Locally Grown Northfield

The people, issues, and events of Northfield, MN

NO City Administrator’s weekly memo July 2

By Tracy Davis, on July 3, 2010, 12:19 pm

The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski, department heads, and other City employees, 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.

No memo had been posted on the City website as of noon on Saturday; I don’t know why not. If one turns up I’ll amend this post.

NOTE: The library is closed today, tomorrow, and Monday. The municipal liquor store and City Hall offices are closed Monday. There are regular meetings on Tuesday and throughout the week; you can view all upcoming City meetings on the City Calendar.

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CRWP photo contest results (10)
- kiffi summa: Griff: whither goest thy right arm if it starts to “whither” (sic) ? sorry; couldn’t resist… stuck at home with a bad knee provides way too much time on computer!
- Bright Spencer: i’ve been looking thru a site, crazyguyonabike.com that has lots of journals and photos from around the world.
- 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.
Something cool is coming soon to the old Digs space on Division (5)
- Griff Wigley: Name: The Local Joint Description: A handmade and vintage collective in Northfield, MN. COLLECTING.CREATING.COLLABORAT ING. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheLoc alJoint Nfld News: Store to open in former ‘digs’ space
- David Beimers: Hmmm… fans? air conditioners? ice cream?
- Jessica Paxton: I know. But I don’t wanna spill the (cool) beans!
- jane fenton: a kite store?
- Myrna Mibus: I know! At least I’m pretty sure I know. But I’ll wait to see if someone else has a guess before saying more.
Author Ed Conlon helps the Wigleys survive a power outage on Vieques (1)
- Bright Spencer: nice waterscape shot!
Northfield coworking gathering is Tuesday, Jan. 31 (2)
- Megan Tsui: Edward, Sorry you weren’t able to attend. We’ll be posting notes from the meeting on the NEC website and if you send me your email, I’ll make sure you get a copy! If you (or anyone else!) would like to chat about it...
- 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...
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?
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...

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NO City Administrator’s weekly memo July 2

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