It was a strange summer for news here in Northfield, Minnesota, most of which brought unwelcome notoriety to this quiet college town. Here’s a quick overview:

• Early this summer, the Northfield police chief held a press conference announcing that there was a significant heroin problem among Northfield youth. He claimed that 150 to 250 youth were heroin users and that many of them were addicts who were contributing to a rapidly rising crime rate. These numbers were later questioned, as were the chief’s publicity methods. The chief later took a leave of absence for medical reasons and before doing so made it known that the city administrator was being investigated on some financial matters.
• Our mayor was the subject of regional press coverage regarding alleged improprieties involving city decision-making on a property owned by his family.
• Last week, the city thought it had approved a road project on a 4-3 vote, only to learn that approval required a 6-vote supermajority. Now they need to revisit their vote.

That last item doesn’t sound all that sensational, but it’s an issue that I’ve been involved in through my role as chair of our Task Force on Nonmotorized Transportation. It was strange to learn that no one had considered the need for the supermajority.

Those bullet points don’t capture all the alarm and drama that has surrounded these events. For that check out our local news sites: the Northfield News, Northfield.org, and Locally Grown Northfield.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 10:44 am and is filed under Minnesota, Northfield.