The management of the Contented Cow in Northfield, MN announced today that they will host Down By the River: A Tribute to Neil Young on Saturday, May 11th, beginning at 4:00 in the afternoon. More than two dozen artists from Southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities will gather to perform the music of one of the most beloved and eclectic musicians of the past 50 years. Performers will play short 3-5 song sets that will span Young’s entire career.
Continuing a string of tribute events hosted by the Cow in recent years, the bill is stocked with talent.
“We have so many great musicians around here that we need to do something every now and then to showcase them,” said show producer Rich Larson of Left-Handed Entertainment. “When you pair that talent with a catalogue of songs that are as diverse as Neil Young’s, you’re bound to get an incredible evening.”
Larson says even Young’s non-fans should enjoy the event.
“Every now and then someone says they don’t like Neil Young because of his nasally voice. Well then, this is an opportunity for people to hear these incredible songs, performed by different voices. In fact, in some cases, you’ll hear them from some people who are incredible singers. Last year the Knightengales, the all-women a cappella group from Carleton College, stole the show when they performed at our Bob Dylan event. They’ll be back again this year, and I cannot wait to hear what they’ve come up with.”
And indeed, the bill does offer a diverse group of performers. Northfield folk/country singer “The Norwegian Cowboy” Jon Larson will be joined by venerable folk stalwart Bill McGrath, garage rockers Martin Anderson & The Goods, upstart punk rock group Some Kid’s Dad, and a host of others.
“It’s one of the things I love most about these shows,” said Larson. “We’ll have performers who are in their 60′s playing alongside college kids. And all of them are stunningly good.”
The show will also serve as the unofficial kickoff of the outdoor performance season.
“It’s been a long, long winter,” said Larson. “Nobody around here needs me to tell them that. But I’ve always said May is the month to be in this state. Everything is in bloom, the humidity is low, the bugs aren’t really out yet. The outdoor stage at the Cow sits just in front of the Cannon river. It’s a really beautiful setting, and their patio is so accommodating. We expect that we’ll have one of those spectacular May days where the weather is perfect, the music will be fantastic, and everybody will have an unforgettable time.”
Neil Young is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who is known for his eclectic, diverse songwriting. He’s best known for alternately playing soft, folk based songs like After the Gold Rush and Harvest Moon, and ear rattling hard rock like Cinnamon Girl and Rockin’ in the Free World. He has influenced countless artists, including Elvis Costello, Dave Matthews, Sonic Youth, and Pearl Jam. His work with his backing band Crazy Horse earned him the nickname “The Godfather of Grunge.”
Down By the River: A Tribute to Neil Young will be Saturday, May 11th, beginning at 4 p.m., and running deep into the evening. The Contented Cow is located at 302B Division Street in downtown Northfield. For further information, contact the Contented Cow at (507) 663-1351 or Rich Larson at (612) 756-0490.
From New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger comes a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961.
“It’s been a while since a story forced me to abandon my plans for the day. This book has all the elements of a great mystery. The careful plot, skillful placement of evidence, and trajectory of suspense are all immensely satisfying. What sets this story apart is the unsettling detail of family love and the experience of grief.” –Ann Woodbeck, Excelsior Bay Books
“ Set in the early 60’s, it’s a story told from the perspective of 13-year-old Frank Drum when tragedy comes to call on his family. The author has really captured the era, the small town atmosphere, the Drum family and all the other memorable characters that make up this brilliant novel.Ordinary Grace will stay with me for a long time. ” –Kathleen Eddy, Manager, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN
All the dying that summer began with the death of a child . . .
New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson’s Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.
Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family, which includes his Methodist minister father, his passionate, artistic mother, Juilliard-bound older sister, and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother—he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.
Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after that fateful summer,Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.
William Kent Krueger is the award-winning author of twelve previous Cork O’Connor novels, including Northwest Angle and Trickster’s Point, as well as the novel Ordinary Grace. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family.
Orphan Train
“I was so moved by this book. I loved Molly and Vivian, two brave, difficult, true-hearted women who disrupt one another’s lives in beautiful ways, and loved journeying with them, through heartbreak and stretches of history I’d never known existed, out of loneliness toward family and home.” –Marisa de los Santos, New York Times-bestselling author ofBelong to Me and Falling Together
“I loved this book: its absorbing back-and-forth story, its vivid history, its eminently loveable characters. ORPHAN TRAIN wrecked my heart and made me glad to be literate.” –Monica Wood, author of When We Were the Kennedys
“Christina Baker Kline writes exquisitely about two unlikely friends . . . each struggling to transcend a past of isolation and hardship. ORPHAN TRAIN will hold you in its grip as their fascinating tales unfold.” –Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times-bestselling author of The Painted Girls
Detailed and beautifully drawn, Orphan Train illuminates a little-known part of America’s history: Between 1854 and 1929, so-called “orphan trains” transported more than 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children between the ages of 2 and 14 from the East Coast to the Midwest for foster care and adoption. But their treatment often amounted to indentured servitude. Chosen first were infants, for more traditional adoptions, and older boys, for their manual labor; adolescent girls were typically selected last. While some children quickly found love and acceptance, many walked a harder road.
Orphan Train is set in modern-day Maine and early twentieth-century Minnesota. Kline spends every summer on the coast of Maine and has built a large fan base in the area. She has also spent 25 years traveling to Minnesota where her husband’s family lives, and has strong ties to the orphan-train riders’ community in the state.
Christina Baker Kline is the author of five novels, including Bird in Handand The Way Life Should Be. Writer-in-Residence at Fordham University from 2007-2011, Kline is a recent recipient of a Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Fellowship and several research fellowships (to Ireland and Minnesota), and has been a Writer-in-Residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She lives with husband and three sons in Montclair, New Jersey, and spends as much time as possible in northern Minnesota and on the coast of Maine, where she grew up.
Help clean up the Cannon River and collect free soft water for your flower gardens. Join the Cannon River Watershed Partnership in learning about runoff and the benefits of rain barrels for water conservation and gardening. Go home with a fully assembled 55-gallon plastic rain barrel and the knowledge that YOU are doing something for clean water.
Northfield workshops will be held:
April 20th at 1:00 PM at First UCC Church, 300 Union Street as part of the Earth Day Celebration. Register by emailing beth@crwp.net or call (507) 786-3913. Cost is $40.
April 30th at 7 PM at the Northfield Community Resource Center, Room 225. Register through Northfield Community Services, #3275-W13A, Cost is $45.
By Elizabeth Kallestad, on March 29, 2013, 5:50 am
While it may not look much like spring today it’s coming soon – really! Cannon River Watershed Partnership has some fabulous opportunities for you to get outdoors, explore the watershed and celebrate spring.
Introduction to Kayaking – April 17th – 6 PM
Instructors: Marshall Wright (ACA instructor) and Betsy Wright.
Where: 5351 Elkton Trail, Faribault, MN.
Cost: FREE to CRWP members. To become a member go to the CRWP website.
If you are not a member of CRWP, the cost per person is $10. Please register through CRWP by emailing beth@crwp.net or (507) 786-3913.
This fall will mark ten years since the passing of Johnny Cash, one of the most beloved performers of all time. On Saturday, October 12th, the Paradise Center for the Arts (PCA) in Faribault will present Johnny Cash: A Tribute to the Man in Black. Eight selected bands and artists will perform songs written by and associated with Cash in a tribute to his enduring legacy.
To that end, the Paradise is sponsoring Paradise Live at Grandpa Al’s every Thursday night this summer, from June through August. Two to three bands will be invited to perform a 45 minute set at Grandpa Al’s in Faribault each week. They must play at least three Johnny Cash songs during their set, and are free to fill the rest of their time out however they choose. The best eight bands, selected by members of PCA’s music committee, will perform at the big show in October.
This is a call, then, to every musician in the state (and Wisconsin too, if need be). We need bands, we need solo performers, we need groups and combos. Come one, come all. Whatever type of music you play, if you think you’d want to get involved, get in touch with us. Send us a YouTube link, or a link to your website, or Facebook page, or MySpace. Or send us a CD. We’ll take a look and then see about putting you on one of the Thursday night bills. Send us your information to info@paradisecenterforthearts.org.
Grandpa Al’s is one of the premier music venues in Southern Minnesota. Getting a gig there isn’t always the easiest thing to do. This is a rare opportunity to get some exposure on a great stage while paying tribute to an American legend at the same time. The scheduling begins in April, so we hope to hear from you soon.
From award-winning novelist Wendy Webb (The Tale of Halcyon Crane, winner of the 2011 Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction) comes a spine-tingling, modern-day haunted house story set on Lake Superior.
Grace Alban has spent twenty years away from her childhood home, the stately Alban House on the shores of Lake Superior — for reasons she would rather forget. But when her mother’s unexpected death brings Grace and her teenage daughter home, she finds more than just her own personal demons haunting the halls and passageways of Alban House.
Long-buried family secrets, a packet of old love letters, and a lost manuscript plunge Grace into a decades-old mystery about a scandalous party at Alban House during which a world-famous author took his own life and Grace’s aunt disappeared without a trace. That night has been shrouded in secrecy by the powerful Alban family for all of these years, and Grace realizes her family secrets tangle and twist as darkly as the hidden passages of Alban House. Her mother was intending to tell the truth about that night to a reporter on the very day she died. Could it have been murder, or was she a victim of the supposed Alban curse? With the help of the disarmingly kind — and attractive — Reverend Matthew Parker, Grace must uncover the truth about her home and its curse before she and her daughter become the next victims.
Wendy Webb is editor-in-chief of Duluth-Superior, an upscale lifestyle magazine. A journalist with two decades of experience, she lives in Minnesota.
The Truth About Love and Lightning
From the author of Little Black Dress comes a new novel about family, lies, and getting what you wish for…
“Seamlessly toggling between decades, McBride delivers a poignant page-turner with flawed but lovable characters.” —Publisher’s Weekly
“McBride’s novel is a gentle reminder of the unexpected and inevitable nature of change.” —Booklist
“A tender story of a mother and daughter in search of the man they love. Part mystery, part romance, it’s an emotional tale of the power of forgiveness. A truly notable book highlighting the importance of family, this novel is a must-read pick.” –MomTrends.com
Susan McBride weaves a tapestry of words, and balances wry humor with a deeply touching narrative in the story of one family, and the history of the lies that built it up. Pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s child, Abby Brink returns home to the family farm on the day of a twister, only to discover a mysterious man, struck by lightning—who ight be the father she’s wished would reappear in her life for years. In the midst of this chaos, Gretchen Brink, Abby’s mother and a compulsive teller of white-lies, becomes the caretaker for Abby and the mysterious stranger—all while nursing a fib that could shatter her family.
Susan’s own life is the stuff stories are made of. After being named one of St. Louis Magazine’s top 20 singles, McBride met and married her personal prince-charming, Ed, only to have this highpoint of personal happiness marred by the trauma of her battle with breast cancer. Now, McBride is stronger than ever, a survivor—and a new mother! Ed and Susan welcomed daughter Emily Alice into their family on June 28th. In the midst of all this familial bliss, it makes sense then that McBride’s latest novel revolves around the bond between a mother and a daughter. In the midst of all this familial bliss, it makes sense then that McBride’s latest novel revolves around the bond between a mother and a daughter.
Susan McBride is the author of women’s fiction, including The Truth About Love and Lightning, Little Black Dress, and The Cougar Club, as well as the award-winning Debutante Dropout Mysteries. She calls herself an “accidental cougar” after meeting a man nine years younger in 2005 when she was a St. Louis Magazine “top single.” They were married in February 2008 and live happily ever after in a suburb of St. Louis. She is a six-year breast cancer survivor and often speaks to women’s groups about her experience. In January 2012, she was named one of St. Louis’ “Most Dynamic People of the Year” by the Ladue News. In April 2012, she was given the “Survivor of the Year” Award by the St. Louis affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. In late June of 2012, Susan and her husband, Ed, had their first child, Emily. As Susan likes to say, “Life is never boring!”
A man puts his beloved pets to the knife; a family prepares for the Rapture; a woman in a department store slips a necklace into her purse. Whatever the situation, the characters in This Jealous Earth find themselves faced with moments of decision that will forever alter the course of their lives.
Always moving and often touched with humor, Carpenter’s stories examine the tension between the everyday and the transcendent—our struggle to grasp what lies beyond our reach. Whether hawking body parts in a Midwestern city, orbiting through the galleries of a Paris museum or plotting sibling tortures in an Arizona desert, his characters lead us through a series of dilemmas of universal appeal.
Join us for a tantalizing wine tasting and auction experience. Enjoy a fabulous afternoon with friends sampling local wines from the Cannon River Winery and local foods from Thousand Hills Cattle Company and more, while bidding on fantastic auction items to support CRWP’s work for clean water.
Tickets are $30 each or two for $50. To purchase tickets contact Leslie at leslie@crwp.net or (507) 786-3915. Tickets will be available at the door as well.
Address: 316 Washington Street, Northfield, MN 55057
“Armed with a truckload of new stories Mike Perry returns with an updated version of his popular Clodhopper Monologues. Mike takes to the stage with a microphone and a passel of stories that range well beyond the pages of this books. Whether discussing vicious chickens, homeless guinea pigs, long underwear for ladies, or getting your feelings hurt by the New York Times, Perry moves easily from the heartfelt to hilarious in an easygoing performance come have called “country stand-up.”
“With a playwright’s precise, sometimes excoriating dialogue and an insightful novelist’s judicious use of interior monologue, Stewart crafts a tearful yet unsentimental family coming-of-age story.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A poignant exploration of the meaning of family…the life they’ve lived was as much a gift as the life they lost.” –Booklist
“Domestic fiction fans favoring strong, intelligent characters will be intrigued by Stewart’s introspective examination of a family.” –Library Journal
Sometimes home is the hardest place to go.
In the newest novel by the celebrated author of The Myth of You and Me, three grown siblings return to their childhood home and face a family secret that forces them to reexamine their relationships.
Eloise Hempel is on her way to teach a class at Harvard when she receives a devastating phone call. Her sister and her husband have been killed in a tragic accident, and Eloise must return home to Cincinnati to take their three children out of the hands of her own incapable mother. She and her children move back into her mother’s century-old house and, after her mother leaves, pours her own money into its upkeep.
Nearly two decades later, Eloise is still in that house with now-grown children, still thinking about the career and life she left behind, even as she pushes the kids to get a move on. With a child leaving for New York City for a promising ballet career, Eloise has plans to finally sell the house and start a life that’s hers alone. But when her mother creates a competition for which of them gets the house and Claire turns out to have a life-changing secret, their makeshift family begins to fall apart.
The History of Us is a heartrending story of loss, sibling relationships, and the life you make in the path not taken.
Leah Stewart is the author of the novels Husband and Wife, The Myth of You and Me, and Body of a Girl. The recipient of an NEA Literature Fellowship, she teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Cincinnati and lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two children.
By Bridgette Hallcock, on January 24, 2013, 6:26 am
We are seeking an enthusiastic, sales-oriented individual to join our team. Prior customer service experience and recent cash handling skills are required. Position is available at our Premier Banks Northfield location. Position will average 30 hrs/ wk. including Saturday mornings. Schedule may vary every week.
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.
Minnesota Poet Laureate Joyce Sutphen and Canadian poet and graphic artist Basma Kavanagh will read from their work at Monkey See, Monkey Read on Saturday, January 19th, at 7 pm. This event is free and open to the public.
Basma Kavanagh, a visual artist, printer, and poet, will read from her recent books Distillo (Gaspereau Press, 2012) and A Rattle of Leaves (Red Dragonfly Press, 2012). Kavanagh is in Minnesota during the month of January as an artist-in-residence at the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts.
Her poetry displays a profound commitment to the natural world, so much so that her descriptions of both flora and fauna often feel like potent elixirs or ritual charms, rather than words on a page. Her artwork can be viewed at http://www.basmakavanagh.ca/
Joyce Sutphen, the current Poet Laureate of Minnesota and English professor at Gustavus Adolphus College, will be reading from her forthcoming collection After Words (Red Dragonfly Press, 2013), her fifth full-length collection and an obvious companion to her last collection First Words (Red Dragonfly Press, 2010).
These two books center around the poet’s family and life on a rural Minnesota farmstead. From these down-to-earth, Minnesotan themes, Sutphen crafts poems that are approachable yet deeply steeped in the tradition of English literature.
It’s down to the wire to get your Christmas shopping done and we can help. We’ve got a lot of great ideas to choose from. Of course we always have a great selection of books, both new and used. We also have a number of games, toys, coffee mugs, book lights and now t-shirts.
We offer free gift wrapping and Saturday we’ll have homemade cookies.
Our hours now through Christmas are Friday 10-6, Saturday 10-5, Sunday 12-4 and Monday, Christmas Eve, 10-4.
Here a just a few of the best ideas we have in stock at Monkey See Monkey Read in downtown Northfield.
Above left: Read or Die T-shirts just arrived. These have our logo on them as well.
Above right: Games by Morphology, Gamewright, Set, Banagrams, and Anomia.
Above, left to right:
The Minnesota Book of Skills: Your Guide to Smoking Whitefish, Sauna Etiquette, Tick Extraction, and More.
Penguin coffee Mugs.
Sock Monkey Ornaments.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich. Winner of this year’s National Book Award.
“There’s much to relate in this worthwhile read, from funny family and workplace tales to thoughtful musings on faith, mortality, and loyalty.” –Publishers Weekly
“Pandl’s Restaurant in Milwaukee is a Midwest tradition: What makes Julia Pandl’s memoir shine is not only its charm and humor but also its insider’s look at how high standards and love equals extraordinary food. In Memoir of the Sunday Brunch, she cooks up a delicious story that deserves a wide audience.” —Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean
For Julia Pandl, the rite of passage into young-adulthood included mandatory service at her family’s restaurant, where she watched as her father—who was also the chef—ruled with the strictness of a drill sergeant.
At age twelve, Julie was initiated into the rite of the Sunday brunch, a weekly madhouse at her father’s Milwaukee restaurant, where she and her eight older siblings did service in a situation of controlled chaos, learning the ropes of the family business and, more important, learning life lessons that would shape them for all the years to come. In her wry memoir, she looks back on those formative years, a time not just of growing up but, ultimately, of becoming a source of strength and support as the world her father knew began to change into a tougher, less welcoming place.
Part coming-of-age story à la The Tender Bar, part window into the mysteries of the restaurant business à la Kitchen Confidential, Julie Pandl provides tender wisdom about the bonds between fathers and daughters and about the simple pleasures that lie in the daily ritual of breaking bread.
Julia Pandl was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she still lives and works. Memoir of the Sunday Brunch is her first book. When she is not writing and otherwise working, she moonlights as a stand-up comic.
A Christmas Home
The touching sequel to the beloved novel A Dog Named Christmas.
On Sunday, November 29, 2009, more than 12.5 million families fell in love with the television adaptation of the novel A Dog Named Christmas. Within forty-eight hours after the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie aired, the initial run of twenty thousand DVDs sold out. Two years later, when Christmas with Tucker, the prequel to the McCray family stories, was released, it was described by Dean Koontz as ”a perfect Christmas read,” by A. J. Jacobs as ”lovely and poignant,” and by Publishers Weekly as ”cute, hopeful, and heartwarming.” Now, the much-anticipated third installment, A Christmas Home, will prove to be yet another holiday classic.
Watching their children move out and live independently is a difficult task for many parents — but for George and Mary Ann McCray, it’s nearly impossible. Even though Todd, their disabled son, is in his twenties, George and Mary Ann fear that he cannot thrive without their support and supervision. But Todd is determined to be his own person — and he has a dog named Christmas and an entire community ready to help him find his way.
Gregory Kincaid lives on a farm in eastern Kansas with his wife, two cats, and two dogs, including Rudy, adopted from a local shelter. When not writing, he is a practicing lawyer and pet-adoption advocate.
Small Business Saturday was a huge success at The Monkey this year. We saw more foot traffic and had a significant increase in sales. For that, I thank all of you who made it a big day for us. What are we doing to celebrate? We’ve ordered more inventory, lots of it.
We’re doing everything we can to make Monkey See, Monkey Read a better bookstore. Small Business Saturday was amazing. A great kick-off to the holiday shopping season. But it’s just one day. A business needs year-round support to succeed. We’ve had a great year so far and look forward to a busy December. I’m grateful that our little bookstore continues to thrive in a challenging economy. We owe our success to our many customers. Thank you.
We picked 20 of the coolest books in the store and will be discounting them 20% November 23 through the end of the year. The list has a little bit of everything. Four fiction, six non-fiction, five picture books, and five young adult novels. Here they are:
1. Visiting Tom: A Man, a Highway, and the Road to Roughneck Grace by Mike Perry
2. Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King
3. Mighty Fitz: the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Michael Schumacher
4. One for the Books by Joe Queenan
5. Dancers Among Us: A Celebration of Joy in the Everyday by Jordan Matter
6. Minnesota Book of Skills: Your Guide to Smoking Whitefish, Sauna Etiquette, Tick Extraction, and More by Chris Niskanen
7. Illuminations: a Novel of Hildegard Von Bingen by Mary Sharratt
8. Poe’s Lighthouse edited by Christopher Conlon
9. The Fall of Alice K. by Jim Heynen
10. Dear Life by Alice Munro
11. Frozen by Mary Casanova
12. Keeping Safe the Stars by Sheila O’Connor
13. Obsidian Blade by Pete Hautman
14. Son by Lois Lowry
15. Fourmile by Watt Key
16. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
17. Black Dog by Levi Pinfold
18. Children of the Northlights by Ingri & Edgar Parin D’aulaire
19. Boot and Shoe by Maria Frazee
20. Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: the Great Pancake Adventure by Matthew Luckhurst
By Elizabeth Kallestad, on November 23, 2012, 6:11 am
A few weeks ago most of us went to the polls and elected someone else to represent us in the state and federal government as members of the Minnesota Legislature, the US Senate and House of Representatives. We hope that they will convey what matters to us to these governing bodies. Sometimes we have opportunities to speak to these elected officials and the agency staff who carry out the work of government and voice our opinions. Over the next few weeks the Environmental Congress of the State of Minnesota is giving us a chance to do just that. So just what is this Environmental Congress? As it turns out, Minnesota law instructs the state Environmental Quality Board (EQB) to hold and Environmental Congress to:
Assess Minnesota’s progress toward improving and sustaining clean air, clean water, and clean energy in our communities
Engage Minnesotans in constructive public dialogue about our state’s environmental and economic health
Identify environmental challenges and opportunities to improve and sustain the health of Minnesota’s natural resources and quality of life
Define a vision, and recommend specific policy changes to learn from our past, build on our strengths, and leave a legacy for future generations of Minnesotans
The EQB will be presenting an environmental and energy “Report Card” at Citizen Forums around the state over the next few weeks to talk about the report card which measures Minnesota’s performance in clean air, clean water, and clean energy. These Citizen Forums are our chance to engage in conversations and give feedback on the report card findings and share our thoughts on these important environmental issues. The EQB will use this feedback as they host the Environmental Congress in March 2013. For information about dates, locations and more information on the Environmental Congress go to http://mn.gov/EnvironmentalCongress/forum.html.
Some Cannon River Watershed Partnership staff and members are planning to attend the sessions on November 27in Rochester and Bloomington. Want to join us? Call me at (507)786-3913 or send me an email at beth@crwp.net. Make your voice heard!
Locations and Times:
Wood Lake Meeting Center – Oak Room, 210 Wood Lake Drive, Rochester – 9:30 AM – Noon
Normandale Community College – Kopp Student Union, 9700 France Avenue South, Bloomington – 6:30PM – 9:00 PM
Refreshments will be served. Free Parking at both locations.
Fans of Henry You’re Late Again will love Mary Bleckwehl’s latest book. Henry You’re Hungry Again is another wonderful story with great illustrations by Brian Barber.
Do you get crazy hungry like Henry? And what do YOU eat when you get really hungry? Healthy stuff like nuts? Or the best vegetable in the world–BROCCOLI? Not Henry! He prefers candy and fries, thank you! And a lot of it.
And what’s wrong with that? Nothing, if you don’t mind feeling shaky in gym class and having your teeth rot out. But what if your family and your teachers get the same idea to be sweet-aholics? Will everyone tumble into a junk food pit and never return? Or will someone come to the rescue?
Food is important, laughter is too! Get your dose today with HENRY! you’re hungry AGAIN?
Visiting the Visitors
Packy Mader will sign copies of his books during Winter Walk Thursday, December 6, 2012.
Some of the most wondrous gifts cost nothing. This is a story of such gifts.
On a silent and magical Christmas Eve night, three children and their grandparents bear gifts down the starlit path to a stable. They take this peaceful, wintry journey to thank the visitors of centuries ago for their historic and holy visit. The children deliver simple gifts and sincere gratitude to the visitors in tribute for that long-ago night honoring a newborn babe.
Illustrator Andrew Holmquist’s striking combination of glowing yellow interior scenes and deep blue exterior scenes captures the iconic images in a perfect light. The characters in the stable fill the page with such presence and quiet majesty that readers might catch themselves holding a breath.
Author Patrick “Packy” Mader continues his theme of heartwarming intergenerational stories from rural traditions with Visiting the Visitors, which joins a small stable of books celebrating growth of self and relationships: Opa & Oma Together, Oma Finds a Miracle, and Big Brother Has Wheels.
This is Packy’s best work yet. Andrew Holmquist’s stunning illustrations compliment this beautiful story.
By Elizabeth Kallestad, on October 19, 2012, 9:29 pm
When you turn on the tap for a glass of water does it come out full of suds or clear? Have you seen the Cannon River or the Mississippi River burst into flames lately? Without actually checking everyone’s taps I’d wager that the water you are drinking is free of suds and to the best of my knowledge our rivers haven’t been ablaze. Why am I even asking these weird questions?
Forty years ago these things did happen. The levels of water pollution had gotten so bad in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s that something had to be done. The Clean Water Act was a landmark piece of legislation that was passed by Congress, vetoed by President Nixon and then overridden by a landslide in Congress on October 18, 1972 and is now marking its 40th Anniversary.
This rule set out standards for the waters of our nation with objectives and goals for the conditions they should be in. It provides the guidelines for states with regard to regulating sewage and industrial waste and other pollutants that affect our waters. Wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act through “dredge and fill” permits. The Act has been revised a few times adding provisions for stormwater runoff, groundwater protection and dealing with toxic pollutants.
In a 1958 memo, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources stated that the Cannon River near Faribault was uninhabitable for fish due to all the industrial pollution. That same river now boasts some 42 species of fish. We’ve come a long way! We are treating our sewage, industrial discharges and doing a better job with urban stormwater runoff. But we still have a ways to go.
Our stormwater management is good but it could be better. There is still pollution coming from our farm fields and other land areas – referred to as nonpoint source pollution. The Clean Water Act has very little teeth when it comes to this type of pollution.
But with or without regulation, we have the ability, technology, and know how to make some substantial improvements. It’s going to take hard work, compromise and financial resources but I know we can do it. I hope when I’m an octogenarian and we are celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act we’ll be able to say that our waters now truly meet the Clean Water Act’s goal of fishable and swimmable water.
Want to help? Contact me at the Cannon River Watershed Partnership and we’ll find a way for you to pitch in.
“To be submerged in the frothing, watery world of Peter Geye’s The Lighthouse Road is to be baptized anew in the promise of American letters. I defy you to bear witness to the tormented tenderness of Odd Eide, to suffer and love and row beside him in his skiff, without throwing down your nets.
Here is an epic that spans more than generations. Here is an epic that spans the topography between hell-dark bear dens and moonlit lake water. Here is a novel that charts the whole of the human heart.” —Bruce Machart, author of The Wake of Forgiveness
Against the wilds of sea and wood, Thea Edie, a young immigrant, settles into life outside Duluth in the 1890s, still shocked to learn that her resident family has fallen apart and that she is adrift; in the early 1900s, her orphan son, now grown, falls in love with the one woman he shouldn’t and uses his best skills to build them their own small ark to escape. But their pasts travel with them, threatening to capsize even their fragile hope.
In his triumphant return, Peter Geye crafts another deeply moving tale of a family defined in part by the rough landscape in which they live, and in part by the rough edges of their own breaking hearts.
Peter Geye received his BA from The University of Minnesota, his MFA from the University of New Orleans, and his PhD from Western Michigan University, where he was editor of Third Coast. He was born and raised in Minneapolis and continues to live there with his wife and three children. He is the author of the award winning novel, Safe from the Sea.
I Will Not Leave You Comfortless
“Jeremy Jackson’s swirling memoir is built upon layers of well-chosen detail—it remembers theweather, the geography, the history of plowed earth, the coal-smoke taste of coffee, and the aching love between the lines of handwritten letters.
The result is like peering through a new lens at a familiar hillside, or walking through the pastures of your childhood and discovering they were bigger, not smaller, than you recall—now that is the mark of a generous writer.”—Leif Enger, author of Peace Like a River and So Brave, Young, and Handsome
With storytelling informed by a profound sense of place and an emotional memory startlingly vivid, Jackson stands poised to join the ranks of renowned memoirists the likes of Tobias Wolff. Readers young and old will be transported and transformed by his unforgettable coming-of-age tale.
I Will Not Leave You Comfortless is the intimate memoir of a young boy coming to consciousness in small-town Missouri. The year 1984 brings ten-year-old Jeremy first loves, first losses, and a break from the innocence of boyhood that will never be fully repaired. In that pivotal year, he loses his grandmother and his sister leaves for college, life-altering events by which he is forever shaken.
Narrated from several points of view that give the reader a rich and wide vision of the family, Jackson’s ten-year-old voice is the pivot around which the story turns. In many ways, Jackson’s style is a hybrid of the novel and the personal narrative.
Jeremy Jackson is the author of two novels, Life at These Speeds and In Summer. A graduate of Vassar College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he lives in Iowa City. Jackson is also the author of young adult novels under the name Alex Bradley, and cookbooks, includingThe Cornbread Book, which was nominated for a James Beard Award. He has written about food for the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post.
Please visit Monkey See Monkey Read for an evening with Anne G. Sabo, a former St. Olaf college professor turned author and mama- & sex blogger on Thursday October 11th at 7:30 PMfor a reading and discussion of After Pornified: How Women Are Transforming Pornography & Why It Really Matters, a book about how women have seized the means of representation to create a positive counterweight to pornified media and porn as it’s been known.
Though her book will no doubt appeal to women who already show an interest in porn, After Pornified is primarily addressed to all the women who are skeptical to porn as she was, and who value asserting ownership of their bodies and sexuality against the media’s discriminating sexualization of women.
With more young people exposed to porn, Sabo’s book is also aimed at them; to empower young people to read porn critically and to see that there is a positive alternative.
“Destined to become a classic” –Susan Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of One Good Dog
An inspiring story of how a single act of kindness can transform your life.
Rosalie MacKenzie is headed nowhere until she sees Smokey, a Siberian husky suffering from neglect. Rosalie finds the courage to rescue the dog, and—united by the bond of love that forms between them—they save each other.
Soon Rosalie and Smokey are immersed in the world of competitive dogsled racing. Days are filled with training runs, the stark beauty of rural Wisconsin, and the whoosh of runners on snow. Rosalie discovers that behind the modern sport lies a tragic history: the heartbreaking story of the Chukchi people of Siberia. When Stalin’s Red Army displaced the Chukchi in 1929, many were killed and others lost their homes and their beloved Guardians—the huskies that were the soul and livelihood of their people.
Alternating between past and present, telling of a struggling Chukchi family and a young woman discovering herself, An Echo Through the Snow takes readers on a gripping, profound, and uplifting dogsled ride to the Iditarod and beyond, on a journey of survival and healing.
Andrea Thalasinos, Ph.D., is a professor of sociology at Madison College. Her respect for huskies grew while she was running her own sled team of six dogs. She helped found a dog rescue group in the upper Midwest for displaced northern breeds. Andrea lives and writes in Madison, Wisconsin. An Echo Through the Snow is her first novel.
Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures
The enchanting story of a Midwestern girl who escapes a family tragedy and is remade as a movie star during Hollywood’s golden age.
“Emma Straub’s beautifully observed first novel explores the fraught trajectory of what has become a staple of the American dream: the hunger for stardom and fame. Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures affords an intimate, epic view of how that dream ricochets through one American life.” –Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad
“Emma Straub is a magician, full of brilliance and surprise.” –Lorrie Moore, bestselling author of A Gate at the Stairs
In 1920, Elsa Emerson, the youngest and blondest of three sisters, is born in idyllic Door County, Wisconsin. Her family owns the Cherry County Playhouse, and more than anything, Elsa relishes appearing onstage, where she soaks up the approval of her father and the embrace of the audience. But when tragedy strikes her family, her acting becomes more than a child’s game of pretend.
While still in her teens, Elsa marries and flees to Los Angeles. There she is discovered by Irving Green, one of the most powerful executives in Hollywood, who refashions her as a serious, exotic brunette and renames her Laura Lamont. Irving becomes Laura’s great love; she becomes an Academy Award-winning actress—and a genuine movie star. Laura experiences all the glamour and extravagance of the heady pinnacle of stardom in the studio-system era, but ultimately her story is a timeless one of a woman trying to balance career, family, and personal happiness, all while remaining true to herself.
Ambitious and richly imagined, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures is as intimate—and as bigger-than-life—as the great films of the golden age of Hollywood. Written with warmth and verve, it confirms Emma Straub’s reputation as one of the most exciting new talents in fiction.
Emma Straub is from New York City. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published byTin House, The Paris Review Daily, Slate, and Cousin Corinne’s Reminder. She is a staff writer for Rookie. Emma lives with her husband in Brooklyn, where she also works as a bookseller.
Silhouette of a Sparrow
“Tight and purposeful…a positive breath of fresh air.” —Kirkus Reviews
A first novel for young adults that wonderfully evokes the historical period of the 1920’s, a love of birding, and a girl’s coming-of-age and sexual awareness.
In the summer of 1926, sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson is sent to a lake resort to escape the polio epidemic in the city. She dreams of indulging her passion for ornithology and visiting the famous new amusement park—a summer of fun before she returns for her final year of high school, after which she’s expected to marry a nice boy and settle into middle-class homemaking. But in the country, Garnet finds herself under the supervision of equally oppressive guardians—her father’s wealthy cousin and the matron’s stuck-up daughter. Only a liberating job in a hat shop, an intense, secret relationship with a daring and beautiful flapper, and a deep faith in her own fierce heart can save her from the suffocating boredom of traditional femininity.
Silhouette of a Sparrow is a coming-of-age story about a search for wildness in a confining time, and a simultaneous quest for security in an era full of unrest. It is the tale of a young woman’s discovery of the science of risk and the art of rebellion, and of course, the power of unexpected love.
Molly Beth Griffin is the recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Grant, a graduate of Hamline University’s MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and a writing teacher at the Loft Literary Center in the Twin Cities. Her first picture book, Loon Baby, came out from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2011.
By Elizabeth Kallestad, on September 14, 2012, 5:44 am
Join the Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP) at locations in Cannon Falls, Dundas, Faribault, Northfield, Medford, Morristown, Owatonna, Waterville and Welch to clean up the shores and water. The last three years we have pulled 63,000 pounds of trash from our rivers and lakes with YOUR help.
We need you to continue our work for healthier water and healthier communities. Walking and canoe access sites will be available. Groups from across the watershed are participating in this annual cleanup. Make a difference in your community and have fun!
“If only there were more unruly girls like Alice K., unwilling to submit to dogma or tradition — the world would be a better place.”
— Julia Scheeres, the New York Times bestselling author of Jesus Land
A first novel from a beloved regional author in which an Iowa farm family and its Dutch Calvinist inhabitants struggle with and are redeemed by land, love, and their faith in one another.
Seventeen-year-old Alice Marie Krayenbraak is beautiful, witty, a star student, and a gifted athlete. On the surface, she has it all. But in Alice’s hometown of Dutch Center, Iowa, nothing is as it seems. Behind the façade of order and tidiness, the family farm is failing. Alice’s mother is behaving strangely amid apocalyptic fears of Y2K. And her parents have announced their plans to send her special-needs sister Aldah away. On top of it all, the uniformly Dutch Calvinist town has been rattled by an influx of foreign farm workers.
It’s the fall of senior year, and Alice now finds herself at odds with both family and cultural norms when she befriends and soon falls in love with Nickson Vang, the son of Hmong immigrants. Caught in a period of personal and community transformation, Alice and Nickson must navigate their way through vastly different traditions while fighting to create new ones of their own. Funny and provocative, amusing and unsettling, The Fall of Alice K. marks a watershed moment in the publishing career of author, Jim Heynen.
Jim Heynen is perhaps best known for his collections of short prose featuring young farm boys: The One-Room Schoolhouse, The Boys’ House, and Fishing for Chickens. His poetry includes The Man Who Kept Cigars in His Hat and, most recently, Standing Naked. Heynen lives in Saint Paul, MN.
Trickster’s Point
“A plot a cunningly treacherous as Trickster’s Point itself, Krueger’s latest mystery has that elegiac tone that’s perfectly suied to O’Connor’s character and to the harsh landscape where he lives and works.”–Booklist
The latest book in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, which finds the private detective caught in the crosshairs of a political assassin.
Private detective Cork O’Connor finds himself sitting in the shadow of a towering monolith known as Trickster’s Point, deep in the Minnesota wilderness. With him is the first Native American elected governor of Minnesota, Jubal Little, who is slowly dying with an arrow through his heart. Although the men have been bow-hunting, a long-standing tradition among these two friends, this is no hunting accident, and what only Cork knows is that the dying man was quite capable of murder himself.
Coincidentally, the arrow turns out to be one of Cork’s and he becomes the primary suspect in the murder. Of course Cork understands his been set up and, over the course of the novel, works to clear his name and track the real killer. As a result, he recalls his long, complex relationship with the neighborhood kid who became a populist politician.
Full of nail-biting suspense, Trickster’s Point offers a further look into Cork’s past, as well as an exploration of the motives, both good and ill, that lead men and women into the difficult, sometimes deadly, political arena.
William Kent Krueger is the award-winning author of ten previous Cork O’Connor novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Vermilion Drift and Northwest Angle. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his family.
Off the Grid
“In the fifth Monkeewrench novel, the mother-daughter team of P.J. and Traci Lambrecht really hits its stride: achilling premise; a supremely appealing cast of evolving characters; and dialogue that is brisk, witty, and authentic. Humor and humanity mix in this top-notch mystery, the best in the series.”
—Booklist (Starred) on Shoot to Thrill
On a sailboat ten miles off the Florida coast, Grace MacBride, partner in Monkeewrench Software, thwarts an assassination attempt on retired FBI agent John Smith. A few hours later, in Minneapolis, a fifteen-year-old girl is discovered in a vacant lot, her throat slashed. Later that day, two young men are found in their home a few blocks away, killed execution-style. The next morning, the dead bodies of three more men turn up, savagely murdered in the same neighborhood.
As Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth struggle to link the three crimes, they learn that there have been similar murders in other cities around the United States. Piece by piece, evidence accumulates, pointing to a suspect that shocks them to the core, uncovering a motive that puts the entire Midwest on high alert and Monkeewrench in the direct line of fire. Before it’s all over, Grace and her partners, Annie, Roadrunner, and Harley Davidson, find themselves in the middle of a shocking collision of violence on a remote northern Minnesota reservation, fighting for their lives.
PJ Tracy is the pseudonym of mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht, winners of the Anthony, Barry, Gumshoe, and Minnesota Book Awards. Their novels, MONKEEWRENCH, LIVE BAIT, DEAD RUN, SNOW BLIND, and SHOOT TO THRILL are national and international bestsellers.
“Remember Witness—that truly thrilling movie with Harrison Ford in his heyday? Shunning Sarah is an even better suspense story filled with horse-driven buggies and folks in black hats.” —James Patterson
“Shunning Sarah is a compelling novel chock full of all the elements readers of crime fiction crave—a heinous unsolved crime, a complex storyline with the depth we’ve come to expect from Kramer and a heroine you will find yourself cheering on from the top of your lungs. Riley Spartz is a very human heroine—and a force to be reckoned with. You will remember her and this story long after you have finished the book—and anxiously await the next installment.” —Linda Castillo
Shunning Sarah is the next book in Julie Kramer’s bestselling series about TV reporter Riley Spartz.
Minneapolis’s star investigative reporter Riley Spartz is constantly in search of her next TV sweeps piece. When she hears that a young boy is trapped at the bottom of a sink hole, she smells ratings. Little does she know just how big the story will be—not only does it involve a tragic murder, but the local Amish community also. Once Riley is on the case, she quickly realizes solving it will be anything but easy.
Julie Kramer is a freelance network news producer. She formerly ran WCCO-TV’s nationally award-winning investigative unit in Minneapolis. Her debut thriller, Stalking Susan, won the Minnesota Book Award and the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best First Mystery, was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Awards, and is also a finalist for the Anthony Award. She lives with her family in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Locally Grown: Portraits of Artisanal Farms from America’s Heartland
This beautiful book by writer and photographer Anna H. Blessing introduces readers to the story of the modern heartland farm. The book explores how sustainable practices–and close ties to high-profile chefs and restauranteurs–have propelled the “locally grown” culinary movement into a central feature of life in major cities like Chicago. Blessing lays out the rich histories of 25 Midwestern farms through beautiful photography, fascinating anecdotes from farmers and chefs, and up-close looks at what makes each farm so unique.
Looking at esteemed chefs like Charlie Trotter and Paul Kahan, who scour farmers markets for natural ingredients and develop personal business relationships with small-time farmers, Locally Grown shows how both long-standing and newly founded farms, along with urban farms and metropolitan nonprofit organizations like Growing Power and City Provisions, are boosting the sustainable food movement throughout Chicago and its neighborhoods.
Anna Blessing researched, wrote, and photographed 14 editions of the eat.shop book series in addition to being a regular contributor to many other print and online publications, including Lucky, for which she was Chicago editor for six years.
She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.
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...
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 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: See my Storify story blog post on bike sharrows.
Griff Wigley: A helpful sharrows cartoon from Bikeyface.com:
Griff Wigley: 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 Avenue, a primary...
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.
kiffi summa: Even though a knee injury when I was young has kept me from being a bicyclist, I definitely realize the importance of a bicycle culture to a community. I would hope that any bicycle task force would be created in each community, with...
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...
Susan Canon: yes, but at first I thought they were all in quotes from other people and you were pure…
Griff Wigley: It’s Jose Staphylo! Joe, it took the eyes of Seebs and my daughter’s Facebook connections to wake me up to these signs. I love the idea of a fund raiser (or is it ‘fundrasier’?) but in the spirit of citizen...
Griff Wigley: Susan, I inserted six grammatical/spelling errors. Can you find the others?
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...
kiffi summa: OK… if LG is going to ‘die’ … it should die in step with a deplorable part of American culture, and go out with a ‘BANG’… (don’t get all upset; that is just a metaphor, and contains no...
The management of the Contented Cow in Northfield, MN announced today that they will host Down By the River: A Tribute to Neil Young on Saturday, May 11th, beginning at 4:00 in the afternoon. More than two dozen artists from Southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities will gather to perform the music of one of the most beloved and eclectic musicians of the past 50 years. Performers will play short 3-5 song sets that will span Young’s entire career.
When you turn on the tap for a glass of water does it come out full of suds or clear? Have you seen the Cannon River or the Mississippi River burst into flames lately? Without actually checking everyone’s taps I’d wager that the water you are drinking is free of suds and to the best of my knowledge our rivers haven’t been ablaze. Why am I even asking these weird questions? 
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