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Northfield athletes earn 1st places at conference meet
Several outstanding performances, including first place efforts in the high jump and shot put, allowed the Northfield High School girls track and field team bring home a third-place finish at the 2024 Big 9 Conference championships that were held in Rochester on Thursday, May 23. The top-three finish continued Northfield’s success story in 2024, as it improved six spots in the team standings from last year’s ninth place finish. In addition, it was three places higher than Northfield’s sixth place seed going into this year’s...
Military veteran Babinni announces Northfield mayoral run
Tim Babbini is the latest candidate to announce a run for the Northfield mayoral seat. Babbini has been a Northfield resident since 2005. He is a 26-year military veteran, including three tours in Iraq. He was active after 9/11. “My platform is to stop the wasteful spending on what I feel have been ‘novelty projects,’” Babbini said in a release. “Overspending on bike lanes when our current streets are in...
Memorial Day tribute a salute to all veterans
Despite Monday’s persistently soggy weather, area veterans were honored, saluted and remembered at a poignant, yet celebratory ceremony inside St. Olaf College’s Skoglund Field House. Major Keith Beckwith, a chaplain, served as the master of ceremonies for the 9 a.m. event that drew a couple hundred community members. The dignitaries on stage included Rice County Commissioner Galen Malecha and Northfield Mayor Rhonda Pownell. After the posting of the colors by...
Nerstrand resident and Carleton biologist Wagenbach earns lifetime achievement award
Gary Wagenbach has taught several environmental subjects in many unique locations, including on the other side of the globe in modern-day Myanmar, which was then called Burma. His many years of teaching and other work are a large part of how the Nerstrand resident earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on May 3. Seeing the farmhands in Burma, he said, reminded him of the Wisconsin...
Northfield Hospital + Clinics leader to retire in December
Northfield Hospital + Clinics’ CEO and President Steve Underdahl has announced that he will be retiring at the end of 2024 after eleven years of service at NH+C. “I’m turning 65 this summer, and looking forward to the next chapter of my life,” Underdahl said. NH+C will work with an executive search firm that specializes in healthcare. Board leaders expect to choose a new CEO by year end. ...
Family, faith at heart of local father-daughter novel
Some fathers and daughters like to go to sporting events together. Others like to meet for ice cream. Still others share an interest in music or movies. For Dann and Kennedy Hurlburt, spending time with each other a few years ago meant writing a book together. Their book, “Suddenly Rural Girl” follows the highs and lows of a teenage girl, who is dealing with a lot of emotions after transferring...
Polish environmental leaders to visit Northfield
On Friday, June 7, the U.S. Department of State in collaboration with local nonprofit organization Global Minnesota, the City of Northfield, and the Rotary Club of Northfield, is sending a group of Polish environmental leaders to Northfield to discuss climate change. The group of 10 visitors includes mayors, city council members, school administrators, as well as community and nonprofit leaders. The purpose of the visit is to learn more about...
1st male elected co-president of League of Women Voters in 21st century
The area chapter of the League of Women Voters has elected its first male president this century. Thomas Drucker, a retired mathematics professor, was elected at Monday night’s annual meeting held at the Friends Meeting House. Drucker is the first male to hold that position in the Northfield and Cannon Falls area in the last 30 years. He has served in that capacity twice before, in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He...
Historical drama 'The Children's Hour' coming to Guild Theater
Next up at the Northfield Guild Theater is a controversial historical play that is usually remembered more for being banned, rather than celebrated, for exposing the theme of Lesbianism to a wider audience. Not only was the production of "The Children's Hour" by Lillian Hellman banned, but authorities in Boston declared that the play did not meet the standards of the Watch and Ward Society and that it could not be performed there the following month as scheduled. ...
NHS seniors awarded scholarships from community sponsors
On May 8, Northfield High School recognized outstanding seniors in an evening scholarship presentation at the Middle School auditorium. NHS principal Shane Baier welcomed the overflowing crowd and congratulated the scholarship recipients. The recognition of National Merit Finalists and Commended students kicked off the hour and one half long program. Next, those seniors who earned academic letters and certificates were recognized, followed by the 2024 list of scholarship winners. Many representatives from community organizations were on hand to present that scholarship to the deserving seniors. All photos by Pamela Thompson/southernminn.com.
Northfield council to consider alternative options for police heart screening program
Northfield’s City Council has hit the pause button on a proposed contract with Sigma Tactical Wellness, following an analysis from the council’s resident physician which cast doubt on some of the company’s claims and the quality of its cardiovascular screening program. By a 5-1 vote, councilors voted to set aside the contract recommended for adoption by Police Chief Mark Elliott and instead pursue a cardiovascular screening and wellness program for officers in partnership with local healthcare institutions and other community resources. ...
7 recitals headline 17th annual summer organ concert season
Another summer tradition rounding the bend again is the Noontime Organ recitals that occur around Northfield at a different venue every Wednesday. This year marks the 17th season of the free half-hour concerts. Seven recitals dot the calendar this summer, beginning on July 3 and running until Aug. 14. The Wednesday concert series begins at 12:15 p.m. and lasts until 12:45 p.m. making the noontime experience a perfect lunchtime escape. ...
ArtMakers returns with May 30 event at Imminent Brewing
After four years of mostly online programming, ArtMakers returns to the public eye with a benefit concert designed to reintroduce the southeastern Minnesota’s adaptive arts collaborative to the community. ArtMakers, a nonprofit based in Northfield, strives to serve more people, with more programs, in more locations; create an arts day program for people with disabilities; and to grow the base of participants and supporters, to bring community engagement to people with disabilities. ...
Politico founder briefs Northfield Rotarians about upcoming election
John Harris, Politico’s global editor-in-chief and a Carleton College trustee, talked to Northfield Rotarians recently about the state of American politics today. Harris told the Rotarians that he views Donald Trump as a movement politician, who is capitalizing on American voters’ anger and resentment at the establishment. That anger, Harris said, was forged in cultural and ideological battles that began in the 1960s. From the likely voter data that he...
Young musicians wow Guild Theater crowd in opening concert
Like many Northfield High School students with musical chops, Caroline Brice performed in the biennial Rock & Roll Revival at Northfield Middle School earlier this spring. But what differentiated one talented singer from the others may, in fact, be that elusive “it” factor. The “it” factor, according to Pauline Jennings, performing arts manager of the Northfield Arts Guild, may just mean that the teen could possibly have a future in...
Local legislators comment on heated end to 2024 legislative session
A historic biennial session of Minnesota’s Legislature came to a chaotic, heated and intensely partisan close on Sunday night, with DFL legislators using their narrow majorities to muscle through a mammoth “mega-omnibus” bill over the objections of outraged Republicans. At a record-shattering length of 1,430 pages, the mega-omnibus includes the nine major pieces of legislation passed by both chambers and negotiated in conference committees, including the Energy and Agriculture omnibus bill sponsored by Sen. Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato. ...
Vintage Fashion Show tells historical stories through clothing
Clothing from bygone days did the talking Thursday afternoon when 20 models strutted across the FiftyNorth runway wearing vintage fashion finds culled from family cedar closets, attics and basement shelves. The vintage fashion show drew a sold out crowd who were treated to an entertaining display of visually stunning and historically significant costumes as well as the interesting backstories behind the fabrics. The community members who strutted across the runway...
Former insurance agent sentenced to prison
A former Northfield insurance agent who defrauded clients was sentenced to prison time. Luis Angel Dominguez Martinez, 26, pleaded guilty to 16 felonies, on counts of theft by swindle, forgery, insurance fraud, credit card fraud. He received concurrent 25-month prison sentences last week in Rice County District Court. Offenders currently serve the final third of...
Kraewood Flats Apartments opens to public with tours, ribbon cutting
After several years of community debate, including lengthy discussions at plenty of Northfield City Council meetings, Kraewood Flats Apartments has officially opened. On Monday afternoon, Mayor Rhonda Pownell, City Council member Brad Ness, Brent Nystrom with Rebound Partners and Jane Bartho, president of the Northfield Chamber of Commerce, along with a couple dozen community members and Chamber leaders, assembled outside the south entrance of the new apartment complex for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. ...
Berry receives Heywood Distinguished Service award
Beth Berry has been selected as the 2024 Joseph Lee Heywood Distinguished Service Award Recipient by The Defeat of Jesse James Days Committee. Berry is the 41st recipient of this prestigious award and will be honored on Wednesday, Sept. 4 during the Defeat of Jesse James Days celebration at the Northfield Ballroom, 1055 MN Highway 3. Berry spent many years within the Northfield School District serving as a guidance counselor,...
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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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