Jesse Steed, REALTOR®

It is 1914 and the Northfield Commercial Club is sponsoring a contest to find the perfect slogan for the town. Northfield is known for its mills, wheat, and award winning flour, Holstein cows, milk and butter. It is a charming town with not one but two colleges and many fine businesses, and is populated with a caring community who know how to protect each other from bandits like Jesse James.

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players

They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts

- Shakespeare

Change is the one constant in life and, for good or ill, it touches even our motivating principles. The drive for education, abolition, and temperance that brought so many west to Northfield, mellowed with time and life experience. Northfield residents helped establish—not one, but—two colleges.  

The stage coach followed its normal route, up over the hill near Alexander Stewart’s log cabin, and headed for the Jenkins Tavern on the east edge of town. Hiram Scriver looked out the coach window that day in 1856, and saw “the lordly forest of hardwood trees which stretched westward almost from the banks of the Cannon river” and knew; he knew that “was where he wanted to spend the rest of his life.” 

Northfield’s 22nd Winter Walk is right around the corner, and guess who will be there? Santa’s elves, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman, of course! Come look for them as they meander up and down Division Street after the Tree Lighting Ceremony (5:00 PM) - if, that is, you can pull yourself away from Northfield Library’s Magic of Model Trains exhibit (starting at 3:30 PM).

Have you ever panted past the Headley House during a run on the Carleton College campus and wondered who lived there? Maybe you happened upon the Marston Headley Research Room while investigating the Northfield Historical Society and wondered why a library research room would be named for anyone?

For students, the news headlines say it all: College costs too much.  This has been the way of the academic world for decades. But a college education has been held up to be their future hope for job and success. What are they to do now? The current Covid-19 pandemic has forced educational institutions at all levels to change their classroom protocols from casual face-to-face to virtual instruction and to think outside the educational box.

Hi, I’m Jesse. I am a husband to Kathryn, father to Robert and Henry, the oldest of five children, an ultimate frisbee fan, a creative story teller, a homeschool graduate, a Rotarian, a website developer, and oh yes, I also sell real estate. I have enjoyed living abroad in France and Israel, travelling the world learning about myself, and making new discoveries right outside my front door. Meeting people and building meaningful connections has always been my passion.

Rarely do you ever see only one drop of water. In a state like Minnesota, you usually see many, many more, say, in a pond, in a river, and in a lake. These all hold the wonder of adventure. There’s something calming and peaceful about a body of water unless you happen upon one hidden in the middle of a corn field or a stand of trees. Then it is something more—it is mysteriously inviting.

Well over one hundred years ago, when travelers needed gasoline, tire repair or directions, they made their way to the filling station. From general store to sidewalk pumps to the covered drive-in station, the filling station made filling their tanks convenient and safe, even providing free air and water. Despite advancements in technology, not much has changed.