Last week Ellen and I were in Arizona and New Mexico on vacation. It was good to be in another part of the country, although we seemed to bring some of Minnesota’s winter weather with us.

Our first stop was in Tombstone, AZ where they had 6” of snow the day before we arrived. That created real problems for those folks, with schools cancelled and most things closed down. They don’t have plows available to deal with such an amount of snow. One of the curious things I saw in Tombstone was a 2.5” diameter fire hose connection.

We typically see fire hydrants fed with 6” mains. Tombstone had a few of these connections around town. I assume they had small mains in the streets and use these ‘miniature hydrants’ as a branch off the small mains.

Traveling on we came across a log cabin under construction.

The logs are being scribed by hand, just as some folks do in this area. The roof system is being constructed using standard dimensional lumber.

This utility building has survived many Arizona winters......

The construction was rather unique for me. It appeared that the inner and outer wood facings were erected, with the center area filled with an adobe type material.

Right next to this building I found a very old store, which was still in use. The desert winds are tough on buildings, but the dry climate seems to preserve them.

There also is a lot of adobe construction in this part of the country. Adobe is a mix of dirt and straw that is formed into bricks and air dried. Sometimes it is covered with another material on the exterior, such as cement stucco. But often the adobe is left to weather, like this building....

Continuing my interest in old gas stations, in Bisbee I came across this one...

In Silver City, New Mexico I found another fine old gas station.....

There is a lot of old wind power still in use in this part of the country. Lots of ranches have windmills to pump water for cattle. Wind was even used in this state park to pump water at one time....

It was fun to see how things were done many years ago in this area!

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:41 AM | Link

 
The architectural, historical preservation and building community lost a true giant of a man yesterday when Charlie Nelson died. He was the Minnesota State Historical Architect for many,many years. Charlie had a true passion for taking care of all architecture. He would never hesitate to jump in his car and drive to meet with some historical society in a far corner of the state if they needed him. He helped people understand how to take care of buildings and artifacts, but also helped them understand why it is necessary to do so.

Northfield Construction Company worked on a few projects that involved Charlie Nelson, such as the Northfield First National Band remodeling, work on the Scriver Building for the Northfield Historical Society. etc.

Whenever I see work taking place on our public buildings I think of Charlie. Right now the state capitol has some plaster and paint restoration work being completed......

There is one panel where the new work is contrasted with the older, somewhat dingy existing work. I suspect some of the dingyness is due to a combination of smoke discoloration and non-colorfast paint coatings.

There also is a nice panelboard explaining what is being done to the capitol ceiling, and just exactly how the work is accomplished....

Everyone that cares about our historic buildings or is involved in repairing and preserving our buildings will miss Charlie Nelson and his good works.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:26 AM | Link

 
Yesterday evening I attended the local celebration of the birth of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It was held at the Northfield Middle School and was organized by members of our local Human Rights Commission. The event opened with greeting music performed by the Carleton College Drumming Ensemble. Mayor Lee Lansing welcomed everyone to the event.


The Northfield Youth Choir treated us to a couple of songs. I always enjoy hearing the voices of those children.

St. Olaf College President David Anderson introduced the speaker for the evening….former Governor Al Quie. Governor Quie gave a very moving and from the heart talk about race, relations and growing up in this part of America. Governor Quie is a Northfield High School and St. Olaf College graduate. I never tire of listening to his stories about growing up on a farm near Dennison

After Governor Quie finished speaking to the assembled group Bill Green presented him with a certificate of appreciation.

The 2007 Northfield Human Rights Award was presented by Peg Prowe to LaNelle Olsen. LaNelle has worked tirelessly on many issues related to fair treatment of all people. I spent 31 years living two doors down from LaNelle and know what a great, hard-worker she is, whether it is helping to plan Northfield from her Planning Commission service to her faithful calls for peace on Bridge Square.

At the conclusion of the celebration we moved to the common area of the school to enjoy birthday cake and conversation. I thank everyone involved in planning this wonderful community celebration in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. What would the world be like today if he wasn’t taken from us at the young age of 39?

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:42 AM | Link

 
Friday evening Ellen and I participated in a surprise party for Greg Carlson. Greg has been selected to receive the St. Olaf College 2007 Alumni Distinguished Service Award.

Most likely everyone in Northfield has been touched by Greg in one way or another. Greg has been instrumental in assisting many organizations with fundraising efforts. He has often provided accounting and bookkeeping functions. His most recent effort is to try and get as many people involved in volunteer activies as possible, and get them to commit to giving 5 hours a week to their community.

Greg's brothers Jeff, Barry and Gary, and sister Kristen were the organizers behind the party on Friday. Greg was kept 'in the dark' about the award and was escorted into the clubhouse in a blindfold by his children...

Justin and others recounted all the good works Greg has been involved with. I worked with Greg on two school bond levy elections and know how important his services have been. As a fellow Ole I'm pleased to know that Greg is being honored in this manner.

Posted by Ray Cox at 5:19 AM | Link

 
Wednesday evening I attended the Northfield Chamber of Commerce ‘Business to Business’ event---or B2B---at the Jesse James Lanes. There was a huge turnout for this event, which was good to see.

Terry Heilman, owner of Jesse James Lanes, organized a ‘Scotch tournament’ for us which was fun. Two person teams bowled alternate balls on alternate lanes.

I was paired up with Brad Ness, shown below with Jodi Graff who also bowled in the tournament.

This was a great time to visit with Chamber members and get to know some new members. There was even a drawing to give away some free bowling.....

Northfield is a busy growing community. A number of businesses have opened during the past year or so. One of them that is getting lots of use is Snap Fitness Center.

There are lots of folks that have made New Year’s resolutions to exercise more or lose some weight. Snap Fitness has excellent cardio, resistance and weight training equipment.With the cold weather settling in there isn’t a better place to exercise than Snap Fitness.

Thanks to everyone at the Northfield Chamber and to Jesse James Lanes for hosting the Business to Business forum.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:43 AM | Link

 
The Subway restaurant in Faribault we have been working on this fall is now open for business! First thing Wednesday morning they were busy selling food.

This Subway has the new décor package for the interior and I think it looks quite nice. The food menu is very readable and the food line is attractive….

Workers were busy yesterday stocking the kitchen with food, cleaning the cookware, etc…

The ceiling tile has a nice sculpted edge profile. We used a wood crown molding at the perimeter of the public areas which looks very good.

While the exterior work is not 100% finished---waiting for spring weather----the patio wall with lantern style lights are functioning. The lights are similar to the Starbucks we constructed adjacent to the Subway and give a soft glow at night.

So, if you are in Faribault and are hungry, stop by the new Subway on highway 60 just east of the freeway.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:53 AM | Link

 
Eventually ‘even the cobbler has to repair his shoes.’ After working most of the fall re-roofing other peoples homes and businesses, Monday we started re-roofing the NCC shop.

While the weather cooled down, with the sun out it isn’t really too bad doing this type of work. We thought it would be best to get at it before the predicted snow arrives and temperatures dip even further.

Posted by Ray Cox at 1:44 PM | Link

 
Tuesday morning I attended a Northfield Downtown Development Corporation forum on local business issues. Northfield has a beautiful historic downtown district. Over the past decade or so there have been business changes in the downtown, just like there have been everywhere across the nation. The NDDC is a non-profit group that works to keep a strong downtown in Northfield. Formed shortly after Target came to town, they do an excellent job addressing business concerns. There was a big crowd at the meeting....good to see people caring about local businesses.

Today's monthly meeting was sparked by the closing of the restaurant Las Delicias. The restaurant faced a number of difficulties including increasing rents and decided to close. No one likes to lose a business, much less a fine little restaurant that was serving ethnic meals.

Mayor Lee Lansing (left), Victor Summa (center) and Norman Butler (right) opened the meeting with a discussion of general business and building owner thoughts. All three own property in the downtown, and two operate businesses in them.


Norman Butler gave a very interesting perpesctive on the difficulties facing restaurants. He noted property taxes as a major concern. Norman suggested that it is a rare individual that can construct a new commercial kitchen in one of our downtown historical buildings and make it pay with a viable business plan. The margins in the restaurant business sound about as thin as the construction business!!

Drawing on my past legislative serivce, the attendees ask me if I thought the legislature would consider some commerical property tax relief. I told the group that would be a hard sell in the newly configured legislature, and that in fact many in the legislature are now talking about increasing commercial property tax rates.

Overall, Northfield has a very healthy business climate. We struggle with things just like any community. I do believe we have reasonable levels of customers from the town itself. If we can attract more businesses to town that have good paying jobs it will help everyone. Every dollar we can keep turning around in Northfield builds a better community.

Posted by Ray Cox at 3:21 AM | Link

 
Work has moved inside at Astral Technology’s facility expansion. We used the good weather to finish up all the exterior work and were glad to have the mild weather. With the doors installed and temporary heat on we have moved to the inside.

The interior wall framing has started….

Much of the interior is being covered with white ribbed metal sheeting. This works very well in a production facility as it is a bright, easy to maintain surface.

We had the big structural beams painted white.

The beams will be exposed so it is good to have light reflect off of them. We used a white vinyl material for the exposed ceiling, held in place by metal banding. The building insulation is above it, providing a very high level of insulation.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:48 AM | Link

 
Work is moving along at the new shop/office facility for Guth Electric in Dundas. The site work, foundation and asphalt parking areas were completed late this fall. On Tuesday we took delivery of the steel components for the building and have started erecting the building.

Yesterday's mild weather was a real gift for the workers dealing with fitting cold steel and bolts together!

The frames go up quickly so progress on the structure will move ahead well.

Posted by Ray Cox at 6:46 AM | Link

 
To make way for some new commercial development in Dundas, the old farm house just off County Road #1 is being moved. It is up on beams ready to be moved.

I believe the home will be relocated to the Rice County Steam and Tractor grounds further south on highway #3. This house is a very typical farmhouse from the turn of the last century. It is nice to see it being 'recycled' for continued use.

Posted by Ray Cox at 12:07 PM | Link

 
Last week my employees gave me a mighty fine present….new ice fishing gear! They gave me a couple of fishing poles, a cushioned seat, rod cases, a tip-up, and all sorts of accessories. They even included a gift card for more gear. What wonderful gifts from a bunch of great, hard-working people!

I have not been doing a lot of ice fishing over the past winters but do enjoy getting out on nice winter days. My legislative service made ice fishing tough, but the November election changed that for me. My staff knows that I’ll have more time to myself and thinks it would be a fine idea if I used some of that free time to try my luck fishing on some of Minnesota’s lakes.

Thanks to a great staff for thinking of me at the end of the year!

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:08 AM | Link