By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
Riverside Park is set to undergo a significant renovation in 2026 of the playground on the Northside of the park, closest to downtown. The long park, which stretches alongside the Cannon River and Highway 3, is noted for the uniqueness of the park, in part because of the number of users of the space, including the pickleball courts, the two playgrounds, the Lions Club, Veterans Memorial, and proximity to Millstream Commons, Village on the Cannon, and Downtown. Bruce Jacobsen, who led the design process for the city, stated that listening groups with these different users are what informed the design plans.
Given the park’s size and scope, the design for the improvements was split into two areas: the playground on the north side, which will be worked on next year, and the other playground and Lions Picnic Shelte,r which will be worked on in future years, while the Veterans Memorial will remain unchanged in the cities plan.
Jacobsen said that as they reviewed designs for the new playground, they found inspiration for the park based on its close location to the river:
“But the idea that it’s a layered landscape and it’s also. Because of the context for this, the adjacency to the pollinator gardens and to the river and to the river shoreline restoration work that’s happened and all these things, is that’s that we work with the existing tree canopy. There are places for shade. There are places to sit in the sun and so on and so forth. So all of those things are really important ingredients.” – Bruce Jacobsen, Designer of the Riverside Park Improvements, speaking at the 8/19/2025 City Council meeting.
The design offers several play spaces for kids that are each unique and based on different natural features, as well as a short nature trail, and a sitting area for parents and the community. Jacsobsen also noted valuable input he received from CC Linstroth and Age Friendly Northfield about the park design:
“The other thing is all my designs forever more are going to have places where it’s not just one bench, It’s this idea that she keeps insisting on. I think it’s a great idea is that we have a big enough pad where we have benches facing each other so you can have a conversation with somebody.” – Bruce Jacobsen, Designer of the Riverside Park Improvements, speaking at the 8/19/2025 City Council meeting.
The park improvements are not part of next year’s tax increase; instead, they are coming from money that has been saved in the city’s parks fund. However, one area that is not covered in the current funding plan and had several options presented was about bathrooms at the park. Currently, most city parks have porta-potties as the main bathroom facilities; however, the city’s current parks plan has the city moving to permanent structures. The cost ranged from $100,000 to $500,000 for the utilities and depending on the size, and design. Overall, the city council has signaled support for the playground preliminary designs, with the final designs coming in the fall and work next summer. Among those excited for the renovated space are Mayor Erica Zweifel.
“I’ve always enjoyed the nature-based play areas that I’ve encountered on my travels, and I really like how the stormwater is managed in this setting and actually incorporated. Water is a theme in the park, and it’s near the river.” – Erica Zweifel, Northfield Mayor on KYMN In the Morning
The final approval design is set to be apporved later this year.
