Union of Youth

The Northfield Union of Youth held its final mayoral open house at the Key on Sunday August 24th. Paul Hager, Lee Lansing, and Jim Schlichting attended the event and each took turns speaking to the audience and answering questions. A large array of topics were covered including issues specific to The Key, transportation issues, property taxes, noise pollution, and the future of Northfield. There were some great questions asked and some equally wonderful discussions generated as well. Many youth helped set up and attend the event.

The Northfield Skatepark Coalition was selected by Waste Management as the recipient for the May-July Green Team Award and at the Monday August 18th City Council meeting the Coalition accepted a check for over $1200 for their involvement . The Skateboard Coalition was responsible for periodically monitoring the recycling bin at Econofoods and received $15/ton for the recycled paper and cardboard discarded in the bin. The Coalition cleaned up the downtown riverwalks, helped youth in the after school Summer Ventures program make reusable canvas bags, and watered plants for the America in Bloom competition as part of its “green” responsibilities during the three month period.

The Key’s August 17th Mayoral Open House went on without a hitch. About 15 adults and 7 youth were present for the event. Jon Denison, Mary Rossing, Dave Hvistendahl, and Eduardo Wolle all spoke for about 5-10 minutes each on why they should be elected as mayor. Youth issues were included in all of the candidates’ platforms and a slew of other topics were brought up as well. Candidates and “spectators” then mingled for about 45 minutes and ate and drank a wide variety of refreshments present at the event. Those cherry tomatoes were pretty darn good and they came from the Key’s plot at the Northfield Community Garden by Greenvale School. Heirloom tomatoes were given to all the candidates at the event. I must be hungry. Voter registration forms and info were are also present at the event along with info on the NUY’s Youth Platform. The photo shown was taken by Susan Hvistendahl (Dave’s sister) and the Northfield Union of Youth wishes to make clear that we do not endorse or wish to promote any candidate. I forgot my camera and Susan was kind enough to send me some shots. My guess is that Susan will be voting for her brother in the primary (:

The Northfield Union of Youth through much hard work and effort pulled off the Mayoral Speed Candidating event at The Grand from 2:00-4:30pm on Sunday August 10th. Youth from the community were in more abundance than adults at the event, although everyone was invited. Candidates and “daters” talked about youth issues (Key building space, skatepark, drug rehab for youth, programming, etc.), urban sprawl, future projects, the economy, and a slew of other topics. The forum was excellent for talking to candidates and getting a feel for their positions, and The Key would highly recommend this approach in future races with a large amount of candidates. Mayor Lee Lansing, Mary Rossing, Eduardo Rolle, David Hvistendahl, and James Schlichting showed up to the event and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Paul Hager had a prior commitment and Jon Dennison was too ill to attend. A big thanks to Amy Merritt for taking such a commitment to the event and of course to all the youth that organized, staffed, and attended the event. WOW! The Key also tabled their VOTE YOUTH platform and had a table for registering to vote and signing up to be an election judge.

Adults (and youth) have another chance to show they care about their future mayor by attending one of the future Sunday mayoral open houses at The Key. THIS SUNDAY the 17th at 3:00PM the KEY will be hosting a “meet n’ greet” open house mayoral shindig with snacks, beverages, and the following candidates: Dave Hvistendahl, Mary Rossing, Eduardo Wolle, and (probably) Jon Denison. We will do it up again on the 24th (3:00pm) with Paul Hager, Lee Lansing, and James Schlichting. Just show up and listen to the candidates talk for 5-10 minutes and when the candidates are done you can go and talk to them one-on-one. Do you care about the environment, highway sprawl, future projects, the liquor store, energy sustainability, city taxes, youth issues, etc.? Well show up and ask/talk to them about your issues. Also - The Contented Cow will be hosting events as well on Thursday nights. Click here for information.

The Key participated in the 2008 Art Swirl sponsored by the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC) and the Northfield Arts Guild (NAG). Art Swirl was a four day downtown festival in celebration of the thriving Northfield art scene. The Key took part in the August 9th downtown gallery showing from 6-9pm. I had to leave at the very beginning of the gallery showing, but about 5 youth had an eclectic amount of art on display at the showing. I thought the art was pretty darn good.

Members of the Northfield Union of Youth tabled for National Night Out on the 5th of August. Key members also “inked” henna tattoos for the various youth that showed up.

The Youth Board held their annual summer board retreat July 28th. The group camped out at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park overnight, grilling up burgers, veggie burgers, and dogs. Members also went exploring in the trails chilled out by the waterfall. The group also had an extended meeting talking about programming, the future of the Key and other related topics.

You can email northfieldunionofyouth@gmail.com for any additional questions.