The following is provided by Keith Covey, NDDC Board secretary:

The April NDDC board meeting opened with the election of Mary Rossing to the board. President Dan Bergeson and other members welcomed her to her first board meeting. Mary is proprietor of Present Perfect, a Division Street gift and specialty store. She previously served as board member and president of the Northfield Historical Society.

A new Marketing and Promotion Committee was established by the board “to focus on generating more foot traffic downtown by coordinating events and advertising on behalf of the entire district.” New board member Mary Rossing and third year board member Linda Schneewind, of digs, will be co-chairs. They are recruiting other downtown business representatives to join the effort. The committee will coordinate NDDC promotions that previously were conducted by ad hoc task groups and anticipates putting new ideas to work as well. One source of new activities is expected to be the Retail Support Strategies (RSS) Task Force. That group is a joint project of the NDDC and Chamber of Commerce, with funding from the Economic Development Authority. By mid-summer, it is expected to identify new strategies for expanding retail traffic in all Northfield retail districts.

The Board agreed to cosponsor, with six downtown businesses, a new radio calendar of Northfield entertainment and cultural events on KYMN radio. It will air three times on Fridays and Saturdays.

The board is collaborating with the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Northfield in campaigning for early improvement of Highway 19 between Northfield and I35. This is a high priority for the entire Northfield area. President Dan Bergeson reported to the board that he is coordinating with other groups in urging the Minnesota Department of Transportation to reschedule improvements for an earlier date than 10 to 15 years in the future, which its current schedule calls for.

Board vice president Joe Grundhoefer announced that the second “Taste of Northfield” event is scheduled for July 19 in Bridge Square. Grundhoefer is chairing the event and is recruiting local restaurants to plan and participate in the event.