Friday, November 18th: Carey Langer, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Tim Fast, 7:00 to 9 p.m., Hogan Brothers Acoustic Cafe; Faculty Recital: Andrea Een and Christopher Atzinger, 7:00 p.m., Urness Recital Hall on the St. Olaf College campus; Little Women, 7:30 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater; Under Milk Wood, 7:30 p.m., Kelsey Theater on the St. Olaf College campus; Bonnie and the Clydes, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Jaggedease, 8:00 to 11:00 pm., Contented Cow; Downbeat magazine’s “Top Undergraduate Ensemble” – St. Olaf Jazz I, 8:15 p.m., Lion’s Pause on the St. Olaf College campus; Karaoke, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein; Hotfoot and the Hotshots, 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m, 620 Grill.

Saturday, November 19th: Rosewood, 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., Contented Cow; Tuition Daddies, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Hogan Brothers Acoustic Cafe; Little Women, 7:30 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater; Zillionaires, 8:00 to 10:30 p.m., 620 Grill; Spruce Top Review, 8:00 to 11:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Jeff Ray, 8:00 to 10:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Under Milk Wood, 8:00 p.m., Kelsey Theater on the St. Olaf College campus; D J Music, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein; and Front Man and the Other Guys, 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Contented Cow.

Sunday, November 20th: Wake-Robin, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., Bittersweet; Little Women, 2:00 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild theater; St. Olaf Jazz II and III, 4:30 p.m., Lion’s Pause on the St. Olaf College campus; and Politics and a Pint, 6:00 p.m., Northern Roots Session, 7:00 p.m., and Quiz Night, 8:00 p.m., all at the Contented Cow.

This recently completed trail segment connects Riverside Park with the Sesquicentennial Legacy Plaza.  The segment is part of the Mill Towns Trail that will eventually connect Northfield with Faribault and Cannon Falls, and a larger trail system that will run from Mankato to Red Wing.

The event will also celebrate Maggie Lee.  A long-time resident of Northfield, Maggie’s vision and leadership helped create the downtown Riverwalk.  This latest segment of trail also links the Mill Towns Trail with Northfield’s Riverwalk.

After the event, we encourage you to stroll along the Cannon River, visit the Farmers’ Market, and explore the Riverwalk Market Fair.  Then stop in our historic, scenic and authentic downtown and experience our mix of one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants.  It’s all part of the heart of our community.

The event is free and open to the public.  Brief tributes, local treats, and live music will be served.

On deck are the completion of the link between Riverside Park and 5th St., the reconstruction of 4th St. and widening of the bike lanes on the resurfaced street, and the construction of a three mile crushed limestone trail south from the Peggy Prowe Pedestrian Bridge along the Cannon River to Dundas. This will create a six-mile loop when joined with the existing three mile segment of the Mill Towns Trail on the west side of the river from Dundas north to Sechler Park.

Peggy was particularly emphatic about the role that bike trails play in the economic health of a community and cited as evidence a chart from Fillmore County showing the growth in lodging tax of communities along the Root River since the beginning of trail development in the area.

Two of the primary partners in Northfield’s on-going effort to expand and enhance regional bike trails, the Mill Towns Trail Group and the City of Northfield, will discuss recently-completed projects, projects scheduled for this year, and projects planned for the near future.  These projects, part of the segment between Faribault and Cannon Falls, will be discussed in the context of the overall vision of a major Minnesota bike trail that will link Mankato with Red Wing.

The Mill Towns Trail Group will be represented by Peg Prowe and Glenn Switzer.  The City of Northfield will be represented by Joel Walinski and Katy Gehler.  The Group and the City have been working closely together in recent years to realize a shared vision for the community.

The NDDC is a non-partisan, non-profit community organization dedicated to the vitality and vibrancy of downtown Northfield. The event is free and open to the public. As always, coffee and cookies will be served.

For more information, contact Executive Director Ross Currier at (507) 663-0319 or rcurrier@nddc.org.

After getting an announcement from Mill Towns Trail advocate Peggy Prowe that the bicycle bridge over the Cannon River was going to be lifted and put in place, with the north and south sections joined together, and a tip from Mayor Mary Rossing the the event would occur Monday, April 27th, at 9 a.m., I headed over to catch the action. It was a “nipping and eager air” this morning, and noticing very little action, I returned to the office.

According to an unreliable source, there was a mechanical problem with one of the cranes. The erection/installation has been rescheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday, April 28th).

Peggy noted that the bridge, a long-awaited Northfield piece of the Mankato to Red Wing Mill Towns Trail, is “the result of Federal SafTLu Funds, Rotary Matching Funds, and State Bonding Funds”. Once the steel girders are in place, there are a few more steps in the process: a concrete deck must be poured, landscaping must be planted, and the in-town segment of the trail must be completed.

However, it seems that the project is still on schedule for completion in early July. I’m looking forward to riding over it.

We sent the letter reprinted below to the Mayor and Council. Mayor Rossing recently contacted me and said that the issue has been queued up for discussion and action.

March 26, 2009

Mayor and Councilors

City of Northfield

801 Washington Street

Northfield, MN 55057

Dear :

The NDDC board of directors strongly urges the City of Northfield to increase police surveillance and enforcement efforts of downtown areas that have been subject to graffiti and similar vandalism in the past. These areas include primarily the River Walk walls and adjacent building walls, including access walks and drives, on both sides of the Cannon between Second and Fourth Streets, and building walls facing Grastvedt Lane between Third and Fifth Streets. This is a problem especially during the Spring months, so it should not become a major additional task for the Police Department.

In some cases, vandalized wall surfaces cannot be restored to their original character, thus permanently defacing our historic buildings and reducing the value of these buildings and diminishing the quality of the experience of those visiting downtown. If the surfaces can be restored, that work is difficult and expensive, increasing owners’ maintenance costs. Thus, deterrence is the most effective means of addressing this problem. both for historic preservation and operating expenses,

Second, the NDDC board urges the City Council to adopt the attached “Community Expectations” policy statement addressing Cleanliness, Respect, Safety and Pedestrian Friendliness. This statement was adapted from similar documents in use in other communities. Once adopted as community policy, the NDDC would be happy to publicize and distribute the statement throughout the downtown area and urge other organizations to adopt and post them and urge their members and constituents to support them.

Finally, over the past twelve months, there have been a number of discussions about private-public partnerships for upgrading or installing technologies to reduce vandalism, ranging from additional lighting to surveillance cameras. The NDDC Board advocates that the most promising, based on a private-public evaluation, of these approaches be implemented this Spring.

This three-pronged approach: increased police surveillance, adoption of the policy statement, and installation of additional technologies, will hopefully reduce incidents of vandalism in our community. It will certainly send a signal to both the perpetrators and the victims that Northfield is serious about working together against vandalism.

Thank you for your consideration,

NDDC Board President and Vice President

Everyone was asked to name a local attraction for visitors and encouraged to stretch their minds a bit. Folks came up with a number of items, and I’ll categorize them generally as natural beauty, recreational opportunities, historic sites (and stories), arts and culture, or food and shopping.

Hayes Scriven, Northfield Historical Society executive director and, finally, member of the CVB board, reminded us, as he always does, that you need a package of ten of these attractions to encourage visitors to spend the night in Northfield. I thought about my own experience as a visitor.

My wife and I checked out Hibbing for our 25th wedding anniversary. Admittedly, we’re pretty big fans of Bob Dylan. However, even for those who might not appreciate his music, there’s a lot to do in that far northern town.

Here I am in front of the house in which Bob lived until he graduated from high school. I had recently read a biography of Bob and located the site on our way into town. The Chamber of Commerce was our next stop, they sponsor the annual Dylan Days, and we picked up their “Short & Unauthorized Tale of Bob Dylan’s Life in Hibbing”. They also had a number of cool posters from Dylan Days.

We then headed over to the public library and checked out the exhibit of historic Bob memorabilia. The library also had maps of the Bob Dylan Walk. By the way, Hibbing’s downtown is very walkable. We checked on the impressive Androy Hotel, site of Bob’s Bar Mitzvah, and the spectacular 1923 Hibbing High School, just outside the central business district, from which Bob graduated, with 424 others, in 1959.

Then we did the shopping thing (passing by the Agudeth Achim Synagogue on the way) including Rupar Music (formerly Crippa Music) where Bob heard all the latest releases and I admired the guitars, and the St. Vincent de Paul, where we found some overalls for our youngest daughter. We were aided in our purchasing excursion by the Downtown Hibbing Shopping Guide, sponsored by the Downtown Merchants Association.

Then it was time for a late lunch. We, of course, ate at Zimmy’s, surrounded by images of Bob.

That’s only nine things; I had to be at a meeting the next morning and so our exploration was cut short. However, on the way out of town, we swung by North Hibbing and saw the mine that was once the location of the original town of Hibbing and Bob’s home. Then we bought gas and hit the highway.

So Hayes is right, it takes ten things, and enough vacation days, to get folks to spend the night. If you’ve got some ideas of things to be included in Northfield’s package, swing into the Historic Society and mention them to Hayes.

Tell him Ross sent you.

The idea, continuing threads of 10 to 20 years of various discussions, was advanced as a result of one of the sessions at the recent Historic Preservation Conference. The specific inspiration was New Ulm’s historic tour.

In addition to Edwins and Scriven (and, of course, me), Joe Hargis of Carleton College, Kathy Feldbrugge of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Lynn Young of the Northfield Public Library participated, watching New Ulm’s show and voicing their enthusiasm for the piece. Representatives of St. Olaf College and the Arts and Culture Commission were invited but unable to attend on such short notice.

Edwins suggested that the power of New Ulm’s podcast was the linking of historic sites with heritage stories. In addition to bringing history to life, the stories offer another compelling reason to visit the featured community.

He went on to cite other examples of powerful web-based “tour guides”. Grand Marais, Minnesota, Chino Hills, California and Tallinn, Estonia were among those highlighted by Edwins.

The group also explored related topics, including the need for a central and neutral portal with clear and appealing links to other sites, organized by interest areas such as arts and culture, economic development, history, and shopping. During the discussion, all the attendees voiced recognition of the effectiveness of enhancing text with images.

Everyone praised the New Ulm concept and offered their assistance to the Northfield initiative. Hayes is going to convene another, and larger, gathering in the near future, at which experienced potential resource people will present to the participants.

Northfield Historical Society Executive Director Hayes Scriven and his crew set up the information tent in Bridge Square this morning in anticipation of this week’s big cultural festival.

Wednesday, September 3rd, at noon, there’s a Graveside Memorial Service in the Northfield Cemetery (south Division Street, across from the High School) for Joseph Lee Heywood and Nicolaus Gustavson and at 6:30 p.m. there’s the Joseph Lee Heywood Distinguished Service Award Banquet, American Legion Ballroom, Highway 3 North.

Thursday, September 4th, it’s “Townie Night” in the Entertainment Center at 5th and Water Streets and the Carnival on Ames Park at 5th Street and Highway 3 (known historically as Dahomey Avenue), a Tractor Pull on Division Street between 4th and 5th Streets, and a Northfield Historic Society Reception for Betty Barr, Jesse James’ Great Granddaughter. Jesse Jane’s Jamboree opens at the Northfield Arts Guild Theater on West 3rd Street at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, September 5th, the Entertainment Center, Carnival and Jesse Jane’s Jamboree continue. There’s a P. R. C. A. Professional Rodeo, 8 p.m., in the Jesse James Arena on Highway 3 South and a Square Dance on Division Street between 4th and 5th Streets. Don’t forget Bingo on Bridge Square, from 6 p.m. to Midnight.

Saturday, September 6th, it’s the Jesse James Bike Tour, starting at the Northfield Middle School, registration from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., the Defeat of Jesse James Car Show, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Riverside Park, a Fine Arts & Crafts Festival, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. along the Riverside Commons, a Craft Show in Central Park, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and a Kiddie Parade at 10:00 a.m. starting at 6th and Division Streets.

Sunday, September 7th, it’s the Jesse James 5 and 15 Ks at 8:00 a.m. registration in Bridge Square, the Royalty Reception, 10:00 a.m. at the Northfield High School, and the Grand Parade, 2 p.m. along Division Street.

So, pull on your boots, hitch up your belt, tip your hat low over your eyes, and mosey on down to the Defeat of Jesse James Days, centered in the heart of Northfield, our historic downtown.

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.