About Mary
[townie]Mary Rossing has been a Northfielder for most of her life. She spent her early childhood here, living on Lincoln Lane on the west side of town. She returned to her hometown to attend St. Olaf College and has been here ever since. She restored two historic east side homes and now makes her home in the shadow of St. Olaf hill.
Mary is the owner of Present Perfect, a downtown Northfield gift shop that she opened in 1997, originally operating as her art studio. After three expansions and two moves, Present Perfect is now located in the historic Lockwood Opera House building which for many years was home to Jacobsen’s Family Store.
She is currently president of the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC) and is on the board of directors of the Northfield Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the Mayor’s Streetscape Taskforce which has planned and designed the various capital improvements in the downtown area.
She is also a past president of the Northfield Historical Society and a former employee of the Northfield Arts Guild, organizations to which she continues to devote volunteer time.
Mary has been an active member of the community, participating in and planning city-wide events and programs for many years. Listeners to KYMN Radio will recognize her voice from her “What’s Happening Downtown” show that highlights the arts and entertainment offerings in and around our historic downtown each week.
Not one to sit still, Mary enjoys gardening, walking, riding her bike, playing tennis and golf, and at age 40 began taking horse riding lessons! She has a “can do” attitude toward everything that she takes on, and is now ready to work hard on behalf of the citizens of Northfield.