Friday, November 11th: New Moon Trio, 5:00 to 7:00 pm., Contented Cow; The Bergen Woodwind Quintet, 7:00 p.m., Urness Recital Hall on the St. Olaf College campus; Exhibit Opening Reception, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild; West Side Story, 7:30 p.m., Northfield High School Auditorium, 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; Still Tickin’, 7:30 – 10:30 p.m., Contented Cow; Carleton Orchestra Concert, 8:00 p.m., Concert Hall on the Carleton College campus; Kaleidoscope Music, 8:15 p.m., Skifter Studio on the St. Olaf College campus; Karaoke, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein; and The Ted Pretzel Experience, 11:00 p.m., Contented Cow.

Saturday, November 12th: Shopping Opener, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Downtown Northfield, MN; Little Women, 2:00 and 7:30 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater; St. Olaf Festival of Bands, 4:00 p.m., Skoglund Center on the St. Olaf College campus; Jim Lenway, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Contented Cow; L’ Eclisse, 7:00 p.m., Weitz Cinema on the Carleton College campus; Under Milk Wood, 7:30 pm., Kelsey Theater on the St. Olaf College campus; West Side Story, 7:30 p.m., Northfield High School Auditorium; Froggy Bottoms Grand Re-opening Party, 8:00 pm., Froggy  Bottoms; Tom Nelson and Leonard McCracken, 8:00 to 11:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Art Vandalay, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; D J Music, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein; and Kosmologie, 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Contented Cow.

Sunday, November 13th: Pianist Robert McDonald, 2:00 p.m., Urness Recital Hall on the St. Olaf College campus; West Side Story, 2:00 p.m., Northfield High School Auditorium; Little Women, 2:00 p.m., Arts Guild Theater; Under Milk Wood, 6:00 p.m., Kelsey Theater on the St. Olaf College campus; Meredith Fierke & the McKinstrys, 7:00 p.m., Weitz Center on the Carleton College campus; and Philharmonia Concert, 7:30 p.m., Boe Memorial Chapel on the St. Olaf College campus.

There will be a dozen or more food vendors (we’re still working on the lineup) surrounding the Square serving up their own special menus. There will be entertainment on the Showmobile both nights and a Beer and Wine Tent on the 4^th Street bridge. The James Gang will do a Bank Raid re-enactment on Thursday night and Friday will bring the return of both a Silent Auction and a Live Auction. Both nights will feature a Street Dance from 8-10.

If you’re feeling up to it, this event also brings a great opportunity to volunteer. We need folks to sell tickets, police the waste stream, control admittance to the Beer Tent, tally up the silent and live auction bids, you name it! If this possibility speaks to you, contact rcurrier@nddc.org.

The Taste of Northfield is an official Northfield Downtown Development Corporation event., but we couldn’t do it without the incredible financial sponsorship given to us by:

MALT’O’MEAL

COLLEGE CITY BEVERAGE

CARLETON COLLEGE

TAYLOR TRUCK LINE

1ST NATIONAL BANK OF NORTHFIELD

NEUGER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

REBOUND ENTERPRISES

The City of Northfield has announced that assisting private parties with property protection in non-emergency situations is #6 on a list of 9 items in its Emergency Protocol for flooding. City staff have conducted several public information meetings about flood preparation and posted links to a number of resources on the City’s website, Community Resources for Flood Preparedness.

There is information about what to do before a flood and what to do after a flood, but we wanted to highlight the BEFORE THE FLOOD information. Here are some of the highlights.

• Memo to Property Owners (PDF)
• Resource Vendor List (PDF)
• CodeRed Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Sandbagging Fact Sheet (PDF file)

The Resource Vendor List has contact information for companies that sell sandbags and companies that sell sand. There are a number of Minnesota communities that have already begun filling sandbags. We think it’s not too early for Northfielders to begin this work as well.  The Sandbagging Fact Sheet shows how to fill bags, where to place them after filling and how to structure a proper wall of sandbags SO THAT IT HOLDS.

In addition to the City’s website, we recommend checking out the information found at http://www.northfield.org/flood. This site is the place for volunteers to make themselves known and for those in need of volunteers to request assistance.

If you haven’t yet started preparing for a spring flood, we recommend that you begin today!



June 1, 2010

Dear Mayor and Councilors:

The Board of Directors of the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation is concerned about the financial state of our City and we wish to share those concerns with the members of the Northfield City Council. With great love for our community and respect for the work that the Council must perform, the Board offers the following thoughts regarding the City’s budget-balancing efforts.

First, it is clear that our financial challenge is substantial and structural. The gap for the second half of 2010 has been cited as ranging from $300,000 to $900,000, depending on the availability of LGA funds. The projected gap for 2011 is even larger. Virtually all analysts, from every sector, have concluded that LGA funds are depleted and are highly unlikely to be made available again. Therefore, the City’s response to our current financial crisis must also be substantial and structural.

Second, the burden of the response cannot be placed on the business community through yet another increase in commercial property taxes. The City’s budget-balancing solution for 2010 may have produced a 1.2% reduction for residential properties, but it caused an 8.5% increase in municipal commercial property taxes, along with a number of fee increases, coming during the period of The Great Recession for businesses. The boom years are behind us, and many analysts suggest that they are not coming back.  Future City budgets must reflect this new reality.

Third, given the size of our financial challenge and the pursuit of cost reduction-driven solutions, we all realize that cuts will not be painless. To that end, the values and priorities of the citizens of Northfield should be the guiding factors in determining recommendations for which services should be maintained and which services could be eliminated. The NDDC requests that a formal, open, two-way process be conducted to provide citizens the opportunity to share their values and priorities for funding decisions that will impact their municipal services.

We hope the Northfield City Council receives these suggestions in the constructive spirit with which they are given. We, the NDDC Board of Directors, also offer our willingness—in fact, our eagerness—to support the Council’s efforts on this matter.

Sincerely,

Keith Covey
Board President

Friday, January 29th, starts with one of my long-time favorites, Occasional Jazz, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., The Contented Cow, Chuck Godwin, 6 to 9 p.m., Butler’s Steak & Ale, Spruce Top Review, 7 to 10 p.m., The Contented Cow, then one of my new favorites, The Bellard Yellers, 7 to 11 p.m., The Tavern Lounge (riverside of the Archer House), and, finally, Posaunenstadt! – a Faculty Recital for Trombones, 8 to 9:30 p.m., Concert Hall on the Carleton College campus.

Saturday, January 30th, Norwegian Cowboy, 7 to 11 p.m., The Tavern Lounge, Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble, 7:00 p.m., Northfield Public Library, D J Music, 9 p.m., The Rueb’N'Stein, and Burning Chrome at The Contented Cow.

Sunday, January 31st, Humane Society Pancake Breakfast, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Eagles Club, Faculty Recital: Laura Caviani, 3 to 4 p.m., Concert Hall on the Carleton College campus, Politics and a Pint, 6 p.m., Northern Roots Session, 7 p.m., and Quiz Night, 8 p.m., all at the Contented Cow.

The Minnesota State Office of Energy Security is requesting proposals to provide funding for cost effective projects that maximize energy savings, displace fossil fuel energy inputs, and reduce the total energy demand of commercial and industrial buildings by developing, implementing, and installing energy programs in commercial, industrial, and non-profit facilities.

The application deadline date is Friday, February, 12, 2010.  For more information and to download a copy of the RFP, go to the Office of Energy Security website.  If you have questions about the RFP, please contact the office at energy.contacts@state.mn.us

On Friday, September 18th, it’s Occasional Jazz, 5 p.m., The Contented Cow, Art from Math, Math from Art, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Flaten Art Museum on the St. Olaf College campus, The Bohemian Duo, 7 p.m., The Tavern Lounge, Plumb Bobs and Other Curiosities, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Boliou Hall on the Carleton College campus, Burning Chrome, 8 p.m., The Contented Cow, Brenda Brenner Recital, 8:15 p.m., Urness Recital Hall on the St. Olaf College campus, and D J Music, 9 p.m., The Rueb’N'Stein.

Then Saturday, September 19th, it’s Norwegian Cowboy, 7 p.m., The Tavern Lounge, The Eggman at the Contented Cow and D J Music at Froggy Bottoms.

Finally, Sunday, September 20th, it’s a Dan Dressen Recital, 3:15 p.m., Urness Recital Hall on the St. Olaf College campus, Politics and a Pint, 6 p.m., Northern Roots Session, 7 p.m., and Quiz Night, 8 p.m., all at The Contented Cow.

Thursday, September 3rd, it’s the Todd Thompson Trio, 7 p.m., The Tavern Lounge (riverside of the historic Archer House) and Study Hall (start your weekend off right) with Peter, Terry and Peter at The Contented Cow.

Friday, September 4th, it’s Jealous Husbands, 7 p.m., The Tavern Lounge, Jesse!, 7:30 p.m., Arts Guild Theater, Goodsell Observatory Open House, 9 to 11 p.m., Carleton College campus, Brothers Burn Mountain at the Contented Cow and D J Music at Froggy Bottoms.

Saturday, September 5th, it’s Northfield’s Male Musician of 2009, Jon Manners, 7 p.m., The Tavern Lounge, Jesse!, 7:30 p.m., Arts Guild Theater, D J Music, 9 p.m., The Rueb’N'Stein, Fish Frye, 9 p.m. to 12 a.m., Froggy Bottoms, and Chance Meeting at The Contented Cow.

Sunday, September 6th, it’s Jesse!, 2 p.m., Arts Guild Theater, Politics and a Pint, 6 p.m., Northern Roots Session, 7:30 p.m., and Quiz Night, 8 p.m., all at The Contented Cow.

Thursday, August 8th, it’s the Key West Rejects at the Tavern Lounge (riverside of the Archer House) and Study Hall at the Contented Cow.

Friday, August 9th, it’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 7 p.m., Central Park, Fresh: The Movie, 7 – 9 p.m., Arts Guild Theater, the Key West Rejects, 9 p.m, the Rueb’N'Stein, and Muchos Machos at the Tavern Lounge.

Saturday, August 8th, it’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 7 p.m., Central Park, D J Music, 9 p.m., the Rueb’N'Stein, Kevin Stanke at the Tavern Lounge, and Northfield’s Best Male Musician of 2009, Jon Manners, at the Contented Cow.

Sunday, August 9th, it’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 7 p.m., Central Park, Politics and a Pint, 6 p.m., Northern Roots Session, 7:30 p.m., and Quiz Night, 8 p.m., all at the Contented Cow.

Thanks to Tania Legvold for the photograph and please see the Northfield Entertainment Guide for more information on the performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Barb Matz, Jennifer Wolcott, Nick Sinclair, and Shari Setchell will discuss their art, why they located in Northfield, how the Northfield community is supportive of artists, and what the community might do to provide greater support for artists.  Some people have suggested that it is a conversation that is long overdue.

The NDDC Forum will be held Tuesday, August 11th, 8 a.m., in the Riverview Conference Room of the historic Archer House, 212 Division Street.  As always, the Forum is free and open to the public.

Coffee and cookies will be served.