The City of Northfield announced on Monday that the Northfield Public Library will host the Mexican Consul to the State of Minnesota for a public forum to discuss 
Iván Roberto Sierra Medel was named the fifth head consul for the Mexican Consulate in St. Paul in 2021. Medel has worked in Mexican Diplomacy for 30 years. Prior to being posted to St. Paul, he was the Executive Director of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad, and from 2015-2019, he served as Mexico’s ambassador to Guyana.
Medel will discuss the latest changes in the law, questions on immigration, educational programs offered by the Mexican consulate in Minnesota, services the consulate provides to both the Mexican and non-Mexican communities, and how to strengthen communication with local community leaders on immigration and community issues.
The bilingual open forum with Consul Mendel is set for Wednesday, May 17th at 6:30pm in the library atrium.
Hillmann recognizes ‘human toll’ of budget cuts
The Northfield School Board heard a presentation on the district’s General Fund Budget for the 2023-2024 school year on Monday night. While the overall news was
After two years of budget cuts where, overall, the budget was reduced by approximately 10%, Hillmann said that the district’s finances seem to be back on track. A major reason for the cuts has been a projected declining enrollment over ten years. However, the 2023-2024 enrollment is predicted to be about the same as it is this year. The stabilization, at least for one year, allows the district to put a higher amount in reserve than the stated 14% goal, and Hillmann voiced some optimism that the enrollment decline might be slowing sooner than anticipated.
Another reason for the better outlook is the increase in funding that is anticipated from the state legislature to the basic per-pupil formula. Hillmann said the budget includes a 4% increase in aid from the state, which is the lowest amount currently being discussed in St. Paul for the 2023-2024 school year.
That, then, translates to an expenditure budget of $59.7 million, and anticipated revenues of $60.9 million. It is the first time in four years, he said, that the district has not proposed a deficit budget.
“This is the first year since 2019-2020 – so if you think about it, we’re book ending the pandemic – 2019-2020 was a year of course impacted by the pandemic, but just before really a lot of the financial impact was felt. This is the first year since 2019-2020 that we’re not proposing a deficit budget for next year. So, this is a good place to be.”
Hillmann said, despite the good news, it is important to remember how things went bad in the first place, and to acknowledge what the cuts to the budget have meant to the district staff, the district educators, and the students of the Northfield School District. Hillmann said the reductions caused some hardship and some pain, and he did not let the State of Minnesota off the hook simply because there will be an increase in school funding this year.
“So, we want to acknowledge that getting and maintaining our financial stability has come at a cost to our district. [It has happened] because of decades of chronic underfunding by the state legislature, which we’re hopeful will turn around this session, and the declining enrollment that we’ve been experiencing due to lack of housing and just lower birth rates. So, while we are pleased with the financial trajectory moving forward, we do want to acknowledge the human toll that it has taken in our system and in our community.”
With the various sections of the budget presented, the board will be asked to approve the final budget for the 2023-2024 school year at their next meeting on May 22nd.
Fundraiser set to offer support for girls school in West Africa
The Friends of College Monfant, an organization formed locally to support a school for girls in Northern Togo, is holding its annual gala dinner on Saturday. 
Nalongue “Virginie” Cogan, a Togan native, and an alumnus of College Monfant, has lived in Northfield for 27 years. As the oldest of 13 children from a poor village in one of the poorest countries in Africa, she is the first person in her family to finish high school, and the first person in her family to go to college. She described life for girls in her country, at least when she was growing up, as a marginalized existence. Girls who were not able to go to secondary school were generally married by the time they were 14, but Virginie said, that was not the life her father wanted for her.
“After elementary school, there was no way for me to go to secondary school until one of my uncles, who was a teacher, told my dad about the school. So, my dad and I walked about 30 kilometers one day from my village. We left at 3:00 in the morning, and we arrived at 3:00 in the afternoon.”
College Monfant gave her room and board and an education, which eventually led to her meeting her husband, Charlie Cogan, moving to America, becoming a nurse, and finally landing in Northfield.
Virginie said she has been fortunate because of the opportunity College Monfant gave her, and now she tries to give back to take care of the school and the students.
Naomi Ziegler, who has been working with Virginie to help the school since 2016, said the focus has been on access and providing scholarships and room & board to the school for 15-22 girls. They are also working on an athletic apparel drive, where the focus is shoes.
“Last year, the Northfield Soccer Association and some teams at Carleton and St. Olaf donated uniforms, and we sent them over. This year’s drive is really about shoes, because we got the pictures back and the kids are wearing their uniforms very proudly, but they don’t have any shoes on. So, we’d really love to get athletic shoes over to them.”
The gala is Saturday night at Ruth’s on Stafford in Dundas. Ziegler said they will serve Poulet Yassa, a West African chicken dish in a lemon-onion sauce. Entertainment will be provided by several girls who are musicians from the middle-school, and a DJ originally from Ghana who is based in St. Paul. There will be a live auction, a dessert auction, and a chance to sponsor students. Ziegler said one student for one year is $450.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit collegemonfant.org
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Virginie Cogan and Naomi Ziegler can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
