By Rich Larson, News Director
During their meeting on Monday night, the Northfield School Board voted to retire the current Northfield Raiders mascot and remove it from any
further use by the school district. But in a surprising move, the board also voted to not adopt a new mascot and instead directed that the block “N” be used to represent the school and its various teams.
The decision comes a month after the board was presented with three potential new mascot images that had been intended to both replace the old one and to honor the townspeople of Northfield who kept the James Younger Gang from robbing the First National Bank in 1876. However, despite a series of revisions and refinements, the board decided it was too difficult to distinguish one of the townspeople from one of the bank robbers.
The images came under public criticism when they were revealed to the public last month. Questions were asked about why the school was honoring the band of outlaws, and if the school even needed the mascot. In the end, Dr. Hillmann said, the board agreed with those questioning the new look.
“Despite the best efforts of the committee and despite the professional work that we had done by Neuger, our board members just said ‘We can’t talk to people in the community and say that this does not look like the outlaws. And we’re not trying to venerate the outlaws, we’re trying to venerate the townspeople.”
Hillmann said the board had a “very thoughtful, and very respectful” discussion on the matter. He said they unanimously complimented the work done by the people who had submitted the images. Hillmann himself conceded that creating an image to look like a citizen of Northfield in 1876 that does not appear to be a member of the James Younger Gang is a difficult task.
With the confirmation of the block “N,” the board also made the decision that no further work on a mascot should be done.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Dr. Matt Hillmann can be heard here
City of Dundas cracking down on residential parking regulations
Residents of Dundas will soon receive information going over the local regulations and requirements for parking in residential zones.
Dundas city administrator Jenelle Teppen said that the mayor and members of the city council have received a series of complaints over the last few months regarding the parking habits of some residents. She said parking cars on city streets for extended periods of time, parking junked or non-working vehicles, or parking vehicles on a lawn is not allowed. All vehicles must be parked on approved surfaces, which include concrete, asphalt and paving stones.
Teppen said that gravel driveways will be given the courtesy of a “Grandfather Clause.”
“We have a number of gravel driveways in the older section of town. Those will be allowed to remain gravel driveways until such time as they make any improvements and then they’ll need to come into compliance with our regulations.”
The Dundas City Council approved a mailer with all the pertinent information at their meeting on Monday night. It will be sent to every residential property owner in Dundas in the next few weeks.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen can be heard here
Summer Calendar brings ‘vibrancy’ back to downtown Northfield
After a year of social distancing, canceled festivals, delayed weddings, and sheltering in place, the appearance of a summer events calendar is a
welcome sight to many Northfielders.
On Monday, the Northfield Chamber of Commerce, which operates the local Convention and Visitors bureau published a calendar that includes a number of summer events that were not able to happen in 2020.
The calendar begins this weekend with the Rice County Gas & Steam Engine Show and the Bridge Chamber Music Festival. The St. Olaf Graduation Ceremonies are set for Sunday, followed quickly in June by Northfield High School Commencement and Carleton College Commencement. Last year, all three of the ceremonies were severely limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the restrictions will be minimal, provided they can be held outside.
July will see the return of the Vintage Band Festival on the 31st, Northfield Crazy Days on July 22, the Northfield Garden Tours on July 10-11, and the July 4th fireworks which, curiously, will be on Saturday, July 3rd.
August through Labor Day will bring the second installments of the Bridge Chamber Music Festival and the Rice County Gas and Steam Engine Show, as well as the Cannon River Clay Tour.
And September of course, features the main event. The Defeat of Jesse James Days, which is now being promised as “close to full capacity as possible,” will run September 8-12. October will feature the Riverwalk Market Fair Fall Celebration and the South-Central Minnesota Studio ArTour.
Chamber President Lisa Peterson said the return of these summertime events is very good news.
“All of these events bring a vibrancy to Downtown Northfield and the community as a whole that was sorely missing last year. We are so happy to see things coming back.”
Due to the still unstable nature of a global pandemic, and allowing for other unforeseen events, all subjects on the calendar are subject to change.
