The Cannon River spills over the dam by the historic Ames Mill. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
WE COME TO THE RIVER. The Cannon River, spilling over the dam by the Ames Mill. Roaring. Churning. Then flowing under the bridge and between the walls of the Riverwalk in downtown Northfield.
Enjoying beverages and time together beside the Cannon River in Bridge Square. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
We come here on a Sunday afternoon, on an April day of temps pushing into the sixties, the sun beaming warmth upon us, upon the land, upon the river. To sit. To walk. To lean toward the river. To simply be outdoors on an exceptionally lovely spring day in southern Minnesota.
The mood feels anticipatory, joyful, as we walk ourselves, and some their dogs, along the riverside path.
Historic buildings hug the Cannon River (and Division Street) in Northfield’s quaint downtown. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
I come with my Canon camera in hand. An observer. An appreciator of the sun, the sky, the warmth, the river, the historic buildings, the people and activities happening around me. In some ways, the scene seems Norman Rockwell-ish, Busy, yet tranquil. A slice of small town Americana. Everyday people enjoying each other, nature, the outdoors. Life.
Fishing by the Ames Mill dam. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
Many carry fishing poles, tackle boxes, containers of bait. Anglers press against the riverside railing, dropping lines into the water far below.
Caught in the Cannon, a sucker fish. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
I watch as a young man pulls in an unidentifiable-to-me fish (later identified as a white sucker by my husband). His friend snaps a photo of the proud angler and his first catch of the day.
The top section of the Riverwalk Poetry Steps. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
After hanging around the river by Bridge Square for a bit, I descend the colorful Riverwalk Poetry Steps, a river poem crafted by a collaboration of 17 poets. We come to the river starry-eyed/across bridges reaching out to neighbors/over the river’s rushing waters…
Following the Riverwalk to find a fishing spot along the Cannon River. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
I trail behind a couple, a family, a dog, another family, all of us connected by the water, by this place, on this spring day. I’m the only one to pause and read the poetry.
A family fishes the Cannon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
Atop the river wall, young women sit, sans shoes, while they fish. We all watch the river flow. Bobbers bob. A pair of ducks—one pure white—flies low, skimming the water before landing upon the surface of the Cannon.
“Lady Cannon,” a riverside mural by Maya Kenney and Raquel Santamaria. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
Across the river, Lady Cannon watches. Fish swim in her tangled waves of locks, flowing like water down steps toward the river. She is the art of the Cannon.
On the pedestrian bridge looking toward the Cannon and the Ames Mill, right in the distance. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
I see art, too, in a railing shadowed upon the pedestrian bridge. I linger, mesmerized by the moving water, the riverside historic flour mill a block away.
There’s so much to take in here. So much that connects us. The sun, the sky, the land. And the river that flows beside and below us.
A crew works to protect the Carlson Capital Management building along the east bank of the Cannon River. This is by the “Poem Steps” leading to the Riverwalk, now flooded. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
MANY AREAS OF SOUTHERN MINNESOTA, including my county of Rice, have been inundated with torrential rain during the past week. That’s led to flooding of rivers and property and to road closures. Like so many others, I’ve been out and about observing, taking photos.
People gather on the pedestrian bridge and along a sidewalk above the Riverwalk to see flooding along the Cannon River. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
Saturday evening, on our way home from visiting family in Lakeville, Randy and I drove through Northfield and stopped to walk along the Cannon River. The river runs through the heart of this historic downtown, which features a waterside river walk.
Flooding and sandbagging along the west bank of the Cannon near the Lady Cannon mural.
Sandbag wall on the west side of the river. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
Lady Cannon is nearly swimming in the river. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
The Cannon has spilled over its banks, flooding the river walk and adjacent land and threatening buildings at water’s edge. Sandbags are in place. Pumping is underway.
People line the pedestrian bridge across the Cannon for a wide perspective of the river and the flooding. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
Looking north from the pedestrian bridge to the Second Street/State Highway 19 bridge. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
Looking south from the pedestrian bridge toward the Water Street bridge by the Ames Mill Dam. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
And people are coming to the river by the hundreds to view its raging power. A pedestrian bridge high above the water offers a unique perspective.
The dam is barely visible by the historic Ames Mill. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
Among the many people viewing the river at the dam site. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
And a bridge across the river by the historic Ames Mill provides a close-up view of the Cannon roaring over the dam.
Protecting Carlson Capital Management. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
A maze of hoses channel water out of the Carlson building while sandbags protect it. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2024)
Froggy Bottoms on the west bank floods whenever the river floods. A neon green poster on the building reads: “This Frog Swims Again.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
It is impressive, all of it. The nauseating movement of the water. The speed. The danger. The feeling of overwhelming respect and awe in the presence of such power.
Fitting words on the door of the Froggy Bottoms building. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
This I felt as I took in the scene unfolding before me on a Saturday evening in Northfield.
A sandbag wall protects property along the west bank of the Cannon River. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
A sandbagging station. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
A line of sandbags protects property on the west bank of the Cannon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
Life jackets drape a barricade blocking access to the flooded east side Riverwalk. Below, workers work to protect the Carlson building from the river. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 22, 2024)
NOTE: Check back tomorrow for flood photos from Faribault.
Looking down on the Cannon River from the pedestrian bridge, historic Ames Mill (and dam) in the distance, Riverwalk on each side of the river, where a man fishes, lower left. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
TO WALK ALONGSIDE a river, to watch a river, to hear a river is to experience the arts. A river, with its movement, is like a poetic dance. A river, when roaring over rocks or a dam, is like music. A river, too, is like watercolor flowing fluid and free.
Part of the “Creatures & Features of the Cannon River” art project by Kate Woodstrup and Kathy Larson Ness. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
In Northfield, the Cannon River and art flow one into the other along the Riverwalk in the heart of an historic downtown. This southern Minnesota community, in 2023, highlighted the river and the arts through the Artists on Main Street program. Eight art projects were chosen for these latest public art installments.
Part of the “Meet Me at the River” art. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
Recently I followed the Riverwalk to see the work of several creative placemaking artists. A $25,000 grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and $10,000 from the City of Northfield 1% for the Arts Program funded last year’s “Meet Me at the River” artwork.
The popcorn wagon, operated by volunteers from FiftyNorth. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
I started at Bridge Square, a community gathering spot along the Cannon. The park centers the downtown business district. It’s a place to picnick, to meet, to buy popcorn from the popcorn wagon, to listen to music or to simply enjoy the outdoors next to the river.
Fishing the Cannon River at the Ames Mill Dam. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
Here water rushes over a dam next to the historic Ames Mill. Anglers dangle lines in the water from the Riverwalk. It’s a popular fishing spot. Definitely a “Meet Me at the River” site.
Blue heron art for “Creatures & Features.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
Butterflies and plants native to the Cannon River area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
Among fish found in the Cannon, striped bass. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
Artists Kate Woodstrup and Kathy Larson Ness added their art to Bridge Square via “Creatures & Features of the Cannon River” painted onto 11 plastic barriers that block traffic, keeping the square safe for pedestrians. A striped bass, blue heron, turtle, beavers, deer, frogs, butterflies, a dragonfly, native flowers and grasses, and more showcase life in and along the river. It’s a visual, nature-themed delight appealing to all ages. Part science. Part ecology. Part environmental awareness. Part art.
These “Poem Steps” lead up to Bridge Square, down to the Riverwalk. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
From Bridge Square, I aimed north, down the “Poem Steps,” a river poem collaboratively crafted by 17 Northfield poets during a past public arts project. Northfield has a strong community of poets. The city also stamps poetry into concrete as part of the Sidewalk Poetry initiative. The literary arts thrive in this college city.
“Lady Cannon” mural on the west side of the river along the Riverwalk. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
The goddess’ hair, like water, spills down steps. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
Next up, I spotted a colorful mural across the river. Maya Kenney and Raquel Santamaria created “Lady Cannon,” a water goddess whose flowing blue hair depicts the river. Fish weave into her locks and a heron stands riverside. This personification of the river connects people to the Cannon on a personal level. I crossed the pedestrian bridge for a closer look.
Fishermen line the Riverwalk on a May afternoon to fish the Cannon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
A short distance from “Lady Cannon,” anglers stood nearly shoulder-to-shoulder fishing the river.
Fishing next to “River Light,” a mural by Andrew Wykes. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
Farther down, under the Second Street bridge, a trio of young men dropped lines in the water against backdrop art created by Andrew Wykes. His simplistic abstract mural, “River Light,” captures the movement, color and beauty of the Cannon River.
A sign spotted along the Riverwalk recognizes the Dakota’s homeland. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2024)
The relationship between the river and people stretches back to a time long before these artists added their creative interpretations of the river and river life. A bold sign posted on a second story balcony high above the Cannon reads: WE STAND ON DAKOTA HOMELAND. Long before we became “Meet Me at the River,” the Dakota found, followed, fished this river. I appreciate the reminder that Indigenous Peoples were the original inhabitants of this land along the Cannon. They wrote the poetry, heard the music, watched the water dance, experienced the art of the river long before me, long before “Meet Me at the River.”
The historic Ames Mill hugs the Cannon River at the dam in downtown Northfield, Minnesota.
THE RIVER RUNS THROUGH. Behind businesses, over the dam by the aged mill, under bridges…
Bridging the Cannon by Bridge Square.
In Northfield, the Cannon River always draws me. There’s something about water. About the power of a river, the mesmerizing movement, the rise and fall thereof, the sense of peace which flows through me when I view water. Or watch fire. Or hear wind.
Posted on the railing by the dam, a reminder that we’re still in a pandemic.
On a recent Sunday, Randy and I headed toward the Riverwalk in the heart of historic downtown Northfield. We passed, and paused, at Bridge Square, the community’s gathering place. Every town should have a spot like this for folks to meet, to center causes, to converse or to simply sit.
We stopped to watch the Cannon spill over the Ames Mill Dam next to the 1865 Malt-O-Meal (now Post Consumer Brands) mill that still produces hot cereal, the scent often wafting over the city.
A flowering tree bursts color into Bridge Square near the river.
Spring in art, at the local tourism office.
I delighted in a blossoming tree and the spring-themed art painted on the front window of the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism office. Seemingly small things like this add an artsy vibe to Northfield. Details matter. Art matters. Nature matters.
The narrow walkway by the Contented Cow (a British style pub) leads to Division Street from the Riverwalk.
When we reached the riverside back of the Contented Cow, I noticed for the first time the Holstein painted retaining walls and tables. Why had I not previously seen this? It appears to have been here for awhile.
The back of an aged building photographed from the Riverwalk.
I find backs of buildings bare bones interesting, like nouns without adjectives.
Words on the Riverwalk stairway.
That’s the thing about slowing down. Noticing. Sometimes we fail to walk at a pace that allows us to see, truly see, the world around us. The backs of buildings. The flow of the river. To take it all in, starry-eyed at the beauty which surrounds us.
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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