Last night during the Northfield City Council meeting, Galen Malecha and Rebecca Peterson of the Defeat of Jesse James Days Organizing Committee gave the council an overview and recap of the 2023 celebration, summing it up as an energetic experience.
The celebration this year was, of course, the 75th Defeat of Jesse James Days, and Peterson and Malecha’s presentation focused on the things that made this year unique.
Among the highlights of the year was a visit from the Budweiser Clydesdales, who led the Grand Parade on the celebration’s final day. College City Beverage, they said, made that visit possible, and they expressed their deep gratitude to the company, along with Julie Eddy who acted as a liaison between the committee and College City.
They also expressed their appreciation for the Northfield Historical Society. The NHS marked the 75th anniversary by creating an exhibit dedicated to the celebration’s history, and they recognized the city for the contribution made to the Historical Society that made the exhibit possible. They also thanked the Historical Society for continuing to organize the annual Joseph Lee Heywood memorial graveside service.
The Joseph Lee Heywood Distinguished Service Award this year was given to Gene Lyman in recognition for his exhaustive volunteer work and, “dutiful service to the Northfield and Greater Rice County Communities.” Peterson, who Chairs the Award Committee, singled out Lyman as a longtime family friend and said he was especially deserving of the award.
Seventeen young Northfielders participated in the DJJD Ambassador program this year, and from that group Erica Jorgenson, Danica Sorem, and Rylee Nelson were crowned the 2024 Ambassadors, while Andrew Jorgenson and Olivia Malecha were named Junior Ambassadors. The presentation said the 2023 Ambassadors participated in more than 100 events across the state, promoting Northfield and the Defeat of Jesse James Days.
Malecha and Peterson said the celebration is very supportive of local non-profits, both directly and indirectly. Along with paying a total of $30,000 to local non-profits for helping with the celebration, the committee makes contributions to many non-profit organizations in the area, including the Community Action Center, the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, and the Northfield hospital Foundation through the Give Cancer the Boot program. Meanwhile, at least a dozen local non-profits use the celebration as an opportunity to do their own fundraising.
Malecha, the General Chair of the Organizing Committee, estimated that nearly 250,000 people visited Northfield during the Defeat of Jesse James Days this year, and noted the immense contribution the celebration makes each year to Northfield’s economy.
The 2024 Defeat of Jesse James Days Celebration is scheduled to run from Wednesday, September 4th through Sunday, September 8th.
Temple hoping to shape legislation for community television
Northfield Public Broadcasting Station manager Sam Temple has recently joined the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Association of Community Television Administrators, or MACTA, and is aiding the organization in its work to change the way community television stations are funded.
Temple said the current model, which was put in place more than forty years ago has become outdated, and that is causing many of these stations to pull back on the programming they are able to offer.
As things stand right now in the State of Minnesota, Public Educational Government, or PEG, stations – which is how community television is classified – receive their funding through franchise fees charged by municipalities to cable companies. Those fees are based on the number of cable television subscribers a cable company has within that municipality. So, for example, the City of Northfield is able to charge Spectrum a fee for the number of people who subscribe to their television service. Northfield Public Broadcasting, then, receives its funding from those fees.
Temple said when that model was formulated in the early 1980’s it was a good one and it worked well. However, in the last decade, more and more people have canceled their cable subscriptions and are using internet based streaming services to watch television instead, which is a trend that will only keep growing.
MACTA is proposing that the franchise fees be shifted to internet connections instead of cable TV subscribers. Temple, who is Co-Chair of the organization’s Legislative Committee, said there are some issues with federal law in the proposed model, but other states have found ways to work around the law, and keep things on the up-and-up.
Temple believes this model is going to be agreeable to politicians statewide, and that the law will get changed. There is a need for community television at the hyper-local level, he said, and the state legislators know this.
“We don’t have a whole lot of state resources for covering who’s going to be elected to represent Northfield locally. It’s the local media that does it. So actually, the legislators are uniquely aware of how important and the niche that these public television stations fill. So, there’s absolutely reason for optimism.”
Indeed, during election years, NPB has covered candidate forums held by the League of Women Voters and provided a vast source of information for the members of the community. Temple said, beyond that, Northfield Public Broadcasting will offer well over 400 new videos by the end of the year with programming ranging from church services to historical videos, to sports, and of course all the meetings held by the Northfield City Council and the city’s many Boards and Commissions. Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig said he likes the idea of the new funding model, and he believes Northfielders would miss the information they can currently find on NPB
“In a community like Northfield, I think people just expect to have a lot of available information available to the public. There are great historical videos on our YouTube channel. By having the capacity of our communications team working together and Sam’s really a video expert, we’re really able to showcase more of Northfield and what’s happening, what makes this town really cool.”
Temple said MACTA has hired a lobbying firm, and they are hopeful to get the law changed in the 2024 legislative session.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
