Deadline approaches for Councilor-at-large appointment
The City of Northfield is taking applications for the Councilor At Large appointment through January 9th. The position is open to all residents of Northfield, 21 years of age or older and eligible to vote. Contact City Clerk Deb Little for more information. You can find it on the City’s website as well. This is Mayor-elect Rhonda Pownell’s seat which formally ends in 2018. A special election will be held in November to complete the term. The appointment will last through 2017. The new Council will hold their first meeting next Tuesday.
Ch ch ch changes in Voice of City Business on KYMN
The Mayor of Northfield has been the voice on KYMN after each Council meeting and work session for over a decade. This year, it’s changing up with incoming Mayor, Rhonda Pownell and recent hire Administrator Ben Martig. They will be collaborating and looking at how we can get information out to the public. They will be doing a team approach post Council meetings with both of them joining Jeff Johnson on the morning show at 7:20 to lend perspectives from a couple of angles. After work sessions, Martig will come in and then on 5th Wednesdays they will do an “open focus” on various aspects of City government that might not be a top news story but information that might be relevant or of interest to the public. There will be occasional guests and you’re invited to contact Pownell or Martig on issues you’d like them to discuss. Go to ci.northfield.mn.us for their contact information.
Charter Schools offer a chance for innovation in learning
Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said the State has really ratcheted up their requirements to be an Authorizer for Charter Schools, in fact, Northfield is one of only three districts statewide left to serve as Authorizer. He added that they’re proud of that fact. And said, “in many communities Charter schools and the local traditional public school are seem to be at loggerheads”. But that’s not the case in Northfield. They just did a 360 review with Arcadia and Prairie Creek and asked what the District might do for them. What they continually come back with is their appreciation of the mutually beneficial relationship that, as their Authorizer, “we’re there to support them and help them”. But just as important, is their autonomy while retaining their status as a public school. Hillmann says he thinks of Charter schools as sort of lab schools, “a place where they can be exempt from some of the state rules to try new and innovative practices that can help our profession of educating children forward in ways that we can’t necessarily do right away in our traditional public schools”. The Charter schools in Northfield are project-based. Hillmann highlighted, Arcadia which was founded as Art-Tech about a dozen years ago, with an emphasis on the arts such as music, drama, etc. Hillmann said Northfield is unique in its Authorizer position as opposed to single purpose authorizers as they have a very different approach than the single purpose authorizers. He believes their mutually beneficial relationship has been great for all parties. Hillmann added that parents are their children’s first and most important teacher. They are the ones to best determine whether a Charter school or a public school is the best place for learning for their student.
246/Jefferson Project page
The City of Northfield just posted a Hwy 246 and Jefferson project page with the consultant’s powerpoint presentation, photos and maps. They’re asking for your feedback. Go to http://www.ci.northfield.mn.us/index.aspx?NID=1070
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