Northfield Downtown Development Corporation

The excitement and energy of 5,000 college students is slowly returning to Northfield, and next week is the Defeat of Jesse James, our town’s biggest party, so perhaps this is the last weekend, for a while, that Northfield’s year-round residents can come on downtown for a relatively quiet weekend of food, wine and music.

Critically acclaimed singer, guitarist and songwriter Chris Herriges is at the Tavern Lounge, riverside of the Archer House, 212 Division Street, tonight (Friday, August 29th), and popular Beatles tribute band The Eggmen are at The Contented Cow, 302B Division Street. Our opportunities to enjoy the river views of both of these fine establishments are winding down too.

On Saturday night, Norwegian Cowboy, with his unique mix of old-school country, alt-country and alt-ernator music (and famous pronunciation of Norwegian), is at the Tavern Lounge.

Monday is Labor Day, a tradition dating back to 1882 from the folks that brought you the eight hour work day (remember that concept?). In Minnesota, it’s more commonly known as “the last day of the State Fair”. Whatever your motivation for celebration, have a good one.

Members of the NDDC’s Executive Committee met with the organization’s founders this afternoon. The purpose of the meeting was to get feedback from the original leaders on the group’s recent accomplishments, current priorities, and on-going work plans.

Back in 1999, every Tuesday morning at 7 am, Bardwell Smith, Brett Reese, Jim Braucher and Keith Covey met to talk about creating an organization that focused on Northfield’s authentic, historic downtown. The result of their efforts was the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation.

Seated around the table from left to right are current board members Keith Covey, Mary Rossing, and Dave Shumway, past board members Brett Reese, Jim Braucher, and Bardwell Smith, and current board member Dan Bergeson.

The group reaffirmed their belief in encouraging and supporting private efforts, praised the organization’s role as a catalyst for bringing people together, stressed the importance of taking a comprehensive approach, and discussed a variety of possible roles for the NDDC in downtown development.

The final comment was “this was a lot of fun; let’s do it again sometime…soon”.

Some things may seem to be on a slower pace in August, but not the artists and events in Northfield, Minnesota.

Tonight, Friday, August 15th, it’s the Feedback Frenzy Show, with local band Feedback Frenzy in concert along with Goat and Brett Knutson at The Key, 303 South Water Street, 7 pm. Sarah Pray brings her folk/alternative guitar and keyboard to The Contented Cow, 302B Division Street, and Joe Meyer is at the Tavern Lounge, river side of The Archer House, 212 Division Street.

Tomorrow, Saturday, August 16th, local rock trio Copulose is performing at The Key, with Minneapolis’ Trim for the Alley, 7 pm. Fish Frye (one of Julie Bixby’s favorites) is at The Contented Cow and Tony Newes is at The Tavern Lounge.

Sunday it’s the Northern Roots Session, 7:30 pm at The Contented Cow and and Monday it’s Nordic Jam, 7:00 pm at The Ole Cafe, 1011 St. Olaf Avenue.

So, there’s no need for lethargy; there’s always an opportunity to boogie, in Downtown Northfield.

I ran into Norman Butler and Julie Bixby this morning and they told me about The Contented Cow Candidate Forums.

Tonight, Thursday, August 14th, it’s a Meet & Greet, with the Mayoral, 3rd Ward & At-Large Candidates, from 6 to 8 pm. The Cow is located at 302B (for backside) Division Street.

The topics they’re raising are of interest and include: Downtown Issues, Capital Improvements, Governance, and Sustainability.

This group is experienced at discussing politics over a pint. Show up and weigh in.

As the sun set on the Saturday night of ArtSwirl, the youth of Northfield, with unobscured vision and undiminished energy, picked up the torch from their fading seniors. Hopefully they have listened to the experiences of their elders and are using these concepts, or not, to shape their own strategies for the present and future situations.

At the official closing event of ArtSwirl, Politics and a Pint, there was an effort to take the ideas raised at the NDDC’s Forum further toward refinement and closer to action steps. As the guest presenter, I opened the discussion with what I saw as waves of theories on arts and economic development. At first the studies focused on proving that investment in the arts results in job creation and tax base growth. The next phase argued that the arts attracted much-in-demand high-value workers and economic investors. The most recent wave of articles advocates that the arts foster a culture of innovation – including creativity, problem-solving, and collaborative work patterns – that is essential for the economy of the future.

The dozen or so people who gathered for the discussion cycled back to at least a couple of the points raised at the Forum, the balance between priorities of creating an arts destination or an arts incubator and the appropriate role of the public sector in supporting the arts. Hopefully Bruce Morlan took some notes and will post them on Politics and a Pint.

Then yesterday, the NDDC’s Arts (, Recreation,) and Culture Committee met and worked to develop the many ideas raised in the past week into planks of an Arts and Culture Platform. Topics included Coordination and Communication, Differentiation and Branding, Adding an Arts and Culture Look to Key Websites, Evaluating and Enhancing Northfield’s Competitive Position within the Region, and Potential Public Funding Mechanism for the Arts.

There was a particularly unexpected bright spot at Politics and a Pint. A young, recently married couple visiting Northfield joined the discussion. Currently residing in Uptown Minneapolis, they had visited Stillwater, Red Wing and Northfield, looking for a new community in which to live. Arts and culture were important to them. Northfield won hands down.