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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Preschool and daycare enrollment down
By Bonnie Obremski, on November 4, 2008, 6:12 pm
 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.
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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...
I just wanted to clarify that our openings are only in our three year old program. Our four year old program is currently full. We are trying to determine if the need for three year preschool has decreased, if a partial day provides too many challenges, or if parents are choosing to skip this age for financial reasons. I would be very interested in hearing from some parents of three year olds.