Tim Freeland has a post on the KYMN blog, asking listeners to take a 30-second survey:
For the love of radio…we need your help. Please take a 30 second listener survey. It will help us maintain great local programming for another 40 years…at least.
Cannon Falls-based whimsical artist Bryan Moon (see his James-Younger gang ‘cats’ painting) was a guest on KYMN’s Wayne Eddy Affair yesterday morning. In my photo, Bryan’s holding up a collection of dog tags, as he’s a co-founder of MIA Hunters, whose mission is to "… seek to locate and aid in the return of lost World War II American airhen bringing them back for burial here in the U.S." The audio of Wayne’s interview with Bryan is not yet posted on the KYMN blog but should be shortly.
I got this email from Nancy Soth this week about Charter Cable:
Charter, to non-digitalized, non-bundled customers has taken off two important channels, while retaining most "trash television". These channels are: (continued)
Today’s Northfield News has a story titled, Community Resource Bank move on hold. In July, the paper ran a story titled, Bank moving south on Division, and included a photo with the caption “The building at 618 Division St., pictured here in 2008 with co-owner Randy Lutz, will soon be the new home to the downtown Community Resource Bank.” A July 31 editorial stated “An opportunity arose this week in the form of Community Resource Bank deciding to relocate to the Phoenix Building at 618 Division St.” (continued)
I was stunned to see this Strib photo accompanying the story on pre-Vikings game partying, titled Party Purple. The text with the photo includes: "Cindy Bradley whetted patrons’, Jason Staads, whistles with free shots."
I think it’s irresponsible for the Strib to glamorize this type of rapid consumption of alcohol, as if drinking to get drunk is a normal, fun thing to do. Jeesh.
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin (AKA ‘Regi’) was featured on The Story last week in a piece titled The Fight to Farm. (The Story is distributed by American Public Media (APR), the parent of MPR.)
Although a lot of what came out in The Story was about some of my encounters with racism and discrimination, all of those events happened before I moved to Northfield…
I took this photo of Regi last Saturday while he was having coffee at the GBM with Greg Carlson, Justin Stets, and Rick Estenson.
EDA President Rick Estenson lent me his copy of the August Money magazine. The cover story is titled the “100 Best Places to Live in America“.
Number one is Louisville, Co, number two is Chanhassan, MN, number three is Papillion, NE, number four is Middleton, WI, and number five is Milton, MA. (Hmmm, I used to wrestle against Milton in high school; we called them the rich kids.) There’s several Minnesota towns in the top 100. In fact, the upper Midwest is very well represented in the list. Continue reading What Makes These Towns the Best?
Griff asked me to blog about this after reading the article in the Northfield News. At the risk of continuing to stir up a tempest in a teapot, I’m willing to take a stab at it, although I’m writing in rather a hurry, which will probably get me in trouble.
I have to start with the disclaimer that in writing this, I am not speaking for any other member of the ZBA.
Tuesday’s public hearing and discussion of this agenda item took something over an hour. Three people were present at the meeting: Applicant Jerry Anderson, City Councillor Jon Denison, and Jim Gleason. City Planner Dan Olson prepared the staff report, Jerry Anderson made his appeal, Jon Denison spoke in favor of staff’s interpretation. Continue reading Zoning Board of Appeals decision on old Tires Plus property
As I drove by KYMN’s studios on Division St. this morning, I noticed that they have a new neon sign in the window. Station manager Jeff Johnson says some people still think their studios are out with their tower in Waterford Township so the sign is to help remedy that. Tim Freeland has a blog post on it.
I found this presentation yesterday while trying to help a friend get a grip on the new business landscape created by the emergence (or predominance) of the phenomenon known as “social media”. Below is is the best explanation of the topic that I’ve seen… with the caveat that anyone who’d respond positively to a slideshow with this title is probably of a generation that doesn’t need convincing. (Ignore the sophomoric “shock value” approach, and just dig into the presentation. )
I started thinking about what huge benefits there could be for residents, businesses, and City leadership if we could do a transplant of the collective brain at City Hall and provide them with a different way of thinking, e.g. dialog versus monologue, not trying to control the conversation (or flow of information), the awareness of how much people are doing online, i.e. “If you’re not on a social networking site, you’re not on the Internet” (slide #17).
I’m still mulling over the implications, but wanted to share the slideshow in the meantime. Use the buttons underneath the image to click through the slides at your own pace.
Despite the confusion between “less” and “fewer”, the correct plural of “cul-de-sac”, and other grammatical anomalies, this award-winning 3-minute video is still a good way to present an idea.
We’re fortunate to live in a community that was established before the automobile age, so many of these qualities already exist in Northfield. With thoughtful choices, we can see to it that the benefits of this kind of development are extended to all Northfielders, not just those who live close to downtown.
Steve Swanson’s latest book peeks into the lives of Harold and Louise Nielsen, two seemingly ordinary people and a company called Foldcraft. Harold Nielson takes his financial success and sells the company to the employees. The funds were used to start the Winds of Peace Foundation which serves the underprivileged around the world, focusing on women and children. This is a story of their extraordinary vision of a just and peaceable world.
Some of you may have seen Maureen Dowd’s op-ed about Twitter in Tuesday’s New York Times.
Geoff Manaugh makes an excellent case for the other side of the story, In Defense of Twitter.
There are several chuckles in Manaugh’s post, amidst the more substantive arguments:
[W]ill Dowd soon also be writing an editorial that excoriates lonely teenagers for writing down their thoughts on paper? After all, she bizarrely implies, “high-school girls” shouldn’t be allowed access to new forms of writing technology, so she must have been apoplectic when cheap pens and affordable notebooks first arrived in the office supply store: suddenly anyone, even blonde girls, could be writers.
Jessica Paxton is KYMN Radio’s new on-air host for the weekday drive-time (4-6pm) slot.
I paid her an impromptu visit yesterday, adding a traffic report while providing emotional support to help her recover from a multitude of on-air blunders a couple of innocuous glitches. Here’s a two-minute video clip.
Last month, the StarTribune ran a follow-up story on the accidental death of Northfielder Natalie Smead two years ago: Teen’s family says NTSB report on N.Y. train death is incomplete. The Northfield News ran a story at the same time titled Alcohol contributed to teen’s death, says NTSB. The comment thread attached to the latter, as well as a letter to the editor last week, show that some people are upset that Northfield News article didn’t tell the whole story. Others are defending the paper. Now comes word this week that Natalie’s mother, Susan Perry, died on Sunday. I don’t know what to make of any of this but the conversations I’ve heard this week make it evident that it might be helpful to provide a place for the community to discuss it online – with respect and civility, please.
Our radio show/podcast guest, on this bright and warm first day of April, was Stan Getts, the publisher of the Northfield News. We took off the gloves and challenged him on several of the paper’s policies but he handled himself remarkably well. He’s clearly a passionate guy.
The StarTribune website posted a “Northfield First” story this evening.
One of the biggest lessons the children have learned, Martin said, is that they are valuable members of the community.
Congratulations to the Prairie Creek students for this successful demonstration and helping to raise awareness about the benefits of supporting their community by shopping local.
I’m running my own social experiment on Twitter, trying to get people to tweet about items of local importance on Tuesdays, using the hashtag (label) #TLT for Tweet Local Tuesday and a hashtag for their community. Please join @griffinjay, @rosscurrier, and me, @tld, on Twitter to spread the word. Our hashtag for Northfield is #NfldMN.
Is it possible? Did the E.D. industry cause the market to droop to 1997 levels just to make us nostalgic for the gusto we had back then? We’ll never know. We do know, or at least we’ve heard, that at least one stimulus package is working quite well.
Ross Currier: One of the comments on the downtown parking poll was that a useful step toward making Northfield more bike-friendly would be to implement the recommendations of the Non-Motorized Transportation Task Force. Griff, perhaps you could...
David Beimers: My take-away? We need to begin working immediately with the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota to form a Northfield area bicycle advisory committee so we can begin tackling a myriad of bike-related issues. I completely agree. I’m...
Griff Wigley: Paul, my apologies for the delay in replying. I’m going to use your comment for a new blog post. Soon!
Bright Spencer: I lived and worked in Chicago, Hyde Park, to be more precise, and I biked several times a week to my job. There I could use the street or sidewalk unimpeded, but there was very little vehicle or pedestrian traffic. It was great....
Paul Zorn: Long time no post on LoGroNo. But here is something to stir the bicycling pot, now that the weather might stay bike-conducive for a while. The author asserts, essentially, that rules written for “4000 pound” cars don’t...
Griff Wigley: See my Storify story blog post on bike sharrows.
Griff Wigley: A helpful sharrows cartoon from Bikeyface.com:
Bright Spencer: Thanks for those super photos, Angela. I really miss my former digs and this brought me back home for a moment.
Angela Lauterbach: How about some photos? I’ve got some for you! [img]http://locallygrownnorthf ield.org/wp-content/uploads/20 13/05/IMG_20130502_085009.jpg[ /img] [img]http://locallygrownnorthf ield.org/wp-content/uploads...
Griff Wigley: The video of last night’s school calendar panel discussion is now up; blog comment thread now open thru Apr 30.
Griff Wigley: I’m putting on my consulting hat again this week and inviting y’all to this panel discussion video conference/live chat/blog discussion thread on the school calendar scheduled for this Wed, April 24, 8 pm.
Griff Wigley: Also in yesterday’s Northfield News, reporter Ashley Klemer (@AshleyKlemer) has an article titled Northfield Public Schools holds second school calendar meeting. You can comment on my Calendar Conversation blog post about the article...
Griff Wigley: The Draft Report on the Downtown Parking Conversation is now up. blog comment thread now open thru May 3.
Griff Wigley: In yesterday’s Northfield News, reporter Kaitlyn Walsh (@NFNKaitlyn) has an article titled Downtown Northfield parking conversation nears its end. You can comment on my Downtown Parking blog post about the article here.
Griff Wigley: Do you live downtown? Do you live near downtown? Then you’re invited to a meeting to discuss parking issues, Mar. 28, 8 pm at the library. Details here.
Griff Wigley: Thanks, Bill. There are some things in the works that might make my announcement of a sale premature. Stay tuned!
Bill Ostrem: Griff, Northfield has benefited greatly from the quality of LGN and the discussion it fosters. I hope it will continue to thrive after it is sold!
kiffi summa: One only has to see how LG has been dormant in recent days/weeks to see how much energy it has to absorb to keep ‘alive’ , and how much of that energy has to be primed by its moderator. But it is sad to see how this forum...
Griff Wigley: Thank you, Bill. It’s not over yet and I have no idea what’ll happen next.
Griff Wigley: Thanks for digging that up, Curt. Very strange.
Curt Benson: The Minnesota Secretary of State website says the name was registered by Gehring in December, 2012: http://mblsportal.sos.state.mn .us/Business/SearchDetails?fil ingGuid=475f479d-c443-e211-bc4 3-001ec94ffe7f
Griff Wigley: Just an FYI to those inquiring: Dick Heibel doesn’t check this blog, he does not have email that I know of, and his web page is no longer working. You’ll have to phone him. I’m not sure if this number is current but...
Mary-Lynn Wigodsky: Hello Mr. Heibel, I would love to have my small snow globe repaired. It has a small figurine that is broken in just two places. The base looks solid. We had it in our home growing up in the 50′s -but it may be older than...
Gary Val Tenuta: Just found out Mom’s Best Cereals contain GMOs. Big discussion about it on the Mom’s Best Cereal Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/MomsBe stFanPage?ref=ts&fref=ts
Griff Wigley: Arlen, I actually didn’t mention or link to a realtor in my blog post or comments. I just linked to the MLS listing for the two houses I spotted on Nevada.
Arlen Malecha: Griff – As a Realtor I am glad to see you helping promote homes for sale within the Northfield community. However, I think it is prudent to advance the local realty websites such as www.coldwellbankernorthfield.c om vs the one...
Jesse Steed: Hello Teresa, I’m a Realtor with Edina Realty based in Northfield. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know. My office number is 507-645-1179.
Jesse Steed: Thanks for posting my listing! Here’s a link to 410 Nevada that includes the virtual tour (an audio tour of the home’s history) performed by the seller himself! http://www.edinarealty.com/jes se-steed-realtor/homes-for-...
Teresa Jensen: Thanks, Bill; it looks like a lovely home, but my home search is limited to Northfield city limits. Thanks, too, Griff, for the Nevada house links– I will check out in person when I arrive in May!
Griff Wigley: I wonder how this could have been avoided.
Griff Wigley: In today’s Strib: Wooddale Avenue’s pioneering bike lanes in Edina look doomed The street that has baffled Edinans since it was re-striped last fall may get an easier-to-understand painting fix this spring. Wooddale...
Griff Wigley: Kiffi, I don’t know that it would be practical to try to launch a Northfield Bike Task Force, a Dundas Bike Task Force, a Rice County Bike Task Force, a Bridgewater Township Bike Task Force, etc. Maybe at some point those...
Griff Wigley: David, I don’t think the primary purpose of a regional bike council would be to secure taxpayer money for bike projects/infrastructure. It would be to study, recommend, plan, guide, educate, collaborate, etc.
Griff Wigley: Mary, the trend among hyperlocal online news entities seems to be heading towards the non-profit membership model where you get extra benefits (see, MinnPost members, Texas Tribune members). I’m not sure Northfield is big...
Mary Schier: Patch (AOL) is under intense pressure from shareholders to make a profit this year. It’s had a hiring freeze for some time and with fewer people, it has been going to more regional coverage. This works OK (not great, but OK) in...
kiffi summa: Agreed …I’m about to unsubscribe. There’s also a tinge of sensationalism, instead of serious news updates; for example: what’s with the story of the death of a 26 year old Lonsdale woman ‘above the...
Griff Wigley: I agree, Jane. And they seem to be over-reaching to make the connection to Northfield on some stories, eg: Northfield State Sen. Dave Thompson Mulling Run for Governor. Next up: Dundas State Sen. Kevin Dahle?
Jane McWilliams: My observation is that there is no local reporting . . . just as I feared!
Donna Volkmann: I see this forum is pretty old from 2008. Does anyone know if there are any homeschool co-ops in Northfield for social interaction? I see there are many in the cities but can’t seem to find any in Northfield. Also, do you...
Griff Wigley: Nfld News: Northfield orders new street signs to fix misspellings “Nineth” Street in Northfield will soon be back to Ninth Street. City staff recently ordered new sign blades from the city’s vendor to fix the...
Griff Wigley: Today’s Nfld News: Proposed bill would take Northfield public meetings discussion online Minnesota Newspaper Association attorney Mark Anfinson said it’s “entirely sensible” to update existing law to reflect the advantages that...
kiffi summa: another tragedy: in a middle school outside Detroit, amidst 800 students,a popular, non-bullied 14year old shoots himself in the head, fatally, with a 40 caliber Glock pistol…. School had no metal detectors; staff said he was...
kiffi summa: Maybe I’m just too saddened by this story now, david… but I don’t think so… I have long thought that a total overhaul of our correctional system , with its many abuses, needs to be done… but that does not...
David Henson: Kiffi, funny how we always see these stories differently. The USA has over 1 million people enslaved in our prison system. The criminal justice system is a sham. Corrections is big big business (some great stocks if you have the...
For National Coming Out Day, two Carleton students taking Doug McGill’s fall journalism class recently published Northfield-related stories: Debbie Wong published “Coming Out Day” Raises Issues and Eyebrows in Northfield on the new Pressville blog and Maia Rodriguez published On National Coming Out Day, Northfield Reflects on Its "Gay-Friendliness" on Northfield.org. I found it troubling that neither of them mentioned or linked to our 2007 blog post, How gay-friendly is Northfield? with the 30 comments attached. (continued) 
A month ago I posted an update on the 
Last month, the StarTribune ran a follow-up story on the accidental death of Northfielder Natalie Smead two years ago: 
On the 8 am newscast on 
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