During the City Council meeting on Tuesday night, the Northfield Branding Commission offered an initial look at the work that has been done to update and modernize the way the City of Northfield presents itself.
Jeff Johnson of the design firm Replace, which was selected by the commission to create the new designs, offered a variety of looks, and said the goal of the work they did was to give the city an updated look that would work for what he called “small space digital.” While the font used for the city’s name might have changed, the designs have a timeless feel to them. The color palette has not changed very much. Johnson said the blue and green that the city currently uses signify the Earth and the sky, and they will remain, but they are incorporating some gold into the designs as well to make things, as he put it, “just a little fancy.”
The Council roundly praised the initial designs. Councilor George Zuccolotto said he was very impressed at how “clean and timeless” they are. Councilor Kathleen Holmes praised the commission for taking their work seriously and said the designs will work in a variety of different ways.
Councilor Davin Sokup said was happy with 99% of the work, but expressed concern about Northfield’s longtime slogan “Cows, Colleges, and Contentment.” Sokup’s comments echoed those of many within the community who do not want to see the tagline retired.
Johnson said that, while the new official slogan will be “Cows, Colleges and Community,” “Cows, Colleges, and Contentment” will become what he called the “legacy” slogan, and the city will still use it wherever it sees fit. In fact, Johnson said, part of the new branding will be to incorporate the phrase, in a modified fashion, into just about every aspect of the city. He suggested “Cows, Colleges and Commerce” could be used by groups like the Economic Development Authority and the Chamber of Commerce. “Cows, Colleges and Coffee” could be used by the local service industry sector. He said Northfield is unique because most people do not know their city’s slogan, but every Northfielder does, and that should be preserved.
City Administrator Ben Martig was also quite pleased with the designs and said the new materials will provide the city with an updated and modern feel.
“We’re doing this because every community has a brand, whether it’s managed successfully or not. It’s that look and the feel of a community. We’re going to take the essence of our community and use the things that make Northfield a really great, charming, vibrant and creative community. We’re going to show that visually and we’ve got a lot of different concepts that we’re working on.”
Martig said the rollout of the new materials will be a gradual phase-in process that will begin in the next few months.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig can be heard here
Nominations due February 4th
The City of Northfield is seeking nominations for the annual awards that are presented during the Mayor’s State of the City Address.
The Mayor for a Day Essay Contest encourages 4th and 5th graders to start thinking of themselves as individual members of the community. This year’s essay question asks what they would do to make one of the services provided by the city even better.
The Leadership Award goes to a junior or senior student enrolled in a Northfield area school who exhibits high standards and demonstrates a consistent approach to excellence as a student.
The Board & Commission Member Excellence Award recognizes a current individual member or group of members for accomplishments of outstanding worth in advancing and improving public service in the City of Northfield.
All forms can be submitted online on the city website. Students have the option of submitting a handwritten essay or online essay for the Mayor for a Day Essay Contest.
The deadline to submit a nomination is February 4th. The State of the City is scheduled for March 18th.
Organization looks to support, expand Parton Library program
Dolly Parton’s birthday is tomorrow. She will turn 78 years old. Parton is, of course, among the most beloved entertainers in the world, known for her beautiful voice, her musicianship, her songwriting skills, her charming, often self-deprecating sense of humor, and her philanthropy. Parton has championed causes throughout her career from poverty relief, to environmental concerns, but the highest profile project has been the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
For almost thirty years, the program has promoted literacy among the youngest children, who are eligible on the day they are born, by sending them a book every month until their first day of kindergarten.
The program is a collaboration between Parton’s foundation and a local organization. The Rice County United Way is that local partner in this area, providing books each month to more than 1500 Rice County kids, at a cost of $45,000 every year.
In an effort to ease that economic burden, a group of current and former teachers have joined with a group of concerned parents to form the Friends of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Their goal is to support the Rice County Area United Way, to not just keep the program going but to expand it as well.
Beth Berry, a principal of the Friends organization, said statistics show that children who are enrolled in the program test Kindergarten Ready at a higher rate, and at the 3rd Grade level test a full 20% higher than those who are not in the program.
It’s the 3rd Grade level where things get really important, she said.
“The third grade, where they go from learning to read to reading to learn, is your first predictor of high school dropout. That correlates with poverty, welfare, homelessness, teenage pregnancy. One of the most remarkable statistics is that 75% of our incarcerated population is functionally illiterate.”
The Friends of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library will celebrate Parton’s birthday tomorrow night with a fundraiser at Armory Square. Music will be provided by the Northfield High School a capella choirs, as well as The Bam-Bams.
The show is officially sold out, but there might be a few spare tickets to be had. The doors will open at 6:30.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
