Tuesday was the deadline to file as a candidate for the Northfield School Board, and with seven people registered, the ballot for this fall is now set.
Three of the incumbent board members are now running for re-election. Board Chair Claudia Gonzalez-George, Vice Chair Corey Butler, and Board Clerk Amy Goerwitz all filed before the deadline. They are joined by challengers Maggie Epstein, Tristan Cox, Andreas Thurnheer, and Iris Lee.
Of note, however, is a name not on the ballot. Noel Stratmoen, who has served on the Northfield School Board for 44 years, making him the longest tenured member of any board of education in the State of Minnesota, did not file for re-election. Stratmoen has recently suffered from health problems and is currently on the second leave of absence he has taken from the board in the past 18 months. His term will expire at the end of the year.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann summed up the way both Noel and his wife Lois are perceived in Northfield.
“Let’s just put it out there, Noel is a legend in this community and in this state. And you can’t talk about Noel without talking about Lois. Noel and Lois are pillars of this community. They have done more for Northfield than many others will probably ever do. Just wonderful pillars of our community.”
Speaking with Jeff Johnson in 2020, just prior to his final election, Stratmoen offered the same type of respect to Dr. Hillmann and his predecessors as he gave the reason he believes Northfield Public Schools have been so good during his tenure.
“They’ve been a very, very good 40 years. We have had excellent leadership, one Superintendent after another. They’ve been excellent at providing good leadership, not only for the education and the academics, but also in the community and they, have the respect of the Community.”
With four open seats on the board, the people who finish with the top four vote totals will be seated on the board in January.
Election Day this year is on Tuesday, November 5th.
Elliott sees Schroepfer as a “good fit” for Northfield
Earlier this month, the Northfield City Council approved Minnesota State Patrol District Commander Jeff Schroepfer as the next Northfield Chief of Police. On Thursday, the outgoing Chief of Police, Mark Elliott, gave Schroepfer his endorsement and said he believes the Council made a very good decision.
In April, Chief Elliott announced his intention to retire at the end of September. The city began to conduct an extensive search for the next chief, interviewing 8 candidates by phone, four in person, and bringing two finalists, Commander Schroepfer and St. Louis Park Police Lieutenant Mikael Granlund, to a public forum and meet & greet at the Grand Event Center in June.
Both candidates were very impressive, however Schroepfer’s ideology for police work and running a department likely put him ahead. During the public forum, Schroepfer discussed the fact that he had been born in a small town in Southwest Minnesota, and while he is proud of the work he has done with the State Patrol, he would like to get back to a department that is focused on the same type of community policing that is the foundation of the Northfield Police Department.
Elliott said that sentiment makes him a very good fit in Northfield.
“He had commented in his statement to the Council that he was looking forward to getting back to more of that small town feel and the community policing aspect of this job. So, I think that would be a really good fit here for Northfield.”
Schroepfer is also a Lakeville resident who has volunteered with the Lakeville Fire Department for several years, and Elliott said that will be another positive aspect he brings to the job, as the police department and the Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service work so closely together.
While Elliott’s retirement date is September 27th, Schroepfer has indicated he would like to be in Northfield, even in an unofficial role, sooner than that, particularly for the Defeat of Jesse James Days. Elliott said Schroepfer’s official first day will be September 23rd, providing a few days of overlap so the new chief can settle in before Elliott officially retires.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott can be heard here
Emmett Norrie & Friends make their public debut on Saturday
And on Saturday night, the Northfield Arts Guild will present Emmett Norrie & Friends at the Northfield Arts Guild Theater.
The band is an eight-piece group, featuring a full horn section, made up entirely of Northfield High School Students and recent graduates, including Ethan Arndt (sax), Sam Boardman (trombone), Jack Pribyl (drums), Liam Ailabouni (keys), MacKenzie Perkins (bass), Jaden Hietala (trumpet) and vocalist Kyra Reverman.
They are fronted by singer and guitarist Emmett Norrie.
Every few years, Northfield seems to produce a young musical prodigy, and Emmett is following in the footsteps of Chad Johnson, Mark Grundhoefer, Casey Wasner and Sam Ryden.
Young Mr. Norrie, who will be a senior at Northfield High School this year, has been playing in and around the Northfield area for three years, and has spent the summer as the sound engineer for performances at the Gardens of Castle Rock.
The group he’ll be playing with at the Guild Theater will be making their public debut on Saturday, but he said they have all played with each other throughout high school.
It is unusual for the Arts Guild to present a band of young people on the Guild Theater Stage, but he said Pauline Jennings, who is the Performing Arts manager at the Northfield Arts Guild has a pretty good idea that this isn’t just any band.
“She’s seen me play. I’ve opened there a couple of times, and so she’s seen me perform. And you know, I’m friends with her and her husband. So, they’ve seen me perform and they thought, boy, what a great opportunity because he’s got this whole new big band to come in and so they booked us and it’s going to be great.”
Emmett Norrie & Friends will be at the Guild Theater tomorrow night. Tickets are $20 for adults and $16 for students and seniors and are available at the door or by visiting northfieldartsguild.org.
The music will begin at 7:30.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Emmett Norrie can be heard here
KYMN Daily News 8/16/24
Contact Rich Larson at rich@kymnradio.net
