by a public official. Lansing, casually dressed in jeans and a sweater, appeared in good spirits during his arraignment hearing, and chatted with people before and afterward. His attorney is Tom Dunnwald.

Main Street Moravian Church meeting on drug use in Northfield from Bonnie Obremski on Vimeo.

Note: This is an edited video of the question and answer portion of Sunday’s meeting at the Main Street Moravian Church. I edited out images of the undercover sheriff’s deputy and any audience member. I also shortened the length of some questions and stretches of silence. For a complete, audio-only recording of the meeting, follow this link.

Questions remaining:

Are the people of Northfield doing enough to help get drug users through recovery?

Why did this problem blossom in Northfield in particular?

Where does Northfield stand on a time line stretching between “higher amount of drug users” to “very few drug users?” When does that time line begin? When might it end?

An Iraqi child participates in the War Kids Relief project

A Minnesota-based non-profit is spending the next few months partnering children in New York City, Washington D.C., and Northfield with children in Iraq in an effort to build closer ties between the nations.

“We thought about Minneapolis, but decided on Northfield,” said Pam Middleton, executive director of War Kids Relief, which is a program of the Children’s Culture Connection non-profit.

Middleton will help select about two dozen eighth- and ninth-grade students across Northfield to participate. Each child needs to submit an application in school to be considered.

“Northfield is Middle America, but it’s also a special place. The citizens here are so engaged,” she said.

The children Middleton helps select will attend at least three afternoon gatherings in January, February and March at the Northfield Public Library. There, War Kids Relief organizers will help each Northfield teen begin a pen-pal kind of relationship with an Iraqi child. The youth will exchange letters, artwork and videos. The Northfield children will learn about Iraqi culture by hearing stories, playing Iraqi games and eating samples of the region’s food.

Photo by Josh Rowan From left: Dina Fesler, president and founder of Children Culture Connection; Sandra Hakim; Pam Middleton; and Charles London, author of One Day the Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War, pose at the War Kids Relief program kickoff event last week.

The mission of Children’s Culture Connection is to “help U.S. kids develop an appreciation for other cultures, to foster cultural awareness within our own multiracial communities and to raise money and awareness to help at-risk children throughout the world,” according to the organization’s Web site.

Examples of the artwork and writing of the participating Iraqi children are hanging in the James Gang Hideaway Coffeehouse and Winebar on Division Street. The first War Kids Relief library meeting is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 10 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Update 11/18 11:30 a.m.: I edited a few grammatical errors this moring and took out the phrase “warring nations” in reference to the U.S. and Iraq.

A discussion about the role of Northfield’s City Council versus the city’s paid staff in decision-making emerged during the Economic Development Authority meeting on Thursday morning.

The topic came up when the board members addressed the process of building a new municipal liquor store to replace the old one on Fifth Street.

“This is a political hot potato,” Steve Engler, who joined the development authority in September, said after the meeting. “I was trying to clarify who was making decisions.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has told the city the liquor store cannot continue to operate without significant renovation. Facing an ultimatum, the council decided in August that constructing a new store would probably be more cost-effective than making repairs. So, it asked city staff to issue a request for proposals for a new store.

In the past, controversy surrounded the decision to build anew when Mayor Lee Lansing allegedly attempted to convince the council to approve construction at a location that could have resulted in his financial benefit.

“You said this is politically charged; it shouldn’t be, it’s a liquor store,” James Pokorney, city councilor, told Engler at the meeting.

Pokorney added later that the decision might have been political at one time if the mayor had indeed done something inappropriate, but it should not be any longer.

Joel Walinski, interim city administrator, told the members of the development authority about the status of the decision to build a new liquor store. The city’s request for proposals brought in seven responses that could fit the requirements City Council set for the new store. They are still not available for public viewing.

Walinski said the Economic Development Authority’s Infill Committee, a group of city staff, the Northfield Enterprise Center and Donnelly Development will help assign points to each of the proposals that fall within the council’s requirements. The proposals with the most points would be more highly recommended. (Walinski, Brian O’Connell, community development director, and Steve DeLong, liquor store manager, would form the group of city staff).

Engler said he was unsure if it is best to keep the proposals secret from the public while the different groups review them. He also was uncertain if the City Council should take recommendations from staff when perhaps all council needs is a little more basic information about the proposals.

“Aren’t you elected to decide certain things?” Engler asked Pokorney.

Pokorney said City Council has reviewed liquor store proposals in the past but made no decision because the elected officials needed further professional assistance to feel comfortable making the right choice. He said he believed the liquor store presents an opportunity for City Council to benefit from trusting the recommendations of city staff.

“There are people who say ‘We can’t let the staff decide, they’ve got some kind of devious reasoning,’” Pokorney said after the meeting. “I’m tired of it. What we’re asking staff to do is a supportive effort, not a legislative effort. It’s what we hire them to do.”

Following the meeting, Walinski said the proposals would present City Council with a wide range of options. Some of them would allow Northfield to buy undeveloped or developed land and/or buildings and some offered to lease land or buildings. The scoring groups will rate the proposals based on cash flow opportunities and pedestrian access, among other criteria.

Update 11/14 3 p.m.: This afternoon, I made some grammatical changes to the story above.

Update 11/17 12 p.m.: This is a document showing the score sheet for the proposals (PDF).

This is the email from Mr. Walinski, which contained the score sheet attachment:

“Hello Bonnie -

I’ve attached the Liq. Store RFP Document as requested. I’ve also provided you with the Scoring Sheet we will be using to rate the proposals that were submitted. This document was previously provided to the EDA and all interested parties attending the Pre-Submission conference on October 22, 2008.

In answer to your question on the discussion at the EDA Meeting on Thursday, this was the second time this item had been discussed at a EDA Board meeting, the initial discussion was to see if there was interest from the EDA to participate ( October 23, 2008 Item 8.b). The discussion on Thursday was to provide an update on the process, reconfirm the role of the EDA Infill Committee, and make members aware of the timeline.

Regarding your other questions concerning the liquor store, the liquor store questions and planning has been ongoing for at least four years. The Council, residents through public comments, and consultants have had multiple discussions on should the City run a municipal liquor store and at this time the consensus of the council is yes - primarily for the added revenue to the general fund and funding support to support the taskforce working on the prevention of Youth Drug and Alcohol. Another reason given is the City is more in control of the sale of alcohol to minors and advertising of alcohol to minors by having a “muni”. If you need more information on this I would suggest reviewing the tapes of multiple council meetings and work sessions where this item was discussed.

In regards to using the existing store location, making the required improvements and completing the deferred maintenance, this is the base position from which the proposals submitted will be will be judged. We do have good information of the cash flow and business model at the existing site and fairly good estimates of improvements needed and costs. One of the items we will be reviewing is comparing cash flow models and costs of a new location with the existing site. The benefit of moving through an RFP process is that we now have better numbers for what a new store development, purchase of property, or leasing a location would cost given the proposal submissions This should help staff make a recommendation as per the council request. Ultimately more specific information should help the Council and general public to make an informed decision.

Hope this helps -

Joel”

Photo by Joshua Rowan Guadalupe Flores Calderon manages her kitchen.

Guadalupe Flores Calderon and her business partner Yuma Gonzalez Gonzalez have seen their enterprise double in size since opening in June, Calderon said last week, and the place does not even have an outdoor sign or full menu.

Their Mexican store and deli has a name, La Vencedora, and most people are drawn into the stark-looking building by the smell of her cooking, Calderon said, or on the advice of satisfied customers.

The building’s previous tenants, a Quizno’s fast food chain and a restaurant called Wiggles and Wok, perhaps never did so well in the short time they spent near the intersection of State Highway 3 and 3rd Street West, adjacent to the Quarterback Club, before closing. Calderon said she has had relatively few overhead costs so far.

“The food we serve has very authentic flavor,” Calderon said in Spanish as she described her success. Calderon, a Mexican native, just as easily speaks English, too.

She said she opened the business with a few shelves of staple goods. She cooked some meals for her customers to order. Now, the bright interior of the store is crammed with everything a person would need to prepare a traditional Central American meal, including limes, cactus, avocado, fresh baked goods and a wide selection of fresh meats. She still does not have a menu posted, but her partner and their three employees prepare fish, chicken, pork and beef dishes including tacos, sopes and enchiladas for customers every day.

Calderon, of Eagan, keeps the business open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. She has three young daughters, Claudia 16, Brenda 14 and Diana, 7 who sometimes visit the store. She said she is hopeful her business would continue to grow as more of her customers spread the word about what they found at La Vencedora.

Update log: 11/12 8 p.m.

Click here to download a PDF file of the most recent draft of the annexation proposal

Brian O’Connell, Northfield’s community development director, offered to extend the amount of time the city would pay tax reimbursement fees to Greenvale Township during an annexation negotiation meeting on Wednesday night.

But, the township’s supervisors said they still needed time to think and could make a counter-offer.

O’Connell, who has been representing the city in negotiations along with Joel Walinski, Northfield’s interim city administrator, said on Wednesday the city could be willing to pay a fee of about $3,854.48 a year for perhaps 20 years, in an amount that would total about $77,000.
Previously, the city representatives offered to pay a fee for only eight years. That yearly dollar amount is equal to the property tax revenue Greenvale now collects on the 530 acres that the city wants to annex to build an industrial park.

The annexation deal would put those acres onto Northfield’s tax rolls. State law requires in such a transaction that a city government reimburse a township for its lost taxes for a period of two to eight years or some other agreed-upon amount.

“The effort is to get an agreement,” Walinski said to explain why the city is offering to reimburse Greenvale for lost taxes for a much longer amount of time than originally proposed. “We’re kind of in between bookends—on one end there’s the very least of what state law says we have to do, which is two years of reimbursement. At the upper end, we have previous annexation agreements that Northfield made with some other townships in the past that exceed the minimum state requirement to a high degree.”

Unlike those past agreements, however, there is no developer ready and waiting to invest money in the land Northfield is annexing from Greenvale. So, the city and Greenvale are trying to “find new ground,” Walinski said.

Gregory Langer, a Greenvale resident who has been very active in the discussions about annexation, said Northfield’s offer seemed better received among residents of the township than any previous offer. However, he said the three Greenvale supervisors have still not given O’Connell and Walinski a formal draft of a document listing specifically what Greenvale would like in the annexation deal.

“Our supervisors have no training in these kinds of things,” Langer said.

About 15 people attended last week’s meeting, he said, including Rhonda Pownell, one of Northfield’s newly elected city councilors. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. in the Greenvale township hall on Guam Avenue.

Update 11/12 8 p.m. Mr. O’Connell later sent me the following e-mail response to a question of why he and Walinski decided to up the offer: “The rationale of offering a longer time frame is to attempt to get the Township to agree to SOMETHING!!

We originally started with the concept of paying the Township what is fair.  The state statutes indicate that the payment should be a tax reimbursement which we take to mean the taxes that the Township has been getting, not what the Township may receive if the property is developed in an urban land use which is a tax revenue that Township has not been getting.

The rationale of offering a reimbursement tern for a longer period of time is based on the concept that the development of the business and industrial area will take a long period time and it seem fair that we attempt to reimburse the Township for the taxes lost for a longer period of time.  The state statutes indicate that the reimbursement period can be between 2 years at a minimum up to 8 years or even a longer period of time if both governments agree.  Again, in an effort to get the Township to agree to something we have tried to give reimbursement for a longer period of time to meet the Township expectations.  As you may be aware, even with this more generous offer from the City, the Township still does not agree.  The Township position is that they believe they should be reimbursed on the basis of the tax revenue that would come from the Business and Industrial development which would generate a considerably higher tax payment to the Township even though the Township has not invested in any way to make the development of the business and industrial park occur.  We believe this is unfair which our City Council directed we should not pay something that is fundamentally not fair.”

Photo by Bonnie Obremski

Rhonda Pownell said she wasn’t surprised to come out on top in a four-way race to fill an unexpired two-year term for an at-large seat on the Northfield City Council.

“I have energy and excitement and I’m encouraging others to come along,” Pownell said over a cup of herbal tea at the Bittersweet eatery on Thursday.

She took 33 percent of the 7,112 votes cast for that seat, currently held by Dixon Bond. Bond was appointed by the council after Noah Cashman resigned from the spot in July to pursue a job opportunity and care for an ill sister. Bond may step down early to allow Pownell to begin her work this month, instead of waiting until January when newly elected officials usually begin.

Pownell’s opponents, Joseph Gasior, C. Lynn Vincent and Victor Summa, expressed some surprise at her victory this week. Pownell, 37, has no prior job experience in municipal government and she has been a member of a once much-discussed group that sits in the audience during City Council meetings to quietly pray for the city.

“Rhonda obviously had a strong following across the city,” Summa said. “I was surprised, but considering her affiliation with a strong church base, I understand the outcome.”

Gasior, 36, said on Monday he had done some thinking about the results of the election after he and Vincent nearly tied for second. Each of them won 23 percent of the vote.

“Before, if I had to pick someone to beat, I would have picked Victor, to be honest,” Gasior said. “Now, I can see that, at all the different forums, we would talk about how good we thought Northfield was, but then say, ‘On the other hand, things are going to be rather rough down the road. Rhonda never really took that tack. So, I think people looked at her as the more upbeat candidate.”

As another explanation for the results, Gasior said, using broad speculation, he and Vincent appealed to the same voters, and so could have shared that group’s vote.

Summa, 76, said he believed he and Pownell each had a distinctive group following. Summa won 22 percent of the vote.

“While the four-way race made some difference, I’d speculate that my numbers would not have been much better in a two-way race,” Summa said. “I also doubt Rhonda’s count would have increased dramatically in a two-way contest. Joe was the great unknown and while I was the only other male, I’m not sure I would have gotten his votes, but doubt many if any of his votes would have gone to Rhonda.”

All of Pownell’s opponents mentioned her seniority as an asset. Summa, Gasior and Vincent are relative newcomers in comparison, although each has lived in the city for years. Pownell, a native of Sioux Falls, S.D., moved as a teenager to Northfield to study social work at Saint Olaf College, married a Northfield man after graduating, and has lived in the city ever since.

“The people of Northfield have spoken,” Vincent, 64, said of Pownell’s win. “I think the fact that she and her family have lived in Northfield all their lives was important.”

Pownell, mother of five children, cited her longevity in Northfield and her positive attitude for her win on Thursday. She said she had not been surprised to come out on top.

“I ran to win,” Pownell said.

She said she does not think the recent and ongoing conflicts between various members of the city government necessarily indicate something bad.

“Many people in this city obviously have heart,” she said. “They’re passionate and full of life. That’s what draws more people to come.”

Northfield is a place filled with leaders, she said. The trick is to organize the leaders in a way that allows all of them to work well together.

Pownell said her prayers often ask for the city’s leaders to work with united vision. Her family is a member of Rejoice! Lutheran Church.

A few city residents who believe in a strict divide between church and state have expressed concerned with the prayer group’s presence at City Council meetings. Pownell said she hoped residents would see every person brings his or her own set of beliefs into the room and her faith leads her to be honest and caring.

Pownell said her experience with home-schooling her children and running a household have also given her the ability to be exceptionally organized and efficient-two qualities she hopes will define all of the council’s meetings in the future.

Pownell’s opponents expressed disappointment with their losses, but felt they could not have done much differently during their campaigns to have changed the outcome of the election.

“It’s a tough job,” Gasior said of the council position. “There’s always someone who doesn’t agree with you, and you have to deal with it without taking it personally.”

“Challenge the staff,” Summa said of what an effective council member should do. “Drive the dialog. Spend more time seeking legislation that meets the needs of the community, and less time extolling the virtues of all those around you. Candor is what the public clamors for.”

Northfield Police Chief Mark Taylor spoke with me this week to answer some questions about the ongoing investigation of suspected heroin dealing in the city. Unfortunately, my wireless microphone gave me some trouble and the sound quality isn’t what it usually is. The video is 12 minutes, 28 seconds long. The pauses in the conversation are when I asked my questions. Despite editing efforts today, I couldn’t boost the volume of my voice enough to be audible. But, I believe you can hear the chief just fine.

Northfield Police Chief Mark Taylor talks about heroin investigation from Bonnie Obremski on Vimeo.

Last week, I spoke to a friend of one of Northfield’s alleged heroin dealers. Since she is 15 years old and talking about a sensitive matter, I decided to keep her name and the name of her friend anonymous, even though she gave me permission to use her name.

Click play to listen. 1 minute, 22 seconds.

Photo by Joshua Rowan Annelise Hall-Holt, 4, dangles from the monkey bars at Open Door Nursery School on Tuesday morning.

Barbara Howe, director of Open Door Nursery School on West Third Street, is worried about the number of vacancies in daycares and preschools citywide.

“I think a lot of parents are having to make decisions financially,” Howe said on Tuesday. “There are things that have to go and unfortunately, nursery school is one of them.”

Howe said her concern about enrollment increased when she learned a Dundas business owner had plans to build a Goddard School franchise in Northfield.

That business owner, Jesse Streitz, has said he might apply for one of the city’s forgivable or low-interest loan programs in the amount of about $15,500, which would offset some city-associated expenses with buying the land for the $1.9 million school project.

“It’s not that I’m against other schools coming into the city,” Howe said. “I’m trying to say that if there’s another school with a lot of openings, it could be catastrophic for those of us who are already here. So, I would just rather not see tax dollars used to assist the Goddard School in that way.”
Streitz has said Goddard School Systems administrators performed market research that shows a school would be viable in Northfield, however, and that a Goddard School franchise has yet to fail in the company’s 20-year history.

Howe called all the preschool and daycare facilities across the city that she knew of to ask for their enrollment numbers. She also had conversations with people who run daycares from their homes. She said she believes the information she collected indicates some schools could be in a “grave situation.”

The facilities and enrollments, listed in alphabetical order are: Early Ventures daycare, 3 of 57 spots are open; Grandpa’s Farm, 10 of 14 spots open; Hand-in-Hand, two of 84 open; A Child’s Delight Too, eight of 46 spots open; Northfield Day Care, eight of 20 open; Northfield Montessori, 50 of 186 spots open; Northfield Nursery School, 21 of 74 open; and Saint Dominic’s, 17 of 40 open.

Photo by Joshua Rowan Barbara Howe plays with children at Open Door Nursery School.

There are 10 openings at Open Door, which has an 80-child capacity. Howe said even though some of the enrollment numbers do not seem low, many of the schools are used to having a waiting list.

“In the past, we usually had a waiting list with 15 to 25 people on it,” Howe said of Open Door. “So, this is a dramatic change that we’re looking at.”

As for home-run daycare facilities, Stacy Waters of the Northfield Daycare Association said she has not seen a decrease in infant enrollment in her business, but she is still nervous about her job.

“I worry about my job just like everybody else in this economy,” Waters said. “If parents start losing jobs, then they stay at home or they can’t afford daycare.”

Victor Summa, a member of Northfield’s Economic Development Authority, said he knows of no rule that prevents city officials from issuing a loan to a business that would potentially enter a saturated market.

“It’s almost a moral judgment,” Summa said.

The loans, he said, are supposed to be in an amount that is a small fraction of the business owner’s total investment in the business. The loans create a “slightly more favorable situation,” Summa said, for businesses to come into the city and hopefully generate jobs and tax dollars.

Photo: Bonnie Obremski/RepJNorthfield.org

At least two Northfielders spent hundreds of dollars and countless hours to build front-yard attractions for neighborhood children on Halloween night

Dana Goss of Lupine Drive was one and Joshua Godfredson of Buchanan Court wan another.

Norman Butler, owner of the Contented Cow, alerted me to Goss’ attraction and Jerry Weber and Nicole Maloney of Sweet Pea’s Loft, told me about Godfredson’s display.

Butler said he believed Northfield could benefit if community leaders marketed the volunteer efforts of Northfield citizens such as Goss and Godfredson.

Goss’s family has a long-standing tradition of building a haunted maze with Jack-o-lanterns Dana Goss carves free-hand. A carving of the Headless Horseman seemed to draw the most attention from visitors this year.

Godfredson’s attraction is newer than Goss’. He and friends and family added many more rooms and moving parts to his haunted pirate ship this year. Godfredson works part-time as a professional impersonator, mimicking Hollywood actor Johnny Depp in his role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Hi, my name’s Ben Haynor. I’m a math and physics major at Carleton College. I ended up in a journalism class this semester and began looking at Northfield’s opiate problem. I met Bonnie on Friday and we decided to collaborate on a story. We had already been gathering information, conducting interviews and looking at the history of Northfield’s opiate problem this month. When seven were arraigned on drug charges on Monday, we felt prepared to cover the news and we were glad to have a team of two to do so.

In the coming week we’ll be talking with the authorities to learn more about the arrests, get a better sense of what problems our community still faces, and learn how police intend to continue combating problems with heroin. We’ll be speaking with police in other towns that have had similar bouts with heroin dealing to gain perspective on how a community can fight the problem. If you know more about Northfield’s opiate scene, and are willing to speak, please contact Bonnie or me at RepJNorthfield@gmail.com or haynorb@carleton.edu.

The following video is about 1.5 minutes long. It shows portions of a press conference in the Rice County District Court that took place on Monday, Oct. 27 from 2:30 p.m. to about 3:15 p.m. There were representatives from the Faribault Daily News, KYMN Radio and Carleton College and about a half-dozen other people in the audience.

Rice County Heroin bust 10/27 press conference from Bonnie Obremski on Vimeo.

Here is a video of the entire conference, with minor edits by Benjamin Haynor.

Rice County Heroin Bust Press Conference 10/27/08 from Ben Haynor on Vimeo.

Seven Rice County residents accused of dealing heroin are awaiting second hearings after arraignments at Rice County District Court on Monday morning.

Some arraignments occurred in courtroom 2, where Judge Thomas Neuville presided, and some in courtroom 3, where Judge Bernard E. Borene presided. The judges set bail of varying amounts for each of the defendants.

Alexander Bruce Benson, 19, of 300 Aster Dr., Northfield, is facing two charges of aiding and/or abetting in the sale of heroin on Sept. 29 near Greenvale Apartments on Greenvale Avenue, which is a public housing zone, and one charge of aiding and/or abetting the sale of heroin.

The apartment complex was home to Jillian Marie Wetzel, 25, who authorities determined died of an accidental heroin overdose on Aug. 23. Wetzel’s death by overdose was the most recent of five of such fatalities to occur in Northfield in the past year and a half.

Photo by Benjamin Haynor Caption: Rice County District Court on Oct. 27, 2008

Benson allegedly sold 0.8 grams of heroin for $200 to a “confidential reliable informant” working with the members of the Rice County Drug Task Force on Sept. 24 in the parking lots of the Subway restaurant and the Country Inn off State Highway 3, according to a “statement of probable cause” filed in district court.

Neuville set Benson’s next hearing date at Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m. in district court. The maximum sentence for aiding/abetting a heroin sale in a public housing zone is 25 years in prison and/or a $500,000 fine. Aiding/abetting the sale of heroin could bring a sentence of 20 years in prison and/or a$250,000 fine. Neuville set Benson’s bail at $10,000 with a list of conditions or $50,000 without conditions.

Lucas Patrick Benson, 19, of 404 Harrison Ave., Edina, is facing a charge of aiding/abetting in the sale of heroin and a charge of obtaining heroin. Benson allegedly drove another of the defendants in a 2006 Jeep Cherokee to a police-arranged heroin buy on Oct. 19.

Neuville set Benson’s next hearing date for Nov. 4. He set Benson’s bail at $2,500 with conditions and $5,000 without conditions. Obtaining heroin can bring a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

Jacob Andrew DeMann, 21, of 601 Railway St. South, Dundas is facing one charge of aiding and/or abetting in the sale of heroin and a charge of aiding and/or abetting a plan to obtain heroin.

The charges refer to DeMann’s actions on Sept. 29, when police arranged for an informant to buy heroin in Northfield from a person who allegedly rode as a passenger in a 2004 Pontiac DeMann was driving.

DeMann “admitted that the transaction did indeed occur in his vehicle and that he has given Defendant Peterson rides in exchange for heroin,” members of the task force wrote in the statement of probable cause.

Neuville set DeMann’s hearing date on November 4 at 1:30 p.m. The judge set bail at $5,000 with conditions or $10,000 without conditions. The maximum sentencing for aiding and/or abetting in the sale of heroin is 20 years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine. For aiding/abetting a plan to sell, the sentence could be 5 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

John Blaze Frank, 21, of 423 3rd St. Northwest, Faribault, is facing two charges of selling heroin on Sept. 29 near Greenvale Apartments, and four counts of selling heroin on Sept. 16.

Police working with the Rice County Drug Task Force used an informant to buy heroin from Frank five times between Sept. 16 and Sept. 29, according to the statement of probable cause. The informant/s allegedly bought 3.5 grams of “high-quality” packaged heroin and .3 grams of cocaine total from Frank using $800 in pre-recorded government buy funds, according to the statement.

Neuville set Frank’s next hearing date on November 4 at 1:30 p.m. The judge set bail at $30,000 with conditions or $50,000 without conditions.

John Shelby Hanks, 21, of 10500 295th St. West, Northfield is facing a charge of aiding/abetting in the sale of heroin on Sept. 25. to a police informant. Hanks allegedly told police he “would drive Defendant Frank to the Cities in exchange for heroin,” according to the statement of purpose. Borene continued Hanks’ case to Nov. 11 at 1:30 p.m. and set his bail at $5,000 with conditions and $50,000 without.

Travis Roy Peterson, 19, a Northfield resident who could not give a specific address to the judge, is facing one first degree charge of selling heroin, two second degree charges of selling and one count of possessing heroin. Peterson, also known as “Rork,” according to the drug task force’s statement of purpose, is allegedly the largest heroin dealer in Northfield. Peterson allegedly sold the task force informant 22.2 grams of heroin for $5,600 between Sept. 11 and Oct. 24., according to the statement.

Neuville set Peterson’s bail at $100,000 with conditions or $200,000 without. He set his next hearing for Nov. 4 at 1:30 p.m.

Patience Carol Stopke-Huisentruit, 18, of 27 Oak St., Farmington, is facing one first-degree charge of selling heroin, one second degree charge of selling and one charge of possessing heroin. Borene set her next hearing date for Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m. and set bail at $5,000 with conditions or $50,000 without conditions.

Benjamin Haynor contributed to this report.

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Above: Statement of probable cause for John Blaze Frank, Alexander Bruce Benson, John Shelby Hanks.

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Above: Statement of probable cause for Travis Roy Peterson, Jacob Andrew DeMann, Patience Carol Stopke-Huisentruit, Lucas Patrick Benson.

Update 10/28 11 a.m.: Jim Haas, who posted a comment on this story, told me I incorrectly wrote the judges “posted bail” when the correct terminology is “set bail.” I corrected the term in the article.

Update 10/28 1:30 p.m.: The district court released defendant DeMann on bail on Monday.

Update 10/29 9 a.m.: After doing some online research, it seems the court documents contained a spelling error in Patience Carol Stopke-Huisentruit’s name. I’ve corrected it in the article.

Update 10/31 12 p.m.: The courts also released defendants Stopke-Huisentruit and Lucas Benson on bail early this week.

Update 10/31 7 p.m.: I saw five of seven arraignment hearings in Rice County District Court on Monday morning and the following were my observations of the defendants.

Judge Thomas Neuville saw Travis “Roarke” Roy Peterson first in Courtroom 3 just after 11 a.m.

That courtroom, unlike another I visited later that day, is designed in a way that hides the defendant behind one of the room’s supporting beams. Peterson stood in a wooden, boxed-in area and occasionally peered out around the beam to see the prosecuting attorney and the members of the audience behind him. Otherwise, the defendant’s image was projected onto a few television monitors around the room for easier observation.

Peterson, like every defendant, wore an orange jumpsuit and orange handcuffs. He appeared unshaven, but more or less emotionally composed. Neuville asked Peterson if he wanted him to appoint a public defender, or if Peterson planned to hire a private attorney. Peterson intermittently chewed his bottom lip while the judge spoke.

“Well, how much would that cost?” Peterson asked the judge, regarding the fees of a private attorney.

The judge replied that each lawyer charges something different.

Peterson said he wanted an idea of the cost so he could begin saving money to pay a private attorney, if he needed to.

The judge asked Peterson for his address. Peterson said he didn’t know, but pointed to a person in the courtroom audience and said that person would know. That man said Peterson lived in Dakota County, but did not know the specific address.

During the discussion of setting the terms of Peterson’s release, the prosecuting attorney highlighted the reasons why a jury could one day find Peterson guilty of heroin-related crimes. He told the judge he believed Peterson is a threat to others and to himself.

The attorney read a portion of a police “statement of probable cause” that said Peterson could have been selling about $1,000 a day worth of heroin. At that, Peterson raised his eyebrows in a way that seemed to indicate skepticism.

When the judge set Peterson’s bail at $100,000 with conditions, Peterson had his head lowered into his hands.

Neuville saw Lucas Patrick Benson next. When Benson first spoke to answer the judge’s questions, he leaned in toward a small microphone at the stand. He appeared to have a private attorney, since a representative sat at a desk beside the prisoner’s box and spoke for him on a few occasions. Benson appeared clean-shaven and wore a white T-shirt beneath his orange jumper.

The judge said he would change one of the charges against Benson to include the words “subsequent offense” because Benson had been serving a probationary sentence on another, separate drug charge. The prosecuting attorney said Benson presented a danger to others and himself. Benson did not look at the attorney while he spoke. Benson’s attorney argued the opposite of the prosecutor, emphasizing that Benson could likely begin working a job if released.

Neuville saw John Blaze Frank next. Frank also appeared unshaven. The judge pointed out Frank was serving probation on another charge.

“You look familiar,” the judge told Frank.

Frank seemed to agree, saying he had recently been to court because he had violated the terms of his probation.

The judge asked Frank his preference for an attorney.

“Yeah, if I could get a public defender, that’s be great,” he told the judge.

The judge said it appeared Frank was eligible, since his income was below poverty level.

After the prosecuting attorney requested the judge to set a certain bail amount, the judge asked Frank if he had anything to say about the amount.

“I don’t have any money so I’m not going to make bail anyway,” Frank replied.

The other arraignments happened in Courtroom 2. I made it inside to catch Patience Carol Stopke-Huisentruit’s hearing.

Stopke-Huisentruit, beneath a stylish haircut, appeared composed while she waited her turn before Judge Bernard Borene. The courtroom was designed in a way that made in easy to see everyone in the room. Stopke-Huisentruit sat legs crossed, her white tube socks showing beneath orange shackles and brown plastic flip-flops.

The prosecuting attorney told the judge Stopke-Huisentruit had prior convictions, was a danger to others, and might have even overdosed on heroin in the recent past, according to the police’s statement of probable cause, and so could be a danger to herself.

The judge asked if Stopke-Huisentruit’s parents wanted to speak. Her mother Joni of Farmington and her father Duane of Northfield sat together in the audience. Her father got up to sit beside Stopke-Huisentruit and talk to the judge.

“This is our baby-girl, Patience,” Duane Huisentruit said.

He told the judge Patience has been in treatment for her drug addiction in the past.

“We are still in the process of supporting this girl. We’re still at her side,” he said.

“I agree with what he just said,” Patience said when her father finished speaking.

She told the judge the treatment and probationary sentence helped her to stay clean. She tried “really, really hard to stay clean,” once probation ended, she said, but then began “struggling a little bit.”

“I’m really thankful my parents are here,” she said. “Oh yeah,” she added, “With the overdose thing, I really don’t think I overdosed.”

Update 11/3 9:30 a.m.:

Rice County Heroin Bust Press Conference 10/27/08 from Ben Haynor on Vimeo

Here is the full-length video, thanks to Ben Haynor! For shorter edited version see http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/6154/

Update 11/3 9:45 a.m.: At the prompting of a reader, I called Dr. Charles Reznikoff at Northfield Hospital and Clinics who has been treating heroin addicts since administrators hired him to do the job two months ago. Dr. Reznikoff said he has not, to his knowledge, noticed a change in his workload following the arrests of the alleged heroin dealers last week. As per usual, however, he said he continues to see new patients nearly every day. He would not disclose specific numbers about patients, but he said he is certified to have no more than 100 of them.

Update 11/4 5:45 p.m.: A judge scheduled third hearing dates for defendants Peterson and Frank today and denied Peterson’s request for a reduction in bail, according to a clerk at the Rice County District Court. Meanwhile, the courts rescheduled second hearing dates for defendants Lucas Benson and DeMann. Peterson is scheduled to next appear in court on Nov. 12 at 1:30 p.m. as is Benson; Frank, Nov. 19 at 1:30; DeMann, Nov. 25 at 1:30.

Update 11/14 2:15 p.m.: On Monday, a judge scheduled a fourth hearing for Peterson and a third hearing for Lucas Benson for Dec. 10 at 1:30 p.m. A judge also saw defendant Hanks on Monday and scheduled his third hearing for Nov. 26 at 1:30 p.m.

Update 11/19 4:15 p.m.: Judge Bernard E. Borene continued John Blaze Frank’s case to Dec. 16 at 10 a.m.

Update 12/02 3:00 p.m.: District court judges set omnibus hearings for three more of the defendants. Jacob DeMann is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 14 at 1:30 p.m. and John Shelby Hanks and Patience Stopke-Huisentruit are scheduled to appear Dec. 17 at 1:30.

Richard Cook, Rice County Sheriff, released the following information in an email shortly after 8 a.m. on Monday. Check back for more information soon.

SEVEN ADULTS AND ONE JUVENILE AWAIT CHARGES FOLLOWING HEROIN PROBE

The Rice County DTF conducted an operation this past weekend resulting in the apprehension of seven area adults and one juvenile identified through recent investigation as active in trafficking heroin to area youth.

The adults will be arraigned Monday morning October 27 in Rice County District Court at 11:00 a.m… Sheriff Cook, Chiefs Taylor and Collins will conduct a press conference with local media at 2:30 p.m. after all have been arraigned in the lower level conference room of the Rice County Courthouse.

With this arrest and further investigation we feel the trafficking of narcotic distribution has been significantly interrupted and those who diminish our quality of life have either been arrested or put on notice.

We want to accentuate although this is a very serious and dangerous problem; it involves a minority of individuals and does not represent the main stream of Rice County or Northfield.

We will now look to the courts to support our efforts in protecting our youth and community from further harm while we continue our investigation.

This investigation is directly attributable to the reorganization and focus of the Drug Task Force earlier this year and the result of hard work and dedication of agents from the Rice County Sheriff’s Office, the Police Departments of Northfield and Faribault with assistance from the Minnesota BCA.

The investigation will continue concentrating on the importation and distribution of drugs into Rice County from the metro and other areas. At some point additional arrests will occur as this investigation is ongoing and wide-spread.

Drug abuse is a problem not only here but throughout our state and country. Unfortunately this highly powerful class of narcotics has found its way into the hands of a minority of our area youth through drug peddlers. The threat of new victims is real without significant intervention on all fronts. These underworld activities are slow growing and covert. This culture did not appear overnight, growing over a matter of years taking over the lives of those who have fallen victim. Some have worked to overcome their addiction, others have been overcome. For those victims we are working tirelessly to turn this disturbing trend around.

For the youth and adults who find themselves trapped in a life of addiction and are looking for a way out, we have information on resources available in the area outlined in the attached handout to help.

We are committed in Rice County to eradicate the importation, distribution and consumption of illegal drugs, educating our youth in making healthy choices, holding accountable with meaningful consequences those who drag down our quality of life. Furthermore we are committed to breaking the cycle of addiction by offering treatment options to those in need by supporting a systemic, community-wide approach to a community issue.

Contacts:

Rice County Sheriff
Richard Cook
Direct 507-332-6012
Toll-free 866-727-5299

Northfield Chief of Police Mark Taylor
507-645-4477

Update 10/27 2:10 p.m.: The names and ages of the adults charged are as follows: Alexander Bruce Benson, 20, Lucas Patrick Benson, 19, Jacob Andrew DeMann, 21, John Blaze Frank, 21, John Shelby Hanks, 21, Travis Roy Peterson, 19, Patience Carol Stopke-Huisentruitt, 18.