The City of Northfield announced yesterday that the lawsuit regarding the funding of the city’s street construction projects has been dismissed by a Rice County Court judge. The suit had been brought against the city, Mayor Rhonda Pownell and several Northfield City Councilors regarding the dismissal of a petition seeking a referendum on the mill & overlay and street reconstruction projects for 2023.
The root cause of the lawsuit was the protected bicycle lanes that have become a part of the city’s street plans. A petition was circulated, eventually garnering 1100 signatures, asking the city to hold the referendum. However, the city found the petition to be invalid for several reasons and was returned to the petitioners. Eventually, six of the petitioners worked with attorney David Ludescher to file the suit.
According to a statement issued by the city, the dismissal represented the court’s approval of an agreement reached with the plaintiffs last week. The city had asked the court to issue an order requiring the plaintiffs to provide a surety bond against increased costs faced by the city due to construction delays and the restructuring of the bond sale. After that request, two of the plaintiffs asked to be removed from the lawsuit. The remaining plaintiffs then sought the city’s agreement for dismissal
Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig said he was happy to see the situation finally resolved, and he expressed some frustration with the way both elected and non-elected city officials have been characterized throughout the process. He also took issue with the idea that the city is not listening to the community, pointing out that there is a difference between listening and agreeing. Working in a city like Northfield, where so many residents are engaged with day-to-day city operations, there will always be someone, he said, who is disappointed with decisions that are made.
“Obviously on any number of issues that we deal with, there are lots of conflicting viewpoints. There’s a quote that I appreciate here in Northfield that says, ‘There are more opinions in Northfield than there are people,’ and I think there’s a grain of truth to that. In the end decisions need to be made, that best fit the needs of the Northfield Community today and tomorrow. We have elected officials that are listening and then making those tough decisions.”
The judge’s ruling on the case was to “dismiss with prejudice.” Under such a ruling, the case may not be refiled. The city now plans to move forward with issuance and sale of the bonds.
Rich Larson’s conversation with Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig can be heard here
District goal is for 80% of students to work at grade level
On Monday night, the principals of Northfield’s three Elementary Schools, Nancy Antoine of Bridgewater, Sam Richardson of Greenvale Park, and Scott Sannes of Spring Creek gave a joint Continuous Improvement Plan presentation to the Northfield School Board.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said having the three school principals present together makes sense, because they have put a great deal of energy into making sure the three schools match each other in what they are teaching, and ensuring an elementary student receives the same education no matter which school they attend.
“Every elementary school needs to have its own culture, its own personality, if you will. But we also want the academic education of our students and the development of our students to be within a few city blocks of each other. So, we’ve been working a lot on aligning instruction and practices between all three elementary schools. Having them align the things that they’re working on, we think, is just good stewardship for the community.”
The presentation showed that the focus in Northfield’s elementary schools right now is getting the students to be able to read and to be able to do math at their grade level. Hillmann said if 80% of the students can accomplish that, the district has the resources to help the other 20% get there as well.
“You may say, ‘Well, Matt, why not 100%?’ Well, of course our aspirational goal is 100%. But when we talk about grade level, not every student is going to hit that grade level benchmark at the same time or in the same way. So, if we can get to that 80% mark, we have a number of other services that can help those students who need additional support to be able to get there.”
Hillmann said all three schools anticipate being able to make that 80% goal based on last year’s data. Last spring, out of the 15 categories the district uses to measure a student’s progress, the elementary students were at or above grade level in ten of the fifteen categories the district looks at, and of the remaining categories, most were in the 70% range.
The elementary schools are right to focus on grade-level achievements, Hillmann said, because studies have shown if a student can read at grade level in third grade, their chances of excelling throughout the rest of their elementary and secondary education increase exponentially.
Chad Johnson, Ben Wang highlight Northfield Shares and Evening of Entertainment, LIVE!
And tomorrow night, Northfield Shares will present Northfield Shares an Evening of Entertainment, Live! at the Estenson Farm and Event Center just southeast of Northfield.
In January 2021, the community foundation held a fundraiser called Northfield Shares an Evening of Entertainment. As the Covid-19 pandemic was in full force at that time, the organization presented an online, telethon style event featuring entertainers, all with a Northfield connection, who sent videos from all over the world. Building off the success of the 2021 event, Northfield Shares will now revive the program in front of a live audience.
Among the entertainers on the bill tomorrow night will be the Northfield Youth Choir, opera singer Ashlyn May, and Chad Johnson, one of the area’s most popular musicians, who will perform with Geenti Dutta. There will be a performance by a group from St. Olaf College playing traditional Japanese Taiko drums, a performance by local dance troupe Baile Folklorico, and a video prepared by comedic actor and Northfield native Ben Wang, who now appears on the Disney Channel series American Born Chinese.
There will also be a dessert draft auction. Attendees will be able to bid on selection slots to choose from a variety of desserts provided by local bakers and supporters of Northfield Shares.
The night will be an opportunity to learn about Northfield Shares and the work the organization does throughout the community. As Northfield’s Community Foundation, the organization works with donors to create funds for specific causes that will generate donations to local non-profit groups.
Tickets are $50 in advance or $75 at the door. A limited number of advance tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting northfieldshares.org.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
