Our mission is to help unite, equip and empower the body of Christ to promote healing as a vital part of ministry. Our focus is on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to work through us to heal the sick and infirmed.

Now they seem to have a different focus, though it’s not clear to me what it is. Steve Roberts is still listed as the pastor but there’s no mention of Rebecca Roberts.  Their site also has a Gateway Youth Ignited page though this may be a discontinued program as their website doesn’t have a navigation option to it.

They also use the domain name gatewayawakening.net and have an affiliation with Gloryhouse International Church in Burnsville.

The Northfield News recently published an article about Shannon and her book. Here’s an excerpt:

Yet the job, as many know, is not glamorous nor is it a piece of cake. For many stay-at-home parents, finding a network of friends to share parenting ideas with, as Patterson did through Early Childhood Family Education, helps ease the trying times.

One such friend she encountered was Shannon Tassava, a Northfield clinical psychologist and stay-at-home mom who recently took the sharing of advice to the next level. Tassava’s book, “The Essential Stay-at-Home Mom Manual: How to Have a Wondrous Life Amidst Kids & Chaos” has recently been published by Booktrope Editions.

February 1, 2012 – Northfield music favorites Meredith Fierke, Steve McKinstry and Dylan McKinstry will play a concert in tandem with Twin Cities legend-in-the-making Chris Koza for a night of intimate, acoustic, atmospheric pop-folk music at the Northfield Arts Guild on Friday, February 10 at 8pm.

Fierke and the McKinstrys will be previewing material from their highly anticipated new album which will be released this spring. “This is by far the best music I’ve ever made,” says Fierke. “Steve and Dylan each bring something unique to the table, and together we’re creating something that I’m very excited about. I can’t wait for people to hear these songs.”

Fierke’s previous album, 2008’s The Procession, garnered so much attention that Minneapolis radio station Cities 97 placed her song Train’s Song on the prestigious Cities Sampler. Later that year, she was named Northfield’s best performing musician by the Northfield Entertainment Guide. The extra amount of time she and the McKinstrys have taken in recording their new album has created a lot of conversation amongst the Northfield music scene. “People have been wondering what they’re up to,” said local music promoter Rich Larson. “I’ve had a chance to hear most of the new album.  The extra time and work really shows. Every song is a knock out. It’s going to be a real treat to hear this music in a great room like the one at the NAG.”

The show at the NAG is the second of a month-long tour of small coffee houses and arts venues that Koza is making throughout Minnesota. This comes fast on the heels of a two month West Coast tour with his band Rogue Valley.  “I love seeing road warrior performers like Chris,” said Larson. “The best time to catch a singer/songwriter is in the middle of a long touring cycle like the one he’s in right now. He’s had some opportunity to flesh out his music in front of a lot of different audiences, which is really the best way to develop a song. This is going to be a very good night of music.”

“The thing that really strikes me is the $10 ticket price,” said Jessica Paxton of KYMN Radio. “You’d pay $25-$30 for this exact show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis or the Fitzgerald in St. Paul. And, frankly, the NAG is a far more intimate setting. For fans of good music, this isn’t bargain. It’s a steal.”

The Northfield Arts Guild is located at 304 Division Street South. Doors will open at 7:30, and the music will start at 8:00. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance at www.left-handedentertainment.com or at the door the night of the show. For more information, contact the Northfield Arts Guild at (507) 645-8877 or Rich Larson at (612)756-0490.

Related: see my blog post of photos of Meredith Fierke, Dylan McKinstry, and Steve McKinstry performing at the Carleton Weitz Center Theater last November.

I don’t have time to summarize what happened (hopefully, ED Megan Tsui will do that!) but I’m guessing there will be a website within a month, as Sean Hayford O’Leary and I volunteered to get that going.

I got wind of a rumor earlier this week that a new store is to open this month in the old Digs space. Guesses are welcome.

Up a short flight of stairs, inside a former bank in a small rural town 100 miles northwest of Detroit, there is a special place, rich in history, and 100,000 brides-to-be from across the Midwest have made pilgrimages to find it. Just 10 foot by 8 foot, it has floor-to-ceiling mirrors on every wall, carrying the brides’ images to infinity. It is called the Magic Room.

The town is Fowler, Michigan, a middle-class community with 1,100 residents – and 2,500 wedding dresses. The building is Becker’s Bridal, home to each of those dresses, a figurative blizzard of white. Jeffrey Zaslow takes readers to this remarkable small-town bridal shop to explore the hopes and dreams parents have for their daughters. He weaves this true story using a reporter’s research and a father’s heart. Jeff came to Fowler not just to write about wedding gowns and what they represent. He came to understand the women wearing them, their fears and yearnings, and through them, he tells a larger story about the love between parents and daughters today.

In this magical book, Zaslow examines women on the brink of commitment, whose stories, secrets, and memories will pull you in from the moment they first see their reflection in this iconic room.

Jeffrey Zaslow is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Girls from Ames. Through his writing, he has told the stories of some of the most inspirational people of our time. He is co-author, with Chesley Sullenberger, of Highest Duty, and with Randy Pausch, of The Last Lecture, the #1 New York Times bestseller now translated into forty-eight languages. Zaslow is currently collaborating with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, on their memoir. He lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, Sherry, and daughters Jordan, Alex, and Eden.

The book is available at Monkey See Monkey Read in downtown Northfield.

   
Jeff’s photos (left and center) of the ice circles with his smartphone turned out a lot better than those from my smartphone. However, he really does have zombie eyes from spending too much time in front of a computer.  In addition to being a computer science professor, he owns a language software/app company in Dinkytown called Ultralingua; they also have word game app called Accio.  Now if we could only convince him and his Twin Cities-based employees to relocated to Northfield. Hmmm.

Interested applicants may apply in person or send resume to Premier Banks, 112 East Fifth St., Northfield, MN 55057 or e-mail resume to hr@premierbanks.com.

For additional info, visit our website:   www.premierbanks.com EOE

On Monday, the paper ran an MPR story titled More Minnesota lakes and rivers added to impaired list. The paper chose this photo (click to enlarge) to accompany the article.

I’ve lived in Minnesota my whole life and I’ll be damned if I can identify where this picturesque lake might be.

Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?

The idea of the show was to test "the old claim that the Porsche 928 could go faster if driven backwards. To do so, they flipped a 928′s body to face the wrong direction."

The car is currently in Dennison, stored by the Clutchmen Car Club and on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 3 p.m. it will be transported to Car Time Auto Center in Dundas.

See:

• Mythbusters Tests The Porsche 928’s Aerodynamics… In Reverse
• How to Drive a Porsche Backwards, Like a MythBuster Would: PM helps the MythBusters tackle a decades-old automotive legend: Is the Porsche 928 more aerodynamic backwards?
• Mythbusters reverse engineering after-show

Amy Seitz is pictured in the center of this 2006 photo with Terri Dixon and Carla Thomas at the Contented Cow.

If you’re already aware of it, then just move along. Nothing to see here.

Otherwise…

Yep, Furlong Motors became Apple Chevrolet Buick Northfield last Feb, part of the Apple Auto Group in Shakopee and Apple Valley. See this Nfld News article for more details on the car dealership.

And more recently in the Dec. 27 Nfld News: Renovations at Apple dealership nearing completion.

  
Meanwhile, law firms have been picking up the slack. Hero, Jorstad & Jacobsen has moved into the former Northfield Insurance location at 507 Division, right across the street from the Reppe Law Office. And James J. Schlichting and Fossum Law Office are now officing in back of the Just Food Co-op building.

Other law firms located downtown:  Lampe Law Group, Grundhoefer & Ludescher,  Frago & Lasswell, Hvistendahl, Moersch, Dorsey & Hahn, Schmitz, Ophaug and Dowd, Arnold Law and Mediation. (Have I missed any?)

Why are law firms thriving downtown but not photography studios?

The way to do it now is the same way: contact Northfield News publisher Sam Gett via the Northfield News Contact Us page.

Appearing onstage with his band the Long Beds (featuring special guest hotshot Andy Dee of Big Top Chautauqua Blue Canvas Orchestra), Mike will weave stories and humor (including material from The Clodhopper Monologues) throughout a lively concert of original songs, including those on his most recent album, Tiny Pilot (Ambledown Records).

Tickets $12 in advance (plus service charge) or $15.00 at the door.  Buy advance tickets here or at Monkey See Monkey Read, 425 Division Street South, Northfield, MN beginning Dec. 15th.

Listen to a cut of Tiny Pilot here or stop by the shop. Tiny Pilot will be in full rotation this month.

Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr

In the traditin of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, A River Runs Through It, and Snow Falling on Cedars, Revoyr’s new novel examines the effects of change on a small, isolated town, the strengths and limits of community, and the sometimes conflicting loyalties of family and justice. Set in the expansive countryside of Central Wisconsin, against the backdrop of Vietnam and the post-civil rights era, Wingshooters explores both connection and loss as well as the complex but enduring bonds of family.

A damn fine book.

The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

In a Balkan country mending from war, Natalia, a young doctor, is compelled to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. Searching for clues, she turns to his worn copy of The Jungle Book and the stories he told her of his encounters over the years with “the deathless man.” But most extraordinary of all is the story her grandfather never told her—the legend of the tiger’s wife.

Alvin loved this one.

Making a Friend by Alison McGhee

Bestselling author, Alison McGhee reminds us all that nothing that has been cared for can ever disappear for good, for, “What you love will always be with you.” And, this tender story about the power of friendship will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.

Another winner from Alison McGhee

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg

For more than twenty-five years, the illustrations in the extraordinary Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg have intrigued and entertained readers of all ages. Thousands of children have been inspired to weave their own stories to go with these enigmatic pictures. Now we’ve asked some of our very best storytellers to spin the tales. Enter The Chronicles of Harris Burdick to gather this incredible compendium of stories: mysterious, funny, creepy, poignant, these are tales you won’t soon forget.

The Clodhopper Monologues by Mike Perry

Not so long ago, author, humorist and amateur pig farmer Michael Perry fed the chickens, changed his boots, kissed his wife and daughters, and drove downstate to a refurbished opera house in Stoughton, Wisconsin. Waiting for him onstage was a microphone; waiting in the seats was a sold-out house full of folks ready to laugh. For the next two hours the walls of the old opera hall echoed with stories of love and long underwear, happily failed bachelors, aggressive roosters, one-eyed joke-telling butchers, the glories of pickup-truck-based courtship…and wave after wave of laughter. And then – right at the end there – came the story of the little girl, the guinea pig, and a math lesson gone wrong.

okay this one’s not a book, but it’s so damn funny.

Set Cubed

SET Cubed is A Curious Game of Clever Connections, challenging a player’s ability to identify SETs between the dice in their hand and those already on the board.  Players can play up to 3 dice per turn making as many SETs as possible. Create SETs up, down and across the board, the more SETs you create, the higher your score. As the number of dice on the board increases so do the possible SET combinations. Rack up points by using BONUS SQUARES! Roll a WILD die and unleash the possible number of SETs that can be made during your turn! How many SETs can you make?! The player with the most points wins!

My favorite game

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit.  Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.

Simply an amazing story. Highly recommended

Haruki Murakami

We have a number of his books you could choose including his latest 1Q84. Murakami is always a delight to read.

Tiny Pilot by Mike Perry and the Longbeds

Like so many before him, Michael Perry learned to sing in church. Then a Waylon Jennings 8-track got him hooked on boogety-boogety. This combination yielded the mix of straight-up twang and churchly harmonies found in Perry’s music. Tiny Pilot is Michael Perry’s second full-length release with his band the Long Beds. The songs on Tiny Pilot range from boot-stomping country to roughneck folk ballads and are populated by characters drawn straight from rural and small-town America. The music made by Perry and his Long Beds has been described as ‘country folk,’ ‘folk-twang,’ and Americana.

Just like Gordon Lightfoot…only zippier. Seriously, I love this album.

Big Little Brother by Kevin Kling

“This charming first children’s book by celebrated storyteller Kevin Kling, with whimsical drawings by Chris Monroe, traces a familiar arc from sibling rivalry to brotherly love.”

Monster Games currently occupies the upper floor of the Medical Arts Building on Division St. above KYMN‘s studios.

See:

• The 2008 Locally Grown profile of Monster Games founder Rich Garcia: Northfield video game designer immune to economic woes.
• This Northfield community video project video that features Rich Garcia discussing his reasons for continuing to locate his business in Northfield:

Jasnoch Construction has moved their offices to their adjacent shop.  The Jasnoch website is currently down but you can view a May 2009 snapshot of it on the Internet Wayback Machine.

For our December Third Thursday special, we will discount everything 20%. Well, not everything. There are a few exceptions like special orders. Books, games, toys, and calendars will be 20% off.

Visit our Monkey See Monkey Read website and the Monkey See Monkey Read blog.

I toured all three floors of the Aldsworth Building at 19 Bridge Square yesterday, courtesy of Leah Rich at Neuger Communications Group. The Aldsworth is connected to their new space at 25 Bridge Square, formerly the Community Resource Bank.

The Aldsworth seems ideal for a coworking space: smack in the middle of downtown, many small offices, two kitchens, an elevator, and several larger conference-type rooms, two of which overlook Bridge Square (above photos).  Here’s the floor plans PDF:

and a few more photos:

Are there other spaces in Northfield that would be ideally suited for a coworking space?

Other attendees: Ross Currier (NDDC), Tami Enfield, Rick Estenson (First National Bank Northfield, NEC, Chamber), Kathy Feldbrugge (Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce), Jody Gunderson (City of Northfield), Beth Kallestad (CRWP), Julie Kildahl, Dave Neuger (Neuger Communications Group, Chamber), Rhonda Pownell (Northfield City Council), Donna Rae Scheffert, Mary Schmelzer (Northfield Enterprise Center),  Justin Volling (St. Olaf student), and Erica Zweifel (Northfield City Council).

Tentative next steps include a community awareness meeting in January, as well as a couple of coworking jellies.

After the meeting, I attended an event at CoCo MSP’s new space in the Grain Exchange Building in downtown Minneapolis.

Here are some photos of what it now looks like, with its:

 
large event space;

  
open tables;

   
and dedicated desk and ‘campsite’ spaces.

We will donate 10% of our Winter Walk sales to the Haslett-Marroquin family’s support fund.

For more than a decade, Trailer Trash has taken the holiday spirit and put a spin on it that is decidedly their own, performing a series of holiday shows in the Twin Cities and Rochester.

The band played a couple of very well received shows in Northfield this year, and they are really excited to share their own special brand of Christmas cheer with us. Combining original songs for the season with some reworked holiday favorites, these “honky tonk heroes” will have you laughing, singing and dancing your little humbug off.

Left-Handed Entertainment is proud to present this one-of-a-kind holiday classic, and we hope to make it another traditional holiday event in Northfield.

We could not be doing this without the generous help of some local sponsors: Rob Schanilec at the Northfield Entertainment Guide, Jeff Johnson at KYMN Radio, John Thomas at Mr. JST Technology Consulting, Cate Vermeland Photography, Ross Currier at the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation, and of course, Griff Wigley here at Locally Grown Northfield.  We thank them for their support.

Tickets are $8.00 in advance or $10.00 at the door (A true bargain! Tickets for the sold-out show in Rochester were $17.50 and $22.50). You can order your tickets online at ATrashyLittleChristmas.com or by contacting either me, Rich Larson, at bgwg@charter.net or Jessica Paxton at Jessica@kymnradio.net.

Doors open at 6pm, and guests will be treated to a special holiday set by Matt Arthur & The Bratlanders at 7pm.

See you there!

Thanks to Adam Gurno’s blog post on Northfield.org about the Rare Pair holidaday window display, I learned that the store now has a Rair Pair blog, chiefly authored by Caroline Nitz.  But Krin chimes in with comments to the blog posts, like here where she describes the contributions of her team:

Reflecting back on the past 20 years of Holiday Window Displays this morning, i realized that the 2011 Holiday Display summarizes what The Rare Pair tries to represent. I am so grateful to work with such an amazing group of women…

I remember seeing Krin and hubby Dale Finger scrounging for branches and logs at the Northfield composting site a couple weeks ago. Amazing to see how it all turned out.

Here are three more of my in-store photos but be sure to see the photos of the window display in Caroline Nitz’s blog post.

Ed Kuhlman and Mary Rossing were the beauties on duty, but other proprietors are Barb Kuhlman, Tom Buettell, Pam Curry, Jessica Paxton, Jen Severtsgaard, and Mary Titus.