Northfield NOW Fall 2020

FALL 2020 • ISSUE 4

Northfield

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now L I V E / W O R K / P L AY

ProFILES edition Nurture & Nature

Arb director enjoys connecting the community to the land, and vise versa Music Maker Iijima finds a new passion: making stringed instruments

Aw, shoot

Local photographer is well-known for chronicling Raiders sports

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contents

PROFILE EDITION

4 In tune: Local luthier driven by love of learning and making 7 Focused in: Wellbrock a photography fixture at Northfield athletics 11 Living in town, working next door - Northfield resident enjoys fielding calls, wearing many hats as Dundas city administrator 15 Zweifel’s dozen: City councilor looks back at the achievements, challenges of three terms in office

19 Top of his field: Reflections of a successful business career and holder of three patents 22 Sporting life: Native Northfielder a key figure for Oles athletics 25 The power of people - Directors use community foundation as conduit for relationships 28 Connecting through conservation Carleton alum finds new ways to build community as longtime arb director

on the cover:

After a long career with the Nature Conservancy, specializing in invasive species management and prescribed fire, Nancy Braker has served as director of the Carleton College Cowling Arboretum since the position’s inception in 2007. Pictured here, Braker oversees a controlled burn at the college-owned McKnight Prairie near Randolph. (Photo courtesy of Steve Braker)

Raiders at Lakeville Hasse Arena February 8, 2020. (Wellbrock Sports Photography)

Northfield

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REGIONAL PRESIDENT: STEVE FISHER REGIONAL GENERAL MANAGER: CHAD HJELLMING REGIONAL MANAGING editor: SUZANNE ROOK ASSOCIATE editor: Sam wilmes Regional Director of Sales: TOM KELLING advertising: JORDAN ANDREAS designer: Kate Townsend-Noet

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.in tune

Before taking on the music business, Ann Iijima was a professor of law at the former William Mitchell College of Law. She’s also worked as a nonprofit coordinator, high school biology teacher, curriculum developer and bartender.

Local luthier driven by love of learning and making

A

Story By ANNE KOPAS Photos Courtesy of ANN IIJIMA

nn Iijima has the kind of resume that, at first glance, looks like it would take multiple lifetimes to cover.

In her longest-running role, the Northfielder was a law professor at the former William Mitchell College of Law; she’s also worked as a nonprofit coordinator, biol-

ogy lab technician, multicultural curriculum developer, high school biology teacher, bartender, waitress and now luthier, local music promoter and makerspace co-founder.

Through all of this, the Carleton College grad sees a common thread: a never-ending love of learning.

Currently, much of Iijima’s time goes to a relatively newfound interest in handcrafted string instruments. It began a decade ago, when Iijima, then age 60, decided to learn to play the fiddle. She hadn’t picked up an instrument since learning a few guitar chords in high school, but as long as she enjoyed it,

Ann Iijima is the guitar and mandolin builder behind Silver Cranes Lutherie. She learned the trade at Minnesota State College Southeast’s lutherie program, where she found a community of fellow instrument-lovers.

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ABOVE LEFT: By adjusting the size, internal bracing and type of wood used, Iijima can produce octave mandolins that produce slightly different sounds.

TOP RIGHT: From left to right: Ann Iijima’s creations include a mandolin, octave mandolin, and acoustic guitar. Each can take up to 350 hours to build.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Ann Iijima displays her instruments in her home studio. She also works out of the Cannon Valley Makerspace in Dundas.

she figured, she didn’t have to be good at it.

Her music teacher encouraged her to attend a festival of the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association. As she walked into the convention, Iijima was surrounded by hundreds of people with instruments, jamming together in small groups and inviting others to join. The warm, welcoming community encouraged her to play along and keep coming back.

Year after year, Iijima picked up brochures for Minnesota State College Southeast’s globally known lutherie (guitar repair and construction) program, until she finally enrolled. Quickly, she went from never having worked with wood or hand tools to designing and building her own acoustic guitar by the end of the first year.

By now, she’s also built a standard mandolin and an octave mandolin (tuned an octave below the standard), and has two more in progress.

Each instrument can take up to 350 hours, depending on the design and machinery used. She works under the

name Silver Cranes Lutherie and currently takes commissions from friends and local artists.

Throughout the building and learning process, Iijima became fascinated by the various ways instruments create sound and the different ways she could make music from wooden parts. As someone who spent a significant part of her career in a competitive environment surrounded by academics and lawyers, Iijima appreciates the hands-on, collaborative nature of the work and the luthier community.

“I’ve been too much in my head my whole life, but when I’m building instruments and when I’m playing, that all stops. You’re in a different part of your brain entirely. There’s just something about it, it’s like meditation,” said Iijima.

She can spend hours sanding or carving, she said, in a state of flow where the time just disappears. Instead of relying on her eyes for guidance, woodworking also engages the senses of smell and touch in the scent of the

wood or the motions of carving.

“That part of my brain just likes to be active,” said Iijima.

A community of makers As Iijima became more involved in the lutherie business, she ran into an issue: It requires power tools both too large and too expensive to store in her home.

This dilemma led her to the Cannon Valley Makers, a group organizing a community makerspace for people to share tools, take classes and have access to equipment they wouldn’t otherwise own. Iijima became one of the founding board members; finally, they found a space in Dundas that opened in April, only to close soon after due to COVID-19.

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Ann Iijima works on an instrument. Iijima enjoys the physicality of woodworking, she said, as a way to take a mental break and focus on working with her hands.

(Photo courtesy of Ann Iijima)

of knowledge,” said Iijima. “I’m glad that I discovered working with my hands now, but it makes me sad that I might not have ever learned this.”

Coyote Entertainment Though Iijima herself rarely performs outside of casual jam sessions, she’s dedicated to promoting local musicians.

In October 2019, she launched Coyote Entertainment, a music promotion and booking agency, along with longtime friend Rich Larson. The agency works mostly with acoustic performers, including some popular regional acts: Dakota Dave Hull, the Roe Family Singers, Phil Heywood, Katy Vernon, Papa John Kolstad, Mark Kreitzer, Mary Cutrufello and Jon Manners.

Bookings have paused in the past few months due to the pandemic. In the meantime, Iijima and Larson are eager to resume finding gigs for their artists as soon as it’s safe to do so.

The two met through the Northfield music scene, which Larson said is a tight, interconnected community.

In their time working together, Larson has seen firsthand how Iijima’s creativity, willingness to learn and warm personality have inspired others.

“Ann is a force of nature,” said Larson. “If she thinks something is going to happen, it’s just going to happen.

It’s this amazing mix of willpower and stubbornness and incredible intelligence and assuredness that is just wonderful to be around.”

Outside her musical work, Iijima also spends her time cooking (another way to stretch her creative muscles), continuing her makerspace work and co-chairing her Carleton class’s upcoming 50th reunion celebration.

No matter what new venture Iijima takes on in the future, she knows she wants to keep growing and expanding her horizons, whether that’s making new types of instruments or picking up other skills entirely.

“I just keep wanting to learn new things,” she said.

“Once I have a handle on something, I”m wanting to learn something new.”

Anne Kopas is a freelancer writer based in Northfield.

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Now, members can use the space again with proper protection, like face masks. But despite the pandemic, the group has been busy. Iijima initiated a project with the Healthy Communities Initiative’s literacy program to build and install Little Free Libraries in underserved areas of Northfield. Other members sewed face masks to donate to first responders or built boxes to fill with beverages from local producers as a Rotary fundraiser.

The Makers plan to host outdoor workshops in the coming months. Once it’s safe to have larger groups inside, members will have access to classes in woodworking and metalworking tools, laser cutters, 3D printers 6

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and more. Iijima hopes to teach an instrument-making workshop.

“What we are is a community of makers. Our hope is to involve people of all ages, to bring them in, to create, to learn, to build, to work together,” said Iijima.

Workshops will be open to a range of ages. In this, Iijima hopes to encourage a spirit of lifelong learning.

It’s important for kids to learn from a young age that they can make things with their hands, she said, but it’s also important to spread the message that retirement doesn’t signal an end to learning.

“Because of the way the school system has been, there has been for too long an emphasis on analysis, and I think that’s really important, but I think that has underplayed too much the importance of other kinds

CANNON VALLEY MAKERS Visit cvmakers.org for information about membership, classes, and upcoming events.

Find them on Facebook at @CannonValleyMakers.

COYOTE ENTERTAINMENT For information and updates, visit Coyote Entertainment on Facebook.

FOCUSED IN

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Wellbrock a photography fixture at Northfield athletics Story By MIKE RANDLEMAN

ometimes a simple hobby can snowball.

Jim Wellbrock got his first camera around age 12. He quickly made a beeline outdoors.

Wellbrock liked to roam around his hometown of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, snapping photos of the woods, buildings or whatever his viewfinder came across.

Photos Courtesy of JIM WELLBROCK

But this was no prospective career.

“I took one college class in photography,” Wellbrock, an engineer by trade, said. “We had to roll our own film. “It wasn’t interesting to me, that part of it. It was monotonous. I wanted to take the pictures and see the results and not necessarily do all the film rolling.”

Wellbrock doesn’t miss the laborious days of old spent developing film in the darkroom. Decades later, though, and he finds himself editing away in another type of darkroom.

A labor of love The sun wasn’t far from making its daily appearance over top of Wellbrock’s Northfield residence.

Wife Rebecca, daughter Laura and sons Nathan and Graham were all sound asleep. Jim was not.

“Owatonna football in 2017, we beat them here,” Wellbrock was quick to recall one of his favorite memoCONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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Jim Wellbrock is a fixture at Northfield Raider athletic events as a photographer and parent.

LEFT: Jim Wellbrock snapped a photo of Northfield’s Mason Zick looking for room to land during a 2017 game against Rochester Century.

He’s present at innumerable Northfield High School athletic events. That’s whether or not one of his kids is in uniform.

“He’s so giving. He volunteers his time. He just loves to do it,” said NHS boys basketball coach Ryan Driscoll. “I know for football he travels to games, he’s at every game. Home events, that’s a couple nights a week, for sure. Then he does the preseason photo shoots. Every year he has a few different ideas. It gets a little more big-time each year, it seems like.“ Wellbrock is the school’s unofficial athletics photographer of sorts. There’s no contract nor payment involved. No obligations.

He can come and go as he pleases, though his love for photography and the Raiders keep him coming back.

A hobby grows

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

ries photographing Northfield athletics. “It was back and forth the whole way. One of the best high school football games I’ve ever seen. We completed a pass in 8

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my corner in the end zone hitting the pylon over as time expired. That was thrilling.

“I was up until 4 a.m. that night editing.”

Wellbrock’s talents aren’t reserved for football.

Wellbrock was an early adopter of digital cameras when they became popular in the 1990s and 2000s.

“Early cameras were not great, but it was something you could do at home,” Wellbrock said. “You could process your own pictures and things like that.”

It was a way to keep his hobby thriving.

Having subjects to photograph also helped.

“Once we had kids in school and in sports I started to think a little bit more that this is maybe something to do,” Wellbrock said.

Wellbrock took his camera to his eldest daughter Laura’s volleyball match. He found his lower budget equipment didn’t quite achieve the results he was looking for inside a dark high school gym.

Wellbrock got more up to speed with current technology, purchasing a new Canon camera in 2015.

He returned to the court with his new toy and began to reap the rewards.

“So I went to a couple more volleyball matches and got some pretty good results,” Wellbrock said. “What I found was the parents and the kids really liked this. So I started thinking maybe there could be something to this

Jim Wellbrock not only seeks reaction shots from athletes, but from others at events including fans. He captured the joyous Northfield faithful after a won point in a 2019 match versus New Prague.

and it could become a little more regular.”

Wellbrock mastered the art of the action shot. Except what takes place on the field of play isn’t the half of it.

“You’re not just taking some snap shots here and there, but you’re documenting the day,” Wellbrock said of his approach. “Especially sports like football, it’s a whole game day experience. The band, kids, cheerleaders, team coming on the field, playing the game, and after.”

Wellbrock estimates he takes 1,000-1,5000 photos at a football game. Most other events wind up at around 500. After reviewing his haul on the computer, he’ll whittle galleries down to 100-150 “keepers” that make it onto his website and Facebook page.

“He does a great job of getting everybody,” said NHS football coach Bubba Sullivan. “Not only the stars.”

Documenting a particular day turns into documenting entire seasons. Wellbrock enjoys hopping on the computer to put together season preview or season recap videos.

“He’ll interview people and put it in our video. It’s awesome, the stuff that he does,” said NHS volleyball coach Tim Torstenson. “We’ll take a half hour or hour of one of our practices in the preseason to do it.”

If a coach or parent has an idea, he’s willing to oblige.

A St. Patrick’s Day basketball game resulted in CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

One of Jim Wellbrock’s favorite photos he’s taken came here with a game-winning touchdown scored by Alex Rasmussen in a 2017 home win over then undefeated Owatonna.

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Jim Wellbrock primarily photographs athletics, but he enjoys time to shoot out in nature as well.

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green-tinted photos.

He’s even dabbled in commentating Laura’s club volleyball match with fellow parents during livestreams.

One year, Wellbrock came up with a season video idea to film a volleyball bouncing around all over Northfield. The ball eventually made its way to the NHS gym and into the hands of a team captain.

Another year featured the volleyball team rocking out to a Queen theme for the season poster.

Wellbrock at times has gotten to feel like a rock star, himself, from some of the venues he’s been.

When NHS football players qualified for the annual high school state all-star game at U.S. Bank Stadium, Wellbrock was eager to tag along.

Walking out to the 50-yard line to look up at the cavernous Vikings venue was a surreal feeling. There have been a few other pinch-me moments when the Raiders competed at state tournaments.

“That’s been a big thing for me, personally, to go to these places,” Wellbrock said. “The lighting’s better.

You’re sitting on the floor at the Target Center. They’ve got areas where they shoot NBA games and it says a Getty Images guy is going to be there and I’m in that spot.”

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“I’ll be a parent for a while” Wellbrock feels fortunate to document so many of his kids’ big athletic moments. He admits the view behind the lens isn’t the same for the rest of the parents.

“I think I’ve missed a few things that way before because I’m looking through the camera,” Wellbrock said.

“There are times, especially in club (volleyball), they’re playing three or four matches a day where I’ll set the camera down. I’ll shoot one and watch the other three.

The high school a little bit that way, too. If a match goes three or four sets I’ll shoot a couple but I won’t shoot all of them.

“I’ll put it down and be a parent for a while.”

The camera isn’t going away anytime soon though Wellbrock’s priorities may shift when his youngest two graduate.

“A lot of people ask how long I’m going to do this.

We’ve got a seventh-grader and a senior and an older son who graduated. As long as they’re in school, maybe, but I don’t know after that,” Wellbrock said.

“Maybe somebody else will be interested to pick this up or will have better ideas. Not that I want to get away from doing sports, but I might want to branch out and shoot some other schools and teams that we know and

people we know, other events and things like that.

“It’s fun to go out and try some other things.”

His pro bono work hasn’t gone unnoticed by Raider nation.

“I do know that our families really appreciate him,” Driscoll said. “He tries to find the moments, maybe pregame, postgame, halftime when players are having one-on-one conversations. He does a good job of that.”

Photography has been an entryway to meeting many of the folks he now calls friends.

“The relationships I’ve developed are probably the biggest takeaway for me, personally,” Wellbrock said.

“For the kids and parents, hopefully it’s all the images that are out there that they can go back and look on. The kids may not care now, but in 10-15 years they might think it’s pretty cool.”

Mike Randleman is a freelancer writer based in Northfield.

TAKE A LOOK Find Jim Wellbrock’s work online at jim-wellbrock.smugmug.com and on Facebook at Wellbrock Sports Photography.

City Administrator Jenelle Teppen arrived in Dundas last spring with over two decades of experience in local government. Coming from a position with Dakota County, Teppen is excited to be back at the city level answering phones and meeting with residents at City Hall. (Bridget Kranz/southernminn.com)

Living in town, working next door Northfield resident enjoys fielding calls, wearing many hats as Dundas city administrator

W

hen Jenelle Teppen arrived in Dundas as city administrator in 2019, she brought with her over two decades of experience in local

Story By BRIDGET KRANZ

government — much of it from right here in southern Minnesota.

After receiving her public administration degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, one of Teppen’s first jobs was under Tim Madigan who, at the time, was city administrator in Faribault. From there, she went on to spend 16 years as assistant city administrator in Inver Grove Heights and, more recently, worked as city administrator in Le Sueur from 2014 to 2017.

After a brief stint as deputy director of public ser-

vices and revenue for Dakota County, Teppen was eager to once again work on a smaller scale when she came on board in Dundas last year. It was also closer to home, as Teppen and her family have lived in Northfield since 1997.

“I like to be answering the phone, talking to residents, seeing residents when I walk out of City Hall and answering their questions,” said Teppen. “You just don’t get that at the county level.”

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“Everyday, I’m here helping to answer the phones, cover the counter and get the front door,” said Teppen.

“Rather than calls going to a public works director or a police chief or a city engineer, those calls will often come to me first in Dundas.”

As of Labor Day Weekend, Teppen is also working out of a new City Hall building — one block away from the old facility at 100 Railway St. N. The new space provides more room for staff and extends the downtown area, according to Teppen. The city is also hoping to sell its old offices, along with some additional downtown property, for new commercial or mixed-use development.

With continued growth in the community, Teppen added that one of her main priorities is to balance expansion with financial responsibility and responsive city services.

“I think a lot of what drives people to Dundas is the river, the Mill Towns State Trailhead right across from the old City Hall … and those recreational aspects,” said Teppen. “We’d like to keep growing that drive — whether it’s businesses, visitors or residents.”

Putting down roots in Northfield Then Le Sueur City Administrator Jenelle Teppen speaks to a crowd of Le Sueur landlords during an informational meeting on proposed rental regulations in June 2015. She left the city not long after for a job in Dakota County. She’s now back in Rice County as Dundas city administrator. (File photo/southernminn.com) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

Given the size of Dundas, Teppen also gets more of these one-on-one interactions than might be typical for

a city administrator in a larger community. With a growing population of just over 1,500 people and a smaller staff at City Hall, she fields myriad phone calls and hears from residents first-hand.

Along with her husband and two children, Teppen herself first moved to the area in 1997. At the time, she was commuting from St. Paul to Faribault and wanted to cut down on her time in the car. After several months of house shopping, the family settled into Northfield and hasn’t left since.

When they first arrived, Teppen’s two children were just starting middle and high school — another factor

The population of Dundas has been on the rise in recent years. According to Teppen, the Mill Towns State Trail Trailhead, along with a number of other recreational opportunities along the Cannon River, draw people to town. (Bridget Kranz/southernminn.com) 12

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ADMINISTRATOR ABROAD, VOLUNTEER AT HOME As a Northfield resident, Teppen has taken initiative to get involved with the city outside of her career in public administration.

When she was working as the assistant city administrator in Inver Grove Heights, Teppen also decided to apply for a volunteer role on the Northfield Economic Development Authority.

“My job didn’t entail economic development and I knew that, to grow my career, I needed to be more knowledgeable about it,” she explained.“I had a friend who was the finance director in Northfield. When the EDA had a vacancy, she suggested that I should apply.”

Teppen moved to Northfield, where she still lives, in 1997 for a job with the city of Faribault -- working under previous City Administrator Tim Madigan. She has also served as assistant city administrator in Inver Grove Heights and city administrator in Le Sueur. (Bridget Kranz/southernminn.com)

that contributed to the timing of their move. Additionally, her husband had retired from his career as a pilot with the U.S. Navy and Teppen had recently finished graduate school in the Twin Cities. All in all, it seemed like a good time to put down roots in southern Minnesota.

Working under Madigan in Faribault would also prove to be the start of a lifelong professional relationship, as the two have remained in close contact. Madigan also went on to work as city administrator in Northfield, before retiring in 2014.

“When I was the administrator in Faribault, I hired Jenelle to help lead the human resources and information technology departments,” Madigan recalled. “She really proved herself and turned out to be excellent working with employees at all levels.

At that time, information technology was still in its infancy … Jenelle really moved Faribault along in that direction.”

After over two decades working in communities of various sizes, and adapting to new means of communication with the rise of the Internet and now COVID-19, Teppen said the most important aspects of her role haven’t changed much over the course of her career. “The fundamental parts of this job, being accessible, responsive, ethical and encouraging of your staff — those things haven’t changed.”

New job, familiar community Stepping into her current role in Dundas, one big personal change for Teppen is that she gets to be closer to home. Living right next door to where she works, she believes her comfort level in the area will help her communicate and engage with residents.

“Comfort makes you relate better to people in some senses — you understand the politics and the motivations and the direction that these communities are going in,” said Teppen.

Initially, one of the things that drew Teppen to public administration was the challenging nature of the work — cities are almost constantly evolving, whether it’s a new street repair project or a change in population. As city administrator, Teppen has to balance a number of projects at any given time as directed by the council, thinking both one month and one decade in advance. The fact that Dundas is growing as a community adds a unique new challenge to tackle.

Teppen went on to serve as president of the EDA from 2010 to 2012, before also serving a term on the city’s planning commission.

In addition to expanding her professional horizons, Teppen found these volunteer commitments rewarding because of the people she worked with. As a former city administrator, Madigan added that it’s common to see people in the field serving their cities in different ways.

“It’s part of the attitude,” he said,“and the spirit.”

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Dundas opened its new City Hall, pictured here, in early September.

Only a block away from the previous building, Teppen said it provides more space for city staff and helps visually expand the downtown area south along Railway Street. (Bridget Kranz/ southernminn.com)

The former Dundas City Hall closed in early September.

Eventually, Teppen said the city hopes to sell the old space -- as well as additional land along Railway Street -- to bring in new commercial or mixed-use ventures to downtown.

(Bridget Kranz/southernminn.com)

ABOVE LEFT: Balancing continued growth in Dundas with appropriate and responsive city services is one of Teppen’s primary goals as city administrator. She is also excited to be working so close to home, because of her familiarity with many area issues and concerns.

(Bridget Kranz/southernminn.com) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

“One of my main goals is balancing that growth with the level of service that the city provides,” said Teppen.

Again, Madigan said he believed Teppen’s familiarity with the area would give her a head start in working with elected officials and residents.

“A lot of the issues that you’re dealing with are very 14

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similar, given that Northfield, Dundas and the surrounding area are growing,” he said. “Over the years, the leadership in Dundas has carved out its position and direction. I think they’ve got a bright future, and they’ve got a good person in that role as administrator to help move forward.”

With a new position, a new office and a new — but familiar — community to get to know, Teppen herself is

embracing change. More than anything, she is enjoying being back at the city level — fielding those phone calls and answering the front door.

“Every day, I’m grateful for this job,” she said. “I just love it.”

Bridget Kranz is a freelance reporter based in St. Paul.

Erica Zweifel has represented Northfield’s Ward 3 on the City Council since 2008. She’s opted not to run for re-election and will end her term at the end of 2020. (Anne Kopas/ southernminn.com)

Zweifel’s dozen City councilor looks back at the achievements, challenges of three terms in office

E Story By ANNE KOPAS

rica Zweifel has had a busy 12 years.

In 2008, she won her first election to the Northfield City Council. Then, she won two more terms. But now, she’s opted out of a fourth run for office, choosing instead to end her council work when her term expires in December.

After growing up with parents active on nonprofit boards and later spending her youth participating in high school and college student government, it’s perhaps no surprise that Zweifel took up politics as an

adult.

She worked on plenty of other political campaigns before her own, including various state races and that of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone. After Wellstone, who’d been a political science professor at Carleton College, was killed in a plane crash in 2002, Zweifel felt a gap emerge in Minnesota’s political landscape.

There was a public call for others to run for office, Zweifel said, especially women.

But when Zweifel first announced she was running for office, people questioned the choice. They wondered why she hadn’t started with a school board election, or they doubted her ability to win as a relatively new Northfielder. Zweifel, however, said she simply

‘That’s how I see politics: It’s a place where we can come together, work together to move forward as a community.’

- Erica Zweifel sought a role where she felt could have the most impact.

For Zweifel, politics is about coming together as a community to collaboratively solve problems, which CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 NorthIeld

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Erica Zweifel shows off her “I Voted” sticker along with son Christof, left, and husband Stephan Zweifel. (Photo courtesy of Erica Zweifel)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Erica Zweifel has lived in Northfield since 1991, when she and her husband moved from Seattle. She currently works as assistant director for community impact at Carleton College. (Anne Kopas/southernminn.com)

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is why she pursued elected office at the local level.

“It’s like a sport, in that it requires participation. Don’t sit on the sidelines; get in and play,” said Zweifel, who has lived in Northfield since 1991.

When Zweifel first took her council seat, Northfield was in recovery mode from the recession of 2008. At her first meeting, the council cut half a million dollars from the city budget, which she said was a lesson in difficult choices.

Her council also inherited a City Hall in need of maintenance and a fire station in need of a new roof. Since then, Zweifel has helped oversee the city as it built a new police station, updated the fire station, expanded the library, built a skateboard park and completed a long list of other improvements.

Zweifel has approached all her council work in the same way she’d approach a scientific question, stemming

from her background in the lab sciences.

“I loved the intellectual puzzle,” she said. “Do I have all the facts? Where does that lead me? Is the data I’m being given from an original or trusted source?”

A walkable city Inspired by the concept of a walkable city, Zweifel also spends her energy — both on and off the council — advocating for Northfield’s parks, trails and natural lands.

Climate was one of Zweifel’s major motivators in running for office. She was the council liaison to the advisory board working on Northfield’s Climate Action Plan, adopted in November 2019, which outlines a goal for the city to become carbon-neutral by 2040.

She’s continually pushed for increasing Northfield’s walkability, advocating for trails and other pedestrian infrastructure.

Another of Zweifel’s priorities was a

Northfield City Councilor Erica Zweifel spoke about efforts being made in Northfield to address issues with pollinators Monday during a discussion at Carleton College in February 2016. The discussion, “The Plight of the Pollinator,” took place as part of the college’s Climate Action Week. (File photo/southernminn.com)

Mayor Mary Rossing (center) was flanked by Third Ward council member Erica Zweifel (left) and Second Ward council member Betsey Buckheit (right) as the three celebrated at the Contented Cow on election night 2008. Zweifel, Rossing, Buckheit and Rhonda Pownell turned the council from an all-male board to majority female.

(File photo/southernminn.com)

REGISTER TO VOTE In Minnesota, you can register to vote on Election Day (Nov. 3, 2020) or pre-register by Oct. 13. Visit ci.northfield.mn.us/126/Registering-to-Vote to learn more about voting in Northfield.

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Northfield City Councilor Erica Zweifel, center, is pictured with U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (left) and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith. (Photo courtesy of Erica Zweifel)

pedestrian crossing of Hwy. 3 on the north end of town, a controversial project that ultimately failed to gain the dollars or the votes to move forward. Though the council abandoned the proposed trail in 2014, Zweifel hasn’t abandoned the thought of a safer crossing for residents on thee west side of the highway — including Ward 3, which she represents.

“I still hope that will happen someday,” she said.

Zweifel has had more success raising funds for trails that now run along either side of the Cannon River in Northfield. The East Cannon River Trail now connects Northfield to Dundas on the east side of the river; on the west side, a portion of the Mill Towns State Trail connects the two towns. Zweifel represented Northfield on the Mill Towns Trail Joint Powers board, a group working with local cities and the state government with the ultimate goal of a trail spanning from Faribault to Cannon Falls.

Peggy Prowe, secretary for the Friends of the Mill

Towns State Trail group, praised Zweifel’s dedication and grant-writing ability. The bonding money Zweifel helped secure, said Prowe, was essential to connecting the trail with the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail in Faribault, putting the project closer to its goal.

“I found her so thoughtful and always prepared when she was in meetings,” said Prowe, who also served on the City Council in the 1990s. “She’s been amazingly able and persistent about working things through.”

It’s this spirit of collaboration and perseverance that keeps Zweifel busy both on and off the council. Aside from council work and grant writing, she also spends time gardening and volunteering with the Community Action Center food shelf while working full-time as Carleton College’s assistant director for community impact.

Fellow councilor Clarice Grabau, who was first elected in 2018, sees Zweifel as someone who is unafraid to CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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Erica Zweifel, pictured here in Way Park, has focused on parks and trails in her council work and volunteering efforts.

She was instrumental in securing grant funds for the trails on either side of the Cannon River between Northfield and Dundas. (Anne Kopas/southernminn. com)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

speak out about important issues, even when they’re uncomfortable to face.

She is a “tireless advocate” for climate justice issues, and Grabau pointed to her work with the Community Action Center as evidence of her dedication to serving Northfield’s underrepresented communities.

“She is someone who is gracious with her time and knowledge to so many people here in Northfield. To me personally, she’s been a mentor and a close friend, and I’m just really thankful for her service,” said Grabau.

What’s next?

Though Zweifel was energized by her work on the council, she also felt fatigued after years of a demanding meeting schedule and wanted more time to spend on family and self care.

After her term ends, she’s hoping to

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make a difference through other platforms. She’ll continue her non-council advocacy and volunteering work, and she’s looking forward to seeing who steps up to tackle the issues still facing Northfield.

“I hope they take a good, strong look at systemic racism, systemic issues of inequity. It’s a hard thing to do, it’s uncomfortable, but the conversations need to happen even in a place like Northfield. We have work to do,” she said.

She encourages anyone interested in making positive change to get involved in local politics. For those who don’t want to run for elected office, there are still opportunities to join task forces, city boards and working groups.

“That’s how I see politics: It’s a place where we can come together, work together to move forward as a community,” she said.

Anne Kopas is a freelancer writer based in Northfield.

Erica Zweifel, left; Mayor Rhonda Pownell (then a city councilor), center, and Councilor Jessica Peterson White tour the Northfield safety center in 2014. (Photo courtesy of Erica Zweifel)

TOP of HIS FIELD

Today, Castore’s work as a Greenvale Township supervisor, taking care of his 74 acres of land in rural Bridgewater Township, and working keep him busy. (Sam Wilmes/southernminn.com)

Reflections on a successful business career from holder of three patents

R Story By SAM WILMES

esting in his rural Bridgewater Township home/ workshop on a recent August morning, Glen Castore pondered his successful career as a business owner and holder of three patents that have helped major corporations ensure the safety of their aircraft.

The clear windows of his home reflect the wildlife and prairie near his home, his passion for woodworking and the rural feel he wants the township to maintain even after he finishes his time as a township supervisor.

His chosen field Castore is an Idaho native who attended high school

in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. From there, he was accepted into the prestigious Swarthmore College, near Philadelphia. Initially a psychology student, Castore switched his major two years later to focus on mathematics.

“I liked math and I knew what I was doing,” he said.

However, Castore’s career was slightly delayed after he was drafted into the U.S. Army in September 1969 during the Vietnam War. He served two years doing artillery work, mainly within the U.S., with a six-week temporary assignment in the Vietnam Central Highlands.

Following his service, Castore moved to Chicago for seven years and proofread auto parts catalogs.

Castore’s career as a student, however, wasn’t done.

He later attended Syracuse University for graduate school and completed his degree in 1981. From here, he moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where

he learned about screw threads and precision management. He was tasked with measuring blocks to a couple millionths of an inch and developed the tools to ensure such a precise measurement could occur.

Castore starts new company After working at NIST for four years, Castore moved to Roseville in 1985 and worked for Honeywell before starting the Minneapolis-based business Apeiron in 1989. Within the next few years, Castore had led the securing of three patents.

A laser thread measurement system was developed in 1990 under Castore’s leadership for use with high-precision measurements of aircraft parts and thread gauges.

The patents have been used by NASA, Boeing and the CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 NorthIeld

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Castore sifts through photos of his patents from approximately 30 years ago. Though the three patents he achieved in the early 90s have since expired, he still knows they proved important for major organizations at the time. (Sam Wilmes/southernminn.com) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

Castore views a picture of one of his patents from the early 90s in his rural Bridgewater Township home. Today, Castore serves as a leader on the township’s Board of Supervisors. (Sam Wilmes/southernminn.com) 20

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Canadian National Standards System.

“It was definitely satisfying to see it be used,” he said. “ I think they were impressed with it. In some places it definitely made a difference in what they could do.”

As an example, Castore cited the use of his patent by a Texas-based Army base to measure a helicopter tail rotor with a non-contact system. The format ensured there wouldn’t be a scratch that could have caused a breakdown under stress.

A software patent was completed on how to control the laser and machine, the other on the machine itself.

At the same time the patents were being developed, Castore was also raising $3.5 million for Apeiron.

Castore continues leadership role, nears retirement In 1996, just when his company was breaking even financially, Apeiron was purchased by M&M Precision, a subsidiary of the multibillion dollar company Danaher Corp.

Selling the company was always the plan for Castore.

“It takes a lot of money to put a factory together, and Precision already had a factory,” he said.

For three years, Castore, who had a wife and two children at the time, traveled to M&M Precision’s Dayton, Ohio, location every other week, a task that proved difficult with a growing family.

He then left the company and became the vice president of operations for CyberOp-

tics, a public company valued at $50 million that made the laser sensor Castore created. There, Castore was responsibility for improving the company’s profitability.

Even as he remained at the top of his field, Castore was aware of the extraordinary intelligence of many of his coworkers.

“You’re working with very sharp people doing very tangible things,” he said. “It’s not always pleasant working with smart people, but it is always interesting.

Mathematics is a very competitive profession.”

“It’s a challenging profession in that way.”

“He’s an excellent supervisor. He’s always looking to the future as a township. He’s been excellent to work with.

He worries about the township, their future, so he’s been great.”

“He definitely cares.

He’s Bridgewater.”

- Jim Braun, Bridgewater Township Zoning Adminisrtator

Castore retires, moves south After retiring in 2002, Castore moved east of Northfield on 74 acres of property in 2004, land now complete with pottery sheds, woods and prairie.

A few years later, Castore, after speaking out on a proposed ethanol plant in Bridgewater Township, was approached to see if he was interested in running for town supervisor.

Castore at first spent six years on the board and then five away from office. He then decided to seek reelection to the board and again became a supervisor a couple years ago. Since then, major work he has led includes evaluating the possibility of the township petitioning to incorporate as a city. Last year, Bridgewater opted to step back from that idea and sign a three-year annexation agreement with Northfield.

As a supervisor, Castore is responsible for managing the township funds, setting the levy, taking care of road maintenance, addressing natural disasters and calamities and developing Bridgewater Township’s long-term future. Castore, who hopes to serve for the next 3½ years, expects the proposed construction of the interchange at the intersection of County Road 9 and Interstate 35, in nearby Forest Township, will be a major project for Bridgewater due to the project’s potential to attract businesses to the area.

“It will have a huge effect on the southern part of our township,” he said.

Castore also expects the city of Faribault to continue growing to the north over the next decade, causing “serious annexation pressures” on Bridgewater.

Despite those looming challenges, Castore said he

TOP: Castore, third from the right in this 2014 picture, still serves as a Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service board member. (File photo/southernminn.com) ABOVE: Castore and fellow Bridgewater Township representatives Nancy Johnson and John Holden pose with an accolade during a 2014 ceremony. (File photo/southernminn.com)

wants Bridgewater, a township of approximately 1,800 residents, to maintain its rural feel.

“That’s what most of the people of the township want,” he said.

Castore views his work as a supervisor as enjoyable because he can see the impact of what he does on a small scale and view the results, both good and bad.

Though he sees his public service and private leadership as entirely separate endeavors, Castore said there are satisfying aspects of both positions.

“In terms of the work I had, running the operations of Cyberoptics was by far the most satisfying,” he said. “In the township, sort of engaging people in thinking about

the future of the township has been the most satisfying.”

Bridgewater Township Zoning Administrator Jim Braun, who has worked with Castore over the years, recognizes Glen as someone who can calm community members when they are upset and presents the problems residents face to the board.

“He’s an excellent supervisor,” Braun said. “He’s always looking to the future as a township. He’s been excellent to work with. He worries about the township, their future, so he’s been great.

“He definitely cares. He’s Bridgewater.”

Reach Associate Editor Sam Wilmes at 507-645-1115.

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Michael Abdella, a 2013 St. Olaf graduate, worked at two NCAA colleges before returning to the Oles’ athletic department. (Mike Randleman/southernminn.com)

Sporting life Native Northfielder a key figure for Oles athletics

C

Story By MIKE RANDLEMAN

ollege students seek part-time campus jobs all the time.

Fewer parlay them into a career.

In 2009, Michael Abdella was a freshman at St. Olaf pursuing an American Studies major. He was also looking for a job on campus to make a little cash.

It’s possible Abdella would have settled on working in the dining hall. Perhaps the library.

Good thing mother knew best.

Beth Abdella is a chemistry professor at St. Olaf. She saw that there might be a role for Michael in the athletic department.

“I knew they needed help down there because I used to keep score book for some of the basketball games, so I knew they always used student workers a lot,” Beth

Abdella

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recalled. “I said ‘Go down and talk to them and get a job!’

It’s better than working in the cafeteria, right?’”

Abdella reached out to the athletic department and was soon welcomed aboard. His assistance was spread to various tasks and teams, though his four years were spent primarily keeping stats for soccer and basketball. He also lent a hand with tennis, writing for the St. Olaf athletics website. An avid tennis player growing up, Michael also practiced part-time with the Oles’ mens’ team.

Abdella had visions of becoming a history teacher. At least that was the plan he was going with.

Mom didn’t doubt that her son could pull it off, but she knew his passion since birth resided in athletics.

He began to realize it, too.

Abdella asked Senior Associate Athletic Director Mike Ludwig, and his staff the question that needed to be asked when his time as a student employee was up..

“I loved the student work that I did so I said ‘Hey, this is something I really enjoy doing,” he said. “‘what do I do next?’”

Sports centered Abdella was born in Eagan, where he and his twin brother, Ryan, and younger brother by a year, Scott, lived with parents Beth and Blake. They moved to Northfield where they’ve primarily resided since Michael was in fifth grade.

It was long before the move when the boys found what they loved to do.

“They started out, when they were really little, they were all about (toy) cars. That died a quick death,” Beth remembered. “By the time they were 3 and 4 years old they were cutting up the sports pages and making scrapbooks with the stories and what not.”

Roll out any kind of ball and Abdella was ready to play.

“I played a whole bunch of sports as a kid,” he said.

“Baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis. Tennis ended up being the one I played in high school.”

His affinity for sports not only meant playing it, but archiving it.

Writing always came naturally, and is part of what guided Abdella toward a liberal arts degree at St. Olaf.

He knew more schooling was necessary to help him in his new field of college sports information.

Ludwig pointed Abdella east.

Michael landed a graduate assistant position at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. He spent two and a half years on the athletics staff and earning his master’s degree in communication.

Some of his favorite memories working in athletics were with UWSP. “When I was a graduate assistant at UW-Stevens Point in 2014-15 the men’s basketball team won the national championship,” Michael said. “Oddly enough, they won it the year after, if you asked anyone who knew the teams, they should’ve won it. I was lucky enough to travel with them to Salem, Virginia, for the Final Four. That was obviously a heck of an experience.

They had some good men’s hockey teams that made it to Frozen Fours. You never know how a season’s going to go, but you don’t get to do that all the time.”

With the classroom behind him, Abdella was ready for the full-time workforce.

So he headed east once more.

The athletic director and an assistant athletic director/ SID at UWSP found positions at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Abdella He admitted he’d never heard of the NCAA Division II liberal arts college, but he was secure in his decision.

Abdella subsequently filled an opening for Assistant Director of Athletic Communications.

The Midwestern connection was strong in the Northeast.

Abdella had a two and a half year stint working on the St. Anselm staff. He could be seen with a camera taking photos, a laptop churning out stats and recaps, or on his phone responding to emails with proper haste.

Abdella enjoyed his time living in a new part of the country. After a while, his mental compass began pointing back to Minnesota.

A job opening for Assistant Athletic Director of Strategic Communications at his alma mater opened in the summer of 2018.

“I knew going out there I didn’t want to be far from

Michael Abdella poses with the NCAA Division III men’s basketball national championship trophy won by the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point in 2015. (Submitted photo)

home forever,” Abdella said. “Then I got an email saying someone who I worked with at St. Olaf was saying he was moving out of that job into a senior associate AD role so they were going to be looking for an SID. I must’ve been on his list of people to email just to influence applications. I applied and was lucky enough to get the job, now here I am in year three.”

A man of many roles Abdella, 30, is the driving force behind maintaining

St. Olaf’s athletics website and maintaining media relations. Whether he’s doing the work himself or delegating tasks to student workers like he once was, Abdella is always on the go when a season’s in session.

The Oles compete at NCAA’s Division III level and carry 27 athletic teams across the fall, winter and spring seasons. These teams compete in hundreds of competitions in a school year while hosting dozens. Not to mention events across town at Carleton College.

Abdella doesn’t travel with teams often, save for CONTINUED ON PAGE 24 NorthIeld

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‘I knew they needed help down there because I used to keep score book for some of the basketball games, so I knew they always used student workers a lot. I said “Go down and talk to them and get a job! It’s better than working in the cafeteria, right?”’

- Beth Abdella

Michael Abdella channeled his passion for athletics into a career working in sports information. (Mike Randleman/ southernminn.com)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

postseason events. He’s got plenty to do on campus.

Staying on top of a massive schedule without the resources of a larger Division I school can be frantic. Abdella’s organization helps him equally accommodate the athletes and coaches he covers, regardless of the revenue they bring in to the school.

“It’s wonderful to have Michael back home,” St. Olaf athletics director Ryan Bowles said. “He does a great job for us. First and foremost, it’s clear that he cares deeply for St. Olaf. He grew up at the place and just knows a lot about it.

“He’s just got wonderful institutional knowledge but more importantly he’s got great ownership because he cares so deeply for the place and he’s passionate about it.”

Abdella’s strength is writing, though he’s added to his repertoire.

“Graphic design has become part of it, too,” Abdella said. “I’m not a Photoshop expert but I guess I’m intermediate at it. Just playing around and learning that way. It helps with making publications like recruiting materials Michael Abdella poses with the 2018 NCAA Division II runner up softball trophy while working for St. Anselm College. (Submitted photo)

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or game programs. Media guides aren’t much of a thing anymore, but some departments still make them.”

Becoming an expert on each and every sport is a requisite for the job.

“When I went out east to St. Anselm I didn’t know the first thing about lacrosse. So I had to learn that. I remember as a student worker I was sent wrestling results to see if I could take a stab at writing about it. I didn’t have the first clue about wrestling terminology. Otherwise, I had watched enough sports growing up where I pretty much know.”

His work days are from the 9 to 5 monotony. It’s what keeps him coming back for more in year three.

“The thing I like the most about my job is the variety. Not only the variety of sports, but the variety of things you get to do from day to day,” Abdella said. “Whether it’s video editing, archival research, social media, stat-ing a basketball game, writing an alpine ski recap.

There are different parts of the job that keeps it interesting and keeps you on your toes.”

Mike Randleman is a freelancer writer based in Northfield.

Pictured in front of the organization’s office in downtown Northfield, Mary Lynn Oglesbee currently serves as board chair for Northfield Shares. She first got involved three years ago as a recent retiree, wanting to invest time back into the community she has called home for over 20 years. (Bridget Kranz/ southernminn.com

The power of people

I

Directors use community foundation as conduit for relationships

Story By BRIDGET KRANZ

t’s hard to imagine now, but as summer 2019 turned to fall, over 1,000 community members gathered together to share a meal along Division Street. Easier to imagine is the effort it took to coordinate hundreds of volunteers, find food vendors and communicate with sponsors — ultimately making the event free to attend.

The first-ever “Northfield Shares a Dinner” was a testament to its namesake, a community foundation that acts as a conduit for sharing both time and money. Along with event chairs,

donors and helpers, Northfield Shares board members — including chair Mary Lynn Oglesbee and treasurer Meleah Follen — worked hands-on to bring residents together that evening.

As an organization, Northfield Shares’ two primary goals of coordinating philanthropic and volunteer efforts in town stem from its roots. Created in 2014, it’s a union of the longstanding Northfield Area Foundation — an endowment managing legacy gifts and other donations for the community — as well as volunteerand donor-focused 5th Bridge. Now, Northfield Shares manages those same legacy funds, allocating money

out to tax-exempt organizations through a robust grant program.

“The leadership of those two groups pulled together some people in the community and said, ‘What if we combined?’” explained Follen, who has been involved since 2012. “We talked a lot about what a foundation could look like if it also had a volunteer arm.”

When Oglesbee joined the board three years ago, she immediately jumped into helping grow the latter.

Through community feedback, Northfield Shares CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 NorthIeld

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SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE Whether you’re interested in volunteering (or looking for volunteers), donating to Northfield Shares, applying for one of the organization’s grants or making a lasting gift, visit Northfield Shares at northfieldshares.org or call 507-403-9755.

TOP: After almost nine years planning for and sitting on the board of Northfield Shares, Follen is one of its longest-serving members. Last summer, she took the reins on organizing the check-in for “Northfield Shares a Dinner” -- a community event that hosted over 1,000 people for a meal along Division Street. (Photo courtesy of Northfield Shares) ABOVE: Mary Lynn Oglesbee presents a check from Northfield Shares to the Age Friendly Northfield Initiative in 2019. As a community foundation, Northfield Shares manages and invests several legacy funds gifted by area residents, allocating grants to tax-exempt organizations. (Photo courtesy of Northfield Shares) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

crafted an opportunity board on its website — an extensive resource for anyone wanting to get involved.

While philanthropy and volunteerism are its two core missions, Oglesbee and Follen added that large-scale community events are vital to their work.

“One of the visions we have is to be transformative in our community, and I don’t think we can do that in isolation,” said Oglesbee. “It’s important for folks to gather together and see what we have in common.”

During the pandemic, Northfield Shares is coordinating mask-sewing efforts and working with local 26

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businesses and individuals on the new “Share in Northfield’s Future” fund, designated to help local nonprofits work through COVID-19. After distributing $20,000 in assistance over the summer, it plans to put out a second round of grants this fall.

Immediate needs and ‘long haul’ In nine years with Northfield Shares, Follen has worn many hats — from strategic planning to work on the grants and governance committees, and most recently

as treasurer. Initially, she got involved at the request of a friend soon after moving to Northfield.

“In Minneapolis, I was involved with a couple of different foundations. I think they were interested in my perspective as a newcomer who had some experience in this work,” she recalled. “I had also spent time working with the Greater Twin Cities United Way, and their engagement of people in both volunteer and philanthropic work.”

Like Northfield Shares, Follen noted that the United Way focuses on bringing in local businesses and largescale community involvement. Moving to a smaller town, she added that the impact of a foundation felt even greater.

“When we talk about $45,000 in grants coming out of the organization each year — in the Twin Cities, that might feel small. In Northfield, it definitely has a big impact,” she said. “A foundation in a smaller community is much more of a touchstone, and its influence can be felt in many ways.”

Additionally, Follen has enjoyed her work with the organization because of its longevity. Investing money from the legacy funds and allocating it out in small amounts allows Northfield Shares to uniquely respond to short- and long-term needs. “The way that we invest that money and spend off of it, the funds don’t go away. Typically, nonprofits aren’t set up to do that,” she explained.

Reaching ‘wider into the community’ This long-term impact also appealed to Oglesbee, who added that it’s a way to remember past residents through legacy gifts. After retiring a few years ago from her role as a clinic administrator, Oglesbee wanted to use her free time serving an organization she cared about — having lived in Northfield for over 20 years.

This connection to Northfield Shares’ vision has translated into her recent work as board chair.

“We need to always know what we do, why we do it and who we do it for — I think Mary Lynn really has a handle on what our role is and can be in the community,” said Program Director Carrie Carroll. “With every project, you build it into the organization and think about how to reach wider and wider into the community.”

Carroll also praised Follen’s work connecting youth with community opportunities through her job as youth engagement director at Northfield Healthy Community Initiative. While Follen typically has to keep her job separate from her role on the Northfield Shares board, the two positions overlap nicely when it comes to sharing engagement opportunities with youth. To this end, she helps connect area teenagers with board positions and other ways to share their voices in the community

Many gather on Division Street to share a meal Aug. 25, 2019 as part of Northfield Shares a Dinner. The event drew people for an event filled with music, food and discussion. (File photo/southernminn.com)

— both at Northfield Shares and beyond.

“The number of youth that are involved on different boards and commissions has grown from 22 when I started to over 90 this year,” said Follen. “I’m thinking about how we can work with kids now, but also how we can get them interested in community work, in learning how cities work, how commissions work and how boards work.

It’s also very future-focused.”

Focus on pandemic, systemic change Heading into the fall, Northfield Shares is gearing up to distribute its next round of “Share in Northfield’s Future” fund grants.

It has also resumed its search for a new executive director, a process Oglesbee expects will wrap up by the end of this year.

Going forward, she hopes to focus more on how the organization can contribute to

systemic change in the community — including affordable housing and how to help the most vulnerable residents, with many challenges being illuminated by COVID-19.

“One of the things the pandemic is bringing to light is where some needs are that we haven’t paid as much attention to, as a society or as a community,” she added. “We’re having more communication with the city, talking about how to partner with them on some of the things that they’re working on.”

With a community endowment and an overarching foundation that are here and built to last, it’s not too hard to imagine another community dinner a few years down the line. Perhaps more importantly, the day-to-day connections between volunteers, nonprofits, donors and the city are continuing during the pandemic. A kind of “legacy fund” of its own, the volunteerism and interaction facilitated by Northfield Shares and its board are here to stay.

Treasurer Meleah Follen, left, chats with fellow Northfield Shares volunteer Kris Estenson while helping organize the Defeat of Jesse James Day Run/ Walk. Proceeds from the annual event help Northfield Shares fulfill its dual purpose of supporting local nonprofits through philanthropy and volunteerism. (Photo courtesy of Northfield Shares)

Bridget Kranz is a freelance reporter based in St. Paul.

WRAPPING IT UP After helping guide Northfield Shares since it was just an idea back in 2012, Follen is stepping down from its Board of Directors this December. In her time with the organization, she has helped with strategic planning, served on the grants and governance committees, and held the roles of both vice chair and treasurer.

While she had the opportunity to extend her term, Meleah Follen said she was hoping to devote more time to other organizational work and wanted to provide the opportunity for new voices to guide Northfield Shares forward. Her time on the board will carry over into

other endeavors, as Follen said one of the things she is most thankful for is the “bigger picture” it gave her of the Northfield community — especially having just moved to town when she started on the board.

“Anytime you’re working with an organization that is supporting other groups, you have a bigger appreciation and understanding of everything that’s happening in the community. If I were just working at Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, I would only be focused on what’s happening for youth in the community,” she said.“Working with Northfield Shares shows you everything that’s happening — you’re not so myopic in your view.”

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After a long career with the Nature Conservancy, specializing in invasive species management and prescribed fire, Nancy Braker has served as director of the Carleton College Cowling Arboretum since the position’s inception in 2007. Pictured here, Braker oversees a controlled burn at the collegeowned McKnight Prairie near Randolph. (Photo courtesy of Steve Braker)

Connecting through

conservation Carleton alum finds new ways to build community as longtime arb director

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hen Waterford Township wanted to replace the century-old Iron Bridge over the Cannon River, it required a close partnership between local officials and Carleton College’s Cowling Arboretum. The newer, two-lane structure was slated to go in next to its predecessor on arboretum land, and would help provide emergency vehicles with 28

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Story By BRIDGET KRANZ

faster access to the adjoining rural area.

Ultimately, the connection between the college and the community went beyond a transportation easement and involved students, faculty and residents in a project that combined conservation and civil engineering. A geology class was even able to survey the site and make recommendations in order to better preserve surrounding wetlands.

Since 2007, connections between the college, community and arboretum have flourished under guidance from Nancy Braker, Puzak Family Director of the Cowling Arboretum. After a long career with The Nature Conservancy, the Carleton alum came back to fill the newly created position, which was funded in

response to feedback from faculty and students.

“When I was a student, there was very limited academic use of the arboretum,” recalled Braker, who graduated in 1981. “There was an interest in using it more for academic purposes before I came on as director, but my position was really created to ramp up those efforts.”

While Professor Emeritus Mary Savina had often done research in the arboretum with her geology classes, she noted that these projects became more collaborative once there was a full-time director on board.

With Braker’s help, she could find ideas that would benefit the arboretum, while also helping her classes get hands-on experience in the field. One of these initiatives

DIGGING DEEP ACROSS DISCIPLINES One of Nancy Braker’s main duties as Carleton College’s arboretum director is helping classes get out and responsibly take advantage of the space. In addition to the Science Department, art classes often use the arboretum for sketching, landscape painting and — in one ongoing collaboration — as a source of clay.

Professor Emeritus Mary Savina would orchestrate digs with her geology classes, then bring in ceramics students for an overview of what makes good clay.

“The geology classes were out there digging holes in the ground, learning how to classify soil, and a ceramics instructor was interested in having her students learn where clay comes from and what soil components make a good clay,” explained Braker.“The soils faculty talk to the ceramicists and help them harvest clay to make their projects.”

Professor Emeritus Mary Savina works with her geology students, investigating soils in the arboretum. While there had long been interest and some academic use of the space, the arboretum director position was created to ramp up and facilitate those connections. For Savina, this has meant more collaborative projects with other departments and arboretum staff. (Photo courtesy of Carleton College staff)

was the replacement of the Iron Bridge, which also gave students an opportunity to meet and work with representatives from the surrounding communities.

In her work as director, Braker estimated that half of her time is spent facilitating these connections between the Carleton community and the arboretum. Another primary responsibility is helping outside groups come in and use the space for research, while focusing on preservation of the different habitats and sharing the arboretum with both campus and community users.

means working with people as much as with the land.”

One of the main differences from Braker’s past work has been the focus on education that comes with overseeing a space used frequently for recreation. With a 15-mile trail system, the arboretum is popular with members of both the college and community for walking, running and skiing in the winter.

“With the college natural lands, there’s almost equal merit given to conservation and recreation,” said Braker, “but if there’s a conflict, we would always make the decision in favor of a rare species or natural feature.”

Being able to educate users on the arboretum’s different habitats, and the importance of corresponding conservation efforts, was a big draw when Braker applied to the director role. In addition to interacting with classes in the arboretum, Braker also frequently visits their lectures to provide an introduction to the space.

From a career in conservation, to education When it comes to responsible use of the arboretum, Braker relies heavily on her career with The Nature Conservancy, where she focused on invasive species management and controlled burns.

“I consider myself a conservation biologist first and foremost,” she explained. “My primary work with The Nature Conservancy was focused on conservation planning — figuring out what land needed to be under conservation management in order to protect a rare plant or plant community.”

Fellow alum Savina had just begun teaching at Carleton when Braker was a student. Thirty years later, she was involved in the creation of her current position and was particularly impressed by Braker’s experience

Since coming on board in 2007, Braker said nearly half of her time in the newly created director position is spent facilitating this academic use of the arboretum. In addition to connecting faculty members, allocating space and sometimes even coordinating work with outside entities, Braker also helps handle the logistical side of each project.

For example, when the ceramics class needs to get a hundred pounds of clay back to the studio, she’s there with a way to transport it.

Braker

working with different stakeholders in land management.

“She is very skilled at working with people and explaining what the arboretum’s objectives are in cooperative ventures,” said Savina. “In The Nature Conservancy, they have a lot of different properties that get managed by different people. It’s about more than being a biologist — you’re a land manager as well, and that

Opportunities for community to learn, act Eric Johnson, who graduated from Carleton in 1968, made the decision to come to Northfield because of the Cowling Arboretum. Debating between similarly sized schools throughout the Midwest, he said the resource ultimately “made it an easy choice.” After graduation, CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 NorthIeld

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There are many ways for both students and community members to get involved with the arboretum, with connections and opportunities now facilitated by Braker as the arboretum’s first full-time director. Pictured here, student workers collect seeds for future restoration plantings. (Photo courtesy of Carleton College Staff)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

Johnson returned to town in 1969 and began teaching in the public schools, often returning to the arboretum with his classes.

When the first Earth Day was held in 1970, he recalled participating in a number of activities designed by Carleton students.

More recently, he’s returned to volunteer on projects with current Carls and fellow alumni. He was even able to take a fire workshop run by Braker. After the course, participants were able to volunteer on controlled burns.

“We have quite a few community members who volunteer in different capacities — many collect seeds from our prairies for restoration work,” added Braker. “We have an ‘Intro to the Arb’ service project for incoming students, and I recruit members of the community to help with that.

“We’ve also had the opportunity to teach an adult education course called the Minnesota Master Naturalist Program, modeled after the Master Gardener Program,” she added. “It’s a collaboration between the University of Minnesota Extension and the Department of Natural Resources,

Population ecology students sample earthworms in the Cowling Arboretum. As an alum, Braker remembers coming to the arboretum while she was a student in the late 1970s. “I think I’m very sympathetic to our students’ needs, maybe more so than someone who wasn’t a student here,” she noted. “The arboretum was really important to me then, I needed it as a place to get away from campus and be absorbed by nature.” (Photo courtesy of Carleton College staff) 30

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where they put together the curriculum and then various organizations host the course. For us, it’s been a way to educate our community on environmental issues and encourage them to volunteer at the arboretum.”

What’s next?

During the pandemic, Braker added that the arboretum has become an even more popular place to get outside. Due to the college’s conservation efforts, the arboretum’s trails provide residents with the opportunity to view native habitats that have become increasingly hard to find in the state.

Interpretive materials put together by Braker and her team help guests learn about prairie, wetlands and oak savanna — a once-common environment in southern Minnesota consisting of scattered trees and open grassland, best maintained by controlled burns. While Braker’s position was only created a little over 10 years ago, she added that there have been arboretum staff and a part-time faculty director laying the groundwork for decades.

“There are new invasive species all the time, and we have to watch for those and think about how we can appropriately react to and manage them,” she added, of ongoing conservation work. “We also have the issue of climate change … we know our climate is going to be more like that of Iowa or Kansas, so we’re thinking about species in our plantings that will endure better in 50 years than the species we have now.”

Even before her arrival as director, Braker added that arboretum staff had made a huge amount of progress in both conservation and education on what used to be

Community members learn about the night sky from Professor Emeritus Joel Weisberg on a public field trip to the arboretum. As director, Braker has helped facilitate a number of opportunities for Northfield residents -- from fire workshops and opportunities to assist with controlled burns, to offering the Minnesota Master Naturalists Program. (Photo courtesy of Carleton College staff)

farmland. Now, she is able to bring her background as a biologist — and her understanding as a former student — into a full-time role making the arboretum accessible to everyone. Students can paint the prairie in art class, Northfield residents can attend educational programs in

the arboretum with faculty members and volunteers of all ages can come together to help preserve a beloved space.

Bridget Kranz is a freelance reporter based in St. Paul.

Oak savanna was once a common habitat in southern Minnesota.

Best maintained by prescribed fire, it’s now hard to find in the region.

Along with prairie and wetlands, the Cowling Arboretum has worked to preserve this community -- giving visitors a look back in time. (Photo courtesy of Carleton College staff)

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