By Griff Wigley, on March 14, 2013, 7:58 pm
By Griff Wigley, on May 1, 2012, 8:06 am
 
Last week I was working in The HideAway, one of my other Division St offices, when I spotted these women in a corner, appearing to be working/collaborating/scheming. Northfield Rotary Club members Missi Arens and Nancy Amerman were meeting with Amy Merritt, Director of the Northfield Union of Youth (The Key). Amy is famously camera-shy but with a little bit of arm twisting from Nancy, she caved.
I asked Nancy to send me a blurb about what they were meeting about:
We were meeting to discuss our organizations’ collaborative efforts to fundraise for The Key’s capital campaign. The Rotary Club of Northfield and The Key joined forces in 2010 and have worked together on the Rotary fun runs, car raffle, canoe sale, and The Key’s Valentine’s Day Rose Sale among other projects.
By Griff Wigley, on March 24, 2012, 7:33 pm
 On Friday morning, Rotarians Lee and Vicki Dilley, Rick Estenson, and Jean Wakely had coffee at GBM with members of Rotary District 4550 from Bahia, Brazil.
The Brazilians are part of a Group Study Exchange (GSE) with Northfield Rotary.
This Rotary blog post from last summer has more details:
Group Study Exchange (GSE) is a unique educational experience that furthers international understanding by providing an opportunity for outstanding business and professional people to study another country, its people, its culture and its institutions. Each GSE team visits a Rotary district in another country for four weeks. Team members stay in the homes of Rotarians, if possible, and follow an itinerary of educational and cultural points of interest. Travel and living expenses are covered during the exchange by The Rotary Foundation, Rotarians and Rotary District 5960.
A Rotary District 5960 GSE team will visit Rotary District 4550 in Bahia, Brazil, from April 8, 2012 – May 5, 2012. The focus of the exchange will be public policy, public health and economic development. Rotary offers this opportunity to spend a month living with local Rotarians and seeing the country in a way few will ever experience.
By Griff Wigley, on February 26, 2012, 7:32 am
Northfield Rotary held their To India and Back Youth Exchange fundraiser last night at the Northfield Middle School. I only took a baker’s dozen photos because I kept getting distracted by the food.
See the large slideshow (recommended) or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
By Griff Wigley, on February 25, 2012, 2:21 pm
The Rotary’s Youth Exchange fundraiser, To India and Back, is today. In case you’re wondering what goes on at one of these wingdings, I last took a ton of photos at the To China and Back fundraiser in 2008.
See the large slideshow (recommended) or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
By Griff Wigley, on January 12, 2012, 5:09 am
 
Northfield Rotarian James Grabau stopped by my corner office at GBM earlier this week to show me the poster (PDF) for the Northfield Rotary Youth Exchange fundraiser “To India and Back” on February 25 at the Northfield Middle School. Tickets go fast for this event. You can order them now online. Got questions? Email Clarice Grabau.
By Griff Wigley, on June 15, 2011, 8:12 am
The kids bike races at last weekend’s Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival in Crosby, MN were a huge hit: lots of kids participating, lots of people watching and cheering with big smiles.
The kids were grouped into four age categories (something like ages 1-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-10) and they rode one loop on the grass around the edge of Crosby Memorial Park, adjacent to the bandstand and cook shack. The top three finishers in the two youngest classes then ran a second race, as well as the top three finishers in the two oldest classes. The parents of those 12 kids then raced each other, competing on their kids’ bikes. Hilarious.
I think kids bicycle races would be a great addition to one of Northfield’s community celebrations, most obviously the 4th of July when the bike criterium is held downtown, or on the Saturday of the Defeat of Jesse James weekend when the Northfield Rotary Club holds its Jesse James Bike Tour.
Could one of the local bicycle shops take on the organization of the event, or maybe some other non-profit or association? It could be held close to downtown, eg, Ames Park, Central Park, Riverside Park, or Babcock Park.
See my album of two dozen photos of the kids bike races, view the large slideshow (recommended), or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
By Griff Wigley, on May 16, 2011, 6:18 am
   
As the Babcock Park Lift Station & Interceptor Sewer Project nears completion, construction of the East Cannon River Trail (part of the Greenway Corridor) between Babcock Park and Dundas has begun. I took the above photos behind the Northfield Ice Arena and Northfield Athletic Club on Friday.
P. 52 of the March 15 City Council packet has background info:
Northfield applied for funding for the construction of a 3-mile trail from Babcock Park to Dundas through the 2009 Trail Legacy program and was granted $150,000 of the $500,000 requested. In addition the Rotary committed $100,000 to development of the trail along with a commitment from Dundas for $7,000. Due to the budget shortfall, cuts were made to the project including eliminating part of the proposed connecting trail section and paving the trail using crushed rock for the trail surface rather than bituminous as proposed.
Subsequently the City submitted two applications for the 2010 Legacy Grants to help fund the portions of the project that were eliminated. The City received $45,000 for construction of the connecting spur to Honeylocust. The City was not successful funding the paving portion of the project.
Completion of the paving portion of the trail project would provide the community with a few benefits. It would open the trail up to more user types such as inline skaters, skate skiers and those with mobility challenges. Paving would also provide a more stable and sustainable surface, holding up better in an area that is prone to flooding from time to time.
I’m not sure what’s happened since the March 15 meeting. Anyone have details on whether the trail will be paved this year? I checked the Mill Towns Trail news page and the Northfield Rotary news page, but alas, nothing.
By Griff Wigley, on February 11, 2011, 11:30 pm
 Alas, I wasn’t able to stick around and take photos tonight at the Winter Dance Party at the Grand Event Center, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Northfield and the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC).
If you have photos or know of any posted online anywhere, let us know.
By James Grabau, on February 4, 2011, 6:56 am
 Join the Rotary Club of Northfield and the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC) for a Winter Dance Party at the Grand Event Center with Trailer Trash, Minnesota’s premier Honky-Tonk Band!
- Swing Dance Instruction begins at 8pm
- Music starts at 8:30
- ONLY $10 at the door
- Be Local – Dance Local!
For more, see Ross Currier’s NDDC blog post: NDDC and Rotary Celebrate Our Community at The Grand.
The theme is “We (Heart) Northfield”. We (Heart) our authentic downtown, our historic architecture, our wild and scenic river, our quality businesses and cultural institutions, and our fine schools and medical facilities. The list could go on…and will go on, at our upcoming event at the Grand.
We’ll start it off by thanking our partners and members, and then we’ll open the doors to the entire community to celebrate Northfield. It’ll be an opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of the NDDC, the Rotary, and all of the community-based organizations in Northfield…and have a whole lot of fun in the process.
By James Grabau, on January 28, 2010, 12:17 pm
 On Sat., Feb. 20, the Northfield Rotary Club & the Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division are hosting To Brasil and Back: An evening of Brazilian music, culture and food at the Northfield Middle School. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Rotary Youth Exchange.
General admission tickets are $20. You can order tickets online. See the poster PDF and the ‘To Brasil and Back’ blog post for more info.
By Griff Wigley, on October 8, 2009, 9:17 am
  
Ross Currier sent out a Tweet yesterday morning that he was "Trying to arrange my schedule so I can attend a gathering of few motivated citizens to discuss the potential of the historic railroad depot." About the same time, I was chatting with Bob Will about it at GBM. Bob indicated that the Northfield Rotary Club was considering it as one of their long-term projects. (continued)
Continue reading Is Northfield’s train depot worth saving?
By Griff Wigley, on September 14, 2009, 9:35 am
By Griff Wigley, on September 11, 2009, 8:52 am
 Saturday is Northfield Rotary’s annual Jesse James Bike Tour.
See my photo albums from 2006, 2007, and this one from 2008, its large slideshow, or its small slideshow:
By Griff Wigley, on August 12, 2009, 6:33 am
By Griff Wigley, on February 15, 2009, 10:06 pm
 Ed Lufkin, an increasingly active blogger for 3 Northfield area organizations, posted to the Rotary’s blog last week a photo of Jesse James Bike Tour (JJBT) chair Neil Lutsky presenting a check for $20,000 to Peggy Prowe of the Mill Towns Trail. Today I noticed that construction on the bridge has visibly progressed. The bridge was supposed to have been constructed last year. (continued)
Continue reading Mill Towns Trail update: bridge construction begins; Rotary’s JJBT donates $20K
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Three of the neighbors in particular are perturbed because they are accomplished spellers, finishing 2nd as a Northfield Rotary team in the Friends of the Northfield Public Library Spelling Bee in 2007. NSWNA neighbors Jeb Flufkin, Ricky Coldman, and Mitch ‘Penny’ Lane say that its not just the image of the neighborhood that’s at stake. 
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