Northfield’s Meredith Fierke is getting more than a little attention from the Twin Cities media lately. She had her CD The Procession favorably reviewed last week by Culture Bully’s Jon…
A Better Northfield Starts With Flowers, Group Says
By Allyson Herbst
Northfield residents last summer couldn’t help but notice a striking change that bloomed outside the Northfield Public Library. Where once a few scrubby trees dotted a lawn of exposed landscaping fabric and mulch, new plantings sprang up and hundreds of petunias popped out of pots all around.
The Northfield Senior Center courtyard, decorated with a new flower arrangement by America in Bloom, Northfield
While the library played a role in its own makeover, the prime mover was actually a new Northfield civic group – a local branch of a national non-profit called “America in Bloom” (AIB) – that is devoted to catalyzing community improvement by planting flowers and trees.
Less than a year old, AIB-Northfield in 2008 planted around $3,000 worth of flowers around the town’s public library, post office, the Northfield Hospital, the Cannon Riverwalk and in Bridge Square. They created an inventory of Northfield’s civic assets; sponsored a “Downtown Window Box and Yard Contest;” and worked with the Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC) and the police to install flowerboxes on the pedestrian footbridge downtown.
“We’re just getting started,” says Northfield resident Pat Allen, the founder of AIB-Northfield and its current chairman. “We have big visions.”
HISTORICAL SIGNAGE
In 2009, Allen says one of AIB’s goals is to add 16 new hanging baskets to Northfield’s streets. Next year the group also plans to continue work on local historical site signage, an anti-graffiti project, and restoration of the city’s old train depot near 3d Street and Highway 3.
Paul Mulshine, opinion columnist for the Newark Star-Ledger, misses the point when he argues that citizens aren’t likely to voluntarily ‘cover,’ for example, city council meetings for their blogs in the same way that a reporter does for a newspaper.
Left: Bright Spencer alerted me that the ‘Cows Colleges and Contentment’ sign on North Hwy 3 near Dairy Queen is missing. Is the sign being repaired? Was it stolen? Right:…
There’s a Preserve America sign at the southwest end of the 5th St. Bridge, designating Northfield as a Preserve America community. We’re one of 9 Minnesota cities designated, though…
I’ve been having fun with Just Food Co-op lately on LoGroNo (here and here) and so, since I’m a long-time member, I thought I’d try to redeem myself for these and other sins for which I’m sure to commit in the future.
The Co-op is in the middle of a campaign for new members, as you can see from these store photos I took earlier this week of the new member-o-meter (currently at 40, aiming for 50), the ownership banner, and the cool photo posters hanging from the ceiling:
Left: Amanda Pettis with her son, Avery Left center: Henry Emmons and Jane Blockus Center: Loula and Brad Valek, B&L Pizza Right center: Rae and Leo Rusnak, L&R Poultry & Produce Right: Staff members of Just Food Co-op
Invest in Something You Can Feel Good About: A call to action from your General Manager
With the economic situation such as it is, now may not be a time that you are thinking about investing in anything but an extra mattress; however, your Co-op has an investment opportunity that you really should consider. I know at my house we are considering the impact of the economy on our daily lives and our future. We have reduced the number of trips we make to the Twin Cities, spent more time preserving the harvest from our garden this fall, don’t buy as much ice cream as we used to, and are making a concerted effort to keep the furnace at 64 degrees. My guess is that your family is having similar conversations and probably making similar adjustments to your lifestyle. Did you know that we have also been having these conversations at the Co-op?
Not unlike your family, your Co-op is feeling the affects of the downturn in our economy as well. Not a day goes by that the members of our leadership team don’t discuss ways that we can reduce our spending, boost our sales and balance our budget. I know that typically when you talk about the Co-op with friends, neighbors, board members, staff members, even me… the conversation usually centers on what’s going well. What we usually don’t bring up is all the debt that the Co-op has incurred and the lack of profit in the four years that we have been doing business.
While we are coming up with ideas (adjusting our budget, reducing our labor costs, revising our capital spending allowance for the year, etc.) and implementing them daily, there is no simple solution. The one thing we know for sure is that we are all in this together. Our Coop came to be due to a community effort, and I am convinced that our Co-op will weather the current economic storm with the participation of all of our owners. After many brainstorming sessions, your Co-op leaders have come up with a host of ways for you to help us through. Remember that this is your Co-op, and your Co-op needs your help right now.
On Saturday mornings, the Goodbye Blue Monday (GBM) is like that popular St. Louis restaurant made famous by Yogi Berra. Here’s proof from last week. Click play to watch. 20…
Our guests this week, Rep. David Bly and Sen. Kevin Dahle, discussing Minnesota’s state budget crisis. We spent an hour on the topic, so we’ve divided it into two shows.…
Allyson Herbst, a student in Doug McGill’s journalism class at Carleton College, has written a piece titled A Better Northfield Starts With Flowers, Group Says (PDF – full text below).
Earlier today I linked to and excerpted from an article in today’s Wall St. Journal (pointed out to me by Ross) titled: All I Wanted for Christmas Was a Newspaper; Bloggers are no replacement for real journalists.
With the economic situation such as it is, now may not be a time that you are thinking about investing in anything but an extra mattress; however, your Co-op has an investment opportunity that you really should consider. I know at my house we are considering the impact of the economy on our daily lives and our future. We have reduced the number of trips we make to the Twin Cities, spent more time preserving the harvest from our garden this fall, don’t buy as much ice cream as we used to, and are making a concerted effort to keep the furnace at 64 degrees. My guess is that your family is having similar conversations and probably making similar adjustments to your lifestyle. Did you know that we have also been having these conversations at the Co-op?
