The 2011 national survey results from the Monitoring the Future study show decreases in teen smoking in all three grades under study—grades 8, 10, and 12. The proportion saying that they smoked at all in the prior 30 days fell significantly for the three grades combined, from 12.8% in 2010 to 11.7% this year.
Officials from the City of Northfield this week, while acknowledging that this is good news for obvious reasons, expressed some concern because the Northfield Municipal Liquor Store profits from its sale of cigarettes and cigars.
"These teens are our potential future customers," said Juan Morefore DeRhode, Muni Manager. "If this trend holds up, we’re going to have to revisit the revenue projections in our long-range plan and adjust accordingly."
When asked what marketing strategies he’d consider that might help to ensure future tobacco revenues, DeRhode said he continues to have discussions with the gift shop at the Northfield Hospital, owned by the City of Northfield but operated by the Northfield Hospital Auxiliary. "We’ve always said that one of the reasons we carry tobacco products at the Muni is for the convenience of the customer. That rationale holds up for the hospital’s gift shop, too, with so many of its patients addicted to tobacco. We’d be delighted to work with them and split the profits."
"Tobacco will prematurely kill the kids who smoke but only when they get much older," said Task Force member Dr. Kirsten Mashton. "So we’re not really concerned about that. Our worries are tied to the revenue projections. We received $15,750 in 2011 from the Muni. If the decline in teen smoking continues, that jeopardizes our future funding and our ability to make an impact."
The City’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) is also concerned. "We worked hard to bring two tobacco businesses to Northfield in the past year," said EDA President Janis Tappan. "It would be a shame if Tobacco Field or Division Tobacco took a hit from this decline in teen smoking and had to close."
Northfield City Administrator Tim Madagascar announced last week in his Weekly Memo that City Hall will open for business at midnight (12:01 am) on Black Friday.
"Since it’s the busiest shopping day of the year, our customers—sometimes known as citizens—are demanding that we be responsive," Madagascar said. " Northfield Target is opening at midnight and we want to be ready to serve those folks who might want to apply for a license, make a reservation, or submit an application for the council vacancy when they’re done shopping. It’s part of our mission—striving for excellence, committed to service."
"My Board of Directors thinks it’s an opportunity for us to tell the out-of-towners who will be heading to Northfield Target all the great things about shopping in Northfield," said Fellbore. "Frankly, I think that’s a stretch, since no other stores are opening at that hour. Nonetheless, we’ll be open, handing out CVB brochures and selling our line of Buy More cards that we have left over from last year."
When asked whether it might be more cost-effective for the City and the Chamber to be offering these services via their websites 24X7, both indicated that e-commerce was something they’d be adding in the next five years or so. "Online shopping is likely to catch on with the public by then and when it does, we’ll be ready for it," said Fellbore.
The goal of the project is to get citizens who spend too much of their leisure time watching television indoors to spend more time outdoors.
"We know it’s not realistic for most hard-core couch potatoes to become recreational users of our parks overnight," said Knute Nathanial, PRAB chair. "Research shows that the use of recliners are effective at helping people make a gradual transition. And since TV programs can now be watched on one’s smartphone, the time was perfect to try this."
The PRAB has rescued a number of Barcaloungers and La-Z-Boys from the colleges’ dumpsters in recent years so that no taxpayer money has to be spent on acquiring them for the project. All the recliners will have plastic tarps stored underneath them to protect them from the elements.
While the 2011 Horseshoe Hunt clues have started appearing on the DJJD website, some members of the DJJD committee have begun to question the wisdom of this year’s location for Horseshoe.
On early Saturday morning, DJJD volunteers were seen lowering Horsehoe Hunt Chair Tim Freeland into the Cannon River adjacent to the Ames Mill, dressed in a diving suit.
While Freeland’s final destination for the Horeshoe remains a secret, its approximate location quickly became controversial, once other DJJD Committee members learned of the activity.
"I know that we’ve had some problems in the past with the Horseshoe found too quickly," said Hayes ‘Gabby’ Scriver, a 3rd-year DJJD Board Director. "But this looks to me like it’s a little over the top. If the Horseshoe is anywhere near the dam, we can expect that Malt-O-Meal will object. They own the Ames Mill dam and they certainly don’t want anyone messing around there, underwater or not. What if the dam was accidentally damaged?"
DJJD General Chair Dwayne Reddy disagreed. "You can’t be spoon fed all your life. In recent years, the Horseshoe has been so easy to find that you hardly even need to read the clues to find it. If the frickin’ Mayor of Northfield can find the Horseshoe, what does that tell you?" Other committee members agreed, though they wished to remain anonymous.
The Northfield Fire Department has agreed to rent out its diving suit to anyone interested in searching the river for the Horseshoe. "I know it’s a bit unusual but considering the City’s budget problems, we need all the revenue we can find right now," said Fire Chief Harry Frantek. "The bingo tent during DJJD ain’t the cash cow folks think it is."
On Monday, an alert citizen used his cell phone camera to capture this photo of a truck parked improperly in front of the Goodbye Blue Monday. He used the Tell the City form on the City of Northfield’s website to report the problem.
The incident came before the City Council on Tuesday.
"We simply can’t have a member of a city commission flagrantly disregarding the very municipal code that they’ve been charged to monitor," said First Ward Councilor Suzanna Kardashian. "How would it look if a member of the Hospital Board bought a pack of cigarettes from the City’s Municipal Liquor Store or Hospital Gift Shop and then tossed a butt out the window of their car onto the sidewalk as they drove off? We’d be outraged. This is on a par with that."
Gleeson was spotted departing the Council chambers via its back door on Tuesday night. When asked to comment on the Council’s decision to remove him from the PQQC, had virtually nothing to say.
He wants sunny skies for the Sixth Annual Taste of Northfield (blog post here, full event info/schedule here), held tomorrow and Friday in downtown Northfield on Bridge Square.
Almighty Lord God, who for the sin of man didst once drown all the world, except eight persons, and afterward of thy great mercy didst promise never to destroy it so again; We humbly beseech thee, that although we for our iniquities have worthily deserved a plague of rain and waters, yet upon our true repentance thou wilt send us such weather for the Taste of Northfield, that we may receive the fruits of the earth in due season; and learn both by thy punishment to amend our lives, and for thy clemency to give thee praise and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
"While some of our parishioners are mechanically savvy enough to repair their bikes without assistance, many are not," said Father Demster. "To have the Blessed Virgin on hand for intercessory prayers while bikes are being worked on can really help. We’re also hoping it can diminish the frequency if not the volume of taking the Lord’s name in vain that we typically hear during bicycle repairs."
While the bike repair stand is intended for parishioner use, any community member can use it.
All residents of Northfield, and all students enrolled in Northfield schools, are eligible and encouraged to submit short poems (10 lines, 240 characters maximum) that are appropriate for the public sphere.
Up to 10 winning poems will be stamped into Northfield sidewalk pavements and will be considered for other public purposes including publication and readings.
The Locally Grown Triumvirate has requested that one of the winning poems be used to replace the sidewalk graffiti that one of our fans scrawled into the cement in front of the HideAway Coffeehouse & Winebar last summer.
There were evidently some tense negotiations on Monday about the fee that the organization would have to pay for use of the library’s meeting room. With the library’s recent budget cutbacks, Director Lynne Young is on the lookout for additional sources of revenue and has reportedly become a tough negotiator over non-profit use of that space.
Friends president Bill North and treasurer Kathy Sommers ripped on Young during their presentations but she placed responsibility for the Library’s financial predicament on the City Council, as well as on library patrons like Will Healy who have hundreds of dollars of unpaid library fines for overdue books.
All went well until after Henry’s speech when Lynne Young noticed Monkey See Monkey Read bookstore proprietor Jerry Bilek selling copies of Henry’s book. She argued that the Library should get a commission on all books sold on the premises. Jerry told her to stick it in her bookdrop. Henry refused to moderate the dispute unless someone agree to pay him his usual counseling fee. The crowd was getting riled up, and when someone mentioned Zamboni tires, I decided it was time for me to leave.
They’re selling these ‘buy more’ cards and putting up similar posters in store windows around town.
Roscoe Curry, VP of Public Relations for the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce, had some reservations about the initiative when it was first discussed at a staff meeting with Executive Director Katarina Fellbore. "I thought some of the merchants might think it a little too doomsdayish," said Curry. He did an informal straw poll, going door-to-door with the merchants along Hwy 3, and all were in favor.
"I like that it’s direct," said Hugh G. Wreckshun, proprietor of Northfield Kwik Kondom (‘Kows, Kolleges, Kondoms, Kontentment’) near the intersection of Hwy 3 and Heritage Drive. "No sense pussyfooting around."
Last night while riding my bike downtown, Woody Wannamaker, one of the original members of the PQCC (not his real name; we use it here—and the photo of his shoes–to protect his identity. His real name is Jim Gleason) alerted me to this vehicle parked in front of KYMN’s studios on Division.
He also sent me this photo he’d taken earlier in the day with his cell phone of a car erratically parked in front of the GBM.
He was in Northfield yesterday afternoon and captured this video of a rainbow over Carleton College. How amazing is that? All I can say is, the Lord works in wondrous ways. Click play to watch. 57 seconds. PG-13 for language.
Churling maintained that Northfield’s sculpture walk would have to meet a high artistic standard. “We’re not interested in anything involving Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
“The success of the Community Expectations policy is what gave me the idea,” said Police Chief Marcus H. Traylor, citing the ordinance that addresses cleanliness, respect, safety, and pedestrian friendliness in the downtown area. (See the April 27, 2009 blog post for more details on that program.) “We asked citizens to behave better downtown over the past year and they’ve done it. We’re confident now that if we ask citizens to consciously avoid breaking laws just one day a week, it’ll save a significant amount of payroll dollars that will help to avoid layoffs.”
Why Thursdays? Traylor consulted with area pastors who suggested Thursdays because Wednesday nights are ‘church nights’ in the area. The ministers pointed to the impact of the ‘prayer ladies’ (see the Aug. 2007 blog post Prayer group meets at City Hall) on the improved climate at Northfield City Hall and felt that with a more comprehensive prayer effort, Northfield area crime that’s likely to happen on Thursdays could be bumped into Fridays or even the weekend.
Northfield Riverside Baptist Church pastor Cory Ellingston cautioned, however, that the impact of Northfield’s Police yourself Thursdays would have geographic limitations, not unlike the prayer ladies who attend City Council meetings. “Prayers for the City Council are just not as effective if those doing the praying are across the street or down the block,” said Ellingston. “The Dundas Police Department should not expect crime reductions in their city on Thursdays.”
The Orgasmic restaurant is opening up soon on Division St. between 3rd and 4th. Gourmet pizza!
The exterior sign went up Tuesday (not a Jim Bohnhoff sign) after they finished replacing the concrete sidewalk in front of the restaurant with attractive ceramic tiles. (Hopefully, they’ll have sidewalk dining.) Yesterday I got a peek inside at the upper level after workers hauled in furniture.
And in a nice touch:
The appetizers section of the menu is labeled "Foreplay."
The Ely Chamber of Commerce’s International Dairy Queen Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (IDQBWCAW). See the PiPress article for details, since the Chamber’s site evidently can’t handle the traffic. Oy.
Seizing the moment, Northfield’s Defeat of Jesse James Days committee announced on Thursday that it was pursuing actress Sandra Bullock to be a featured celebrity at this year’s event. A significant number of other notable women could join her.
“Celebrating the citizens’ defeat of Jesse James and his gang in 1876 will remain the focus of this year’s event,” said Ava Gina, General Chair of the DJJD Committee.
“But we realized that women everywhere could be very attracted to a festival that celebrates the defeat of a just-as-despicable 21st century Jesse James.”
“And what could be better than having Sandra Bullock and all the other women who’ve been given tours of his monster garage come to Northfield? I’m not exactly sure what a re-enactment might look like, though one can image some possibilities involving a vanilla gorilla, that sort of thing.”
The complaints are pouring in to Northfield City Hall about Whitestone Cleaner’s sandwich board that reads “Drop your pants here.” Some of the citizens are particularly incensed that it’s right across the street from the Main Street Moravian Church.
There are several Northfield area businesses using similar sexual innuendo in their advertising. And others are using scatalogical innuendo.
Last night’s ice storm hit southeast Northfield fairly hard but with no wind and bright sunny skies this morning, there appears to be little or no damage from it. I took these photos at the Center for Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (CSMR) around 9 am.
Bowing to pressure from civic-oriented footfall fans, the Northfield City Council will entertain a motion at the start of tonight’s meeting (see Tracy’s blog post for a summary) to allow the broadcast of the Vikings-Packers game on the overhead TV monitors in the Council chambers. There would be no audio, of course, but closed captioning would be provided.
Councilors could opt for the service on their individual monitors, as some of the women councilors already do for their Monday night favorites, Dancing with the Stars and House (see photo above). The outnumbered male councilors have grumbled about this for months to no avail and now see the possibility of a breakthrough for Monday Night Football because of the intense interest in tonight’s game.
"Yes, we all have Tivo, but nothing beat’s live TV coverage of important events like President’s Obama’s message to school children a few weeks ago," said Councilor James Pokorman. "That was educationally significant. This is culturally significant."
Councilor Rhoda Pownow was less convinced. Echoing the sentiments of Emmaus Baptist Church pastor Will Healy who a few years ago objected to the scheduling of pro football games during the same time as late Sunday morning church services, Pownow wrote in a multiple metaphor email to the Mayor: "This is clearly a case of encroachment and if we don’t draw the line in the sand, the dominos will continue to fall till the cows come home."
jane fenton: Congrats, Griff! That’s my son Cliff in the orange hat. He’s revamped the recycling bin prototype. You should see it!
Griff Wigley: Don, I’ll keep ping pong in mind. I’d hate to have my right arm start to whither from a lack of racquetball. In the meantime, I’m trying to excite as many Northfielders as I can about mountain biking. I’ll...
john george: Griff- Iris will have to work real hard to keep you in focus on everything else. I shutter to think where this could go.
Don Diehl: Griff, CONGRATULATIONS!!!…No surprise on your achievements, considering your expertise behind the lens!!!… Another subject: Without racketball, when are you going to start playing PONG???…Monday nights at the Senior...
Griff Wigley: Thanks, y’all. No ribbons but I’m pleased with the recognition. John, somehow I knew this blog post would click with you, knowing the lens with which you view the world.
Phil Poyner: Without going into the legalities of the whole thing (I’ll leave that to the lawyers), I agree with the editorial and the Mayor’s actions. That having been said, I don’t see the newspaper’s role as anything...
Kathie Galotti: I respectfully disagree with the NN editorial. Especially if the firefighters are only getting paid like $3000/year each, then if they are dissatisfied, there’s very little to stop them from just saying “to hell with...
kiffi summa: Well. isn’t it interesting, Steph, how the newspaper often gives an opinion on the ‘right or wrong’ of an action without making much of a case for their POV? But then , I don’t remember them making much of all...
Stephanie Henriksen: What does anyone think of NNews recent editorial supporting Mayor Rossing in not meeting with firefighters? What role is the newspaper playing in all this? Sorry if this question has already been addressed.
kiffi summa: Griff: do you think it is worth asking why there is so much emphasis on the 9 violations attributed to the FD, and virtually no emphasis on the other 55-60 violations in city buildings, including 8 in the P{olice Dept, and 8 at City...
Kathie Galotti: My kid had a pretty decent AP Environmental Science class 2 years ago….he’s not a great math/science student, but this one got him interested in at least knowing enough science to create good policies. I remember...
Paul Zorn: A few years ago one of my daughters spent a year working in Copenhagen, largely in an office setting. All desks in her office could be raised or lowered to permit either standing or sitting positions. I have no idea whether such...
Griff Wigley: In today’s Strib: Office-dwellers stand up to ‘sitting disease’ Dr. James Levine has reviewed the statistics: One in three Minnesota adults is either diabetic or pre-diabetic, and one in four is obese. And he thinks...
Bright Spencer: The All Pro Game last Sunday between the AFC and the NFC was so enjoyable. The stess, the anger, the anxiety all gone…well I didn’t watch all of it, as I rarely do watch an entire game, usually just the beginning and...
Griff Wigley: Today’s Strib: Hockey safety goal expanded to youth In an unprecedented mid-year change, Minnesota Hockey is toughening the penalties for checking from behind and boarding. The change will affect 40,000 hockey players in the...
Bright Spencer: I like hockey and all sports very much. I was a star basketball player in my day. I don’t remember anyone suffering any major injuries in all my hs and college days. I feel certain that coach’s know who does what and...
Matthew Rich: Bright, I agree with most of your comment, but I would resist shifting to “zero tolerance,” or anything similar. Unless dealing with bright lines and purely objective measures, zero tolerance can create unfair results....
Bright Spencer: Here’s the thinking and conversation I would like to see. Parent to child: There are some sports you can play in school that are definitely dangerous and can leave you unable to walk or talk or do anything for yourself for...
john george: You are correct. That is why I didn’t allow my children to attack the character of their siblings just to support their position. There do need to be some kind of ground rules in any discussion so as to keep individual...
kiffi summa: The issue could be considered to be: what is “conflict”, and what are two sides of a discussion… see #33 re: the Mayor’s admonition to Peter Dahlen at the joint Council/ChartComm meeting. I don’t see how...
john george: Kiffi- This is a good article, and I agree with most of it. Just thinking about my kids in their youth, there was always some conflict between them, but our goal as parents wasn’t to force them into some weiner form but to help...
kiffi summa: A very interesting article in the Jan.30th New Yorker magazine on the nature of the dynamics of creative discussion; it’s entitled “Groupthink; the brainstorming myth”. Based on studies done by a psych professor at...
Griff Wigley: Kiffi/Kathie, I didn’t have that reaction. But I’ve put up a new blog post to discuss it and everything else related to the Fire Department so let’s shift the discussion there.
Kathie Galotti: I read Betsey’s blog and, like most of Betsey’s blog entries, found it well-written and making a very good point. Though I agree that geographic districts aren’t the only way to represent different constituencies,...
john george: Griff- The NN editorial presents the difference between geographic representation and ideological representation. Right now, the wards establish geographic representation. With this approach, depending upon the voter turnout, a person...
kiffi summa: I hope that people will use the link here on LG to read the current posting by Councilor Buckheit on her blog, re: wards versus all at-large, and take the opportunity to comment. Once again, the NFNews has not given a very well...
Griff Wigley: Nfld News editorial: Keep the current ward system intact
Sean Hayford Oleary: In any case, this issue doesn’t seem like it needs to be another opportunity to dis/agree with the current council. Regardless of how focused on the downtown (or not) they are, it’s clear this change would not...
Griff Wigley: In today’s NY Times: Turning to Kettlebells to Ease Back Pain Kettlebells, cast-iron weights that have been used for centuries to train Russian soldiers and athletes, appear to be a promising therapy for back and neck pain, new...
Sandy Vesledahl: UPDATE ON RHONDA: We are very happy to report that Rhonda was adopted over the weekend by a local family. Rhonda’s new mom is a Family Counselor and Rhonda will be going to her office with her and helping with her clients. So...
Megan Tsui: Griff, The NEC is moving forward with the idea of a non-profit Coworking Incubator/Accelerator space. Megan
Megan Tsui: What do you think? Come to the Community Dialogue and tell us! January 31st from 2 to 4 pm at the Archer House lower level conference room. Share your ideas, thoughts, and dreams about a Coworking Incubator/Accelerator space in...
kiffi summa: I would hope the City’s Historic Preservation Commission would explore this option, and the appropriateness/allowability for use on properties within the Historic District. Thanks, Jim.
Jim Haas: I was reading a story by Porter Fox about his visit to Copenhagen. He mentioned in passing that the city is vigilant about removing graffiti using high-pressure washers with ice crystals as a mild abrasive. I did a little rudimentary...
Griff Wigley: I’ve added a photo of the graffiti at the Carleton College Rec Center to the blog post above.
Bright Spencer: Sorry to see such destructive work. May the tagger grow to know the great effort people make to create a nice atmosphere for people to use and enjoy, and use his or her efforts to help make a functional world for everyone. There...
kiffi summa: The LWV observer reports are meant to be a summary of actions taken, not a ‘blow by blow’ transcript. This is the reason that anyone deeply interested should watch the meeting for themself, if they want a full...
Griff Wigley: Um, what’s really going on with this? From Jane McWilliams’ LWV report on Tuesday’s Council meeting: Board and Commission Appointments: A list of candidates for still to be filled positions on several boards and...
rob hardy: See also this interview that Marika did with Adam, Jane, and me, and find out what flavor Northfield.org would be if it were ice cream (all three of us independently gave the same answer)!
Curt Benson: Yes, I too wondered what majestic mountain overlooks one of Minnesota’s impaired lakes. As long as I’m sliding down the slippery slope towards total crotchetyness, I was also bugged by the photo accompanying the recent NFN...
Phil Poyner: I looks a little like Lava Lake in Montana.
Hayes Scriven: Wasn’t there a Jesse James movie that had mountains in the background in Northfield? Maybe it is hidden in the Arb?
Jane Moline: Lake Marie Lodge, Alaska Colorado Springs North Carolina North west Minnesota–where they hide the mountain?
Griff Wigley: Pan Pan Cafe closed for good this week. Nfld Patch story here; Nfld News story here. What’s your theory about why it didn’t make it? Resident Dean Sorenmann has posted his thoughts in a comment attached to the Nfld News...
Officials from the City of Northfield this week, while acknowledging that this is good news for obvious reasons, expressed some concern because the Northfield Municipal Liquor Store profits from its sale of cigarettes and cigars.
While the 
Keep your wits about you today. Lots of faux news types cranking out the content, for example:
Seizing the moment, Northfield’s 
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