Choose your location
Northfield News
Arcadia Charter School celebrates 2 decades of education
On Aug. 8, Arcadia celebrated 20 years of being a school. It was an occasion full of nostalgic moments and a time to look forward. Bob Gregory-Bjorklund took the stage at the end of the evening and began his words with, “A place that envisions a supportive learning community that, through collaboration and student-driven, project-based learning, encourages and assists students to express themselves creatively through the visual, literary and performing arts. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?” ...
Northfield's Bulfer siblings compete, win at water skiing national championships
Northfield’s connection to the elite of the water skiing continues to grow, as four local residents that live and train on Union Lake (west of Northfield) ranked among the nation’s best at the 2023 Goode Water Ski National Championships on Aug. 9-12 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Siblings George Bulfer (age 14), Bode Bulfer (age 12) Analyn Bulfer (age 8) and John Bulfer (age 6), all students of the Northfield Public Schools, all scored strong numbers throughout local and regional water ski competitions this summer...
Citizen naturalist fascinated by the mystery of monarch migration
Minnesota Master Naturalist Katy Gillespie described the yearly journey monarch butterflies make every November to the high elevations of Mexico. She told a group of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park on Saturday that many Mexico natives believe the monarch migration, which often coincides with the Day of the Dead, are actually souls returning home. With the help of her grand niece, Savannah, Gillespie showed and explained examples of the life cycle of monarchs during her class at the state park. ...
Bigger DJJD buttons present challenges to button makers
For the 75th anniversary of the Defeat of Jesse James Days every aspect of the annual celebration seemed to grow in size. Even the festival buttons. Jake O’dell, a work-based learning coordinator for Northfield Schools, said this year’s larger button design presented a few challenges. The most significant challenge was the need for bigger machines that would produce the bigger 3-inch button. ...
Northfield City Council begins 2024 budget process; significant levy increase expected
Despite a significant increase in Local Government Aid, the Northfield City Council is looking at a significant increase in the tax levy in order to cover rising costs as well as new investment in parks, city communications and staffing needs. After a lengthy series of presentations at the council’s “budget retreat” on Tuesday night, a majority indicated its support for increases to the park fund and facilities fund by 1% annually, in order to help bring about the city’s bold vision for downtown parks. ...
Rising heat, humidity hurts crops, people
Did you know that crops sweat? While crops don't sweat in the way that humans do, they do release moisture into the air through a process known as transpiration. This increases humidity in agricultural areas, which can put humans at higher risk of heat exhaustion. The phenomenon typically occurs from late July to mid-August. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) says transpiration happens when plants absorb water from the soil...
St. Olaf College volleyball players help pack West African donations
Athletes helping athletes is not unusual, except when they are separated by 5,993 miles. That was the case on Sunday, Aug. 20, when more than 30 members of the St. Olaf 2023 volleyball team and their coach, Emily Foster, sorted and packed socks, athletic shoes and soccer balls for shipment to the girls who are students at College Monfant in Togo, West Africa. The sports related items were donations from...
Former governor Quie, a Northfield High School graduate, dies at 99
Former Minnesota Gov. Al Quie, a moderate Republican known for working across the aisle as both governor and as a congressman, has died. He was 99. Quie died of natural causes late Friday at a senior living community in suburban Wayzata where he had lived for the last 10 years, his son, Joel Quie, said Saturday. While he had been in declining health in recent months, he still enjoyed meeting and greeting people. At a family gathering two weeks ago, he read aloud to his...
Interim director named director of Healthy Community Initiative
After a year with "interim" in her title, Sandy Malecha's title is now being shortened to executive director of the Healthy Community Initiative. The HCI board announced Thursday it has asked Malecha to stay on in the top post and she has accepted. "The HCI board conducted a nationwide search for a new director and determined that the organization and its more than 40 employees would be best served by...
Father and son clean and restore Joseph Lee Heywood's gravesite
If there’s anyone in Northfield who knows how to safely clean and effectively restore a headstone using biological chemicals that won’t kill the vegetation or pollute the environment, it’s Alan and Tim Freeland. This spring, the father and son duo researched cleaning techniques and products that were sanctioned to be used by the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and the National Park Study. And the odd new hobby is now benefiting Northfield’s largest annual celebration. ...
Northfield High School fishing team sends three pairs to state
The Northfield High School bass fishing team enjoyed another successful summer in 2023 and will send three teams to the upcoming Minnesota Junior B.A.S.S. Nation state tournament on Sept. 9-10 on Gull Lake in Brainerd. The trio of teams representing Northfield at the state meet will include brothers Jake Geiger and Ben Geiger. The other duos at the meet will be Hunter Larson and Oren Alexander, and Taylor Stanford and Ian Weimer. ...
St. Olaf grad talks about hiking all 68 state parks
From the iron mines at Lake Vermillion to Camden’s cold trout stream, and the red rocks at Temperance to the devil’s kettle at Blue Mounds, there’s always a memorable trail waiting to be hiked in Minnesota. After she retired from her job as a river scientist for the Metropolitan Council in 2011, Cathy Larson searched for the next step in her life. It didn’t take the St. Olaf College biology...
New activities director starts at Northfield High School
A longtime resident with a wealth of experience in athletics and school administration will be taking over as the new activities director at Northfield High School in 2023-24. John Mahal started in the position on July 1, and he replaces Bubba Sullivan, who had served there for the 2022-23 academic year. Mahal joins the staff at Northfield High School after serving the past five years as the principal of Hawthorne...
Dukes, Knights both make Minnesota Baseball Association Class B state tournament
The Northfield Knights and the Dundas Dukes will both represent the Northfield News readership area at the upcoming Minnesota Baseball Association Class B state tournament, which will get underway this weekend at ballfields in Delano, Litchfield and Waconia. The Knights will open tournament play against Air Freight Unlimited. The game will be played in Delano at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19. Dundas will also begin its tournament journey on Saturday, Aug. 19 with a 4:30 p.m. game in Dassel against the Highland Park Beavers. ...
Bridge Square traffic barriers become a canvas for original art
This summer, a group of local artists have been working on the Artist on Main Street Meet at the River project at locations in downtown Northfield. Northfield’s Kathy Ness and Kate Woodstrup, an art teacher at Bridgewater School, were using the traffic barriers near Bridge Square as a unique canvas to create artwork that matches the theme of “Creatures and Features of the Cannon River,” which runs nearby through downtown Northfield. The Friends of Downtown helped obtain nine grants to fund the projects that will bring public art to locations throughout the downtown area of Northfield through the remainder of summer and into the fall.
Historical Society invites locals to cruise, then play
The Rice County Historical Society is bringing back a popular pandemic event this coming Saturday and trying out a new community event the Saturday after. Both events offer attendees the chance to win prizes — by visiting historic sites or by competing in old-fashioned games. A century-old preserved schoolhouse and a town hall that was once was a school house are among the stops on the Cruising Rice County History...
Garden Club members tour Cowling Arboretum
On the front of the Cowling Arboretum map and guide is a sunlit photo of one of the giant Oak Savanna trees twisting its gnarled limbs up to the sky. Last week, as she was leading members of the Northfield Garden Club on a tour, Arb Director Nancy Braker pointed out some thriving Oak Savannas. In May, Braker received a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant from the Minnesota Historical...
Northfield News office officially dedicated in ribbon cutting ceremony
More than 50 members of the Northfield community turned out Thursday morning to witness the official ribbon cutting of the Northfield News office, now located at 2010 Jefferson Rd., Suite A, in Northfield. Last summer, the historic downtown office at Fifth and Water streets was purchased by the city of Northfield. The News had operated out of that historic red brick building for approximately 57 years. The staff moved into its current location early last fall. ...
Northfield's Little Free Libraries continue to enchant, engage readers of all ages
LITTLE FREE LIBRARY TOUR Anyone visiting Northfield during the Defeat of Jesse James Festival in September should be sure to walk, bike or drive around to see some of the more whimsical Little Free Libraries: the Viking ship-topped box across the street from the Ole Store; the Carleton College president’s box; the church replica at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church; the sweet red schoolhouse blocks from the Carleton College campus; and the farmhouse little library replica down the street from the St. Olaf College campus. Take...
Northfield News
2K+
Posts
989K+
Views
Northfield News has been serving Rice County, MN since 1876 and publishes Wednesdays and online at www.NorthfieldNews.com
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.