by Rich Larson
Two weeks ago, a petition submitted to the state Environmental Quality Board was passed down to the Northfield City Council asking for an
Environmental Assessment Worksheet to be done on the former Paulson Tree Farm. The property has been proposed for development by Rebound Partners, Schmidt Homes and the Stencil Group that would include 24 housing units and a 100-unit apartment building called Kraewood. A group of concerned area residents calling themselves Northfield SHED has opposed the development and sponsored the petition.
Diane Angell, a professor of biology at St. Olaf College and one of the co-chairs of SHED, said the EAW is a formal environmental assessment of the area conducted by a neutral environmental consultant, which would lead to the determination of whether an Environmental Impact Study is necessary for the project.
There are three concerns specified in the petition regarding wetland conservation, the environmental impact of more traffic in the area, and the presence of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee.
Rusty Patched Bumble Bees were listed as federally endangered species in 2017, after the population mysteriously went into a sharp decline. Efforts have been taken across the State of Minnesota to bring the bee back from the edge of extinction, including Gover Tim Walz declaring it to be the Official Bee of the State of Minnesota. Angell, said the proposed development area is perfect habitat for the bees, as it contains the types of trees and flowering plants that are important for the bees’ survival. She also said that the bee has been spotted on three different sides of the property.
SHED has been criticized for standing in the way of a major housing development at a time when Northfield is facing a severe housing shortage. Angell said, however that her group is not looking to save the bee at the expense of housing. They believe, she said, that a balance can be struck.
“I want to emphasize that this is not a bee vs affordable housing. We really believe deeply that we can balance the needs of the bee with the needs of the developer. We can do both. We can have affordable housing and protect our endangered species.”
The petition did not meet the criteria needed to trigger an automatic EAW assessment, so it falls to the council to decide whether the petition should be accepted or not. They will vote on the issue next Tuesday night.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Professor Diane Angell of Northfield SHED can be heard here.
First Responders ‘Thank You’ event set for Thursday
National Fire prevention Week begins on Sunday, and next Thursday the Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service will commemorate the week with school visits to raise fire prevention awareness and teach some fire safety techniques to the students. Those visits will be followed by a community celebration on Thursday night as a thank you to all of our local first responders, and an opportunity for the public to see the operations up close.
The NAFRS Station will hold an open house at 5:30, giving people an opportunity to tour the recently remodeled fire house. There will be a picnic across the street from the fire station in Ames Park for all the area first responders. The Northfield Police Department, the Rice County Sheriff’s Department, NH+C ambulance and EMS technicians, and the Dundas Police department will all be represented. The North Memorial Medivac Helicopter. There will be free music, games, food, and raffle giveaways from 5-7, and the fire department will demonstrate a live burn at dusk on the 5th Street bridge.
Mayor Rhonda Pownell said this is a rare opportunity to talk to first responders when they aren’t doing their jobs.
“It’s just a great opportunity to say thank you to the great men and women that are serving our community at all hours of the day whenever we need them. It’s an important job that they do on behalf of our community and normally when you’re seeing a first responder it’s not usually ‘Oh, hi! You want to have a cup of coffee?’ because they are busy doing their jobs.”
The event will begin at 5pm next Thursday and run until dusk.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Mayor Rhonda Pownell and Councilor Brad Ness can be hear here
Toastmasters Open House set for Tuesday
The Northfield Community Toastmasters Club has announced an open house that will be held in the meeting room at Culver’s on Tuesday beginning
at 6:30.
Toastmasters International is an organization that promotes communication, public speaking and leadership. Known mostly for its public speaking seminars, members of a Toastmasters club get together to practice and refine their public speaking skills through opportunities to speak and evaluation by their peers.
Founded in 1924, in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International is in 145 countries with more than 300,000 members in nearly 16,000 clubs, including one in Northfield.
The local chapter was started in 2016 and has met every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month since then. Noel Aldrich, one of the club’s Vice Presidents, said Toastmasters has had to adapt during the pandemic. When the shelter in place order was given, they shifted to a Zoom format. Since then, once they were allowed to meet in person, the Zoom component has remained in place for any member who is unable to attend in person. In fact, Aldrich said, the remote meetings forced the organization to deepen its offerings. He said learning how to conduct a zoom meeting and how to speak remotely is now part of the Toastmasters program.
Jane Bartho of the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce is a recent member of the local club. She said she always could speak in public but has learned quite a bit just the same about organization and preparation. And, she said, it has been activities other than speaking that have really helped her to improve.
“Personally, I learned more about speaking when I evaluated somebody else. I had to listen to what they were saying and how I do that same thing. So, I actually learned more about speaking by evaluating other people.”
The Toastmasters Open House is Tuesday, October 5, at Culver’s on Highway 3 at 6:30. For more information visit northfieldmn.toastmasterclubs.org
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
