I often think that Northfield is truly an amazing place to live. With our two world class private liberal arts colleges in town we have tremendous opportunities to access events. Last night was one of those times. I attended a talk by Paul Rusesabagina. This was sponsored by the St. Olaf College Political Awareness Committee. It was held in Boe Chapel on campus and was attended by more students and community members than I knew could fit in the building!

Mr. Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, gave a good first hand account of his time during the uprising in Rawanda in 1994. He protected 1,260 Hutu’s from certain death for over two months by keeping them in the hotel he managed. His story was documented in the movie Hotel Rawanda. Paul gave us some background information on Rawanda and how the frictions rose between the Tutsi’s and Hutu.

First hand accounts of actions like this are very powerful. Paul talked about how he rationed the water from the swimming pool to the residents twice each day. He described what it was like to be without electricity and communications, cooped up in the hotel for so long. He had many interactions with the rebels during this period, but always keep his cool and sensibly discussed their concerns.

During the question and answer period after Paul’s presentation he was asked about the United Nations. He didn’t feel they could be counted on for much. He felt the fact that the UN operates through consensus makes it very weak. He commented that when they address a resolution, they talk about it for 4-5 months and end up making so many changes to the original resolution that the final end result doesn’t look anything like the original resolution----and often doesn’t accomplish what is needed. He also said he felt the multi-national UN troops were very difficult to manage, saying a peacekeeping force of 5,000 made up of soldiers from 40-50 countries simply doesn’t work.

I thank St. Olaf College and the PAC for arranging Paul Rusesabagina’s visit to Northfield.

Posted by Ray Cox at 5:19 AM | Link

 
Congratulations go out to Senator Tom Neuville. This Wednesday Tom was selected as the 2007 Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce ‘Business Person of the Year’. Senator Neuville is shown below on the left with 2nd District Congressman John Kline and me at an event in New Prague this past fall.

Tom has worked tirelessly to represent the residents of this area in the Minnesota Senate. He has worked on some monumental legislation, such as the recent reforms to family law in Minnesota. I personally know that Tom is highly regarded by people on both sides of the aisle for his thoughtful, considerate evaluation of proposed legislation. He is also a local attorney and has spent many hours working criminal defense.

It is fitting that the Northfield Chamber of Commerce recognize Tom for his good work in striving to keep Minnesota friendly for business and his support of our quality education systems. And all the while Tom has been serving our community he has been supported and encouraged by his wonderful wife Marilyn and their five children.

Posted by Ray Cox at 1:45 PM | Link

 
When you consider contracting with a builder for a construction project it is important to first make sure the firm has the capabilities to perform the identified work properly. This often includes doing some background research that may include:
• Assessing financial condition of the firm. Do they pay their bills on time?
• Evaluating owned equipment of the firm
• Evaluating company personnel, both for ability to perform and for quality of work
• Asses how the firm handles changes to the work
• Determine if projects are generally completed on time
• Does the firm have good working relationships with local vendors and material suppliers?
• Visiting with local architects and designers about relationships they have with the contractor

One of the best ways to gather information on a construction firm is to visit with recent clients. Any contractor should be happy to furnish you with a list of customers, with projects matched to the project you are considering. You would typically ask for this information to be brought to an interview with the contractor you are considering.

It is possible for building contractors to ‘get in over their head’ on a project. If you travel on state highway 56 near Stanton, MN I’m sure you have seen this collapsed shed…..

I don’t know who constructed the shed or what went on with it, but I know I saw it standing for some time without proper wall bracing. I suspect that with the roof installed it caught too much wind load on the un-braced walls and simply could not stand the applied forces.

Posted by Ray Cox at 1:16 PM | Link

 
Last Friday I received a great Valentine’s Day card in the mail…..

The card was from Laura Baker Services, and was made by one of the residents. What a thoughtful, kind thing to do! Northfield Construction Company has had a long relationship of providing support to LBS and this was a very nice way to say thank you….

LBS has been an integral part of this community for over 100 years. A couple of years ago we constructed their new resident cottage…..

I’m happy that LBS stays in touch with supporters by way of Valentine cards.

Posted by Ray Cox at 7:23 AM | Link

 
Ellen and I have been acting as a local host family to a Carleton College student. Marcel Gozali is from Singapore and is a first year student at Carleton. He is a wonderful young man and we are thoroughly enjoying getting to know him, and to learn about Singapore and that area of the world.

On Monday of this week Marcel gave us a special treat----playing a two-stringed musical instrument for us. The instrument is called an erhu. Marcel explained that name is an English version of a Chinese word. Marcel is a talented musician on this interesting instrument.

It is a truly amazing instrument. As I said, it has two strings. The bow hairs are between the two strings, so the bow, which resembles a bow used on a violin, cannot be removed from the instrument. The bow is pulled across the strings and fingers are moved up and down the strings to change pitch, much like a violin. The sound box is very small and is covered with python skin, but the sound emanating from it is powerful.

Marcel is going to play the erhu at the Northfield high school this Sunday, February 11th at 6:00PM.

Posted by Ray Cox at 5:14 AM | Link

 
Work is coming along very well on a house we are building in rural Rice County. It is good to be working inside on such cold days! The stairway Charlie installed is beautiful. He is an expert craftsman and on work like this is shows up immediately.

I think the box newel at the foot of the stair creates a real feel of ‘substance’ to the stair and the home.

The kitchen work is starting to take shape as well, with appliances on site….

The natural stone countertops have excellent color and veining...

Brent and Barry have been busy installing doors, hardware, etc…..

It won't be long before work is wrapped up and the owners can enjoy their lovely home.

Posted by Ray Cox at 1:58 PM | Link

 
This morning at 8:00 I joined many community members, business owners, and retail merchants for a discussion at the Grand Entertainment center. In spite of a fairly cold, very snowy morning, there was an excellent turnout.

The meeting was sponsored jointly between the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation and the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce. The purpose was to ‘brainstorm’ about issues and challenges facing retail business development in Northfield. As NDDC Executive Director Ross Currier told the group, retail is used very loosely to include any business that sells a product---from hammers, to sandwiches to insurance. That is a broad description of the term, but shows the desire to include everyone in working to keep Northfield a strong business center.

Before we started the discussion on business issues we had a short presentation from Randolph Jennings. Randy has been working on way-finding signage for Northfield under a contract with the City of Northfield. He gave us some background on what he has worked on, including showing us ‘wheels’ blending a collage of images about Northfield, to arrive at colors, features, etc.
He showed some possible sign configurations to us……

It was good to see so many business people gather to discuss how to improve services, opportunities, and goods in the Northfield area. We have a beautiful downtown and it takes ongoing care to keep it healthy.

Posted by Ray Cox at 8:23 AM | Link

 
At the end of January I attended an all day construction class for my contractor’s license recertification. The class was organized by Northfield’s Building Official, John Brookins, and was held at the American Legion. A couple of State employees did the actual presentations and did an excellent job. There were over 100 building contractors there for the education class. I really appreciate John organizing this education seminar.

The focus of the class was on the changes being implemented to the building code. We talked about many issues, including drainage....

And changes being implemented to framing requirements....

Minnesota now uses the International Residential Code (IRC). It is a model code that was developed to be used across the country and had worked very well. However, every three years or so it is reviewed and updated. Minnesota is generally a bit slower than other states about implementing the changes, so we are lagging behind right now. Right now the state is focusing on getting ready to implement the 2006 code.

One of the interesting ‘show downs’ in the code review is coming from the building industry itself, by way of the Builders Association of Minnesota (BAM). The 2006 building code calls for doors and windows to be installed according to and following manufactures instructions. BAM wants the code to require ‘pan flashing’ under all doors and windows.

A ‘pan flashing’ is a waterproof barrier, typically a flexible material, that is wrapped into the window opening before the window is installed. Some buiilders use a solid pan flashing made of metal. The theory is that if the window itself starts leaking, water will find its way down to the pan flashing, where it will be discharged to the exterior. BAM is concerned that without pan flashings, if a window begins leaking the water will simply migrate down the wall and be trapped in the wall itself, causing mold and mildew problems. The state is concerned about going beyond what window manufacturers call for and requiring a pan flashing to be installed. BAM is concerned that with Minnesota’s sealed tight home construction requirements any water migrating into walls will have a huge negative impact on owners of those homes. Testimony has been received on this issue and a determination will be made shortly.

Northfield Construction Company has been using pan flashings for many years under all our windows and doors.

Good, flexible membrane products are made for this purpose. It takes only a few minutes per opening to install the flashings and it provides solid, positive protection against water intrusion. I view this much as I view draintile. While draintile is typically not required to be installed by our building code, I would never build a home without it.

I’d vote to require pan flashings under windows and doors….it is inexpensive insurance against leakage.

Posted by Ray Cox at 5:03 AM | Link

 
In spite of some cold weather, work has been moving along well with the Guth Electric building in Dundas. The exterior wall panels are in place and look good with the esterior masonry wainscote….

The interior is bright with the insulation in place…..

It won’t be long before the steel roofing panels are installed and locked into place and interior work can start.....

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:26 PM | Link

 
February marks the 35th anniversary of Northfield Construction! It hardly seems possible that this many years have gone by.

I worked as a carpenter’s apprentice on some of the first projects Northfield Construction Company built, including Lutheran churches in Apple Valley and Prescott, Wisconsin, Vasa Children’s Home, and remodeling the Carleton College Laird Stadium. Over the years we have constructed many, many fine homes and commercial buildings in this area.

We all thoroughly enjoy working with architects and owners to create projects that suit family and business needs. Our work has included many new homes as well as residential remodeling. We also have an extensive list of completed commercial projects including auto facilities, medical facilities, restaurants, education facilities, etc.





In 1984 we purchased and moved into the former Doc’s Electric building on highway 246 across from the Northfield Middle School. We outgrew that facility and in 1994 we moved into a brand new shop/office facility on Riverview Lane in Northfield. In 2002 we expanded that facility slightly to meet growing space needs.

Our present location provides adequate room to house administrative functions, maintain our construction equipment, and operate a wood shop for fabricating building components.

In 2002 Northfield Construction Company was honored to be selected as the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce 2002 ‘Business of the Year.’

But the absolute best thing about this company is the excellent, high-quality employees. We have a very stable, hard-working work force that is well trained in construction specialties and trades. It is not possible to do the quality of work we do without these trained employees.

They have wonderful families and I’m proud to include them all in the “Northfield Construction family.”

I thank everyone that has asked Northfield Construction Company to work with them on a construction project and look forward to continue our practice of providing high quality work at competitive rates, with a true commitment to customer satisfaction.

Posted by Ray Cox at 8:29 AM | Link