Downtown Northfield is looking festive this morning with the 4+ inches of snow yesterday, just in time for the 13th Annual Winter Walk (PDF schedule) coming up on Thursday eve. I took these photos just before 6 am.
Update 12/13: I’ve added the phrase “Do you like the white lighting?” to the blog post title because of the comment thread.
Griff: I saw your recent post about the newly installed compact parking stall signage near the intersection of Division Street and 3rd Street.
The new signage was installed after a large amount of citizen requests to resolve a sight issue when going West on 3rd Street onto Division Street. The issue is being able to see oncoming traffic when trying to enter Division Street from 3rd Street.
The stall is planned to be shortened when the City of Northfield contracted paint striper is back in town.
Ever since, this big red pickup truck has been regularly seen parking there. I took photos of it a week ago in this spot. It was there again yesterday morning.
Yes, the parking stall has not yet been downsized so it’s somewhat inviting to those with big vehicles.
But the owner of this big red pickup truck (MN license plate 422 BXL) doesn’t even bother to stay within the boundaries of the stall, making visibility even more of a problem for vehicles descending the 3rd St. hill and turning onto Division.
I’ve put up four new fall photo banners at the top of LoGro: two are downtown-related (one exception), one is colleges-related, one is all-Waterford Bridge.
See the album of photos that I used to make the banners (large slideshow), or watch this high-def, one-minute video of the photos with music (Nocturne No. 2 In E Flat Major by Chopin). You can click the full-screen icon anytime while the video is playing:
If your bandwidth isn’t sufficient for the high-def version of the video, you can watch a standard version here.
While biking on 5th St downtown late yesterday afternoon when it was very windy and 100+ degrees, I noticed that a young tree had blown down. I then looked at the base of the other three trees on 5th St near Division and they all looked diseased or damaged at the base.
This morning I looked at the trees on 4th St. that were planted late last year. Several appeared dead and many looked sick.
Can anyone diagnose this seemingly sorry state of affairs?
We’ve had so few sunny days this spring that it’s been tough to get my allotment of colorful photos around downtown. Here are six. I hope to get more. The days start getting shorter in less than a month.
Peter Nowacki, a spokesperson for the United States Post Office, said Monday that the Northfield branch is one of 16,000 sites nationwide being considered for closure.
While the closing, if it does occur, would likely impact the traffic in the city’s historic business district, the reduction would be temporary, said the city’s economic development director, Jody Gunderson. “I don’t see it staying empty long,” he said. “It’s a phenomenal building. I don’t think it would be very difficult to figure out a reuse for it.”
It seems like a perfect location for a local Northfield church. But maybe there are better reuses for the building?
Update 4/6: I’ve added a recent photo of the exterior and 3 other photos of the interior. I’ve also removed the “Churches to compete for space?” from the blog post title.
While taking photos at yesterday’s NHS groundbreaking, I managed to twist an arm and get permission to take a few photos of Division St. from the roof of the Scriver Building. The moderate snowfall at dusk, with holiday lights on Bridge Square and in store windows still visible, made downtown look prettier than ever.
I wandered around downtown yesterday from about 3:30 to 5:30 pm, taking photos during the peak of the snowstorm. As the streetlights and Xmas lights came on, it made downtown more beautiful than ever.
It was just us this week and we spent our entire non-fluff segment talking about downtown parking, as it’s at the top of Streetscape Taskforce’s list of recommendations (PDF of June packet).
$760,000 is budgeted for expenses related to the purchase of this rental property at 304 Washington St.
The vapor rising from the Cannon River as it flows over the Ames Mill dam has created a wonderland of hoar frost in a small area of downtown Northfield during this recent cold spell.
It’s the last day of a warm November and with the weather about to shift, here’s a look at some fall color photos of the Carleton Arb and of downtown Northfield via my camera’s macro lens. While the killer frosts in early October ruined much of the area’s usually spectacular fall color, it made for some interesting close-ups.
I took these photos earlier this week. The moon wasn’t quite full but full enough for my camera. And blogger Christopher Tassava has a post from a week ago titled Sunset Awes in which he has photos of “… the most amazing sunset I’ve ever seen.” Here’s the small slideshow:
Every food I’m tasting Every line I’m waiting in Searching vendor to vendor Hogan Brothers ice cream makes me feel a whole lot better Stop and grab a smoothie at James Gang The world’s best desserts at Ole Café Cheesy, gooey Domino’s pizza If you’re hot, get an icy at Sweet Pea’s Loft
At Bridge Square it’s The Taste We hope you’ll be there, I just can’t wait! What would be a great downtown without the NDDC? And what would be the Taste of Northfield without anything to eat? What would be a summer without a hotdog at Tiny’s? And doesn’t it just make your day when you see Maggie Lee? It’s the Taste, it’ll be great At Bridge Square, it’s The Taste
Make sure to stop at Rueb-n-Stein Their burgers are amazing I’m sure you’ll find And you just can’t miss the food at the Cow I guarantee you’re gonna say – delicious!
At Bridge Square it’s The Taste We hope you’ll be there, I just can’t wait! What would be a great downtown without the NDDC? And what would be the Taste of Northfield without anything to eat? What would be a summer without a hotdog at Tiny’s? And doesn’t it just make your day when you see Maggie Lee? It’s The Taste, it’ll be great At Bridge Square, it’s The Taste
Earlier this week, Army recruiters (GoArmy) were sporting about downtown Northfield in the newly painted Hummer that they bought recently from the City of Northfield. The City had seized it a few months ago from a downtown building owner when they discovered he had a counterfeit parking permit after reading about it here on LoGroNo.
Last week, recruiters from Prepare Ministries (“The Camels are Coming”) were sporting about downtown Northfield in their newly restored six-door Cadillac limo, evidently figuring that since Northfield voted heavily for Obama, they needed a vehicle like his to get people’s attention.
In the NY Times earlier this week: As Storefronts Become Vacant, Ads Arrive. “Rather than let abandoned retail spaces look like pockets of poverty, landlords are renting the windows out to marketers for street-level advertising displays.”
Why not for downtown Northfield, since there are a number of empty or soon-to-be-empty storefronts along Division St. right now? A revenue stream for the owners!
Peter Seebach (Seebs): John, someone forwarded me a thing which helps explain why I do not believe the current situation provides adequate legal protections: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =ah4ke16g1DI Watch that, and then tell me with a straight...
Peter Seebach (Seebs): California in general has very high rates of “drug use”. And frankly, there is no place in the US that can be meaningfully called “very accepting” to gays. More accepting than others, sure. Why, I...
David Henson: Peter, you have the Internet you do the research. Use San Francisco as a baseline (an accepting place) – gays there have very high rates of depression and drug use.
Peter Seebach (Seebs): Those are fascinating beliefs, but conveniently for us, the research has already been done, and they’re wrong. Legalizing gay marriage has no effect on the observed incidence of homosexuality, and the concept of...
David Henson: John, I understand sexuality to be a continuum and not a hard and discrete fact. I earnestly believe that if gay marriage is approved many more people will experiment with gay sex and some numbers will get AIDS (and depression and...
Griff Wigley: Good turnout last night for the Cannon Valley Mountain Bike Team meeting at the high school. I’ve blogged a summary with the ppt presentations.
Griff Wigley: Jordan Osterman, the new Sports Editor for the Northfield News, scooped me on Saturday. I’m glad! Northfield high school mountain bike team forming As a club sport, mountain biking would have no official affiliation with either...
Griff Wigley: Good suggestion, Curt. I’ll do that for next week’s blurb. I have been verbally emphasizing the importance of having girls on the team, especially since their points on race days count more than boys’ points. Other...
Curt Benson: Hey Griff, I wonder if you shouldn’t put a bit more emphasis on the idea that you’re recruiting both boys and girls for this team. And that the scores for both the boys and girls make up a team score. I think that in the...
Griff Wigley: It should be noted that this team does not yet exist! So this meeting is for those student-athletes (and their parents) who might be interested in joining this new team.
Griff Wigley: Suzy Rook has a sidebar to today’s Nfld News update on last night’s Council meeting. Excerpt: The city administrator and finance director say they have asked for the information on several occasions, including last month...
john george: Living where we do, it is only a few blocks walk to North Street and a grand view of the sunsets. Also, with our neighbors’ mature white pines & spruce, our covered deck affords outdoor enjoyment with a fair amount of...
Griff Wigley: Props to the newspaper and Suzy Rook for mentioning LoGro twice in the story: Fire Department officials, including Fire Chief Gerry Franek, did not respond to several requests from the News for association financial records or...
Griff Wigley: Posted to Northfield News at 1pm: Ethical questions arise over Northfield Fire Relief Association expenses Donations made to Northfield Fire Relief Association aren’t public dollars, but that hasn’t extinguished city...
Griff Wigley: Curt/Robert, There’s a summary of the Rescue Squad on Page 21 of the 2009 NFD report to the City. It doesn’t mention that there’s a Rescue Squad Association. The last paragraph states: The Northfield Rescue Squad is...
Robert Palmquist: If Hvistendahl’s motivation was to keep the financials from getting known, his submitting a memo like that just really backfired. I agree, why would these financials be such a secret??? And why did the NRSA hire a lawyer to...
Curt Benson: So Hvistendahl has found another place to wet his beak. You ask a good question, “Why is it important that the City not know the Northfield Rescue Squad Association financials?”
Jim Haas: Happens to me a lot. So much that my lovely wife had to coin a term for it: she says I have datelexia.
norman butler: Since coming to my adopted country 16 years ago I have observed, amongst other things, that not putting the day with the date is both common and peculiar to Northfield (MN? USA?).
John Thomas: Just a reminder, advance tickets for Girls Night Out 2012 can be purchased on The Grand’s website at http://www.thegrandnorthfield. com/public-events. Your tickets will then be available at a special “Will Call” at...
Liz Reppe: This is a great place to buy plants! Jeni is very knowledgeable and they are both really helpful. You get great service and plant expertise, but the prices are not higher than other places in town.
bill metz: While most of how Jake is being remembered revolves around, and rightly so, his great and wonderful talent as an artist and teacher and the works of sculpture he has left for our and the next generations enjoyment, I have had the...
Ross Currier: It was an honor for me and the NDDC to work with Jake. His pieces of sculpture in our community send a powerful visual message that Northfield is an Art Town. I still marvel at his clever and creative approach to building social and...
paul krause: The memorial service will be held at 11am. Doors to the Chapel will open at 10am for a chance to visit with family members and friends to share memories of our dear friend. Anyone who would like to view the documentary Harvest (which...
kiffi summa: Come on, Griff… you say you’re “more than a little clueless about about investments” but you “just happened to notice”… and from what you said, were reading analytically, etc etc… Once...
Griff Wigley: I’m more than a little clueless about investments but I noticed on page 14 in the April 24 Council packet that the Fire Relief Association has 85% of its pension portfolio in stocks. Isn’t that a bit risky/aggressive for...
Griff Wigley: Has there been any media reporting on the intergovernmental meeting in Bridgewater Township that was held on April 25 re: the Rural Fire Protection District and the City of Northfield?
Jim Mangan: I noticed this morning that a few of the newly planted trees along South Highway 3 have a pronounced lean. Could it be storm damage?
Ross Currier: It’s great that someone is enhancing the connection between downtown and uptown. I know they coordinated their work with MNDoT, City staff, and the Streetscape Task Force. Uh, raise your trowels in a toast to the Northfield...
Vicki Serreno: I wish I’d known – this is my neighborhood since I left Northfield in 2010. I’d have shown up to support them.
Kathie Galotti: My neighbor and sometimes babysitter Maggie Kennedy appears in this video as well! Go Maggie, and Cliff and Sophie and Parker and everyone else! Well done, guys!
Peter Seebach (Seebs): Heh, we had those when I was in college. Guess we’re making progress, they’re starting years earlier now!
Sandy Vesledahl: Thanks for blogging our garage sale Griff! We are at 2018 Jefferson Rd, Suite 1, thanks to the Jasnoch Family for allowing us to use the space. We will be there until 5:00 today and again from 8-2 on Saturday. We’ve had a...
Bright Spencer: I have an 8 year old dog that has not been neutered, has not reproduced and never been out unleashed except in our yard. It costs nothing to care for your pet properly.
Bright Spencer: To see this makes me so happy! Best of luck to you!
Peter Seebach (Seebs): For what it’s worth, I’m pretty happy with the whole process so far, although we found exciting new things out about the land development code, such as “the rules for calculating how tall a building is for...
Peter Seebach (Seebs): Not a hot tub, a swimming pool. One of those backyard pools you can get at k-mart, and the greenhouse is so we can use it a couple months earlier in spring and later in fall.
Arlen Malecha: I wish more establishments had outdoor seating & dining. Now that our offices (Coldwell Banker South Metro www.CBSouthMetro.com are downtown, I love to see people sitting and dining outside. It is fun to walk up and down...
Sean Hayford O'Leary: I would say the current configuration of Division Street makes me grateful not everyone is doing it. Sidewalk dining brings a lot of livelihood to the street — but I’ll admit that I’ve been occasionally...
Griff Wigley: Rebecca, there are several Northfield eating and drinking establishments that have outdoor dining with tables and chairs, serving alcohol, but not SIDEWALK dining. Downtown ones that come to mind: The Tavern, Chapati, The Cow, Froggy...
Rebecca Bliss: Timely post, Griff -I didn’t realize this. I was just commenting to my husband about how nice it would be to dine al fresco now that the weather is getting warmer. Guess this is another discovery for the new...
Patty Gallivan: MOST Northfield volunteers are waiting for someone who DARES boost a program with evidence of effectiveness to come forward with leadership to actually make a difference with students in our Northfield schools. Make sure to let us...
Current Discussion Threads