Dundas has been on a roll. Administrator John McCarthy updated KYMN listeners on the group from Red Wing that are redeveloping the former K-Mart space. They plan to close on the property by the end of this week and will be “in looking for a building permit”. The development will be for a 10 screen cinema along with other retail space. McCarthy said they hope to expand in the future which may include new buildings. They’ve got space to do
it. Aldi’s applied for a building permit and should start construction this Spring. As for the brewery, which has changed names and is now known as Meeting Hall Brewery they plan to be up and operating by mid-summer. McCarthy’s entire interview is online at kymn.net.
2nd phase of “Thought Exchange”
The Thought Exchange has given the Northfield School District an opportunity to engage with the community in a variety of ways. Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann calls it an online town hall. The first step was feedback on what issues were concerning. This, the second step, allows the community to star the items they think are most important. It “bubbles” the main concerns to the top. Hillmann says it’s not just data but context, giving them an idea of the passion for a particular issue, for example, class size. District wide, other areas include, appreciation for the dedication of the staff. Appreciation for the diversity and open mindedness of the students and staff came to the top as well. Hillmann added that some things that come up are items that may just need to be explained better to the community. The top 2 questions centered around facilities. There was so much talk at the Board meeting surrounding Greenvale and the High School that they are going to hold a special work session to talk through the adopted facilities plan. It will be February 8th at 5:30 in a location to be determined. Hillmann is hopeful that the public website will be running next week with all the recent data.
A Grand night indeed!
It was a Grand night as the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce held their annual meeting and business recognition banquet at The Grand Event Center last night. Outgoing Board Chair, Jesse Streitz praised President Todd Bornhauser and members of the Chamber for their efforts to significantly raise the profile of the Chamber. John Thomas of Mr. JST Technology was selected as Ambassador of the Year and talked of when he first started his business, Chamber members asked, “how can I help” and now he does the same. Business of the Year is KYMN and owner Jeff Johnson explained the expansion to FM 95.1, gave heartfelt thanks to community leaders and his employees. Beth Ayotte Naumann was honored as Business Person of the Year. She took over Servicemaster by Ayotte from her dad and has worked tirelessly as a business and community leader, volunteer and mother. Each of these winners are entrepreneurs, which takes vision, courage and a lot of hard work. I have a few pictures of the evening on our website.
