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Post, Tanzenwald collaborate on a new chocolate stout
A dynamic collaboration between two Northfield commercial pillars has once again created a new product now available to all consumers over the age of 21. The latest winter stout crafted at Tanzenwald Brewery named the Browniesaurus Rex was made using 30 pounds of Cocoa Pebbles chocolate cereal donated by Post Consumer Brands. The collaboration between the two Northfield companies is the second partnership. In 2022, Post donated cereal was made...
Rice County Pheasants Forever named state Chapter of the Year
Chapter President Jon Switala suspected the Rice County Pheasants Forever was receiving some kind of award at the state convention. Will Clayton, Pheasants Forever senior regional representative for Eastern Minnesota, was insistent that chapter representatives attend the event Jan. 19-20 in Willmar. But Switala said he and Jacob Walter, his chapter’s habitat chairman, were not expecting to take home the top honors. Rice County was named the Minnesota Chapter of...
Northfield superintendent presents options for high school update or rebuild
What will Northfield High School look like in 10 years? What direction do residents want to take regarding the aging facility: renovate in place or start fresh with a brand new building? Do they want the school to remain at the same geographic location or move to a completely different parcel of land? Those are the questions facing community members in the next few months, as they decide which pathway to pursue. Either way, it is likely that a bond referendum will appear on the...
No. 4 ranked Northfield girls hockey clinches Big 9 title
The Northfield High School girls hockey team clinched the top spot in the Big 9 Conference for 2023-24 with a 4-0 victory at Albert Lea on Thursday, Jan. 25. The win moves Northfield’s record to 23-0-0 overall and a perfect 12-0-0 in conference play (32 points) with just one game remaining on the Raiders’ Big 9 schedule. Albert Lea currently stands in second place in the league standings with a 12-3-0 record and 26 Big 9 points. ...
No. 2 ranked Northfield boys swim and dive keeps winning
The victories continued to roll in for the No. 2 ranked Northfield High School boys swim and dive team, as the Gator/Raiders scored a 93-73 win at Faribault on Thursday, Jan. 25. In the junior varsity competition, Northfield earned a 111-18 win over the Falcons. Northfield currently owns a perfect 7-0 dual meet record this season, as it heads into the final two meets of its regular season at home against Owatonna on Thursday, Feb. 1 and at Mankato East on Saturday, Feb. 3. ...
Carleton receives $1.5M grant to fund Indigenous Engagement in Place initiative
A $1.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation will fund Carleton College’s new Indigenous Engagement in Place initiative, a three-year project that will expand curricular and scholarly collaborations with Indigenous partners to enliven learning, teaching and public scholarship in the humanities and across the liberal arts, as well as provide a base for developing a minor in Native American and Indigenous studies at Carleton. The project, funded through the foundation’s Humanities for All Times initiative, will advance three emerging areas of focus at Carleton in...
Man sent to prison on drug charge
A Faribault man who was caught with nearly a pound of methamphetamine in a Northfield hotel was sent to prison, likely until mid-2027. Two other cases, accusing him of criminal sexual conduct and violating a restraining order, were dismissed in a plea deal. Apolinar Osvaldo Hernandez-Silva, 40, was sentenced on the drug charge Wednesday in Rice County District Court. In March, while Hernandez-Silva was out on bail on multiple charges,...
Former Dundas auto service worker starts new shop in Lonsdale
After years of sending customers each other's way, two local small businesses owners will now operate under one roof. On Millersburg Boulevard, just south of Lonsdale, a shop that previously housed only On The Rocks 4x4 is now a "one-stop shop," according to Owner Chris Turgeon. The change comes after he invited Cohl DeVito's new business, Mobile Dynamics, into the space. On The Rocks 4x4 and Mobile Dynamics both operate...
Nurse, educator pens memoir on grief and healing
Life changed dramatically for Susan Huehn 12 years ago after receiving a fateful phone call about her husband Klaus. He had collapsed while cooking stone soup at the Unitarian Church. Driving the 10 miles from the family farmhouse to the church, and then following the ambulance from the church to Northfield Hospital and Clinics, Huehn tried to keep it together, not panic, not react, just function. Inside the hospital's largest...
Service on city boards gives area youth hands-on civic experience
Getting a youthful perspective from Northfield’s sophomores, juniors and seniors has been a tradition for numerous city, school district and nonprofit board of directors for many years. This year, a total of 96 students in the Northfield School District currently serve on boards. Youthful representatives sit on every city board, except two, explained Martha Lundin, youth engagement coordinator at Healthy Community Initiative, HCI. Lundin said participation by youth serving particularly...
CAC director honored with Human Rights award
Scott Wopata, executive director of Community Action Center and the impetus behind the sustainable housing development Hillcrest Village, received the Northfield Human Rights Commission’s annual Human Rights Award. Wopata received the award during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at Emmaus Church Jan. 16. Human Rights Commision Chair Adam Wale presented the award to Wopata after Carleton College Chaplain Schuyler Vogel gave the keynote address. Hillcrest Village is a Zero Energy Ready project that addresses both homelessness and climate change in a shared community effort that is affordable, and aligns with CAC’s mission of a just community by bringing housing and environmental justice together.
Northfield native grows into role as Star Tribune publisher, CEO
While newsrooms from the Los Angeles Times to Time magazine are laying off staff, employees at the Minneapolis Star Tribune are not among those worried their jobs are on the line due to competition from the internet, AI or other media outlets. Much of that reassurance comes straight from Steve Grove’s confidence that the future for an established newspaper like the Star Tribune is secure. Grove, a Northfield native, took...
Oles and Prairie Creek students stage an opera in creative collaboration
The great opera singer Luciano Pavarotti once said: “Opera is one of the most important art forms. It should be listened to and appreciated by everyone.” Thanks to a one-month collaboration between St. Olaf College music students and the youngsters at Prairie Creek Community School, more Northfield-area audiences will get to listen and appreciate. This month, 21 St. Olaf College music students have spent school mornings working with PCCS students...
Countywide sales tax inches toward referendum
Come November, Rice County voters might decide who's fronting the rest of the bill for the new Public Safety Center. A local option sales tax of 0.375% became one step closer to an appearance on the ballot after Tuesday morning's Rice County Board of Commissioners meeting. The additional sales tax would bring Rice County's total sales tax to 7.725%. If the new tax goes to referendum and is approved, it...
Suspected drunken wrong-way driver charged in crash
One person was injured and a suspected drunken driver was arrested after a two-vehicle crash in Northfield Sunday night. McKayla Aleen Wagenbach, 22, of Northfield, is now charged with gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation and misdemeanor DWI. Two cars collided at the intersection of Highway 19 and Armstrong Road a little before 9 p.m., according to a court complaint. Wagenbach was uninjured and reportedly told officers “I hit him.” ...
Northfield boys swim and dive takes 2nd at true team state championships
The fortunes of the 2023-24 Northfield High School boys swim and dive team continues to rise, as the Raiders returned from the 2024 Class A True Team State Championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis with a second-place finish on Saturday, Jan. 20. The Gators/Raiders claimed the runner-up spot with a total of 1,878 points, while Breck/Blake won the title with a score of 1,970.5. St. Thomas Academy placed third at 1,753 followed by Orono (1651.5), Delano-Watertown-Mayer (1538), Hutchinson (1517), Grand Rapids...
Direct primary care medical practice opens in Northfield
After 20 years as a practicing physician, Dr. Nicholas Krawczyk says he’s putting the patient first and working directly for them, not the insurance companies. His business’s direct primary care payment model improves access to health care, he says, with a flat, affordable membership fee. There’s no fee-for-service payments and no third party billing. “I provide family medical services directly — free of all the barriers placed by the insurance...
No. 5 ranked Raiders girls hockey improves to 21-0-0
Success continues to follow the Northfield High School girls hockey team this season, as it remained undefeated in 2023-24, thanks to four victories over the past week. The No. 5 ranked Raiders currently own a perfect 21-0-0 record, along with an 11-0-0 first-place record in the Big 9 conference with three regular season games left on their schedule. Northfield started its busy week with a 6-0 win over Big 9...
Dolly Parton Imagination Library fundraiser exceeds expectations
Stacks of books adorned the tables, while pink cowboy boots, cowboy hats and bandanas were all part of the party decor, as well as the attire of many of the attendees at Friday evening's fundraiser for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. The fundraiser at the Armory Event Center in Northfield brought in an estimated $54,000 for the Rice County Area United Way. "It sold out a week before the event,...
Historic grant money earmarked for Scriver building exterior improvements
Thanks to a recent grant from the Minnesota Historical Society, Northfield’s historic Scriver building’s preservation may be getting a little help from a qualified consultant. The Northfield Historical Society, was awarded $52,000 to hire a qualified consultant that will develop architectural drawings for the preservation of the Scriver Block, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Sean Allen, executive director of the Northfield Historical Society, explained that...
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Northfield News has been serving Rice County, MN since 1876 and publishes Wednesdays and online at www.NorthfieldNews.com
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