Author Archives: Bruce Anderson

Jacobsens reap a windy harvest

I miss seeing Rollie Jacobsen’s smiling face when I shop at Just Food (no offense to all the other smiling faces I still enjoy seeing!). The long-time pillar of the local retail community’s stint at Just Food was preceded by many years of service at Jacobsen’s Family Store, of which he was a third-generation owner [...]

Gliding through the Arb

I love visiting Carleton’s Arb in any season, but have a particular fondness for the snowy months when I can ski to my heart’s content on the Arb’s many miles of beautiful, gently rolling trails. I’ve been cross country skiing in the Arb since about 1969, and never tire of the ever-changing mosaic of fields, [...]

Open Hands barn-raising: beautiful, functional reuse

After seeing the Northfield News photo essay on the Open Hands Farm barn-raising a few weeks ago, I knew I needed to swing by to see what was happening. I’m a huge fan of locally-produced food, old timber-frame barns and reuse of construction materials. What’s not to like?!? I walked the 2.5 miles from my [...]

Making wise home energy investments

For most people, their house is not only their home, it’s also their single largest investment. Investments in our homes have been taking a battering with falling home values the past couple of years, but there is another way to make a nearly sure-fire investment in your home: investing in home energy efficiency. Natural gas [...]

It’s the local economy, stupid: cohousing event at The Grand

If you like great (local!) food, great (local!) music, and innovative (local!) housing solutions, you owe it to yourself to check out Friday evening’s happening at the Grand Event Center, Cohousing: Pushing the Sustainable Neighborhood Development Envelope, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Zillionaires, featuring the dynamic Northfield wife/husband duo of Wendy Smith (guitar, accordion, vocals) [...]