Locally Grown (LoGro) Northfield Posts

The “Friday Memo,” written by Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski and various department heads and other City staff, summarizes the staff and department activities for the week. The Friday memos…

City Townships

It’s taken a year or so but the Northfield Allina Clinic is evidently feeling the competition from Northfield Urgent Care (NUC)which opened up about a year ago (blogged here). Allina…

Businesses

Census 2010 banners and posters are appearing around town so send in those forms. The City of Northfield has a Census PDF on its site with details on where to…

National

Faux News Fluff

City of Northfield compost facilityThe City of Northfield’s compost facility is not due to open for two more weeks, April 13, despite the fact that spring has arrived 2-3 weeks early. Normally, I Ross Tracy would be bitching whining about the City’s lack of flexibility or poor “customer” responsiveness.

But this year’s budget woes compel me to approach it differently. I don’t know how much the City spends each season to have a part-time people staff it but let’s assume it’s approximately $15, 000 (40 hrs/week * 30 weeks * $12/hr).

compost-faq-sshotThe City could save money by cutting back hours and telling people to pay Waste Management or use the Rice County Recycling Center (see the 2010 compost site PDF).

Or it could ask its citizens to volunteer to help keep services at their present level. (Imagine this scenario happening with many other services that the City provides.)

Here’s a straw poll that’ll give city fathers and mothers an indication of citizens’ appetite for cutting vs. volunteering in order to save money:

City

Mosquito It was 81 degrees yesterday so Robbie and I opened all the windows to let in the fresh air.  No screens necessary, we thought, till we started swatting mosquitoes. Oy.  It could be a long hot summer.

Here’s a 30-second animated slideshow looking back to a gorgeous, –20 F mosquito-free day in January in downtown Northfield. The photos are from two of my hoar frost photo albums, here and here.

Music: “Italian Movie” by Graham Wigley.

Photos Weather

Douglas Grandahl has opened a shop called Pool & Spa Boy on West 3rd St. downtown between State Farm and Shanti Tatoo Studio.

Businesses

Colleges Environment Photos Video

City Townships