See this post for photos from that day:

He produced a podcast episode for the project, and it’s now available to listen to. His introduction:

Primarily recorded live at Loon Liquor on June 22, this month’s special Independence Day installment is dedicated to discovering the Northfield Historical Society’s past, present, and future as the organization turns 50. Featuring 15 total guests, a live atmosphere, and various stories from five decades, these conversations provide a first-hand example of the community tales that have composed American culture for 250 years.

Listen at:

• KYMN Radio: Trek Through Time with Kosmo Esplan – The History of the Northfield Historical Society, 7-4-26

• Spotify episode

The eight segments, timestamps, and guests:

• 00:00 Segment #1: The NHC Today (Sean Allen & Elleanna Gisvold)

• 12:57 Segment #2: Longtime Leaders & Volunteers (Jeff Sauve, Earl Weinmann, and Rob Schanilec):

  

• 25:52 Segment #3: Organizational Programs (virtual interview with Hayes Scriven)

• 37:09 Segment #4: The Scriver Building (Mark Heiman & Susan Hvistendahl):

  

• 53:47 Segment #5: The Capital Campaign (Christian Hakala & Aaron Street):

  

• 1:07:57 Segment #6: The Organization’s Community Value (Barbara Evans & Griff Wigley):

  

• 1:27:17 Segment #7: Ted Scott’s Influence (Dawn Scott Grench & Heather Scott)

• 1:35:11 Segment #8: Wayne Eddy’s Influence (Julie Eddy)

The full episode runs 1 hour and 46 minutes and covers five decades of Northfield history.

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I saw bees buzzing around some flowers at the edge of the trail, got out my phone to see if I could get a macro shot of one, and then noticed a couple of beetles going at it:

A little research confirmed that those were longhorn beetles and that they were indeed mating: the male mounted on the female, which is the normal mating position for beetles. The white spherical flower heads are rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium).

For those who would like to peruse stories of how some members of the Twin Cities-based homo sapiens species engage in the activity, see this article (fair warning: frank talk, no photos) from the archives of the MN Star Tribune titled Sex ... al fresco: When the weather warms up, Minnesotans can’t get enough sex -- outdoor sex, that is.

Fans of the long-quiet Locally Grown Northfield blog might remember I’ve done a version of this before. Back in 2007, I authored a post called Sex al fresco in Northfield, inspired by that same VitaMN cover story above. It came with two straw polls asking how often, and how readers felt about doing it outdoors around town. Fourteen comments came in over the following week (including one naming the Carleton Arb as a personal favorite), some quite hilarious, nineteen years before I had beetles to hide behind.

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No customers have complained. No accidents have been attributed to the apostrophe, or its absence. Nevertheless, the Commission voted 5-1 earlier this month to pursue the matter. Commissioner Justin Case cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing the matter should first be referred to a subcommittee for further study.

Doug’s Auto Service is jointly owned by Doug Gerlach and Doug Brown. “Neither version reflects the reality of the business,” said Commission chair Constance Tense. “This constitutes grammatical inequity toward the other Doug.”

The complaint holds that the invoice form protects only one Doug’s rights as co-owner, rather than both, while the exterior sign avoids the question altogether. The Commission’s preferred remedy, for both sign and invoices alike, is Dougs’ Auto Service, moving the apostrophe to follow the s.

Municipal Grammar Commissioner Justin Case has proposed Doug and Doug’s Auto Service as a fallback, should his subcommittee ever report back. A third option, apostrophectomy, formally adopting the exterior sign’s current apostrophe-free approach across all materials, remains on the table, though several commissioners consider it a surrender rather than a solution.

The Commission’s report describes the underlying phenomenon as “Monodougism,” the grammatical erasure of a co-equal Doug. The Chamber, whose member’s businesses span beyond the Northield city limits, has commissioned its own legal opinion on apostrophe ownership, a step several members privately admit will likely cost more than the sign itself. “I don’t know what Monodougism means,” said Chamber Executive Director Diane Ledger, “but I know it’s already cost my members more in legal fees than any apostrophe ever cost them in confusion.”

The dispute has drawn academic reinforcements. Retired Carleton College professor Reed N. Wright has cited the Chicago Manual of Style in the Commission’s favor, while retired St. Olaf professor Vera Batim maintains that Garner’s Modern English Usage reaches a different conclusion. A minority report, submitted by local linguist Lex Icon, argues the entire dispute is moot, since proper names function as brands rather than as grammar exercises.

Paige Turner, president of the Northfield chapter of QUILL (the Qualified Union of Instructors in Language and Literature), has thrown the chapter’s support behind the Commission. “Since the original Apostrophe Protection Society disbanded in 2019,” Turner said, “Northfield’s chapter has considered itself the last line of defense.”

Three Municipal Grammar commissioners proudly list the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium's short-lived "AP" (Apostrophe Placement) course on their LinkedIn profiles.

So far, no word from the Washington, D.C.-based group GRAMMAR (the Guild for the Restoration and Advancement of Municipal Manuscript and Apostrophe Reform).

The controversy arrives amid broader civic changes. Northfield’s official slogan, once simply “Cows, Colleges, and Contentment,” was updated two years ago at a consultant’s recommendation to “Cows, Colleges, and Community,” with the third C-word left open for occasional substitution. Residents responded with their own suggestions, including “Cows, Colleges, and Consternation.” Since the City Council’s dissolution of the Arts & Culture Commission last year, followed shortly by its approval of the Municipal Grammar Commission, some residents have proposed a new unofficial slogan: “Cows, Colleges, and Commissions.”

After a preliminary review, the Commission concluded that George’s Vineyard, Coco’s Place, and Flaherty’s Northfield Lanes appear to involve only one George, one Coco, and one Flaherty respectively, and therefore present no immediate threat to grammatical order. Doug’s Auto Service, its report notes, remains the sole outstanding case.

The Commission has also reviewed this publication’s non-profit name. A staff memo, obtained by Northfield.org through a records request filed by Northfield.org to the City’s Department of Redundancy Department, concluded that “Northfield Citizens Online” uses “Citizens” descriptively rather than possessively and therefore requires no apostrophe, a finding this publication accepts without further comment.

City staff noted privately that the apostrophe on Doug's Auto Service invoices is, in any case, a curly quotation mark rather than a straight one, a typographical detail the Commission's report does not address. Staff have tentatively labeled the mark's tendency to appear on some materials and not others 'apostrophic drift.'

That report, which runs 42 pages, concludes that the misplaced apostrophe poses “a low but persistent threat to grammatical confidence within the city limits.” At the upcoming Aug. 3 meeting, the City Council is expected to consider a temporary moratorium on apostrophes in new commercial signage pending a recommendation from the Signage Punctuation Impact Taskforce (SPIT).

Doug and Doug were unavailable for comment, having a shop to run.

Update, 8 PM CDT, July 24:

The Municipal Grammar Commission held an emergency meeting earlier this afternoon. They ended up voting 5-1 on a recommendation that the Chamber begin negotiations with the Dougs to change the business name to Dougz Auto Service. Not only would it solve the apostrophe problem, but it would have a broader demographic appeal, per the Commission’s internal memo that was CC’d to Northfield.org.

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When I published that post on May 25, all three parks had already had their old pavement, mulch, and playground equipment removed. Since then, progress has looked very different site to site.

Central Park is nearing completion:

Construction has finally begun moving again at Dresden Hill Park:

Riverside Lions Park remains fenced with no activity since the initial equipment and surface removal:

For most of the past two months, Central Park was the only site where anything was actually happening. Dresden Hill and Riverside sat fenced off, playgrounds unusable, with no visible construction.

That raised two questions for me. First, why close all three parks at once, rather than keeping two open while one was worked on? Second, why did Central Park go first?

I sent those questions to City Engineer and Public Works Director Dave Bennett. I’ll update this post if and when I hear back from him.

My original post also noted all three projects were expected to be done by September. With Dresden only now stirring back to life and Riverside still untouched, that September timeline seems questionable.

In the meantime, I’ll keep watching the sites.

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Last Friday I chatted with two workers from Prairie Restorations, the company that the City of Northfield uses to maintain the areas surrounding its 30 stormwater ponds.

One worker told me they were spraying an herbicide on various invasive plant species, such as thistles. They were also spraying the willow trees that aggressively grow along the edges of the pond. (Click any photo in the gallery to enlarge. Viewing this in email? Click "View in browser" above to see the gallery full-screen):

The other worker walked around with a brush cutter, slicing patches of invasive tall grasses that will, I was told, crowd out native species if left unchecked:

When the willow trees get sprayed, they turn brown in a few days, as shown in this photo of the nearby Grant Park:

See the City of Northfield’s stormwater page for more details, including this 2-page PDF:

Stormwater Pond Maintenance 201212171613179148

90.6KB ∙ PDF file

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RiverWalk Market Fair was in full swing in the morning, along with KYMN Radio broadcasting live for their 2nd Annual Ice Cream Breakfast.

Starting at 5 pm, the Northfield Arts Guild (supported with funding by the City of Northfield’s Art in Public Places program) hosted a Light Show and Community Party along the NAG’s riverside entrance. Unfortunately, a storm with heavy rain arrived just as the 9 pm light show was about to begin.

Click a photo in any of the 4 galleries to enlarge and scroll through.

Gallery 1:

Gallery 2:

Gallery 3:

Gallery 4:

See the posts of Dan’s previous photos here.

I’m always on the lookout for images and videos that capture the Northfield area: nature scenes, people enjoying (or enduring) the season, community events, weather, unusual sightings, etc. Contact me via email, text, or Substack DM.

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Click any photo to enlarge and then scroll:

There’s a small section blocked off as you approach the trail segment that goes under Canada Ave. near the Waterford Bridge. I walked my bike around it by the water truck:

You can get to the MTST trailhead from in town via the paved trail spur on Wall St. Rd where it intersects with E. 4th St. and Prairie St:

See the City’s web page for details on the construction of the MTST as it goes through and around Northfield.

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Screenshot of the online version:

Northfielders quoted include Mayor Erica Zweifel, Northfield Pride organizer Emy Farley, and Drew Yackel, Carleton College associate chaplain. The photo was taken by Kelli Podracky, Executive Director of the Northfield Union of Youth.

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Read together, they paint somewhat different pictures of the same meeting. Northfield News reporter Colton Kemp covered the meeting in person; KYMN's Rich Larson's account is based on a post-meeting interview with City Administrator Ben Martig and Mayor Erica Zweifel.

TL;DR

The council voted unanimously to deny a citizen petition, signed by more than 100 residents, requesting an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for the 71-unit development on the city’s southeast side. City staff and the council’s legal guidance concluded the project falls below the threshold that would trigger a mandatory EAW or traffic study. The city is instead conducting an informal traffic and pedestrian assessment, with results expected in July, to determine what traffic-calming measures might be warranted.

Northfield News

Northfield News, Colton Kemp, June 24: Northfield denies petition for EAW, but commits to conducting informal traffic assessment

Reporter Colton Kemp’s story included a notable exchange. He reports that Councilor Chad Beumer told petitioners directly that he believed their stated traffic concerns were a pretext, since many of the same petition signers had previously opposed the project for different reasons. Kemp quotes Beumer: “This isn’t necessarily about a safety thing. This is about a rental-townhome-unit thing.” Kemp also noted that petitioner Jason Hill raised a discrepancy between the city’s classification of Fillmore Street as a “collector” road and the state’s classification of it as “local,” a point Kemp notes that staff disputed by citing the city’s own transportation plan rather than current state designations.

KYMN

KYMN Radio, Rich Larson, June 19: Northfield Council Denies Petition for Environmental Review of Harvest Hills Development

Station owner Rich Larson’s coverage is based on an on-air interview with City Administrator Ben Martig and Mayor Erica Zweifel conducted after the meeting. He recounts how Zweifel praised the tone of the meeting, calling it "a strong example of democratic engagement," that she noted the project meets the city's existing zoning and development requirements, and that she noted Councilor Davin Sokup had highlighted both the importance of community input and the city's need for housing. There’s no mention of Councilor Chad Beumer's comments about petition signers' motives or the dispute over Fillmore Street's road classification.

See the official info page for the June 16 City Council meeting, including the video.

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It was also a fundraiser for their Save the Scriver building restoration project, currently underway in downtown Northfield:

My wife Robbie and I attended, ate, drank, schmoozed, and took photos. Click any photo in the three albums to enlarge and then scroll through.

Album #1:

Album #2:

Album #3 below includes photos of Kosmo Esplan, a student member on the Northfield History Center’s board of directors, interviewing guests for his history-oriented KYMN Radio program and podcast, Trek Through Time. I’ll post a subsequent Quick Take once that episode becomes available:

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As of last week, the second story of one duplex was visible, and the basement was being dug for the other. Click photos to enlarge:

RCHH site supervisor Larry Narhi has a photo album with dozens of photos since the construction started on April 8. Screenshot:

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See Dan’s winter photos from last December:

I’m always on the lookout for images and videos that capture the Northfield area: nature scenes, people enjoying (or enduring) the season, community events, weather, unusual sightings, etc. Contact me via email, text, or Substack DM.

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The Reimagine project page includes a graphic with details on “what you can expect over the coming months… the construction area outlined in red in the image below will be fenced off as work begins on the site.” The text in the image isn’t very readable, so I’ve enlarged it. It might not help.

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The Northfield Pickleball Association (NPA) fundraising page says the City has budgeted $40,000 for improvements at the courts, covering fencing, windscreens, and a paved seating area. The NPA estimates the full vision for the courts, including a shade structure, benches, a paddle holder, and a bulletin board, will cost about $56,000. The NPA plans to use the city's $40,000 for the core items and fundraise for the remaining $16,000.

Background

Information in the NPA April minutes indicates that the board was also working on solutions for interior court fencing to separate individual courts, considering options such as a lightweight suspended net or a retractable clothesline. The City had asked the NPA to relocate benches currently inside the courts to outside the new fence; the NPA indicated it would use raised funds for smaller replacement benches inside. The city's long-range planning consultant for Riverside/Lions Park was drafting a site plan that would address the pickleball courts' paved seating area, drainage, paddle rack access, landscaping, and a shade structure, potentially shared with other planned park amenities.

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17-second video of the lively shovel-fest:

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Northfield Mayor Erica Zweifel has credited Westman with getting the project moving, including spearheading the grant application that secured $500,000 from the City of Skate program, part of $4 million in state funds distributed to eight Minnesota skateparks in 2025.

The meeting featured a Q&A with Mark Leski, owner of Wizards Skateparks LLC and the chosen designer for Phase II. Click photos to enlarge:

This recent sketch of an aerial view shows how the Phase II design incorporates the existing skatepark (Phase I) at the Memorial Park location, adjacent to the outdoor swimming pool:

See this 9-page City of Northfield PDF of the presentation at the April 21 Council meeting. It includes additional sketches and the timeline for final approval and construction:

1 260421 Skateboard Park Phase Ii

434KB ∙ PDF file

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Links:

• Northside Boards Skatepark Phase 2 Project page

• City of Northfield skatepark page

• April 24 KYMN Radio story, Northfield City Council Reviews Preliminary Design for Skatepark Expansion

• July, 2025 MinnPost: The state of skate: How the legislative session became a boon for skate park projects

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See my Strava route. And see my three previous posts about the MTST, including the most recent one on Nov. 9:

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The funding will cover mechanical upgrades (HVAC and pool equipment), safety and security improvements, restroom and flooring updates, exterior painting, and new construction, including a loading dock and expanded food storage, for the Community Action Center food shelf.

Mayor Erica Zweifel explained what the city asked for and why in her column in this week’s Northfield News (possible paywall):

NOTE FROM THE MAYOR: Securing state bonding: A $3 million win for the NCRC

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With three candidates for two of the seats, there will be a busy primary season. The primary election date will likely be posted on the City Clerk’s candidate filing site.

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