Membership Sideblog
- The Marcus Welby of law, by Lance Heisler | Lampe Law Group
July 31, 2010 | 7:45 pmGrowing up in North Dakota during the 50s and 60s, I was privileged to experience something that's all too rare now - the old-fashioned family doctor. "Doc" delivered babies, set broken bones, treated pneumonia, and helped Grandpa with his newfangled hearing aid. Doc knew the community, the families, and the individuals whose basic medical needs he treated from birth through the end of life. Some of you who grew up in that time, and perhaps in smaller communities, may remember a Doc of your own. . . . → Read More: The Marcus Welby of law, by Lance Heisler | Lampe Law Group
- Kitty Mania at the Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl
July 28, 2010 | 10:51 pm
Let’s talk about cats, cats and more cats! Why?? Because Prairie’s Edge Humane Society is full of cats and we have many more arriving daily. As of today, there are 44 cats on the adoption floor with more awaiting their surgeries so they are ready for adoption. There are cats in every corner of the shelter who need homes! We are in desperate need of homes for these cats. We cannot emphasize this enough. So we are having a cat sale and we are calling it Kitty Mania ! Kitty Mania is this weekend, beginning Thursday, July . . . → Read More: Kitty Mania at the Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl
- On Watermelons and Widgets, by Tom Swift
July 12, 2010 | 11:50 am
The free market does many things well, but we know it does not do everything. Even market fundamentalists concede that the public must build roads, put out fires, police streets, and provide national defense. Most people, at least those to the left of the Tea Party edge of political spectrum, accept that the government must also be involved in education, disaster relief, and health care. That is, certain services must be rendered — necessary services, universal services — whether or not those services are financially profitable. If your house is on fire, you do not have time to . . . → Read More: On Watermelons and Widgets, by Tom Swift
- Vintage Band Festival Contra Dance, by Dan Bergeson
July 12, 2010 | 10:56 am
Okay, so most of the news about the Vintage Band Festival so far has been about the bands. But there’s a number of other events during the weekend. Like the VBF Contra Dance, for instance. The Vintage Band Festival Contra Dance will feature music by The Dodworth Saxhorn Band of Ann Arbor, Michigan and will be led by dance instructor/caller Robin Nelson. Dancing will begin at 8:30 p.m. with a “Grand March” led by 60 costumed members of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Brigade, followed by a variety of period dances including polkas, contra dances, schottisches, reels and waltzes. . . . → Read More: Vintage Band Festival Contra Dance, by Dan Bergeson
- The Animal-Cruelty Syndrome, by Tom Swift
June 27, 2010 | 8:00 am
Even before I read the first word of this article I had a visceral reaction to it. The accompanying photographs — my eyes tend to skip over photographs in magazines — affected me in a manner that is difficult to articulate. I knew, immediately I knew, I was not going to like what I was about to read. In fact, for that reason I put the piece aside. Not now, I thought. Maybe tomorrow, I said to myself. But, then, I couldn’t not read it, either. If you have not done so already, I hope you will read . . . → Read More: The Animal-Cruelty Syndrome, by Tom Swift
- Puppies! Puppies! Puppies! by Kathy Jasnoch
June 27, 2010 | 7:54 am
June may be Adopt A Cat month here at Prairie’s Edge Humane Society and we have lots of wonderful cats, but we also have PUPPIES! We have a male Newfoundland mix named Chong who is 6 months old, he was a stray so we don’t know a lot about him. He loves to play! We also have three Australian Cattle Dog mixes who are two months old. Marcia, Bobby and Cindy were born at the shelter and spent some time in one of our fabulous foster homes. They are now back at the shelter and ready to find . . . → Read More: Puppies! Puppies! Puppies! by Kathy Jasnoch
- Relay for Life of Rice County, August 6th, Rice County Fairgrounds. By Sandy Vesledahl
June 23, 2010 | 9:35 pm
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay for Life, teams of people camp out at local parks or fairgrounds and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events. Relay for Life of Rice . . . → Read More: Relay for Life of Rice County, August 6th, Rice County Fairgrounds. By Sandy Vesledahl
- Critter Cam live from Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl
June 16, 2010 | 9:04 amNow Showing! Live Kittens playing! You can now watch our adoptable animals at Prairie’s Edge Humane Society (PEHS) live 24/7 on the new Critter Cam installed in conjunction with KYMN Radio. Thanks to the fine folks at KYMN radio we now have a live feed of our adoptable animals showing on our website and KYMN’s website, Tim and Jeff are AWESOME! Currently the Critter Cam is featuring kittens available for adoption. Watch them play, sleep, eat, and everything else they do 24 hours a day 7 days a week! It’s better than anything you can see on TV! . . . → Read More: Critter Cam live from Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl
- Save the Northfield Depot: fundraising help needed. By Lynn Vincent
June 11, 2010 | 11:34 am
A BIG Thanks to all of you who came to last Monday’s Volunteer Organization Meeting, and to those who contacted us saying you wanted to help but could not make the meeting. We have pretty full support for Communications and Design and Build sub-committees, and we got a web graphic designer to help with the site. Alice Thomas is facilitating the Communications group, and Steve Edwins is facilitating the Design and Build group. What we are missing and really need are Fund Raising people. We have two grant writiers, but we need folks who are committed to the . . . → Read More: Save the Northfield Depot: fundraising help needed. By Lynn Vincent
- Photo albums: 2010 Prairie’s Edge Humane Society Walk for the Animals, by Bridgette Hallcock Photography
June 11, 2010 | 8:09 am
Thank you to all of those who came to Alexander Park on a beautiful Saturday morning in May to help support Prairie’s Edge Humane Society! I have placed all of the fun photographs on my Bridgette Hallcock Photography Facebook page so that everyone can see how much fun we had! See the two 2010 Walk for the Animals albums here and here. If you would like a print, please contact me, as the proceeds will benefit the animals at PEHS.
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It’s That Time of Year Again: Bike Fever
By Tracy Davis, on April 15, 2008, 12:02 am
 I know that there are die-hards like Bill Ostrem and Bruce Anderson, not to mention my husband, who bike almost all through the winter. But for the rest of us mere mortals, it generally isn’t until the roads dry up that we start thinking seriously about it.
Now spring is here, and I’m starting to get the itch. Carleton’s “Shrinking Footprints” blog had a piece today about the surprising and enormous success of the bike-sharing program in Paris.
Eliza Berry writes,
In a recent stop-over in Paris on my way back home from studying abroad, I decided to spend an afternoon wandering the neighborhood around Notre Dame Cathedral. I was immediately struck by the rows of sleekly designed, basket-equipped bicycles, neatly lining the streets every few blocks. Each bike was marked with a funky Vélib logo (a mix of vélo, bike in French, and liberté, freedom), The bikes are hooked into specially designed bike-stands that keep them locked until someone needs a bike and swipes their access card at one of the computerized pay stations (which look like glorified ATM machines). The rider can then drop off and lock up the bike at whichever station is closest to their final destination (rarely more than 1,000 ft away than any spot in the city). The company (JCDecaux) tracks the bikes electronically by keeping tabs on the location from which each bike was last released and returned.
London has plans to implement a similar program. (I read somewhere that 63 cities in Europe have bike-sharing or other easy bike-rental options.) Now finally, some cities in the U.S. are starting to get with it. Washington, DC will roll out the first U.S. test of the idea next month with the SmartBike program in a public-private partnership with Clear Channel Communications. San Francisco has also inked a deal with Clear Channel for something similar. Other cities investigating the idea include New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Portland, OR. Even Tucson, AZ is looking into a limited version of the idea.
We’ve had several posts about bikes and biking on Locally Grown over the past year and a half. I think my first one was about biking in Copenhagen, Denmark, where 36% of the people commute by bike. Then Ross wrote about the Danes and other European trail-blazers paving the way to encourage more bike-friendliness and see bicycles as viable transportation, not just recreation. Shortly after that I wrote about a website featuring many photos illustrating what “complete streets” look like.
Most recently, Ross blogged about the program at Ripon College which gives new bikes to students. Maybe Northfield could do one better, and work with the colleges to implement a formal bike-sharing service here. Last May the City Council authorized the creation of the Northfield’s Non-Motorized Task Force for a year. Perhaps the task force could be continued to work on a project like this (among others). Who else might be interested in exploring the idea? Think it could work?
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I know that there are die-hards like Bill Ostrem and Bruce Anderson, not to mention my husband, who bike almost all through the winter. But for the rest of us mere mortals, it generally isn’t until the roads dry up that we start thinking seriously about it.
but I’d have a hard time during the sabbatical not paying attention to see if that was actually the case. I think the more places in Northfield...
Tracy, I appreciate your well-researched post on this issue. I’ve followed news of the Paris Velib bike program with great interest and will try to follow such programs as they proceed in this country as well. I will be in Washington D.C. briefly this summer and will try to check it out there. The Minnesota Bike Summit is on April 26, and I will ask around there as well.
The Task Force on Nonmotorized Transportation will be seeking a one-year extension to continue to work on Safe Routes to Schools and other projects. I agree that we should explore the possibility of a bike-rental program as well.
I’m not that knowledgeable about the bike-rental programs, but they seem to be like public transit in that the user only pays part of the cost; however, instead of being subsidized by tax dollars, they are subsidized by billboard advertising rights. Thus the Smart Bike program (http://www.smartbike.com) is run by Clear Channel and Cyclocity by a company called JC Decaux.
Some questions: Would Northfield be large enough to attract one of these firms? Would there be an increase in advertising signs around town?
Perhaps we could partner with some group in the Twin Cities to try something out here. Northfield is full of smart and resourceful people who may have other ideas or other knowledge to add.
Tracy,
thanks for the latest post. I agree it would be great to see the local colleges follow Ripon’s lead or some form of bike sharing. I believe Carleton has had a yellow bike program. I’ve seen some yellow bikes around.
The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May 12-16 and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 16.
Trek has a program called one world two wheels:
“A key goal of One World, Two Wheels is to increase US trips taken by bicycle to 5% from the current 1% by 2017. With nearly 40% of car trips taken being under two miles, it’s an achievable goal.”
if you need a new helmut Mike’s carries Trek lids: “$1 of each helmet purchase is donated to the Bicycle Friendly Communities project that is part of Trek’s 1 World 2 Wheels commitment.”
Mike is also a single speed conversion expert. He can turn that old Schwinn into a SS or fixed gear urban ride.
Here are my thoughts on where we could have bike-rental stations: St. Olaf, Carleton, Downtown, the future Transit Hub by Walgreens. Perhaps the colleges could be involved in some way in organizing this.
I’m just wondering why there will be a transit hub behind Walgreen’s, where there is a lot of truck traffic and opportunity for vandalism. Couldn’t the transit hub be incorporated into whatever new use there is for the safety center? It would be more visible, safer and allow the restrooms, parking and other amenities to be used more conveniently by people using all the public space along the river. I’m sure there’s a good reason, I just wonder what it is. It would seem that coordinating the money with the city would allow a rental spot to be incorporated into the plan.
By coincidence, yesterday I was contacted by Taylor Lawson, a student at Northfield High School. Some students in a Service Learning class there are interested in starting a community bicycle program which they are calling an “Orange Bike” program. She mentioned the yellow bike program at Carleton and a green bike program at St. Olaf.
Taylor will be speaking to the Task Force on Nonmotorized Transportation at our next meeting, Thurs., April 24, 7 pm, Nfld City Council Chambers.
I encouraged Taylor to read the “Community Bicycle Program” entry at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_bicycle_program. This has a good history of such programs and some examples of the challenges, including theft and vandalism. Those would be my main concerns about a free bike program, along with ongoing maintenance.
It would be interesting to hear what the experience of the Carleton students has been with their yellow bike program, and also what the various students would think of a bike-rental program akin to what Tracy has written about – that is, the programs in various European cities. In the Paris program, bike rental is free for the first 30 minutes.
So perhaps, just perhaps, when the safety center moves, there could be a youth -run bike rental business, or perhaps even a rental and used bike retail center (getting rid of all the bikes the police department now has in storage. Perhaps the safety center could be converted to include these services, plus public restrooms, an indoor climbing wall and canoe and tube rentals if the dam is removed. I don’t know whether there would be room for all this in the current liquor store site, but if so the liquor store could move to the safety center and the vacant liquor store space could be the rental/visitor/youth hub.
It’s certainly worth discussion.
Thanks, Bill and all. I’d like to stay on top of the developments and I’m glad to hear that several different groups are working toward a similar goal, whether it results in a bike-share/rental program or however it’s structured.
Let me know what you find in Washington, DC!
I spoke to Steve Clark of Transit for Livable Communities at Saturday’s Minnesota Bike Summit. (How’s that for a lot of capital letters?) I asked him about bike sharing programs such as the one in Paris. He said he is not trying to do that in Minneapolis yet b/c he wants to improve the facilities – the places people ride – first. Or that is his focus now. He said Paris streets often have a right lane that is for buses, bicycles, and right turns, and that this is a good way to go.
I also got a copy of the Wisc. Bicycle Facility Design Handbook on Saturday from the state’s bike/ped coordinator. On the cover is a picture of a sign that reads “Curb lane: Buses, bicycles, and right turns only.”
This type of lane seems less applicable to Northfield, b/c we don’t have buses. But then again, we don’t have that much traffic either. At least not yet.
See the June 2008 Bicycling magazine for a story on “23 Top Cycling Cities.” Washington, D.C. gets the vote for most improved city and they mention its SmartBike “public-use bike system,” similar to the one in Paris; the DC system opens this spring. (Article not available online, unfortunately.)
Minneapolis is voted one of the runners-up for “most improved” status, Fargo-Moorhead for future promise (they hired a bicycle coordinator and are working on a bikeway network).
The article will probably be online soon. I doubt the June issue has hit newsstands yet.
found this bike parking lot on trek’s website:
http://trekbikes.typepad.com/rec_and_fitness/
here is a good story about a biking attorney:
http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-3-583-17104-1,00.html
“People Who Ride: Walter Dellinger
The verdict is in for supreme court attorney Walter Dellinger – biking is the best way to clear your head, lose some weight, and get around a crowded city like Washington D.C.”
“I think people who don’t bike under rate how much fun it really is,” he said. “Just going out from my busy day to do an errand on my bike mixes up the day. You get fresh air, some exercise, and it’s fun.”
Just heard this on MPR:
“Free bike use to be offered during GOP convention
May 8, 2008
St. Paul (AP) — People worried about getting around the Twin Cities during the Republican National Convention may have an answer – free bike use.
Minneapolis and St. Paul will be given 1,000 bikes for people to use during the four-day convention that starts September 1.
The bikes will be stationed at racks set up at different points around the cities. They can be checked out by swiping a credit card or a program ID card, then checked back in at racks stationed elsewhere.
The bikes are provided by Humana, and 75 of them will remain after the convention.”
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/08/bikes/
Bill,
Any idea how the orange bike project through the High School is coming along? Maybe Humana would like to donate 75 more!!
Fascinating story, Bill–thanks for the link! I just did a little rooting around on the web and found this interesting presentation by a Humana (“one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health benefits companies”) employee from the January 2008 Bike Share Philadelphia Forum.
Humana apparently owns about 100 bikes that its employees use free of charge through their “Freewheelin” program. 2400 of their 8500 Louisville office employees have used the bikes, each bike being used an average of four times daily, according to to a Bicycle Retailer and Industry News story about the program. According to the story, as of January ’08 Humana had been contacted by about 60 businesses and 20 universities about implementing a similar program. Carleton? St. Olaf? Malt-O-Meal? Anyone???
I got an email from Taylor Lawson today about the Orange Bike program. She asked about approaching the City Council with their idea, and I encouraged her to do so and offered some advice. She said that Chief Taylor was supportive of the idea.
Here is a link to a bike-sharing blog that is quite interesting. It looks at the “second and third generation” bike-sharing programs (commercial and/or govt. programs such as the one in DC) that are spreading:
http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/
[...] was recently an interesting discussion on Locally Grown Northfield about bike-sharing programs. It coincided with some recent news on such [...]
I just did a blog post on bike-sharing: http://williamostrem.net/nl/2008/05/29/some-research-into-bike-sharing-programs/
In the interest of continuing the discussion here, I include this excerpt (see original post for links):
“The discussion and the news prompted me to e-mail Paul DeMaio of MetroBike in Washington, DC. Paul provides consulting services related to bike sharing. I asked him whether a town such as Northfield, Minnesota (population 18,000) could attract one of the providers of the high-tech bicycle-sharing programs, such as Clear Channel Outdoor’s SmartBike program or JCDecaux’s Cyclocity program.
He said that a town the size of Northfield probably wouldn’t be able to attract those larger firms, given the costs of setting up such a service. But he did mention the possibility of a private service called Nextbike, which operates in Germany and New Zealand. He also thought that a non-profit model, with the cooperation of the colleges, city, and local businesses might work. He gave Toronto Bikeshare as an example, though after doing some research I found that program has been canceled. Perhaps another model is the Humana Freewheelin’ program that is being used at the political conventions. Some of those bikes will remain in the Twin Cities, so we can monitor how things proceed there.
Perhaps someone here might explore the option of the Nextbike model as a business opportunity. Their web site and a video describe how it works: users find a Nextbike, call a number and receive a code that they can use to unlock a bike, then they pay a fee for rental.”
Here’s a news article on the Mpls bike share program. Goal: 1,000 bikes at 75 kiosks by this spring!
http://www.startribune.com/local/34064699.html
And a web site:
http://twincitiesbikeshare.com
And, according to the Bike-sharing Blog, Montreal’s “Bixi” bike-sharing program was named the 19th best invention of the year by Time magazine:
http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/2008/11/bixi-ranks-in-times-best-inventions-of.html
I hope to have our Task Force on Nonmotorized Transportation work with student groups at the colleges to help explore options for Northfield.
I spoke to Bill Dossett today. He is working on the Mpls bike share program. He said they may have a trial in the fall of 2009 and they hope to be fully operational in spring 2010. He said they are seeking some federal funding.
He is a Carleton grad and would be a good resource as a speaker here in Northfield some day.