Subscribe and Follow LoGro
|
By Griff Wigley, on February 20, 2010, 11:41 pm
Last week, I linked to Erin Mayberry’s blog post on Northfield.org about Community Ed and Rec’s Snowshoeing 101 class. I neglected to emphasize that they have snowshoes to rent.
I picked up two pair on Friday (unbelievable fee: $6/pair for the whole weekend) as my niece, Ellen, is visiting us from St. Paul. We spend a good chunk of Saturday afternoon in the Cannon River Wilderness Area, my favorite of the eleven Rice County Parks.
By Tracy Davis, on January 31, 2010, 12:30 pm
 The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page. This week’s memo and attachments can be found on the memo page for the week.
NO CITY COUNCIL MEETING next Tuesday, Feb. 2: It’s caucus night! (You can find info about your precinct caucuses on the MN Secretary of State website.)
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on January 23, 2010, 7:43 am
The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos are published and archived in PDF form at the bottom of the City Administrator’s web page.
Friday’s memo can be found on the memo page for the week. There are some interesting tidbits this week, like the fact that the City needs to spend down the monies available for streetscape enhancements (we have some good people working on recommendations ), and information about the new Cooperative Facilities Bonding Bill being introduced at this year’s MN legislative session; if passed, the bill could provide a significant incentive for regional cooperation, and be a source of funding for facilities.
The City Council is having a “goals meeting” in the board room of the Northfield Hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 5:00pm. At the time of this writing there is no further information available about the meeting.
You can view all upcoming City meetings on the City calendar.
By Tracy Davis, on January 18, 2010, 4:16 pm
 There’s been another local fracas recently referencing Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law. I thought I’d take a crack at offering some relevant links, all in one place, to help make sense of it all.
The text of the law itself is found in Minn. Stat. §13D.01. However, as often happens, what people think the law says may not be the way the OML has been interpreted by the Minnesota courts, and court interpretations form precedent that is used in applying the law to other cases. People should be cautioned against making declarative statements about whether the OML was violated in a particular situation based only on their own reading of the law.
Continue reading Open Meeting Law: What it means, what it doesn’t mean, what it might mean
By Griff Wigley, on December 5, 2009, 7:30 am
By Griff Wigley, on October 11, 2009, 11:20 pm
By Griff Wigley, on September 22, 2009, 11:39 pm
In last week’s Friday Memo, Northfield Police Chief Mark Taylor announced the new Rice County Medication Safety Program named Take it to the Box.
  
I had a bottle of Oxycodone from my 2008 rotator cuff surgery that I never used so I was eager to get rid of it today, given the prevalence of theft from household medicine cabinets that contribute to the drug abuse problem. (Note that any pharmaceuticals can be placed in the Box. See, for example, last week’s environmental news about the problem of feminized male fish in the Mississippi River, "a problem linked to women’s birth control pills and other hormone treatments.")
 Chief Taylor cited the efforts of Mary Nelson, a member of the Mayor’s Task Force on Youth and Alcohol and Drug Use, for her work on this program.
Take it to the box- A prescription drug disposal program will start on Tuesday September 22, 2009. This program will feature two drop boxes in Rice County. One will be at the Northfield Police Department and the other at F aribault P.D. The public will be able to come to the police station and place their unused, unneeded prescription drugs in a drop box in the police station lobby. This is an anonymous program encouraging person(s) to remove their name from labels, leaving the drug name to aid us in safe disposal. Two of the main goals of this program are; safe disposal will impact/reduce opportunities for drugs falling into the wrong hands, leading to drug abuse. Secondly, safe disposal ensures drugs do not end up in landfills, city water, etc. having an environmental impact. The box will be available during all hours.
This project was a large undertaking that took the cooperation and hard work of many organizations. They include: Rice County Chemical Health Coalition, Northfield Healthy Community Initiative (HCI), Northfield Hospital, Faribault Police, Northfield Police, Northfield Mayor’s Youth Task Force on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and the Rice County Drug Task Force. A special thank you to Northfield resident Mary Nelson, who contributed countless hours on this project.
By Griff Wigley, on September 2, 2009, 1:35 pm
Our radio show/podcast guest on Monday: Mary Ho, Rice County Director of Pubic Health, talking with us about local preparations for the H1N1 flu season. Ross and I did the proper virus-preventive fist bump upon her departure though now I see that we may have to graduate to elbow bumps.
Click play to listen. 30 minutes.
Continue reading Podcast: Mary Ho on H1N1 flu preparations
By Tracy Davis, on July 20, 2009, 3:23 pm
 There will be a public open house for input to the multimodal transportation study for Highway 3 /Highway 19 at 7:00p.m. this coming Wednesday, July 22, at the Armory.
The study area includes TH 3 from the bridge over the Cannon River to the bridge over the railroad north of St. Olaf Avenue; and TH 19/5th Street from the Odd Fellows Lane to the bridge over the Cannon River. Maps and background information are available on the project page for the study. Continue reading Hwy 3/Hwy 19 transportation study open house on Wednesday
By Griff Wigley, on July 13, 2009, 7:18 am
 When I saw in last week’s Nfld News (River trail, bridge are on course) that $240,000 is being allocated for the 600 feet from the new Mill Towns Trail (MTT) bridge through Riverside Park to 5th St. and Water St., I wondered where that money is coming from. And as I dug a bit, I discovered that it’s also not easy to figure out where the money came from to pay for the $820,000 for the bridge.
Help is needed! (continued)
Continue reading More transparency needed on the $1 million for Mill Towns Trail’s Northfield segment
By Bill Ostrem, on May 18, 2009, 6:34 pm
 County Road 43 Last August the Rice County Board of Commissioners made a change in their transportation policy that goes against the interests of people who walk, bike, or use wheelchairs in our community. It’s a change that’s detrimental to many of the most vulnerable users of our transportation system, including children, seniors, the poor, and the handicapped. (continued) Continue reading Guest blogger Bill Ostrem: Rice County leaves its sidewalk and path policy unchanged
By Tracy Davis, on May 12, 2009, 8:10 am
 The Northfield Task Force on Nonmotorized Transportation invites bicyclists, walkers, telecommuters, transit riders and car/van-poolers to stop by Bridge Square Thursday morning between 6:15 and 8:00 for coffee, juice, tasty treats, camaraderie, and conversation celebrating alternatives to driving solo to work or school.
The event is scheduled in coordination with Thursday’s nationwide Bike to Work Day, the statewide Bike to Work Week (May 10-16) and the statewide Minnesota Commuter Challenge (April 20th through July 20th).
If you want to see how to do it style, check out this website. (Rabid helmet advocates might prefer not to click.)
By Griff Wigley, on May 5, 2009, 9:59 am
 Northfield isn’t a suburb but today’s Star Tribune front page story contains troubling info: Think there are no gangs in the suburbs? Think again.
… in Northfield, a group of students concerned about gangs organized a forum to educate students and parents. Said one of the organizers, 16-year-old Sharonne Bermudez, "Our goal was to at least make them listen to us, to let them know how gangs are affecting us."
There was a student-organized gang forum? Anyone have details? I searched for current gang-related info on various websites: City of Northfield, Northfield Public Schools, Rice County but couldn’t find anything.
By Griff Wigley, on April 28, 2009, 11:01 am
 The Mill Towns Trail (MTT) bridge over the Cannon River in Northfield was put in place this morning. Peggy Prowe, AKA ‘queen of the MTT’,’ was shining as brightly as the sun.
See the album of 33 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:
By Griff Wigley, on April 17, 2009, 10:11 am
 
Three trucks delivered the bridge girders for the Mill Towns Trail bridge over the Cannon River this morning. They’ll be put in place next week. (A tip-of-the-blogger hat to John Thomas for alerting me.)
I last blogged photos of the construction in February. In the message thread attached to that post, I linked to the Northfield News editorial which highlighted problems with the portion of the trail that will connect the bridge to 5th St. and Water St. Have these issues been resolved? (I’ve closed comments here. Continue discussion there.)
By Tracy Davis, on April 16, 2009, 10:17 am
 An article last month on NewGeography.com posited that farms, not golf courses, may be the more desirable suburban future.
. . . [S]tudies show that property viewing or abutting agricultural lands is as valuable as those overlooking the golf-course, maybe more so if residents can grow fresh, pesticide-free foods and reduce long-distance trucking.
(continued) Continue reading Agriculture — it’s the new golf
By Griff Wigley, on March 30, 2009, 8:17 am
  I got nailed for speeding a week or so ago, going 44 in a 30 in the laughably-labeled ‘urban zone’ of Cannon City. (It’s a freakin’ township.) It’s ridiculous IMHO to have the speed set for 30 MPH on County Road 20 as if it were a neighborhood street. Even Dennison, which is a city and has many businesses along County Road 9, has the speed set at 35 MPH through the middle of town.
Okay, so it’s cash-cow speed trap, I should have known better since I travel that way to Faribault often, and my fine of $130 helps Rice County’s revenue stream. I’ll get over it eventually.
So in the interest of public safety (heh), where are the other speed traps in the area?
By Griff Wigley, on February 15, 2009, 10:06 pm
 Ed Lufkin, an increasingly active blogger for 3 Northfield area organizations, posted to the Rotary’s blog last week a photo of Jesse James Bike Tour (JJBT) chair Neil Lutsky presenting a check for $20,000 to Peggy Prowe of the Mill Towns Trail. Today I noticed that construction on the bridge has visibly progressed. The bridge was supposed to have been constructed last year. (continued)
Continue reading Mill Towns Trail update: bridge construction begins; Rotary’s JJBT donates $20K
|
|
million for Mill Towns Trail’s Northfield segment">34 comments 
City, Civic Orgs, County, Featured 
Mill Towns Trail, Riverside trail extension 
Current Discussion Threads