By Teri Knight, News Director
The newly installed walkways on the Water/4th St. bridge were met with disdain, to say the least, as residents got an eyeful on Friday of the barriers to separate fisherman from pedestrians from cars. In a Facebook post just before 5pm on Friday, the City wrote, The design and material installed for the temporary walkway on the Fourth Street Bridge was not set up as planned. Streets & Parks Manager Tim Behrendt is evaluating the walkway and adjusting the design as intended. Expect more on this subject this week. If you have opinions, share them with the City of Northfield via emails
to Administrator Martig, Clerk Deb Little, your own Ward Representative and/or Mayor Pownell. City Council.
Environmental impact taking toll on local State Park
Nerstrand Big Woods State Park Ranger Laurel Quill discussed the environmental impact of the 400% increase in attendance at the park since the pandemic hit. Well intentioned visitors are trying to social distance by going off the trail. Quill said, “so the trails in areas are widening to, in some places, 25 ft. or so across. Our normal width is about 8 ft.”. She said the damage has affected the Falls area which has created “volunteer” trails that they have had to mitigate. The rare endangered dwarf trout lily is in that area, which they have had to close completely as people are trampling on them. They’re putting up signage and new roping and barricades as well. Quill said, “the best thing that our visitors can do is to try to stay on the trails”. If the trail looks too busy, head to the south end of the park. Quill’s full interview is HERE.
Green Step City update
The City of Northfield has taken part in the Green Step City program since 2010 when it started. It’s a free public/private partnership to help cities achieve their sustainability and quality-of-life goals in several areas Building energy, Land Use Transportation, Environmental Management and Economic and Community Development. Program Coordinator Beth Kallestad presented to the council last week. Northfield’s completed 52 actions including, “installing LED’s in traffic lights, adopting the Complete Streets policy, implementing traffic calming measures, we can use our subscription to the community solar garden, some paving projects that follow MnDot’s specs for asphalt recycling and our Land Development Code allows for crop raising and backyard chickens essentially in the residential areas”. The program has added 2 more steps, 4 and 5, which Kallestad said they are working on. She reported that the recent Shred Right paper event collected 8500 pounds of paper, the equivalent to planting 72 trees or supplying 2.13 years of energy use for the average home. 1 – GreenStep Cities Update
Nate’s Garage Car show and Burnout Contest raised nearly $5k
Hundreds gathered on Saturday to raise money for Nate’s Community Garage in Cannon Falls. Nate Icaza started this nonprofit in February to provide automotive services to those that may not be able to afford them otherwise. He explained last Friday, “as money is available we’ll get you in and take care of it. What the program does is basically pays 75% of a bill up to $1,000”. Over 85 custom and classic cars were on display with over 400 people enjoying the day and raising nearly $5,000. Nate’s is only the second garage that offers this program in Minnesota. There’s an application online to receive their services at natescommunitygarage.org. You can also donate there. Nate’s Community Garage services vehicles in dire need, this isn’t for oil changes. Natie’s interview is HERE. Here’s a link to the festivities on Facebook including the burnout contest!
