On May 8, Carleton announced that it had purchased the building at 200 Division Street, formerly known as the Medical Arts Building.  The College has been a major tenant in the building since 2005 when the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) relocated there.  The acquisition will allow Carleton to use a portion of the building to expand much-needed space for SERC operations, as well as relocate some additional administrative functions out of core academic buildings on campus.

SERC’s presence in downtown generates its own excitement.  The Science Education Resource Center of Carleton College, founded in 2002,  works to improve science education through projects that support educators.  The office has special expertise in effective pedagogies, geoscience education, science community organization, workshop leadership, digital libraries, website development, and program and website evaluation.

On August 10, 2011, the National Science Foundation awarded SERC a $10 million, five-year grant in support of the project InTeGrate: Interdisciplinary Teaching of Geoscience for a Sustainable Future.  The grant is one of two funded that year through NSF’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP);  the other at Stanford Universitywith an engineering focus.  The STEP initiative aims to create a unique opportunity for faculty in a science discipline to address a national challenge or opportunity in undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education through a comprehensive and coordinated set of activities.

There are some people in our community who believe the future of our economy will be built on knowledge workers, workers who create economic value with their minds.  Scientists, educators, and web-crafters are all important segments of the knowledge worker labor force.  The presence of these workers in downtown Northfield, particularly with their commitment to an interdisciplinary approach, generates the type of knowledge spillovers that can not only nurture existing knowledge-based businesses but attract new knowledge-based businesses.  In fact, the type of interdisciplinary knowledge spillovers that such an enterprise generates can have an impact on the local economy that is not merely incremental but truly transformational.

Carleton intends to honor leases currently in place with non-College tenants, and to keep the building on the tax rolls at this time.  The three-story, 20,400-square foot building was constructed in 1948. The building lot is about a third of an acre and includes 15 parking spaces.  The College expects renovation work at the building to begin early this summer and be concluded before the end of the year.

Friday, May 11th: Girls Nite Out, 4:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., downtown Northfield, New Moon Trio, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Contented Cow; 2nd Annual Latino Play Festival, 6:00 p.m., Northfield High School Auditorium; Sasha Mercedes, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Fred the Bear, 8:00 to 10:30 p.m., Contented Cow; Ova Yonder, 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Upstairs Rueb; and Whiskey Trick, 9:30 p.m., Froggy Bottoms.

Saturday, May 12th: Northfield Arts Guild Spring Dance Concert, 3:00 p.m., Northfield High School; Jim Lenway, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Contented Cow; 2nd Annual Latin Play Festival, 6:00 p.m., Northfield High School Auditorium; Keeley Susienka & Georgia Greene, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Hogan Brothers Acoustic Cafe; Andrea Een, 7:30 p.m., First United Church of Christ; Jon Larson, 8:00 to 10:30 p.m., Contented Cow; Jon Manners, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Willie Murphy, 8:30 p.m., Grand Event Center; D. J. Music, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein; and Chad & Russell, 9:30 p.m., Froggy Bottoms.

Sunday, May 13th: Politics and a Pint, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and Quiz Night, 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., both at The Cow.

The workshop will be Tuesday, May 15^th at the Northfield High School Computer Lab from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. This workshop, titled simply “Making Sense of Social Media”, is a broad strategic review of how businesses can and are using “social media” on the Internet. Social media, FaceBook and Twitter for example, are being used by more and more people, especially young people. Understanding how to use social media is critical for businesses wanting to reach these new customers and leverage their Internet presence using the many available tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flicker, blogs, and Google Places.

With nearly 5,000 college students and their visiting parents, plus residents, Northfield businesses have many opportunities to use social media to reach these customers. Join us for a presentation by Hans Muessig, Program Director with the Extension’s Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities program, about how you can truly use social media to reach these customers.

This workshop will help you make informed decisions about how to use the social media most effectively for your business. It will provide both an overview and a detailed set of Internet strategies; you will walk away with some new ideas and online tools to help you have a successful 2012 and beyond.

For more information, contact Executive Director Ross Currier at (507) 663-0319 or rcurrier@nddc.org.

Friday, May 4th: 12th Annual Arts a la Carte, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., Northfield High School; Occasional Jazz & Fang Tango Band, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Tim Fast, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Hogan Brothers Acoustic Cafe; Opening Reception: Five Years Here, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild; Oliver Twist, 7:30 p.m., ARTech; Ann Sawyer, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Jet W. Lee, 9:00 to 11:00 p.m., Contented Cow;  and Kinda Kinky!, 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Upstairs Rueb.

Saturday, May 5th: Zoo is Gospel, 5:00 to 11:30 p.m., Contented Cow; Werckmeister Harmonies, 7:00 p.m., Weitz Cinema on the Carleton College downtown campus; Companydance Spring Concert, 7:30 p.m., Theater Building on the St. Olaf College campus; Alison Rae, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; The 8th Street Duo, 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Upstairs Rueb.

Sunday, May 6th: Exhibit Opening Reception: Senior Show, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., Flaten Art Gallery on the St. Olaf College campus; Northern Roots Session, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., Contented Cow; and Study Hall, 9:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.,  Contented Cow.

Thursday, April 26th: Middle School/High School Jazz Band Concert, 7:30 to 10:00 p.m., Northfield High School Auditorium; Midnight Collision, 8:00 to 11:00 p.m., Contented Cow; and Marv Gohman, 8:30 to 11:00 p.m., Tavern Lounge.

Friday, April 27th: Carey Langer, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Daniel Lohmann & Madelyn Hartke, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Hogan Brothers Acoustic Cafe; Oliver Twist, 7:00 p.m., ARTech; Seventh Annual Very Short Play Festival, 8:00 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater; Sasha Mercedes, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Jazz I, 8:15 p.m., Lion’s Pause on the St. Olaf College campus; Karaoke, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein; and Imperator, 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Contented Cow.

Saturday, April 28th: Northfield’s Perennial Earth Day Celebration, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m., UCC Church; Stray Dog, 7:00 p.m., Weitz Center Cinema on the Carleton College downtown campus;  Oliver Twist, 7:30 p.m., ARTech, Norseman Band, 7:30 p.m., Skoglund Center on the St. Olaf College campus; Seventh Annual Very Short Play Festival, 8:00 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater; High School Spring Play, 8:00 p.m., High School Auditorium; Norwegian Cowboy, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Third Wheel, 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., Contented Cow; and D J Music, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein.

Sunday, April 29th: I Cantanti and Le Donne, 7:30 p.m., Bethel Lutheran Church; Politics and a Pint, 6:00 p.m., Contented Cow; and Quiz Night, 8:00 p.m., Contented Cow.

PACE stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy and it’s a project that Councilor Erica Zweifel, working with the state Chamber of Commerce’s Energy Smart program, brought to Northfield.   It’s one way to finance energy cost reduction projects, along with private equity and lending, and the Xcel rebate programs.

Erica, along with Jill Curran of Energy Smart, have set up this program to kick off PACE, and encourage Northfield business and building owners to reduce their energy costs, with Leota leading the way.   You all are invited to learn more about these energy cost-reducing ideas.   Coffee and cookies will be served.

The NDDC is a non-partisan, non-profit community organization dedicated to the vitality of downtown Northfield.  For more information, contact Executive Director Ross Currier at 663-0319 or rcurrier@nddc.org.

Friday, April 20th: Barb Piper, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Daniel Choma & Jason Roberts, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Hogan Brothers Acoustic Cafe; Paper Daddy, 7:30 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater; Early Music Singers/Collegium Musicum, 7:30 p.m., Boe Memorial Chapel on the St. Olaf College campus; Matthew Griswold, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Shoot Lucy, 9:00 to 11:30 p.m., Contented Cow; and Karaoke, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein.

Saturday, April 21st: Exhibit Reception: Imagination Celebration, 11:00 to 3:00 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild; Wake-Robin, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., Bittersweet; Tuition Daddies, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Hogan Brothers Acoustic Cafe; 2001: A Space Odyssey, 7:00 p.m., Weitz Cinema on the Carleton College (downtown) campus; Paper Daddy, 7:30 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater; Potluck & The Hotdishes, 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Mike Pattison, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; The Counterfactuals and The Rice County Roosters, 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Rueb’N'Stein.

Sunday, April 22nd: Exhibit Reception: Senior Art #1, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., Flaten Museum on the St. Olaf College campus; Politics and a Pint, 6:00 p.m., Contented Cow; and Quiz Night, 8:00 p.m., Contented Cow.

Friday, April 13th: New Moon Trio, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Ellen Fullman Performance, 7:00 p.m., Flaten Art Museum on the St. Olaf College campus; Paper Daddy, 7:30 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater; Bonnie & the Clydes, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Martin Devaney and The Mad Ripple, 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Rueb’N'Stein, and Alluvion, 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Contented Cow.

Saturday, April 14th: Ole and Lena Joke Night, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., Grand Event Center; Fela Kuti: Music is the Weapon, 7:00 p.m., Weitz Center Cinema on the Carleton College campus; Paper Daddy, 7:30 p.m., Northfield Arts Guild Theater; Midnight Collision, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Contented Cow; and D. J. Music, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein.

Sunday, April 15th: Politics and a Pint, 6:00 p.m., Contented Cow and Quiz Night, 8:00 p.m., Contented Cow.

Friday, March 30th: Tisdale Poetry Collection Opening Celebration, 4:30 p.m., Weitz Center on the Carleton College downtown campus; Barb Piper, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Sweet Jazz, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Hogan Brothers; Sasha Mercedes, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; Karaoke, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein, and Alluvion, 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Contented Cow.

Saturday, March 31st: Moon Like Mars, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Hogan Brothers; Jim Anthony, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Contented Cow; Norwegian Cowboy, 8:00 to 11:30 p.m., Tavern Lounge; D J Music, 9:00 p.m., Rueb’N'Stein, and Peter Diggins and Friends, 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Contented Cow.

Sunday, April 1st: Politics and a Pint, 6:00 p.m., Contented Cow and Quiz Night, 8:00 p.m., Contented Cow.

The internet has enabled the global economy Muessig noted.  In fact, 80% of business over the internet is now conducted from places that are so remote that you can’t buy a newspaper there.  Although this new reality creates challenges, it also creates opportunities.

According to Muessig, 80% of people use the internet to research purchases.  While 42% of businesses have a website, 33% of these are essentially unusable; they are static pages without basic contact information.  Bad websites fail quickly, research indicates that your website has 45 seconds or fewer to secure the potential customers’ interest.

Among Minnesota tourism attractions, only 59% are on the web, yet potential visitors are increasingly using their computers, and their smart phones, to make travel and entertainment decisions.  Muessig stressed the importance of communities having a single web portal that leads to all of the community’s offerings and options.

Muessig noted that residential and commercial location decisions are also increasingly made based on the community’s quality of life, package of amenities, and internet connectivity.  What the community communicates about itself, on the internet, can greatly contribute to its economic success.  Muessig reminded the group that most economic growth comes from existing businesses and so supporting these businesses must be a priority.

When thinking about your internet-based marketing plans, Muessig suggested studying your competitors.  However, the first priority, he advised, is getting your business on the Google Places map.

The workshop was the first in a series of three.  Upcoming workshops will be in late April and late May.  Watch this website, and our Facebook page, for more information.