Union of Youth

The Key’s Art Project made belts with duct tape and shiny new buckles. Check out the talent below.

Yes, this isn’t the happiest and easiest novel Book Club could have picked, but Franz Kafka’s The Trial should prove to be an exciting challenge. The Trial was first published in 1925 and is about the character Joseph K who awakens one morning to find out he has been arrested for a crime that is never explained. This book is a sort of parable (read satire) on a society that has become impersonal and bureaucratic (nightmarishly so to some). This book should bring about an endless amount of discussion topics, much of which may be relevant today. The book will be officially handed out at the Wednesday the 27th board meeting (3:45pm) and at Book Club Monday, March 3rd (5:00pm).

The Key had their annual winter board retreat on the 23rd. The Youth Board went to Grand Slam in Burnsville where they partook in bumpercars, lazer tag, video games, batting cages, and miniature golf. After Grand Slam the gang headed off to Chipotle to eat, followed by some swimming at the Holiday Inn. When the swimming session was over the board took over a meeting room and discussed the goals and ambitions of the organization. Here’s a slideshow of some other goings on.

Art Project extended tiles another week and used them to decorate a table and the bathroom counter. The participants took tiles decorated the week previous, smashed them up, reassembled them in an artistic fashion, and used sealant and grout to affix them.

Member of The Key met at Emmaus Church on the 16th of February for another Cooking Class. This time Luigi chose the finer art of cooking the Japanese cuisine sushi. Luigi taught the history behind the food and interjected his own philosophy and interconnectedness behind the ingredients chosen. About 14 youth showed up and made various sushi rolls, miso soup, and sencha tea. The sushi (which means flavored rice) contained carrots, avocados (California rolls), asparagus, tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet), and cooked fish. Luigi also taught the rather posh inside-out roll. The sushi was served with sides of traditional pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce. The miso soup was the best I have ever tasted! Here is a slideshow of the class. For a list of ingredients used, please click here.
Funding for the Minnesota After-School Community Learning program is provided by the Minnesota Department of Education as Cooking With Luigi is also made possible by the fine folks at the Grace Whittier Fund.

The Key’s Ultimate Frisbee League is up and running thanks to Dylan McKinstry. Sixteen kids showed up to the first intermural event. This is open to any youth between the ages of 12-20. The “league” meets every Saturday at 1:00pm in Cowling Gym.

The Northfield Skateboard Coalition February 10th pancake breakfast at Applebees raised over $650 for the future skatepark. This money will be matched by HCI as part of an ongoing grant. Congratulations to all the skateboarders who helped out and a big thanks to Applebees and the wonderful staff there.

The Northfield Union of Youth had many participants in the February 2008 Northfield Caucuses. I won’t get into specifics on the parties they participated in, but will say that many stuck out the caucuses until the very end, and Ruth Amerman even had a resolution approved by her precinct. Way to go Ruth! Thanks to Gus, Marie, James, Ruth, Abe, Phoebe, and other Youth Board Members (and members of the Key) for participating and making a difference in the 2008 presidential caucuses. Alex Beeby, an Adult Board Member, was even voted on as a precinct chair!

This is NOT by any means the final design for the skatepark. Location, financial situation, contractors, and other factors could change this design. Thanks to Charlie Hussman and Taylor McCloskey for putting in so much effort into the design, and of course to the entire Skateboard Coalition for making it happen. Check out Locally Grown’s blog about site options.