Spring is coming fast now, and it’s time to start planning the gardens we’ve been dreaming of all winter. Garden catalogs have been arriving at our house thick and fast, and my three-year-old pages through them identifying the plants he’d like to have in his garden (hint: it’s pretty much all of them).

Radon has been in the news the last couple of months with some changes to Minnesota law, and the EPA designated January as Radon Action Month, so this week I’m taking a few minutes to give a quick overview of radon, the risks it poses, regulations and recommendations, and what you can do to protect yourself and your family.

The first time I climbed down the (only slightly rickety) stairs into my house’s unfinished “Minnesota basement,” I noticed that one interior cinder-block wall looked as if it had been knocked in with a sledgehammer. Peering into the darkness through the snaggle-toothed hole, I found a large, sunken rectangle full of broken bricks, chunks of dirt, and occasional corpses (only rodents as far as I know).

New on the market is a triplex at 306 Saint Olaf Avenue. Neighboring St Dominic School, this location is walking distance to Brick Oven Bakery and downtown Northfield.

Built in 1895 this building retains a lot of the original character and workmanship typical of turn of the century homes. From woodwork to staircase railings to claw foot bathtubs, you'll find many charming features throughout the property. 

I’m really excited this week about my new listing in Lonsdale, and I want to tell you more about both the house and the community. 

See all the listing details and photos here.

With this week’s near-record low temperatures and Northfield’s school closures, I find myself wondering simultaneously how to keep myself inside my nice cozy house and how to get my kids out of it. As much fun as it is to have them both home, it’s hard to get our two sons enough exercise to keep them happy and out of trouble.

Northfield may be known now for cows, colleges, and contentment, but its history is first and foremost that of a milling town. John North began his development of Northfield with a wooden mill dam in 1855, and he followed with a sawmill and a gristmill just a year later. He sold the gristmill, located on the East side of the river near Bridge Square, to Charles Wheaton in 1859, and Wheaton in turn sold it to Jesse Ames in 1865.

When I moved to Northfield a little over eight years ago, I was accompanied by my wife, Kathryn, and her ancient and beloved fox terrier, William (pictured on a walk some time ago). Among our first projects as we settled in was figuring out how to take care of William in our new city.

There are 12 Northfields in the United States, somewhere between two and five Red Wings (depending on how finicky you are about spelling and adjectives), three Dennisons, four Dundases, four Hazelwoods, at least 13 Waterfords, 15 Stantons, and a whopping 23 Randolphs. But there’s only one Cannon Falls in the world, at least as far as the internet seems to know.

The attic is an often overlooked but wonderfully versatile part of a home. Depending on how it is constructed and finished, it can serve as a comfortable living space or guest quarters, storage space, or just a climate-mitigating buffer between the elements and the rest of your home. It can be home to family heirlooms, baseball collections, holiday decorations, bats, and even the occasional madwoman (I’m looking at you, Charlotte Bronte).