Here’s this week’s memo post. ]]> After getting feedback from y’all about the Friday Memo, I’ve gotten into a groove, so I’ll be posting the City Administrator’s “Friday Memo” on my CityCommons blog during the LoGro sabbatical. Hope to see you there.

Here’s this week’s memo post.

If not omelettes, then might your dog be hungry for a . . . → Read More: Who’s ready for some goose egg omelettes?]]>
The guy who picks up litter every day around town (he wishes to remain anonymous) pointed out this nest of eggs to me last night. The nest is in the streetscape bushes at 3rd St. and Hwy 3, across from the Quarterback. I assumed they’re Canada goose eggs from looking at the photos on Google images.

If not omelettes, then might your dog be hungry for a snack?

I need to launch a new project for my own business but I can’t seem to get it done when I take 2-3 hours/day having so much fun with Locally Grown.  I mean that seriously. I love LoGroNo and am often humbled by the fact that it attracts a tribe of 8-9,000 people each month with hundreds . . . → Read More: Locally Grown: on sabbatical starting Aug. 1]]>
Starting Sunday, August 1, we’re shutting down Locally Grown for a month or so. This includes the blog, the membership sideblog, the comments, and the radio show/podcast. The site will remain up with this blog post ‘sticky’ at the top.

I need to launch a new project for my own business but I can’t seem to get it done when I take 2-3 hours/day having so much fun with Locally Grown.  I mean that seriously. I love LoGroNo and am often humbled by the fact that it attracts a tribe of 8-9,000 people each month with hundreds of comments.

Ross and Tracy are swamped with their work and other civic duties, so it seemed like a good time to take a break.  When we return, we hope to have a fresh perspective on what else we’d like to do with the site. We’d like your ideas, too.

In the meantime, the civic blogosphere in Northfield has plenty of places for y’all to contribute and engage. First and foremost is Northfield.org because anyone can submit a blog post there.  I think they have a guideline that the blog post itself can’t be an opinion piece but the attached comment thread can be.  So for example, anyone could submit a blog post such as “Council candidates appear at forum… Let’s discuss it here.”

If you’ve become a member of Locally Grown, thank you, thank you, thank you.  We’ll extend your membership an additional two months.  If you’d prefer to cancel it, Contact me. Between now and Sunday, you can still submit a blog post.

If you’d like to be alerted when we return, be sure to subscribe to the blog via RSS feed or email; alternately, follow us on Twitter.

Got questions or comments? Attach them here before Sunday.

See my album of 16 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:

]]> Last night’s Books and Stars on Bridge Square was the finale for the summer. See Northfield librarian Kathy Ness’ blog post on Northfield.org for details. And see the her Kid’s Happening blog for all the latest kid-related activity at the library.

See my album of 16 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:

The Vintage Band Festival (VBF) starts next week: "Over 100 concerts by 25 historical American and international bands in 4 days."

  Vintage Band Festival headquarters: the now-vacant Community Resource Bank building downtown at 4th and Division, right on Bridge Square.

Follow VBF on Twitter and VBF on . . . → Read More: Vintage Band Festival sets up its HQ downtown]]>  
Having placed an ad in the July 12 & 19 issue of The New Yorker, Paul Nimisto’s life is about to go from hectic to ape shit.

The Vintage Band Festival (VBF) starts next week: "Over 100 concerts by 25 historical American and international bands in 4 days."

 
Vintage Band Festival headquarters: the now-vacant Community Resource Bank building downtown at 4th and Division, right on Bridge Square.

Follow VBF on Twitter and VBF on Facebook.

Kitty Mania is this weekend, beginning Thursday, July . . . → Read More: Kitty Mania at the Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl]]>

Kitty Mania is this weekend, beginning Thursday, July 29th and running thru Saturday, July 31st, during regular business hours, all cats and kittens at Prairie’s Edge Humane Society (PEHS) will be available for adoption at greatly reduced Kitty Mania prices! These are all great cats, spayed or neutered, current on vaccinations, dewormed and healthy. They all come with our usual adoption perks; a 4 pound bag of Science Diet food, an offer of one month of free ShelterCare pet insurance, a free year’s membership to PEHS, and a free wellness exam at participating veterinary clinics. (Cannon Valley Veterinary Clinic is a participating clinic).

Kittens below the age of 4 months will be available for adoption this weekend at the great price of two for $200. Normal adoption fee is $145 each. You must take two in order to get the lower price. This is a savings of $90! Kitty Mania!

Cats over the age of 4 months are all reduced to the low price of $50 each. Normal adoption price ranges from $65 to $125. Kitty Mania!

If you have been thinking about adding a fabulous feline to your household, now is the time to do it! Don’t wait any longer! You will never find a better price on a better cat. Don’t miss Kitty Mania!

Looks like some of the brick paver crosswalks downtown are need of sand fill after recent heavy rains. Lots of gaps in lots of pavers. And some pavers are cracking. 

I’d report this via the City of Northfield’s Tell the City About page but I used it over a month ago to report graffiti and never heard back. A good idea and implementation back in 2005 but now way outdated.

I wonder if they’ve heard about SeeClickFix? The difference? Transparency and accountability… plus photos via mobile phones.  Cheap to . . . → Read More: Sand needed in brick paver crosswalks downtown: how to tell the city about it?]]>

Looks like some of the brick paver crosswalks downtown are need of sand fill after recent heavy rains. Lots of gaps in lots of pavers. And some pavers are cracking. 

I’d report this via the City of Northfield’s Tell the City About page but I used it over a month ago to report graffiti and never heard back. A good idea and implementation back in 2005 but now way outdated.

I wonder if they’ve heard about SeeClickFix? The difference? Transparency and accountability… plus photos via mobile phones.  Cheap to implement!

The issue was on the agenda at last week’s Council meeting. See p. 42-52 of the July 20 packet (PDF). From the packet:

NHS is initiating a project to increase the accessibility of the Scriver Building by installing an elevator in the alley behind the stair tower that opens onto Bridge Square. The elevator will provide ADA access to all three levels of the building. Currently the accessible entrance . . . → Read More: NHS recommends trees be removed in front of Scriver Building; Council agrees]]> The Northfield Historical Society is recommending that the two ash trees (see photo above with red arrows) in front of the Scriver Building (its headquarters and museum) be removed.

The issue was on the agenda at last week’s Council meeting. See p. 42-52 of the July 20 packet (PDF). From the packet:

NHS is initiating a project to increase the accessibility of the Scriver Building by installing an elevator in the alley behind the stair tower that opens onto Bridge Square. The elevator will provide ADA access to all three levels of the building. Currently the accessible entrance to the building is off of Division Street. However, this enters into the Museum proper and does not allow access to other floors of the building.

To make the elevator ADA accessible they are proposing to use half of the sidewalk in front of the building to construct a ramp to allow access to the elevator from the stair well. Other options were explored but were not feasible due to physical constraints of the building. Drawings showing the proposal are attached. Currently the sidewalk in this location is about 12 feet wide. The proposed improvements would use 5-6 feet of this width leaving 6-7 feet for the pedestrian access route if additional width for pedestrians is not provided.

Here are six more photos of the area in front of the Scriver Building.

I’m trying to understand the rationale for the removal of the trees since ADA standards would still be met after the ramp was built.

Update July 29 7:05 am: photo of the access at the Holland Block at 5th and Division:

After a presentation at the Council meeting by NHS Executive Director Hayes Scriven and SMSQ architect Steve Wilmot, much of the Council discussion was about the removal of the trees. It ultimately voted 6-1 (Pokorney opposed) to approve the resolution to begin negotiations for the right-of-way (ROW). Here’s the video of the discussion:

At least four of the historic-type street lights on the east side of Hwy 3 near The Crossing blew down. And many trees near St. Olaf took a beating, including these on Highland Ave., one of which landed on a parked car according to this comment from Josh Dale who lives nearby:

I live on the north-east corner of St. Olaf property, off Highland Ave. The power went out shortly after 1am. No power=no warnings, other than a lightning . . . → Read More: Friday night’s thunderstorm did some damage]]> Friday night’s thunderstorm (actually Sat. morning around 1 am) did some damage on the north side of Northfield.

At least four of the historic-type street lights on the east side of Hwy 3 near The Crossing blew down. And many trees near St. Olaf took a beating, including these on Highland Ave., one of which landed on a parked car according to this comment from Josh Dale who lives nearby:

I live on the north-east corner of St. Olaf property, off Highland Ave. The power went out shortly after 1am. No power=no warnings, other than a lightning strike, blown transformers or downed power lines…it was a good several minutes after the power went out that it started hailing and huge branches started ripping off trees in the area. A large part of a tree landed on two cars parked on the roadway of Highland Ave in front of my home. I’m sure many of you are now aware of the significant tree damage around town, especially on the north side. Luckily no one that I’ve heard has been injured by any debris last night, but the possibilities are always there.

We can’t all be expected to rely on media sources for weather warnings. Sirens are quite necessary. If I get woken up at 2am by sirens, I am thankful for the chance to seek shelter if necessary instead of waking up to my family, friends or myself in danger.

Jane Moline commented:

There was substantial damage from the winds with trees down, street lights down. In one case a tree on a house. We lost a bunch of big branches here on the farm, and there was a tree blocking half the road on 2nd street in Dundas.

Anyone else know of damage from this storm?

(To discuss whether or not the warning sirens should have been deployed, see/add to the discussion attached to this blog post.)

Today is a day of rest so they’ll be camped one more night in town, most of them at the Northfield High School.  Tomorrow, the tour’s Heartland Patchwork segment takes them east to Cannon Falls on Hwy 19 where they’ll take the Cannon Valley Trail to Red Wing and then on to Pepin, WI.

Former . . . → Read More: Cycle America’s cross-country tour: a day of rest in Northfield]]>  
Cycle America’s coat-to-coast bicycle tour came to Northfield (from Hutchinson, the last leg of the Mighty Rivers segment) last night and many of the participants were spending money in the coffeeshops of downtown Northfield this morning, including the Goodbye Blue Monday.

Today is a day of rest so they’ll be camped one more night in town, most of them at the Northfield High School.  Tomorrow, the tour’s Heartland Patchwork segment takes them east to Cannon Falls on Hwy 19 where they’ll take the Cannon Valley Trail to Red Wing and then on to Pepin, WI.

Former Northfielder Don Haugo founded Cycle America many years ago. He sold the company back in the 90s.  Anyone know where he is now?

The Friday Memo information from the Library, Streets & Parks, and Recreation departments would be of interest to most citizens. This week’s memo (PDF) also includes

There is a . . . → Read More: City Administrator’s weekly Friday Memo of July 23]]> The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City staff, summarizes the staff activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.

The Friday Memo information from the Library, Streets & Parks, and Recreation departments would be of interest to most citizens. This week’s memo (PDF) also includes

• draft agenda items for August City Council sessions
• first notice of Public Forum on Budget – August 23, 2010 (check it out!)
• details on annual water testing

There is a City Council meeting on Tuesday.  You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.

See my album of 18 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow (videos below):

Below: a two-minute video clip of The Big Strong Men (Facebook page). The band wowed the audience (wide age range) . . . → Read More: Photos and video of a music night in Northfield: The Big Strong Men; Area 51; Fort Wilson Riot]]> As Robbie and I got out of our car in downtown’s west side parking lot last night, we heard music coming from both the Cow’s outdoor stage and the back deck of The Key. Northfielders who ventured downtown, it turns out, got a real treat from the bands at both outdoor venues—with warm temps, spectacular skies, and later on, a full moon.

See my album of 18 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow (videos below):

Below: a two-minute video clip of The Big Strong Men (Facebook page). The band wowed the audience (wide age range) in ways that I’d not seen in a while in Northfield. Members include:

Ben Greenwald: Guitar/Vocals
Christopher "Philly" Williams: Keyboards/Vocals
Joe Silberschmidt: Drums/Vocals
Jon Camp: Bass

Below: a 30-second video clip of Jacob Mullis and Amy Hager of Fort Wilson Riot (also follow them on Twitter and Facebook). Marie Fischer also has some photos in a post on The Key’s blog where she thanks them “for playing the most incredible drum-free show The Key has ever seen.”

Over the course of a working life, college graduates earn more than high school graduates. Over the past decade, research estimates have pegged that figure at $900,00, $1.2 million, and $1.6 million.

But new research suggests that the monetary value of a college degree may be . . . → Read More: What’s a college degree worth in the Great Recession?]]> Bloomberg Businessweek ran a special report a month ago titled What’s Your College Degree Worth? Less than you think. Exclusive new research suggests most students would be better off never setting foot in a classroom. (See info on Carleton’s #1 ranking (St. Olaf runner-up) in MN: What’s Your College Degree Worth?)

Over the course of a working life, college graduates earn more than high school graduates. Over the past decade, research estimates have pegged that figure at $900,00, $1.2 million, and $1.6 million.

But new research suggests that the monetary value of a college degree may be vastly overblown. According to a study conducted by PayScale for Bloomberg Businessweek, the value of a college degree may be a lot closer to $400,000 over 30 years and varies wildly from school to school. According to the PayScale study, the number of schools that actually make good on the estimates of the earlier research is vanishingly small.

Juxtapose this with a June NY Times column by David Brooks titled History for Dollars.

There already has been a nearly 50 percent drop in the portion of liberal arts majors over the past generation, and that trend is bound to accelerate. Once the stars of university life, humanities now play bit roles when prospective students take their college tours. The labs are more glamorous than the libraries.

But allow me to pause for a moment and throw another sandbag on the levee of those trying to resist this tide. Let me stand up for the history, English and art classes, even in the face of today’s economic realities.

And then later, Brooks talks about The Big Shaggy and takes a poke at blogging and journalism:

The observant person goes through life asking: Where did that come from? Why did he or she act that way? The answers are hard to come by because the behavior emanates from somewhere deep inside The Big Shaggy.

Technical knowledge stops at the outer edge. If you spend your life riding the links of the Internet, you probably won’t get too far into The Big Shaggy either, because the fast, effortless prose of blogging (and journalism) lacks the heft to get you deep below.

Finally, in the NY Times two weeks ago: American Dream Is Elusive for New Generation

For young adults, the prospects in the workplace, even for the college-educated, have rarely been so bleak… The college-educated among these young adults are better off. But nearly 17 percent are either unemployed or not seeking work, a record level (although some are in graduate school). The unemployment rate for college-educated young adults, 5.5 percent, is nearly double what it was on the eve of the Great Recession, in 2007, and the highest level — by almost two percentage points — since the bureau started to keep records in 1994 for those with at least four years of college.

I graduated from a 4-year half-assed Catholic bible college (AKA St. Thomas) but none of our 4 kids went to a 4-year college.  So I’m undecided about the issue.

    At last Saturday’s Riverwalk Market Fair, I took the photo on the left of Carlson SEEDS interns Chelsea Wagner and Natasha Hegmann (housemate Julia in the center) selling their wares, including the fantastic basil (center) that Robbie purchased from them. What’s SEEDS about?  The St. Olaf Center for Experiential Learning has a page on it:

The Carlson SEEDS (Social Entrepreneurship, Environmental Design, & Stewardship) internship program, founded by Greg and Nancy Carlson ’82, is designed to engage . . . → Read More: Carlson SEEDS interns Chelsea and Natasha: planting, growing, selling, blogging]]> It’s not often that someone beats me to a blog post after a community event. But it happened this week.

   
At last Saturday’s Riverwalk Market Fair, I took the photo on the left of Carlson SEEDS interns Chelsea Wagner and Natasha Hegmann (housemate Julia in the center) selling their wares, including the fantastic basil (center) that Robbie purchased from them. What’s SEEDS about?  The St. Olaf Center for Experiential Learning has a page on it:

The Carlson SEEDS (Social Entrepreneurship, Environmental Design, & Stewardship) internship program, founded by Greg and Nancy Carlson ’82, is designed to engage students in experiential learning and discovery that fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation for environmental stewardship and sustainable agriculture.

Natasha’s July 19 blog post, Produce for Sale, chronicles their Saturday, including the game of "How many farmers does it take to set up a tent?" and a visit from a “professional blogging consultant.” Heh.

Chelsea and Natasha are natural born bloggers, telling interesting stories with fun photos on their Carlson SEEDS blog.

    When I stopped by at 8:15, Jim Blaha, Executive Director of the Northfield Community . . . → Read More: Crazy! Team Coldwell Banker South Metro hugs for the food shelf]]> A team of realtors from Coldwell Banker South Metro has set up a hugging tent on Division St. to raise money for the Food Shelf at the Community Action Center during today’s Craze Daze.  For every passerby who gets (in my case, “reluctantly consents to”) a hug from a team member, they put one of their own dollars (raised from staff contributions this week) into the food shelf fundraising jar.  Of course, you can put your dollars in the jar, too.

   
When I stopped by at 8:15, Jim Blaha, Executive Director of the Northfield Community Action Center, was their poster child.  Hug dispensers included (left photo, L to R, Ed Kuhlman, Larry Defries, Jeanette Nelson, Arlen Malecha.

Should the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Crazy Daze (PDF of today’s schedule of events) be two-days long in case of inclement weather, like the 2010 Taste of . . . → Read More: Should Crazy Daze be two days?]]>
The scene on Division St at 6:30 this morning was rather bleak.  The radar doesn’t offer  much encouragement, nor does Paul Douglas’ forecast.

Should the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Crazy Daze (PDF of today’s schedule of events) be two-days long in case of inclement weather, like the 2010 Taste of Northfield?

So as A) we head into the 2010 election season; and B) begin looking for a new Northfield City Administrator, I thought it might be helpful to point out some very important reasons on WHY someone in a leadership . . . → Read More: Using blogs and Twitter to leverage your influence as a Northfield community leader]]>
Way back in 2004-05 when I was still at NCO/Northfield.org, we encouraged local civic leaders (including members of the city council, school board and county board) to start blogging. I taught a civic leader blogging class and even coached some local ministers.  It was all part of the civic blogosphere project with an emphasis on including leaders.

So as A) we head into the 2010 election season; and B) begin looking for a new Northfield City Administrator, I thought it might be helpful to point out some very important reasons on WHY someone in a leadership position should consider using social media tools like a blog and Twitter.

Michael Hyatt is CEO of the Christian publishing company Thomas Nelson Publishers and recently gave a speech titled “Social Media and Your Ministry.” A preview of that speech was captured in this video of an interview, blogged at How Can Christian Leaders Get Started with Social Media?

Hyatt says in the video that “Twitter may be greatest leadership tool ever invented” in part because it’s “a marvelous way to leverage your influence as a leader.”

(The title of the video makes one think it’s all about ‘how to get started’ but the most important pieces are related to why.)

The only other person I know of who’s written about blogs (and now Twitter which, after all, is a microblogging service) as tools for leveraging one’s influence as a leader is Seth Godin in his book, Small is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas. (I blogged about this back in 2006, Leadership blogging and the leveraged effort curve.)

Godin originally wrote about this for his blog back in March of 2005: Godin’s Leveraged Effort Curve:

Knowledge workers get paid extra when they show insight or daring or do what others can’t. But packaging the knowledge is expensive, time consuming and not particularly enjoyable for most people. As you get better at what you do, it seems as though you spend more and more time on the packaging and less on the doing.

… The exception?

The intense conversations you can have with your customers and prospects, especially via a blog. Once you get the system and the structure set up, five minutes of effort can give you four minutes of high-leverage idea time in front of the people you’re trying to influence.

The book adds this to that last sentence: “This is pure, unadulterated leverage. The stuff you actually get paid for, with no overhead.”

Godin’s insight — “among highly-compensated workers, the percentage of the [knowledge] work you get paid to do goes down as you get paid more” and that “packaging the knowledge is expensive, time consuming and not particularly enjoyable” — was stunning to me and still is.

In the Why keep a blog? section of my 2005 Leadership Blogging Guide (currently under revision as a White Paper), my #1 reason to blog is to “Leverage your leadership interactions that otherwise disappear:”

In the course of any leader’s week, there are literally hundreds of interactions with colleagues, constituents, staff, media and other members of community. Whether these interactions are face-to-face, phone, electronic or paper-based, they comprise the bulk of how leaders exhibit their day-to-day influence. A phone call from a constituent, a conversation with a staff member at lunch, an email exchange with a colleague, an off-topic discussion at a team meeting – all likely evaporate into thin air, for all intents and purposes, as soon as they’re concluded. Even most paper documents such as memos and reports are quickly relegated to the trash, the shredder, or the filing cabinet, never to be seen again.

With a blog, leaders can select from among this never-ending parade of interactions the ones that they deem strategically significant, and give them a longer “shelf-life.” With a posting to their blog, the story of the interaction gains immediate wider audience while making it significantly easier for that audience to pass the story around to others who they think should know about it.

Prospective civic leader bloggers frequently ask, "How much time is blogging going to require?" It’s a fair question. Blogging feels like just another task when you first start out, and it does require some time commitment to work it into your week.

But once you experience feedback from your blogging, that not only are others reading your blog but that it’s starting to have influence, your attitude towards the task of blogging changes because it becomes strategic.

"I’m going to blog this because I know that she’ll read it and pass it on to…"

"When this group of people sees what I’ve blogged about this, then they’re more likely to…"

You start to realize that your blog leverages your leadership strategies in time-effective ways.

Among other reasons why a leader should blog/tweet is that the tools allow you to:

• Use a voice of authenticity to have a one-to-one conversation with an audience
• Extend your presence with a selective window into your day
• Provide another way for people to interact with you
• Convey your message directly to your audience instead depending on media institutions

More to come.

The “road closed” signs went up on Hwy 19 last night though the barricades were still off to the side.

The truck drivers from Missy’s Trucking in Rochester were all holed up at Americas Best Value Inn & Suites (former Super on So. Hwy 3.

I’m guessing that by 7 am or 8 am, the detour will be in effect.

July 13 Nfld News: Hwy. 19 closings will compound traffic woes

That means motorists heading from Northfield to I-35 will be forced to  detour from the detour. Rice County Engineer Dennis Luebbe says that will push traffic . . . → Read More: Hwy 19 between Northfield and I-35 closed starting today, July 21]]>

The “road closed” signs went up on Hwy 19 last night though the barricades were still off to the side.

The truck drivers from Missy’s Trucking in Rochester were all holed up at Americas Best Value Inn & Suites (former Super on So. Hwy 3.

I’m guessing that by 7 am or 8 am, the detour will be in effect.

July 13 Nfld News: Hwy. 19 closings will compound traffic woes

That means motorists heading from Northfield to I-35 will be forced to  detour from the detour. Rice County Engineer Dennis Luebbe says that will push traffic on to County Road 59, known locally as Old Dutch Road.

The road, which intersects with Hwy. 19 just west of St. Olaf College, runs almost parallel to the highway. The detour heads north at Baldwin Avenue, which connects with Hwy. 19 west of Holyoke Avenue. Eastbound travelers will take the detour in reverse.

For north-bound travelers, I think Cty Rd. 23 (AKA Cedar Ave) might be a better option. Take it to Cty Rd. 86, west to Cty Rd 46 (AKA Pillsbury Ave), north to Cty Rd 2, west again to the intersection with I-35 near Elko/New Market.

For south-bound travelers, remember:

County Road 1, from west of Dundas to the interstate, has been closed for weeks as crews widen the roadway and straighten two curves near Baldwin Avenue county officials consider unsafe. Traffic which would have used County Road 1 has been detoured to Hwy. 19, a move approved by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

It’s clear from listening to the show, however, that we need Tracy.

She’s–not–just a pretty face She’s–got–everything it takes She’s–mother–of the human race She’s–not–just a pretty face

Click play to listen. 30 minutes.

You can also download the MP3 or subscribe to the podcast feed, or subscribe directly with iTunes. Our radio show/podcast, Locally Grown, usually airs Mondays at . . . → Read More: Podcast: Triumvirate minus 1 on goose poop, the elections, and a departure opportunity]]> It was just me and Ross this week, talking about all-things Northfield including goose poop, the upcoming council and school board elections (separate issues), and the opportunities afforded by the departure of Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski.

It’s clear from listening to the show, however, that we need Tracy.

She’s–not–just a pretty face
She’s–got–everything it takes
She’s–mother–of the human race
She’s–not–just a pretty face

Click play to listen. 30 minutes.

You can also download the MP3 or subscribe to the podcast feed, or subscribe directly with iTunes. Our radio show/podcast, Locally Grown, usually airs Mondays at 6:00 PM and Sundays at 10 AM on KYMN 1080 AM.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be going through the site cleaning house, flipping features on and off, testing new ones, and in general, making a mess of things. We’ll still be blogging daily but probably at a slower pace.  We’ll keep you updated with comments to this post and may need your help occasionally to give us feedback. ]]> Our blog has been slowing down lately under the weight of a lot of plugins, widgets, add-ons, and various other digital gizmos.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be going through the site cleaning house, flipping features on and off, testing new ones, and in general, making a mess of things. We’ll still be blogging daily but probably at a slower pace.  We’ll keep you updated with comments to this post and may need your help occasionally to give us feedback.

See my album of 56 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:

]]> Saturday morning’s Riverwalk Market Fair—was picture-perfect: blue skies, puffy white clouds, lots of people having fun and reportedly spending money.

See my album of 56 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:

I noticed that filing for the Northfield School Board is Aug. 2-17, and that 4 seats are up for election.

There’s no information about whose seats are up on Northfield School Board page nor on the LWV site. Anyone? Anyone?