Northfield Downtown Development Corporation

There’s already a bountiful harvest of locally-grown produce and locally-crafted products at Northfield’s Farmers’ Market. I picked up a half-dozen of different fresh vegetables today and I’m looking forward to enjoying them tonight.

Northfield’s market is open Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:45 am and Saturdays at 9 am. It’s located at Riverside Park (with its always-inviting playground) just off 7th Street.

Some come on down(town) and buy field-fresh food from the farmer that grew it right here in Minnesota’s rich agricultural soil.

The following is provided by Keith Covey, NDDC Board secretary:

The April NDDC board meeting opened with the election of Mary Rossing to the board. President Dan Bergeson and other members welcomed her to her first board meeting. Mary is proprietor of Present Perfect, a Division Street gift and specialty store. She previously served as board member and president of the Northfield Historical Society.

A new Marketing and Promotion Committee was established by the board “to focus on generating more foot traffic downtown by coordinating events and advertising on behalf of the entire district.” New board member Mary Rossing and third year board member Linda Schneewind, of digs, will be co-chairs. They are recruiting other downtown business representatives to join the effort. The committee will coordinate NDDC promotions that previously were conducted by ad hoc task groups and anticipates putting new ideas to work as well. One source of new activities is expected to be the Retail Support Strategies (RSS) Task Force. That group is a joint project of the NDDC and Chamber of Commerce, with funding from the Economic Development Authority. By mid-summer, it is expected to identify new strategies for expanding retail traffic in all Northfield retail districts.

The Board agreed to cosponsor, with six downtown businesses, a new radio calendar of Northfield entertainment and cultural events on KYMN radio. It will air three times on Fridays and Saturdays.

The board is collaborating with the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Northfield in campaigning for early improvement of Highway 19 between Northfield and I35. This is a high priority for the entire Northfield area. President Dan Bergeson reported to the board that he is coordinating with other groups in urging the Minnesota Department of Transportation to reschedule improvements for an earlier date than 10 to 15 years in the future, which its current schedule calls for.

Board vice president Joe Grundhoefer announced that the second “Taste of Northfield” event is scheduled for July 19 in Bridge Square. Grundhoefer is chairing the event and is recruiting local restaurants to plan and participate in the event.

Dave Shumway, Treasurer of the NDDC Board of Directors, apparently has some other job too. I guess he must perform as well at that other job as he does for the NDDC because he’s getting promoted. The buzz on the street yesterday was that Dave was moving on up from President to Chief Executive Officer at First National Bank of Northfield. That would be the bank that helped to bring down Jesse James and his gang some years ago.

I tried to catch up with Dave this morning to find out more. However, it was snowing and the CEO’s responsibilities apparently include continuing his fine work with a shovel much like the broom pictured here.

Congratulations Dave, from all your buddies at the NDDC!

This month’s NDDC Forum will focus on the Comprehensive Plan process. The City’s consultants, ACP Visioning and Planning of Columbus, Ohio, will make a brief presentation and then listen to stakeholder input.

The Comprehensive Plan reflects the community’s values and visions and guides our leaders’ decision-making on land use and potential projects and shapes our zoning regulations and related ordinances. The City is currently updating the 2001 Comprehensive Plan and is seeking citizen input on the possible revisions.

The NDDC’s Forum is the first Tuesday of every month, in this case, April 3rd, 8 am in the Riverview Conference Room of the Archer House, 212 Division Street. All are welcome. Coffee and cookies will be served.

In its March meeting the NDDC board set the stage for its 2007 Partnership Campaign and reviewed NDDC activities over the past month.Joe Grundhoefer, NDDC vice president and owner of J. Grundy’s Reub’n’stein, has agreed to chair the 2007 Partnership Campaign. Board members Robert Bierman, of Bierman’s Home Furnishings, and Renee Huckle, of Northfield News and Cannon Valley Printing, agreed to join Joe on the campaign committee. The committee will lead the board in carrying out the campaign during May and June. The NDDC’s financial support comes in roughly equal proportions from this annual campaign and from economic development activities to strengthen downtown that are funded by the Northfield Economic Development Authority (EDA).

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