On Tuesday night, the Northfield City Council approved a professional service agreement with Damon Farber Landscape Architects to develop 
City Administrator Ben Martig said a schedule has not yet been developed, but they are working on that with the design team which will include design oversight by consultants Bob Close and Bruce Jacobsen. Bolton Menk will handle the civil engineering, the lighting will be designed by Schuler & Shook, and Nelson Rudie Associates will be the electrical engineers on the project.
Mayor Rhonda Pownell, who has served 14 years as either a city councilor or Mayor, said there has been a very long, slow and methodical pace to get to this point, but to see it actually happen on Tuesday night was very exciting for her.
“It might not seem methodical to some folks, but for some of us that have been in the trenches for a [while now], this is a long time. But you have to wait to see some of these things come to fruition and the benefit of putting plants in place is that you actually act on them. Otherwise, why are you asking people for their opinion and getting their perspectives? It’s really a lot of wasted time, unless you’re really going to do what you said you’re going to do.”
There is still quite a bit to do in project preparation, and Martig said the city will remain in contact with the various stakeholders in the city as the project moves forward. He noted there is an archeological aspect to the project as well, which could be an interesting, if time-consuming, facet to the project. The council will be given regular updates, he said, as things move closer to the construction phase.
If all goes according to plan, Mayor Pownell said, construction documents for Bridge Square will be developed in 2023, and actual construction will happen in 2024.
Library Friends Trivia Bee returns to the Grand
The Friends and Foundation of the Northfield Public Library will present their annual Trivia Bee to raise funds for the library tomorrow 
night at 7pm. Teams of up to four people will compete in four quiz rounds proctored by Northfield’s legendary Quiz Mistress, Jessica Peterson White. Bill North, the Vice-Chair of the Friends board said the money raised at the event will support the various initiatives and programs the library offers.
The Friends and Foundation of the Northfield Public Library was formed in 1982 to support the library’s first expansion. Since then, they have been active in helping the library acquire all three of the bookmobiles it has used throughout the years, as well as the Book Bike. They have assisted in the summer concert series, the summer reading program, and the most recent library expansion. North said they have also recently helped develop a program that offers book packs to local daycare providers so they can take advantage of the library’s services without taking the entire group of kids to the library.
North said this year, the fundraising effort will be focused on the Library Oasis that will be in the Northfield Community Resource Center sometime next year, which North said the organization is excited about.
“It will really be a place where people who are at the NCRC for one of its many services can come together, relax, and read. Library programming can be there, but likewise it’s nearby the schools and so it can also be a great place for students to come and kind of collaborate in different ways.”
The Trivia Bee is now in what would be its tenth year had it not taken a pandemic-induced break. Prior to that, the Friends ran a spelling bee, but North said they realized that a quiz night would be a better way for people to combine their skills in a collaborative way.
“The Trivia Bee allows us to have people form teams. You have your own opportunity to get superfriends together. [Your friend] who knows a lot about sports, the person who knows a lot about gardening and current events, the person who is all about cooking.”
The event will be held at the Grand Event Center. Teams of up to four people can register at $100 per team through today. Teams may also register at the door prior to the event tomorrow night for $120.
For more information, visit northfieldlibraryfriends.org
Chronic Wasting Disease restrictions in effect in Rice County deer hunting zone
One of the great rights of fall in Minnesota will return on Saturday when firearm deer hunting season begins. The 200 & 300 numbered 
permits will run through November 13th, while the 100 numbered permits will not expire until November 20th.
The surplus permits offered by the DNR are sold out.
DNR Conservation Officer Tyler Lusignan, based in Rice County, said the numbers for deer are holding steady over the last few years, and the DNR expects the same strong compliment of hunters as ever, but the weather conditions could make for a slower opening weekend.
“With the warm conditions,” he said, “and then the rain we’re expecting, the deer don’t tend to move much. But we’re still expecting a good weekend.”
Lusignan said, regardless, there will be good days for hunting throughout the season.
As has been the case for a few years now, Rice County is in a Chronic Wasting Disease zone. Those deer that are harvested must be brought to a DNR CWD testing site. Lusignan said the DNR will simply remove the lymph nodes in the deer’s neck, and it should not take much time.
“You can go get your mandatory testing during the opener. There will be DNR staff at the Rice County fairgrounds in Faribault. So [if you get one] one you can go head down there and get it tested quick. It’s a really fast, simple, easy process, if there’s no line. It just takes a couple minutes.”
Field dressing of a deer is allowed in a CWD zone, he said, but a deer carcass may not be taken out of the zone until it has been tested and found to be negative for CWD.
Lusignan said, as always, the DNR is putting an emphasis on safety.
“Every year we hear a story about some sort of incident and it’s usually because someone was being careless,” he said. “We just ask that everyone practice good hunting etiquette.”
Those best practices include wearing blaze orange, and hunters making sure that they are staying visible. He also said good muzzle control, which is not always stressed enough, is important as well.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Officer Tyler Lusignan of the Minnesota DNR can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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