Locally Grown Northfield

The people, issues, and events of Northfield, MN

Joel Walinski: high-tech yet high-touch

By Griff Wigley, on April 4, 2009, 7:55 am

Handwritten thank-you notes arriving via the USPS are a rarity these days. So when one shows up, it’s quite a treat.

I got this one from Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski last week, thanking me for speaking to the City Council at their work session. Nice touch, Joel.

See this 2006 NPR story titled In Wired World, Handwritten ‘Thank You’ Still Tops.

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CRWP photo contest results (8)
- jane fenton: Congrats, Griff! That’s my son Cliff in the orange hat. He’s revamped the recycling bin prototype. You should see it!
- Griff Wigley: Don, I’ll keep ping pong in mind. I’d hate to have my right arm start to whither from a lack of racquetball. In the meantime, I’m trying to excite as many Northfielders as I can about mountain biking. I’ll...
- john george: Griff- Iris will have to work real hard to keep you in focus on everything else. I shutter to think where this could go.
- Don Diehl: Griff, CONGRATULATIONS!!!…No surprise on your achievements, considering your expertise behind the lens!!!… Another subject: Without racketball, when are you going to start playing PONG???…Monday nights at the Senior...
- Griff Wigley: Thanks, y’all. No ribbons but I’m pleased with the recognition. John, somehow I knew this blog post would click with you, knowing the lens with which you view the world.
Northfield coworking gathering is Tuesday, Jan. 31 (1)
- Edward Smith: I wanted to attend this, but was unable. Does anyone know if there will be a summary posted anywhere?
What’s up with the Northfield Fire Department? (35)
- Phil Poyner: Without going into the legalities of the whole thing (I’ll leave that to the lawyers), I agree with the editorial and the Mayor’s actions. That having been said, I don’t see the newspaper’s role as anything...
- Kathie Galotti: I respectfully disagree with the NN editorial. Especially if the firefighters are only getting paid like $3000/year each, then if they are dissatisfied, there’s very little to stop them from just saying “to hell with...
- kiffi summa: Well. isn’t it interesting, Steph, how the newspaper often gives an opinion on the ‘right or wrong’ of an action without making much of a case for their POV? But then , I don’t remember them making much of all...
- Stephanie Henriksen: What does anyone think of NNews recent editorial supporting Mayor Rossing in not meeting with firefighters? What role is the newspaper playing in all this? Sorry if this question has already been addressed.
- kiffi summa: Griff: do you think it is worth asking why there is so much emphasis on the 9 violations attributed to the FD, and virtually no emphasis on the other 55-60 violations in city buildings, including 8 in the P{olice Dept, and 8 at City...
Are Northfield schools helping to make students climate literate? (1)
- Kathie Galotti: My kid had a pretty decent AP Environmental Science class 2 years ago….he’s not a great math/science student, but this one got him interested in at least knowing enough science to create good policies. I remember...
Even if you exercise, it may not matter if you sit too much (4)
- Paul Zorn: A few years ago one of my daughters spent a year working in Copenhagen, largely in an office setting. All desks in her office could be raised or lowered to permit either standing or sitting positions. I have no idea whether such...
- Griff Wigley: In today’s Strib: Office-dwellers stand up to ‘sitting disease’ Dr. James Levine has reviewed the statistics: One in three Minnesota adults is either diabetic or pre-diabetic, and one in four is obese. And he thinks...
Can hockey, the sport I used to love, be saved? (31)
- Bright Spencer: The All Pro Game last Sunday between the AFC and the NFC was so enjoyable. The stess, the anger, the anxiety all gone…well I didn’t watch all of it, as I rarely do watch an entire game, usually just the beginning and...
- Griff Wigley: Today’s Strib: Hockey safety goal expanded to youth In an unprecedented mid-year change, Minnesota Hockey is toughening the penalties for checking from behind and boarding. The change will affect 40,000 hockey players in the...
- Bright Spencer: I like hockey and all sports very much. I was a star basketball player in my day. I don’t remember anyone suffering any major injuries in all my hs and college days. I feel certain that coach’s know who does what and...
- Matthew Rich: Bright, I agree with most of your comment, but I would resist shifting to “zero tolerance,” or anything similar. Unless dealing with bright lines and purely objective measures, zero tolerance can create unfair results....
- Bright Spencer: Here’s the thinking and conversation I would like to see. Parent to child: There are some sports you can play in school that are definitely dangerous and can leave you unable to walk or talk or do anything for yourself for...
Public humiliation, put downs, harsh treatment: Mayor Rossing & Councilors Vohs, Pownell unhappy with their colleagues (70)
- john george: You are correct. That is why I didn’t allow my children to attack the character of their siblings just to support their position. There do need to be some kind of ground rules in any discussion so as to keep individual...
- kiffi summa: The issue could be considered to be: what is “conflict”, and what are two sides of a discussion… see #33 re: the Mayor’s admonition to Peter Dahlen at the joint Council/ChartComm meeting. I don’t see how...
- john george: Kiffi- This is a good article, and I agree with most of it. Just thinking about my kids in their youth, there was always some conflict between them, but our goal as parents wasn’t to force them into some weiner form but to help...
- kiffi summa: A very interesting article in the Jan.30th New Yorker magazine on the nature of the dynamics of creative discussion; it’s entitled “Groupthink; the brainstorming myth”. Based on studies done by a psych professor at...
- Griff Wigley: Kiffi/Kathie, I didn’t have that reaction. But I’ve put up a new blog post to discuss it and everything else related to the Fire Department so let’s shift the discussion there.
The pros and cons of having Council wards and deciding about it now (15)
- Kathie Galotti: I read Betsey’s blog and, like most of Betsey’s blog entries, found it well-written and making a very good point. Though I agree that geographic districts aren’t the only way to represent different constituencies,...
- john george: Griff- The NN editorial presents the difference between geographic representation and ideological representation. Right now, the wards establish geographic representation. With this approach, depending upon the voter turnout, a person...
- kiffi summa: I hope that people will use the link here on LG to read the current posting by Councilor Buckheit on her blog, re: wards versus all at-large, and take the opportunity to comment. Once again, the NFNews has not given a very well...
- Griff Wigley: Nfld News editorial: Keep the current ward system intact
- Sean Hayford Oleary: In any case, this issue doesn’t seem like it needs to be another opportunity to dis/agree with the current council. Regardless of how focused on the downtown (or not) they are, it’s clear this change would not...
Ice circles revisited and a software/app company discovered (1)
- Brenton Balvin: Those are pretty cool.
Art plus exercise: Gretchen Falck is having a Forza! open house on Nov. 8 (1)
- Griff Wigley: In today’s NY Times: Turning to Kettlebells to Ease Back Pain Kettlebells, cast-iron weights that have been used for centuries to train Russian soldiers and athletes, appear to be a promising therapy for back and neck pain, new...
Northfield needs more beaches (1)
- Bright Spencer: Oh, you both look so happy! Thanks for sharing. More pics please!
Help me Rhonda, help me get you outta my heart (1)
- Sandy Vesledahl: UPDATE ON RHONDA: We are very happy to report that Rhonda was adopted over the weekend by a local family. Rhonda’s new mom is a Family Counselor and Rhonda will be going to her office with her and helping with her clients. So...
Aldsworth Building looks ideal as a coworking space. Are there others? (12)
- Megan Tsui: Griff, The NEC is moving forward with the idea of a non-profit Coworking Incubator/Accelerator space. Megan
- Megan Tsui: What do you think? Come to the Community Dialogue and tell us! January 31st from 2 to 4 pm at the Archer House lower level conference room. Share your ideas, thoughts, and dreams about a Coworking Incubator/Accelerator space in...
Downtown Northfield hit with another graffiti outbreak (10)
- kiffi summa: I would hope the City’s Historic Preservation Commission would explore this option, and the appropriateness/allowability for use on properties within the Historic District. Thanks, Jim.
- Jim Haas: I was reading a story by Porter Fox about his visit to Copenhagen. He mentioned in passing that the city is vigilant about removing graffiti using high-pressure washers with ice crystals as a mild abrasive. I did a little rudimentary...
- Griff Wigley: I’ve added a photo of the graffiti at the Carleton College Rec Center to the blog post above.
- Bright Spencer: Sorry to see such destructive work. May the tagger grow to know the great effort people make to create a nice atmosphere for people to use and enjoy, and use his or her efforts to help make a functional world for everyone. There...
Randy Jennings excoriates the City Council for its economic development practices (42)
- kiffi summa: The LWV observer reports are meant to be a summary of actions taken, not a ‘blow by blow’ transcript. This is the reason that anyone deeply interested should watch the meeting for themself, if they want a full...
- Griff Wigley: Um, what’s really going on with this? From Jane McWilliams’ LWV report on Tuesday’s Council meeting: Board and Commission Appointments: A list of candidates for still to be filled positions on several boards and...
It was twenty years ago today, NCO’ers taught the town to… hey! (1)
- rob hardy: See also this interview that Marika did with Adam, Jane, and me, and find out what flavor Northfield.org would be if it were ice cream (all three of us independently gave the same answer)!
Mythbusters’ reverse engineered Porsche 928 on display in Dundas this week (1)
- Griff Wigley: Anyone have photos of the event? I wasn’t able to be there. Nfld News video: The famous backwards Porsche
Where might this Minnesota lake be? (5)
- Bright Spencer: Isn’t that Mount Ely?
- Curt Benson: Yes, I too wondered what majestic mountain overlooks one of Minnesota’s impaired lakes. As long as I’m sliding down the slippery slope towards total crotchetyness, I was also bugged by the photo accompanying the recent NFN...
- Phil Poyner: I looks a little like Lava Lake in Montana.
- Hayes Scriven: Wasn’t there a Jesse James movie that had mountains in the background in Northfield? Maybe it is hidden in the Arb?
- Jane Moline: Lake Marie Lodge, Alaska Colorado Springs North Carolina North west Minnesota–where they hide the mountain?
Saaaaweeeet! Pan Pan to open in the old Sweet Lou’s Waffles space (3)
- Griff Wigley: Pan Pan Cafe closed for good this week. Nfld Patch story here; Nfld News story here. What’s your theory about why it didn’t make it? Resident Dean Sorenmann has posted his thoughts in a comment attached to the Nfld News...
Watershed wide, citizen-led, water quality conversation scheduled for Feb 2 in Owatonna (1)
- Bright Spencer: As a former water quality environmentalist for Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes, during the nineties, I found there are two and only two ways prevent future pollution. The first one involves suing the heck out of the polluters and...

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Joel Walinski: high-tech yet high-touch

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