About this column:
The City of Northfield Streets and Parks Department and Northfield Patch have partnered to create a series of videos educating community members about projects and programs in the community. It's important for us to include youth in the process. Logan Regnier, a senior at Northfield High School, is integral to the process as he's the one who is recording and editing the videos. We'll also have youth involved in front of the camera. Enjoy.
In this video, Northfield High School student Helen Forsythe catches up with TJ Heinricy, Northfield's streets and parks supervisor, to ask him about fire hydrant maintenance and who's responsible for shoveling them out during a snowy winter. Follow Northfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter
In this video, Northfield High School student Helen Forsythe catches up with TJ Heinricy, Northfield's streets and parks supervisor, to ask him who's responsible for shoveling sidewalks and trails. Follow Northfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter
In this video, Northfield High School student Helen Forsythe catches up with TJ Heinricy, Northfield's streets and parks supervisor, to ask him about how the city prepares the streets for snow. Follow Northfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter
For this edition of Northfield 101, Northfield Patch caught up with Joe Stapf, Northfield Public Works Director and City Engineer, to discuss the transition from Waste Management to Dick's Sanitation. Effective Jan. 1, Dick's Sanitation is the new contract hauler for collection of refuse for Northfield residents. Residents should have received their new waste carts by now. Stapf says because the recycling carts are handled by Rice County, residents won't need to change out those carts. For Northfield residents who live in Dakota County, Dick's should have dropped off new recycling carts. …
Northfield Patch recently caught up with Northfield City Councilor Erica Zweifel to get a video tour of the Highway 3 underpass project. It's a project that's been more than a year in the making and, in December 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that Northfield was awarded a $1,060,000 TIGER grant toward building the underpass on Highway 3 near Greenvale Avenue, connecting to Second Street East in downtown. The Northfield City Council three months prior had voted to apply for the grant toward the estimated $1.56 million project. The council pledged to put a $500,000 …
This spring, Valley Pond Townhome Association members wanted to come up with a way to encourage users of the path around Hidden Valley Park to pick up after their dogs. After board members found waste stations to be too expensive, they reached out to the City of Northfield about installing signs asking folks to pick up after their pets. City workers installed three signs at the entrances of the park. The cost for the association? $54. Griff Wigley, a member of the board, said it was a great addition to the path. His wife, Robbie, came up with the idea of putting plastic bags in the holes of …
How much is your favorite overnight parking spot worth to you? It could cost you $50—or a tow—if you're not up on city code. Northfield on Thursday puts into effect its annual winter parking ban, which runs through March 15. Regardless if streets are covered with snow or not, parked cars are not allowed on streets overnight without a city-issued permit. Because it takes residents a few weeks to get in sync with the parking ban each year, the Northfield police honor a grace period through the end of the month. Once the grace period expires, tickets will be issued with fines for any car parked …
Before we know it, the snow will be here. But before we get there, we have to finish cleaning up our yards from the natural process of autumn. And if you're looking to use Northfield's compost site, you better hurry up. The compost site is open 2-5 p.m. Friday and closes for the year after Saturday's shift of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site is located between Northfield and Dundas on Armstrong Road, just south of Sechler Park. Northfield residents may take all yard wastes, including brush, branches and shrubbery, to the compost site. This year, the site also started accepting organic waste. For …
Thanks to a collaborative effort, recycling in Northfield recently got a little bit easier. Youth members of Transition Northfield worked with City of Northfield staff, committees and elected officials to create and execute a project to for permanent recycling bins in downtown Northfield. The youth, who received guidance from Northfield Streets and Parks Supervisor TJ Heinricy and Public Works Director Joe Stapf, wanted to increase recycling throughout the downtown area. In addition to meeting with officials and creating the plan, the youth got their hands dirty and helped in the creation of…
The Northfield Fire Department routinely conducts drills. Patch was invited along to witness this scenario in which firefighters used various tools to tear apart two vehicles, simulating a car wreck.
The Northfield Fire Department routinely conducts drills. In this scenario, firefighters responded to an explosion in the tunnels below City Hall. There were four mock fatalities.
There's a method to creating Northfield's ice rinks, but the city's public works operators are at the mercy of the weather, which, as any Northfielder can tell you, can be fickle this time of the year.
Steve Malecha worked 70 hours last week. Thanks to the fourth largest snowfall in Minnesota recorded history, the Northfield Public Works plow operator, along with his coworkers, had plenty of work after an estimated 15 inches of snow fell in Northfield on Dec. 10-11. That storm alone amassed 13,600 tons of snow, according to T.J. Heinricy, Northfield streets and parks supervisor. Snow on Monday brought more work and more complaints from residents. Malecha says common complaints question the speed of plows, how close or far plows are from curbs, and snow being pushed back into driveways and …
