Tag Archives: Northfield Economic Development Authority

New Executive Director to begin work May 1

The NDDC has hired a new Executive Director! Greg Siems has accepted the part-time position and will begin his duties on May 1, 2019.

Siems was most recently the Assistant Director of the Institute for Freedom & Community at St. Olaf College. Prior to that he was the Director of Vision 2020 in Austin, Minnesota, where he coordinated and supported over 100 volunteers across nine committees working to improve Austin’s quality of life. In that position he secured over $1.3 million in project funding by cultivating sustained relationships with diverse stakeholders including elected officials, city staff, private citizens, charitable foundations, nonprofits and businesses.

Siems graduated from Luther College with degrees in Political Science and Russian Studies and holds a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame.

“We feel fortunate to have Greg joining us at the NDDC,” NDDC Board member Mark Lancaster told NDDC’s Downtown Northfield MN, “and we are excited about the future of the NDDC under his leadership.”

The NDDC is a Designated Minnesota Main Street organization. It is committed to creating and sustaining a vibrant and vital Downtown Northfield. It focuses on all of the constituencies in the district: building owners, business owners and residential citizens. The NDDC works collaboratively with all economic development partners in the city, including the Northfield City Council, the Northfield Economic Development Authority, the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, the Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Northfield Enterprise Center.

For more information about the NDDC, please call (507)645-5604 or visit www.nddc.org. The NDDC is on Facebook at Downtown Northfield MN. The NDDC is a 501(c)3 corporation with offices at the Northfield Office of Business and Tourism, 19 Bridge Square, Northfield, MN 55057.

The Northfield Business & Tourism Center

A long-time goal shared by many in the Northfield business community was recently celebrated at 19 Bridge Square. That’s the home of the new Northfield Business & Tourism Center. Tuesday, February 27, was the Grand Opening party in the new space. Nearly 200 people attended the special event and enjoyed great food and beverages served by the staff of the Ole Store Restaurant, The Tavern of Northfield, and the Grand Event Center. Thanks to proprietor Chuck Prior and Chef Olivier for the wonderful spread!

The Northfield Business & Tourism Center houses the offices of the Northfield Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, the Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, Visit Northfield, the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation, Downtown Northfield MN and the Northfield Enterprise Center. It’s a one-stop shop for anyone looking for information or networking opportunities in the Northfield business community.

The space is also the new home of the Visitor Information Center, a resource containing brochures, maps, visitor guides, business cards and many other publications for visitors. This resource is open 24/7/365. Businesses and organizations that have marketing material like this are welcome to leave it at the center for self-service distribution. Please see the staff during business hours if you have questions.

Stop by the new suite of offices soon and say hi to Todd, Lisa, Jenni and Chris. They look forward to seeing you!

Connect with the NDDC and Create Community in Downtown Northfield

I grew up in a small town where life centered around main street. We celebrated annual events and festivals, drawing generations of townsfolk to find connection in the center of our community. After living in five states and one foreign country I realized that places like my hometown are rare and special treasures. Then in 2009, my husband’s job interview at Malt-O-Meal (now Post Consumer Brands) brought us to Northfield as the sidewalk sales of Crazy Daze were in full swing. I watched friendly people shopping in a charming, lively downtown, chatting and eating giant donuts together—and I knew this was the town for us.

Downtown Northfield is where we come together. Cyclists gather here before and after their rides:

Bikers on Bridge Square

Families enjoy a breakfast pastry as they stroll through the Riverwalk Market Fair:

Riverwalk Market Fair

Visitors learn about Northfield’s courageous history as the townspeople chase the James Gang out of town:

Bank raid: Defeat of Jesse James Days

And shoppers discover one-of-a-kind treasures in our quaint storefronts:

Shopping in downtown Northfield

The NDDC works alongside our community partners to bring people together downtown. We create connections between downtown business owners, building owners, local organizations and city staff as we fulfill our mission of sustaining a vibrant downtown.

Since I began as the NDDC Executive Director in January, I’ve been meeting with many of the people who help make our downtown the thriving heart of our community. I have heard fond memories of Downtown Northfield from people like Dennis Thomas. He watched his uncle run the local market as a child in the 1940’s and later ran the business himself.

We’ll be sharing the latest stories, news and upcoming events from Downtown Northfield here on our blog and via our social media posts: our Downtown Northfield Facebook page, our Downtown Northfield Twitter feed @downtownnfdmn, and our Downtown Northfield Instagram feed @downtownnlfdmn.

You’ll hear from me, Board President Dan Bergeson and Social Media Consultant Griff Wigley. Griff is well-versed in all things downtown—in fact you might spot him as he bikes to his “office” at a table inside Tandem Bagels:

Mountain biker and social media consultant Griff Wigley

It’s an exciting time in Downtown Northfield! Connect with us as we celebrate our unique history, enjoy our vibrant present and look forward to a hopeful future together.

NDDC Relaunches Its Downtown Northfield Blog

Welcome back! We here at Downtown Northfield are rebooting the blog that was published on this site for many years. For a number of reasons, the blog has recently been dormant, but 2017 seems to be a good year to make it come alive again.

The site will publicize upcoming events and issues of relevance to the Downtown Northfield community, and will also go behind the scenes and discover the fascinating stories of the people who own and work in the buildings and businesses in the district.

NDDC Executive Director Jenni Roney
Jenni Roney

The first person we want to introduce is Jenni Roney, the new Executive Director of the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC).

Jenni operates Wordsmith Marketing & Design, a graphic design and strategic marketing company located in Northfield.  Previously, she was the Marketing Coordinator for the Northfield Area Family YMCA during the inaugural year in its newly opened facility. Prior to that she was an advertising consultant for Huckle Media, a multi-media company based in Michigan and former owner of the Northfield News.

Jenni began work in her new role on January 1, 2017. She has spent the first few days of her tenure getting to know business owners, Northfield city staff and elected officials, and the other economic development partners in Northfield: the Northfield Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, the Northfield Economic Development Authority, and  the Northfield Enterprise Center.

Jenni will be a contributor to the Downtown Northfield blog along with Griff Wigley, NDDC social media consultant. I’ve been involved with the NDDC for more than a decade and am currently on the Board of Directors so I plan on writing a post now and then myself. Stay tuned for more NDDC news!