As the year draws to a close, the Northfield School Board is being asked to come to a decision on what to do about the Northfield High 
School building.
If not for the budget cuts that were made in the spring, the needs of the high school and how to address them would have been the dominant topic for the board in 2022. A task force was assembled in the spring and asked to evaluate the building. The report came back with tiered recommendations that ranged from updated infrastructure to adding space to the school for music and athletics. When the school board could not come to consensus, the matter was tabled while a study was done to better understand how much money the public would approve to make the changes. The results of the survey did not cover the cost of everything the task force report recommended, so the board is now once again debating its priorities.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said the debate on the School Board mirrors the debate the district community is having.
“The high school, a lot of people like where it’s located. A lot of people would like to see something new. It was built with a California model in the mid 1960s and there’s been both criticism and some things that that people do like about it. So, the board has been working on this for about a year now, and they are really representative of where the community is at with this.”
During the school board meeting on Monday night, Hillmann made a recommendation to the board that they approve a three-question referendum that would be put to the public sometime in 2023.
He said the first question would ask the public to approve $60 million in bonding for what he called “in place” remodeling.
“That $60 million would do things like the HVAC system, internal systems. It would modernize the classrooms by updating windows, updating lighting, interior finishes, furniture, things like that.”
The money would also cover classroom, shop and lab upgrades, add more security to the building, and create some more energy efficiency.
The second question would build a field house for the high school to support indoor court sports.
“Think volleyball, think basketball. Think some indoor track. Think potentially indoor tennis and pickleball. We’d look at a walking track to be able to make part of that facility available to the community.”
He said the building would accommodate four basketball courts, but they have yet to determine if it will be attached to the building or adjacent to it.
Finally, the third question would ask for money to build artificial turf fields adjacent to Memorial Field, in order to get more use out of that space for physical education.
“We just really want to expand the time of the year where we will be able to access those fields. If you’ve ever been on those fields in this early spring, you know it’s tough.”
Dr. Hillmann said the board will be asked to take a vote at the next meeting on December 12.
College contributions ae acknowledgement of opportunities for students
St. Olaf College and Carleton College have made their annual contributions to the City of Northfield. 
On Monday, Carleton Vice President and Treasurer Eric Runestad and St. Olaf Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Janet Hanson presented the donation to Mayor Rhonda Pownell, City Administrator Ben Martig and Finance Director Brenda Angelstad, in the council chambers at City Hall.
This year’s donation is $160,000, split evenly between the schools.
A joint statement issued by the colleges said the annual gift dates back to the 1920s, when Carleton and St. Olaf were among the first colleges in the United States to make such a gift.
Nearly 5,000 college students live in Northfield during the academic year, and of that number, many stay in Northfeld over the summer. The donations recognize that Northfield provides those students with restaurants, shopping, and emergency and professional services. The city also affords them opportunities for local employment, internships and volunteering that expand their collegiate experience.
Likewise, the Northfield community benefits from the students and visitors St. Olaf and Carleton bring to town. The statement said that students are significant consumers and clients for local businesses and provide countless volunteer hours for local schools and organizations. Their family members also visit Northfield regularly in order to attend festivities, competitions, recitals, concerts, award ceremonies and commencements. These visitors, as well as the thousands of prospective students and their families who visit each year, frequent local hotels, restaurants and shops. Both colleges host a wide range of athletic, art and musical offerings as well, which are often free and open to the public.
St. Olaf and Carleton are two of the largest local employers, as well, employing more than 1,500 people combined.
Conversations earlier this year at City Council meetings indicated that the contributions from the schools will be allocated to the city parks maintenance fund.
Special hunt will close Bg Woods Park this weekend
The Minnesota DNR announced yesterday that Nerstrand Big Woods State Park will be closed to all visitors on Saturday and Sunday for a 
special deer hunt. The purpose of the hunt is to prevent overpopulation of deer and to protect natural resources.
“Too many of one animal or plant species in an area can start to throw off the balance of other species in that area,” said Tavis Westbrook, the Natural Resource Program coordinator for Minnesota State Parks and Trails. “When there are too many deer in a park, they feed too much on certain trees and native plants, so occasionally we allow deer hunts as a way to protect natural resources and bring the deer population back into better balance.”
Hunts also will take place at some other Minnesota state parks and recreation areas this fall, and access to these areas will vary. Some will remain open to all visitors, some will have limited public access, and some will be open only to hunters with special permits. The deadlines have passed for youth and adults to apply for permits to participate in the hunts.
A statement issued by the DNR said the department is grateful to visitors for their patience and understanding during the hunts.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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