News
TORCH Success Featured in Report
Healthy Community Initiative’s Meleah Follen (Youth Engagement and Northfield Community Collaborative Director) and Martha Lundin (Youth Engagement Coordinator) spoke last month at a press conference at the Capitol organized by the Minnesota Alliance With Youth. They talked about how important AmeriCorps Promise Fellows are to HCI’s work in Rice County, including with the TORCH program, […]
Community School Data Presented at M3 Huddle
Sixty-four representatives from more than a dozen youth-serving organizations in Rice County attended the M3 Huddle in January to discuss how their programs were meeting their goals and how they might be improved. Participants also heard a presentation by three Northfield High School TORCH students. Senior Xochitl Valdez, a former community school attendee; junior Rihanna […]
New Library Branch Opens
A giant scissors, a colorful mural, and excited first graders all added to the festive atmosphere at the Feb. 29 opening of the Library Oasis at the Northfield Community Resource Center (NCRC), 1651 Jefferson Parkway. Library Director Natalie Draper thanked the many people involved in the planning of Northfield’s first library branch, including city officials, […]
Northfield Youth Have a Capitol Experience
Twenty-eight high school students from Northfield traveled to St. Paul on Feb. 27 to participate in advocacy activities as part of Youth Day at the Capitol and Future Farmers of America (FFN) Day at the Capitol. Youth on Boards members began their day at the Minnesota History Center, where youth representatives from the Minnesota Youth […]
Registration Drive Taps Youth Interest in Voting
“Hey, you’re 16 right? Come register to vote!” hollered Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC) member Danica Sorem. Clad in a “VOTE!” shirt, Sorem called out to fellow Northfield High School students during a lunch flex period in early October. Positioned just outside the upper cafeteria at a long table filled with voter registration QR codes, registration […]
Growing Up Healthy Receives State Excellence Award
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) honored Growing Up Healthy in October for its innovative, collaborative work in improving early education and childcare access for children and families in Northfield and Faribault, particularly children of color. Growing Up Healthy and Austin Aspires received the 2023 Commissioners Circle of Excellence Award for their “Tri-City Connections” […]
Northfield Childcare Partnership Expands Choices for Families
Two new childcare centers opened in Northfield this month under an unusual business model: instead of being located in a person’s home or in a standalone daycare facility, both private businesses are housed in the city-owned Northfield Community Resource Center, located at 1651 Jefferson Parkway. Little Stinkers and Thinkers Child Care LLC is operated by […]
Northfield Promise Achieves National Distinction
In early June, Northfield Promise became only the fourth Cradle to Career Network in the country, and the first in Minnesota, to earn StriveTogether’s Systems Transformation designation. We are grateful to all the community members who participated in the evaluation process and are excited to continue the work to transform systems in Northfield so they […]
TORCH Shares Highlights from 2022-23
TORCH staff assisted more than 400 middle school and high school students during the 2022-23 school year, and the program’s graduating seniors received more than $18,000 in local scholarships to pursue postsecondary education. Northfield High School TORCH Director Tessa Kiesow shared those and other highlights with the Northfield Shares board at its May meeting at […]
A new indoor, playful learning space is coming to Northfield!
In the former Greenvale Park Elementary School media center where students used to sit and read The Magic Tree House books, a giant treehouse now stands. The treehouse is part of an interactive, fully accessible play space that was designed by the Minnesota Children’s Museum for the building’s new tenant, the Northfield Community Education Center […]