Northfield Downtown Development Corporation

Our annual Partnership Celebration was a fun affair. Thanks to New Moon Trio and Area 51 for the great tunes. Thanks also to Board members who greeted folks at the door and sold raffle tickets. As always,Chuck Pryor and his staff at the Grand Event Center were excellent hosts.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the raffle and congratulations to our winner, Jeff Johnson. No, not NDDC Board member Jeff Johnson, the OTHER Jeff Johnson! Thanks most of all to our NDDC volunteers, Partnership Campaign donors, and Taste of Northfield sponsors. Great downtowns don’t just happen!

Here’s a little slideshow for posterity.

NDDC Partnership Celebration 2012 at the Grand

NDDC Board members visited our local newspaper, the Northfield News,  for the 12th monthly session of 2011.  A bit of disclosure, Sam Gett, Publisher of the Northfield News, is a member of the NDDC board.

The owner of the News, Huckle Publishing, Inc. / Mainstream Publications, LLC, employs about 150 people in Minnesota.  There are 15 to 20 people in the Northfield downtown office and 40 to 60 people at the Northfield uptown printing plant; there are a total of 10 to 15 full-time employees in Northfield.

Sam, on a personal level, is very satisfied with Northfield.  The company has papers in Faribault, Owatonna, Waseca, Kenyon, Lonsdale, St. Peter, Le Sueur, and Le Center.  He says Northfield is the regional standard for civic aspiration and that most of the people in other towns are envious of our vitality.  He loves the location and loves being downtown. (more…)

The NDDC’s most recent business visit was with Econofoods, specifically Area Store Director Carl Nass.  Carl’s territory includes Red Wing, Farmington, and Cannon Falls, so he really brings a regional perspective to our community.

Carl says we’re fortunate to have such a vibrant downtown.  With a relatively wide offering of products and services, there are good traffic levels to the store; people combine errands and destinations, such as the hardware store, car repair, the pharmacy, dry cleaning and the grocery store.

He says the Northfield store has a particularly loyal customer base.  He believes that downtown Northfield has a reputation for good service that builds our brand regionally. (more…)

The NDDC Board…okay, the NDDC Board President, Greg Kneser…visited By All Means Graphics.  Greg, Rob, and I had a wide-ranging and interesting discussion at the end of a Friday afternoon.

Owner Rob Schanilec started his business in St. Paul in 1985.  Then he wanted a place to raise children and was attracted to Northfield’s river, historic downtown, and two colleges.  He’s been here 12 years and says it’s terrific. (more…)

Members of the NDDC board of directors paid a visit to Hvistendahl, Moersch, Dorsey & Hahn, P. A.  As a bit of lagniappe, we also got a tour of the recently reopened Froggy Bottoms.

David Hvistendahl has been a part of the Northfield scene since the 1960s.  The class of ’70 Ole returned to town after earning his law degree to open an office in downtown Northfield.

What he likes best about Northfield is the people.  He grew up in university towns and he appreciates the well-educated and socially-progressive population.

HMDH employs seven attorneys and six support people.  After the devastating flood of just a year ago, everything is back in place and even better than before. (more…)