Dct 3 13 14

TribuneDakota County

Farmington | Rosemountand the surrounding areas

www.dakotacountytribune.comMarch 13, 2014 • Volume 130 • Number 2

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INDEX

Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A

Announcements . . . . . 5A

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 10A

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 11A

Thisweekend . . . . . . . 14A

ONLINE

COLLEGE FAIR

OPINION

THISWEEKEND

SPORTS

School safety stressed Area school districts can learn from Bloomington, which is taking innovative steps to ensure that students are safe inside all buildings.

Page 4A

Oenophile intriguesRosemount author Barbara Ellen Brink will be discussing her Fredrickson Winery mystery series at the Robert Trail Library.

Page 15A

Eagles fall in overtime The Apple Valley boys basketball team won’t get a chance to defend its state title after losing in the section tournament.

Page 10A

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Get ready for college searchParents and students can get a head start on college plans by reading the College Fair special section in this edition.

Inside

Party smart onSt. Patrick’s Day

Controlled drinking event in Rosemount illustrates the effect of alcohol on the body

by Tad JohnsonSUN THISWEEK

DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

St. Patrick’s Day is viewed by many as a time to be merry and quaff down pints of green beer. Before revelers head out the door this week-end to parties related to the Irish-infused holiday, they should think about how they are going to get back home safe and not end up in jail, the hospital or the morgue. Seven volunteers in Rosemount discovered how quickly they can go over the state’s 0.08 blood alcohol limit af-ter having a few drinks during a “controlled drinking” event at Fire Station No. 2. With Farmington Police Officer Pete Zajac serving as “bar-tender” for the night and games such as dice and bean-bag tossing

Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Dan Marose administers a breathalyzer test to one of the participants in a controlled drinking exercise at Fire Station No. 2 in Rosemount on Monday, March 10. (Photo by Tad Johnson)

Garofalo apologizes for tweet regarding the NBA



Less than a month after being endorsed at a district convention to seek re-election to his sixth term, state Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, created a stir with a com-ment posted on his per-sonal Twitter account regarding the National Basketball Association. His tweet, “Let’s be honest, 70% of teams in NBA could fold tomor-row + nobody would no-tice a difference w/ possi-ble exception of increase in streetcrime,” which was posted at 4:33 p.m. Sun-

day, was retweeted more than 1,600 times in less than 24 hours. It gener-ated scores of online re-

Pat Garofalo

195th Street proposed improvements revealed

by Jennifer ChickSUN THISWEEK


Planned improve-ments along 195th Street in Farmington aim to improve the road surface while creating better traf-fic flow and increased safety. Residents of Farming-ton were able to look at proposed changes to 195th Street between Flagstaff Avenue and Diamond Path in Farmington last Thursday night at a joint open house by the city of Farmington and Dakota County.

“These were concepts where we wanted to get feedback from the public before we finalized the de-sign,” said City Engineer Kevin Schorzman. He said the city and county wanted residents to look over the plans and general concepts, identi-fying any issues that the planners may not have recognized. Schorzman said it was a good turnout with more than 80 people stopping by Farmington’s Maintenance Facility to look over the plans. “Quite honestly, it was probably the most posi-

tive open house I have ever been to in my career,” Schorzman said. Since 195th Street, also known as County Road 64, is a Dakota County road, Dakota County has taken the lead in the proj-ect. Schorzman said the county will pay 55 percent of the cost with Farming-ton picking up the other 45 percent of the price tag. This section of road came to the attention of Dakota County because the road was falling apart in areas. Since the road

on tap, the session felt like happy hour, but officials said it was aimed to edu-cate the participants and the public about the serious

dangers of drinking and driving. The effort was part of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Toward

Zero Deaths, a grant pro-gram that funds 12 addi-tional officers’ patrol time in one Dakota County city every weekend with an

emphasis on DWI enforce-ment. Last year, Minnesota

It’s in the bankFarmington students create change for school in Kenya

by Jennifer ChickSUN THISWEEK


It took Farmington students less than two months to raise $10,000 to build a school in Kenya. And they did it one quar-ter at a time.The fundraising efforts were part of We Create Change, a partnership between Free The Chil-dren and Bremer Bank to build schools and improve access to education in developing communities around the globe. Since We Day Min-nesota last October, FHS students had been looking for a project to support. Farmington High School student Jason Lansing was inspired by We Day Min-nesota to extend his focus outward. He will be trav-eling to Kenya in July to help build a school there, and when he talked with Theresa Agerter, an as-sistant principal at FHS, about his trip, she was

interested in bringing his project to the attention of the FHS student body. The students rallied around the idea of raising money to build a school in Kenya and began the partnership with Free The Children and Bremer Bank. They called their project Brick by Brick. Students in buildings across the district collect-

ed coins in special card-board schoolhouse banks in support of their peers who have never had the chance to go to school. “In our school district, we talk about the talents of people and inspiring them, helping them to use their strengths, and this was a perfect example,”

Farmington area students celebrate the We Create Change/Bremer Bank event with their cardboard school houses that they used to collect coins in support of Free The Children. (Photo by Amy Jeanchaiyaphum Photography/eyelovephoto.com)

See KENYA, 7A

See SMART, 16A

See STREET, 7ASee GAROFALO, 16A

Participants in a controlled drinking exercise played games such as dice and a bean-bag toss at Fire Station No. 2 in Rosemount on Monday, March 10. The effort aimed to show the difference in how intoxicated they felt in relationship to what a breathalyzer measured. (Photo by Tad Johnson)

Farmington High School student Jason Lansing addresses fellow students at the We Create Change “coin drop-off” event at a Bremer Bank in St. Paul. (Photo by Amy Jeanchaiyaphum Photography/eyelovephoto.com)

2A March 13, 2014 DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Application Deadline: April 14, 2014

COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL TO FLINT HILLS RESOURCESCall 651-429-8391 to have an application mailed to you.

The Community Advisory Council to Flint Hills Resources provides volunteercommunity members an opportunity to meet monthly (September May) withrefinery management to discuss issues and make recommendations regarding

environmental, safety, and other issues of concern to citizens livingwithin close proximity to the refinery.

To learn more about the Council, please visit www.flinthillscac.org.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONSFOR FOUR NEW MEMBERS

APPLY IF YOU RESIDE IN:

Apple Valley, Hastings, and Rosemount

ECM Marketing Man-ager Krista Jech has added a new role as manager of ECM Specialty Publica-tions, which has a special fo-cus on continuing partner-ships with area chambers of commerce to produce membership directories, re-source guides and commu-nity maps as it has done for the past fifteen years. “I am looking forward to strengthening my rela-tionship with our chamber directors through these projects,” Jech said. She worked for Sun Me-dia for seven years prior to the merger with ECM Pub-lishers in late 2011. In addition to her role as ECM marketing manager, Jech has served in a mana-gerial role with display and classified advertising departments for the metro area south region newspa-pers. Jech works in the com-pany’s Apple Valley office, overseeing a staff of sales

professionals and designers dedicated to these chamber projects. “Partnering with local chambers is very important to ECM Publishers,” Jech said. “Both of our organi-zations have a vested inter-est in the continued success of our local business own-ers, so these partnerships are a natural fit.” Jech has previously

worked on a number of different projects involving chambers and community events over the years. She said she looks forward to helping chambers commu-nicate with their members and residents about the products and services pro-vided by chamber-member businesses. “ECM Publishers is dedicated to being a leader in community news and in-formation,” she said. “We are pleased that it continues to extend beyond our news-papers and websites to these community resource guides, directories and informa-tional maps. Co-producing these pieces with our local chambers of commerce partners is a tradition that we look forward to continu-ing for years to come.” Jech lives in Lakeville with her husband and two boys. She can be reached at 952-392-6835 or [email protected].

Krista Jech

ECM Specialty Publications

welcomes new manager

by Jessica HarperSUN THISWEEK


For the past decade, the Eagan and Lakeville Re-source Centers has provid-ed emergency food support to local residents. As the Eagan nonprofit continues to fulfill its mission, it will do so under a new name. On March 20, the Re-source Centers, which op-erates two food shelves and five mobile pantries in Da-kota County, will officially become The Open Door. “Our name wasn’t reflec-tive of our geographic area anymore,” said Lisa Horn executive director of the Eagan and Lakeville Re-source Centers. “The new name reflects our mission: that our doors are always open.” The Eagan Resource Center was founded in 2004 by Mount Calvary Luther-an Church when it opened a food shelf to serve Eagan’s poor. At the time, the food shelf served 40 families a month, but during the next

Resource Centers becomes The Open Door

five years, demand quickly swelled to 300 families per month, prompting the church leadership to turn the Eagan Resource Center into a nonprofit organiza-tion, which is no longer tied to the church. In 2010, a group of con-cerned citizens approached the Resource Center about opening a food shelf in Lakeville after the suburb’s only one closed. The Lake-ville pantry opened in Oct. 2010, prompting the non-profit to change its name to the Eagan and Lakeville Resource Centers. Since then, the Resource Centers’ reach has expand-ed well beyond Eagan and Lakeville. In 2012, the non-profit rolled out its Mobile Pantry — a short bus that was converted into a food shelf on wheels — which now serves Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Rose-mount and Burnsville. Be-tween its brick-and-mortar food shelves and its Mobile Pantry, the Resource Cen-ters currently serves more than 5,000 people in Da-kota County each month. In addition to the name

change, the Resource Cen-ters will adopt the tag line: A fresh approach to ending local hunger. Providing healthful, fresh food has been a cen-tral part of the nonprofit’s mission since 2007 when it began offering fresh pro-duce, dairy and meats. Today, fresh and perish-able foods account for ap-proximately 70 percent of the Resource Centers’ pan-tries’ stock. Though the Resource Centers will taken on a new brand, it’s mission will remain the same — to pro-vide healthful food support for the community. The nonprofit will reveal its new logo and brand at noon March 20 during its fifth annual Empty Bowls event at St. John Neumann Catholic Church at 4030 Pi-lot Knob Road in Eagan. Empty Bowls, which is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4:30-7:30 p.m., is a fundrais-ing event in which attendees can, for a suggested dona-tion of $20, select a hand-made bowl or mug, enjoy soup and bread from one of several local restaurants and leave the bowl empty as a sign of hunger in their community.

Jessica Harper is at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

24-hour road condition information

1-800-542-0220Minnesota Department of Transportation

DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE March 13, 2014 3A

A 50-year-old Rose-mount man was sentenced on March 3 to community service, 20 years of proba-tion and pay a restitution amount that has yet to be set after he pleaded guilty to charges connected to the theft of $72,000 paid by clients to the collection agency he owned. Scott Alan Schoaf pleaded guilty to felony theft and theft by swin-dle after a random audit discovered his misuse of funds through his com-pany, Alternative Receiv-ables Solutions Inc., for the period of June 2009 to March 2010. The Minnesota De-partment of Commerce’s October 2009 audit found that ARS was “out of trust” on trust accounts maintained by the busi-ness, had commingled cli-ent funds with operating funds and failed to remit to clients (creditors) some client funds that ARS had collected from debtors on the client creditors’ behalf, according to the criminal complaint. It also was discovered that ARS had transferred

trust accounts funds into operation accounts, which were separate from each other. It was reported that the trust account had a nega-tive balance 44 times in 2009. Schoaf will work for 30 days in the Sentence-to-Serve program and will serve an additional 25 days each year in the pro-gram until the restitution is paid in full. As part of the sentenc-ing, Schoaf cannot volun-teer or be employed in a position that requires han-dling of funds. An additional count each of felony theft and theft by swindle were dis-missed at sentencing. He was charged in April 2012 with four felony counts. Dakota County James Backstrom praised As-sistant County Attorney Elizabeth Swank, who prosecuted the case, and he thanked the Rosemount Police Department and the Minnesota Department of Commerce for their thor-ough investigation.

– Tad Johnson

New option for learning in Apple Valley Brightmont Academy offers one-to-one instruction

by Andrew MillerSUN THISWEEK


Parents and students seeking an alternative to the traditional K-12 edu-cation model may find a solution at Brightmont Academy in Apple Valley. The private school, which opened this month at 15624 Pilot Knob Road, offers one-to-one instruction, year-round flexible scheduling and a number of different en-rollment options. The Apple Valley site is Brightmont’s second campus in Minnesota – a Plymouth campus opened in 2013 – and its ninth school nationwide. “As we have seen with our Plymouth campus, one-to-one instruction works,” said Laura Por-ter-Jones, Apple Valley campus director. “When a student needs more than the traditional school can offer, Brightmont Acad-emy creates a custom-ized approach to improve learning outcomes.” The school offers three enrollment options – stu-dents can attend full-time and earn a high school diploma issued by Bright-

mont, take courses to earn credit toward a di-ploma at the high school they attend, or receive tu-toring. The local campus will serve students in Apple Valley and surrounding communities, said Bright-mont Academy founder Ruth Wilson, who opened

the first school 15 years ago in Seattle. The school is currently accepting enrollments, and is holding open hous-es on March 20 and April 10 from 4-6 p.m. Those interested in touring the campus but unable to attend the open houses can contact

campus director Laura Porter-Jones at 952-564-2168. More about the school is at www.brightmon-tacademy.com.

Email Andrew Miller at [email protected].

Ruth Wilson, right, founded Brightmont Academy 15 years ago in Washington state. Laura Porter-Jones, left, is Brightmont Academy’s Apple Valley campus director. (Photo by Andrew Miller)

Burnsville eyes pedestrian bridge at 13 and Nicollet

by John GessnerSUN THISWEEK


Burnsville City Coun-cil members have begun laying the groundwork for a possible pedestrian bridge over Highway 13 at Nicollet Avenue. At a March 11 work session, council members gave the go-ahead for fur-ther study and possible application for federal funds. The council is expected to decide this fall whether to include the bridge, es-timated at $1.5 million to $2 million, in its next five-year capital improvements plan. The city would then apply this year or next for federal funding, which could arrive in 2018 or 2019. Crossing the six-lane highway at Nicollet is already difficult, and pe-destrian demand is sure to rise with growth of the Burnsville Transit Sta-tion, city officials say. The bridge would link the transit station north of Highway 13 with the Heart of the City devel-opment of condos and businesses to the south. “The big driver is we’ve got the Burnsville Transit Station north of that in-tersection,” Albrecht said. The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority station is a candidate to host the southernmost stop of the first phase of Metro Tran-sit’s Orange Line, a bus

rapid transit line sched-uled to launch in 2018 on Interstate 35W. The MVTA is also pre-paring to add Prior Lake and Shakopee to its bus service area, which would make the transit station even busier, Albrecht said. “That is going to be a transit hub substantially beyond what it is today,” he said. A site on Travelers Trail in the Heart of the City is also possible for the Orange Line stop, Al-brecht said. The bridge would provide a link be-tween the stop and the transit station. Highway 13 carries 30,000 to 35,000 vehicles a day at Nicollet in a 50 mph zone, Albrecht said. Pedestrians must cross six lanes, plus a westbound right-turn lane. There’s a “refuge me-dian” for those who can’t make it one cycle, accord-ing to Albrecht, who said crossing is too daunting for some. “The road is only go-ing to get more difficult to get across,” he said. Mayor Elizabeth Kautz said she’s seen pedestrians this winter standing on snow piles in the median waiting for the light to change. “That was really, really dangerous, I thought,” she said. The idea of a pedes-trian bridge at 13 and Nicollet isn’t new. It was

recommended in a mul-tiagency Highway 13 cor-ridor study, according to Albrecht. “I see this as a safety issue,” Council Member Bill Coughlin said. Two locations are be-ing considered just east of the intersection. Both po-tential designs would have approach ramps. The site closest to Nicollet would have a circular “helix” ramp. Federal funding for such projects is usually capped at $1 million, Al-brecht said. That poten-tially leaves $500,000 to raise for a basic bridge with approach lanes. The city, the MVTA and the Minnesota Department of Transportation are possible funding partners, he said. Adding weather pro-tection to keep snow out and encourage year-round use would add about $500,000, Albrecht said. The bridge would like-ly have a high initial cost per pedestrian, Albrecht said, but use would grow. “It’s pretty much tran-sit-related,” he said. But the city does hear from some people who live in the Heart of the City and have trouble making the crossing, Al-brecht said. John Gessner can be reached at 952-846-2031 or email [email protected].

Rosemount man sentenced for misuse of clients’ $72,000


Veterans memorial donations sought To the editor: The Farmington Area Veterans Memorial Com-mittee has received some very good news. A local organization, Support Our Troops Haunted House, has pledged $10,000 to our memorial project if we can match it with donations from others. This is an op-portunity for businesses and individuals to give and have their gift matched by this generous offer. This organization raises funds by their hard work in operating the Haunt-ed House at the Dakota County Fairgrounds each Halloween. Please send donations of any amount to Farmington Area Vet-erans Memorial, P.O. Box 61, Farmington, MN 55024. Your donation is income tax deductible and will be very helpful to our continued construction plans this summer.

LEON W. ORRFarmington Area Veter-ans CommitteeFarmington

Marijuana vs. tobacco, marijuana wins To the editor: Dakota County Attor-ney James Backstrom is no lexicographer. He thinks it is “incongruous” for Min-nesota to approve medical marijuana. What is incon-gruous is Backstrom’s sup-port of the status quo and the disparate way in which the tobacco and the mari-juana plants are treated by Minnesota statute. One plant causes over 350,000 deaths per year nationally. The other has no known level of toxicity. One plant causes can-cer, the other does not. Marijuana contains can-nabinoids which are non-carcinogenic and demon-strate some anti-cancer properties. Tobacco con-tains nicotine, which is not only addictive but also promotes the development of cancer cells and their blood supply. One plant has no me-dicinal use. The other plant has proven medici-nal use that even Back-strom acknowledges. Mar-ijuana has well-established medical uses, especially for controlling chemotherapy-

induced nausea, boosting appetite in AIDS patients and relieving neuropathic pain – without the dan-gers of opioid painkillers. And it may inhibit tumor growth. It has long been used for glaucoma. One plant is physically addictive, the other is not. Marijuana may cause psy-chological dependency, but that does not rise to the level of addiction. As a former tobacco user, I can testify to the tremendously addictive nature of that plant. One plant is the major cause of lung cancer, em-physema, chronic bron-chitis, heart disease and stroke. The other plant has not been directly linked to these diseases. A 2006 study funded by the Na-tional Institute on Drug Abuse tried and failed to link marijuana to lung cancer. Prior to the plant being criminalized, it was frequently used to treat asthma as it is a bron-chodilator, while tobacco smoke causes broncocon-striction. One plant is legal. The other plant is not. Even though the National Commission on Mari-

Letters to the editor policySun Thisweek welcomes letters to the editor. Submitted letters must be no more than 350 words. All letters must have the author’s phone number and address for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will not be accepted. Letters reflect the opinion of the author only. Sun Thisweek reserves the right to edit all letters. Submission of a letter does not guarantee publication.

Opinion

Letters

Shootings motivate school security efforts

Dang, I’m really going to college!’

by Don HeinzmanSUN THISWEEK


When students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris entered Columbine (Colo.) High School on April 20,1999, and shot 12 students, a teacher and themselves, Rick Kaufman was director of school communications for Jefferson County Public Schools. Within minutes of the shooting, he was at Columbine helping wounded stu-dents. Today, Kaufman is executive director of community relations and emergency management for Bloomington Public Schools. Motivated by the Columbine tragedy, he continues to help school dis-tricts implement ways to be safer. He said the number of school shoot-ings have spiked again since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last December and use of guns will surpass car accidents as a leading cause of deaths among young people next year. Kaufman agrees with critics who say you can’t stop the “active shooter” who enters a school to kill. He counsels school districts that buy-ing time and taking measures to prevent these incidents are the best approaches because most active shooters kill their

victims within the first three minutes, while it takes three to four minutes for police to arrive on scene. Often, the shooter had a history of threatening suicide, was bullied or threat-ened, and suffered from depression. And in just about all cases, someone knew about the shooter’s intentions ahead of time. Last fall, Bloomington voters ap-proved a technology and school security bond, of which $2 million per year for 10 years was intended to make their schools more secure. This summer, construction will be-gin to modify school entrances as part of a new Access Management System. Main entrances will be renovated to limit school access by guiding visitors into the office once school is in session. Visitors will check in via a Visitor Management System that screens visitors against a da-tabase for sexual offenders and parent

custodial rights before allowing access to the school. Other improvements include: • New alarm buttons to be used in an emergency to close off all fire doors lead-ing to wings of the schools. • Laminated or film on entrance win-dows and doors designed to limit shat-tering, unlike how the shooter got into Sandy Hook Elementary School. • All doors with access to playfields, athletic fields and staff parking lots will be equipped with keyless access control units. The new system will also detect if a door is propped open or an attempt is made to pry it open. The district has also implemented training of each school’s emergency re-sponse team, and eventually all staff, in ongoing efforts to ensure schools are safer and more secure. Kaufman said staff has embraced the new security measures and training. “Knowing what to do in a crisis can be the difference between chaos and calm, and in some cases even life and death,” Kaufman said. “That’s powerful for un-derstanding the need to be prepared.” The challenge for school administra-tors is balancing the desire for schools to be a welcoming environment while being more secure.

Kaufman said we live in a different time, where easier access to guns and vio-lent response has become more the norm to resolving a person’s real or perceived wrongs. Usually the active shooter is a person who has familiarity with the school, of-ten a current or former student. It’s obvi-ous more students are coming from dys-functional families. Kaufman said the district is better prepared today than a year ago and will be better prepared next year than this year. “We must remain vigilant, from in-tervention and prevention programs to address students before they turn to vio-lence, and preparation and response for incidents we hope never occur,” he said. The shooting at Columbine High School is never far from his mind, nor is the promise he made to the victims’ fami-lies, that “if we can prevent one student death as a result of a violent act, then we’ve honored the memories of all those killed or injured.” Don Heinzman is a columnist for ECM Publishers. Columns reflect the opinion of the author.

‘ by Joe Nathan SUN THISWEEK


Taking college-level courses at his high school was “fantastic,” according to Khalique Rogers, a student at Gordon Parks High School in St. Paul. “Our research shows that in just one year, these courses produced more than $13 million in potential savings for stu-dents and families,” according to Mary Olson, director of communication and public relations in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. Olson reported that in the 2012-13 school year, approximately 79 percent of the district’s seniors “took at least one potential college credit earn-ing course during their high school expe-rience.” Both are referring to one of the great-est opportunities, or bargains, Minneso-ta public schools offer: the ability to earn free college credits while taking college-level courses offered in high school. In some high schools, students are earning a two-year Associate of Arts, or A.A., col-lege degree as they graduate from high school. These courses are part of the overall “dual high school credit” course program available in Minnesota – one of the na-tion’s broadest set of opportunities. Post-Secondary Enrollment Options, PSEO, Minnesota’s law allowing 10th- through 12th-graders to take free college courses on college and university campuses, is one option. But it’s equally important for students and families to know that in virtually every one of Minnesota’s high schools, students can earn free college credits in classes at the high school. There are many ways to do this, including Ad-vanced Placement, International Bacca-

laureate, College in the Schools, Project Lead the Way and the CLEP tests. Here are a few of many examples. Mounds View and Irondale high schools are two high schools that have developed an opportunity to earn these A.A. degrees Spectrum High School, in Elk River, already has graduated stu-dents who also earned these degrees. The Farmington High School website notes that students at the school have the opportunity to earn college credit in the high school via Advanced Placement and Concurrent Enrollment. Minnetonka Superintendent Den-nis Peterson recently cited the “qual-ity of courses offered at our high school through IB, AP and Vantage.” Min-netonka offers a vast array of such courses. Richfield High School Principal Ja-son Wenschlag wrote via email: ““The CIS and AP classes are valuable to us be-cause we have a lot of really smart, hard-working students who want the academic challenge that those classes provide. Fur-ther, some of those classes are designed for students who might not normally take a college-level class, so we are pre-paring more students for the rigor of postsecondary education.” He reported that this semester, 216 RHS students are taking a College in the Schools course at the high school, offered in cooperation with the University of Minnesota, and 199 students are taking an Advanced

Placement class. A recent report from the national Col-lege Board, an organization that produc-es and scores the Advanced Placement courses, showed significant progress in Minnesota. The study showed that the number of Minnesota students who took an AP exam before leaving high school nearly doubled during the past decade, growing from 9,256 in 2003 to 17,482 in 2013. The number of students who post-ed passing scores on these exams also doubled, from 5,882 in 2003, to 11,497 in 2013. Minnesota Department of Educa-tion estimates, “With an average rate of $348.93 per credit hour, those passing scores helped save Minnesota students and their families nearly $44 million.” Brenda Cassellius, Minnesota’s edu-cation commissioner, commented: “It is exciting to see more students throughout Minnesota not only taking more rigorous courses, but also posting higher scores. … Our students are not only challeng-ing themselves and proving that they are ready for college and career, they are also earning a college credit — which means substantial cost savings as they make the transition to postsecondary education. … These results are a testament to the amazing educators in Minnesota who have not only striven to increase access to college-level courses for all students in high school, but who provide targeted, meaningful instruction to ensure their students succeed.” The complete report is at http://bit.ly/1jrdUH6. Karen Hynick, system director of P-20 and College Readiness for the Min-nesota State College and Universities told me: “Minnesota State Colleges and Universities are deeply committed to advancing their partnership efforts with their local school districts to enable col-

lege- and program-ready students access to a variety of early college credit op-portunities. Be it PSEO, concurrent en-rollment or competency-based programs such as Advanced Placement and Inter-national Baccalaureate, these options provide students with the opportunity to accelerate their learning and save time and money on their quest for postsec-ondary degrees.” Colleges and universities vary in their acceptance policies of these dual credit courses. Students who want their cred-it to “count” toward a college degree should check with higher education in-stitutions that the student is considering to see what their policies are. Our Center has a free interactive map, at http://bit.ly/NTP2Kq, showing the acceptance poli-cies of Minnesota’s public and private nonprofit colleges and universities. Beyond the numbers and reports, it’s deeply gratifying to hear students – es-pecially students who may be the first in their family – describe what it’s meant to take these courses. We have several vid-eos on our website, http://bit.ly/1l022cy, in which students discuss this. Rogers said that the courses he took at his high school gave him “a chance to see real college work without the in-convenience of traveling to a college campuses.” And Antonia, a student at AGAPE, a St. Paul district high school, described these courses as “the best of both worlds. … Dang, I’m really going to college.”

Joe Nathan, formerly a Minnesota public school teacher, administrator and PTA president, directs the Center for School Change. Reactions welcome, [email protected]. Columns reflect the opinion of the author.

Sun Thisweek

ColumnistJoe Nathan

Sun Thisweek

ColumnistDon Heinzman

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TribuneDakota County

Not all of the cities noted in the March 14 story about DARTS’ new transportation offering in Farmington have contributed $5,000 each toward the service’s annual operating costs. DARTS is in the process of presenting

the proposal for approval to the vari-ous cities. The start date of the service is March 18, not March 16 as noted in the story. The newspaper regrets the errors.

See LETTERS, 5A

Correction


Obituaries

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juana, which had most of its members appointed by the original drug warrior Richard Nixon, recom-mended in 1972 that mari-juana be decriminalized, the plant remains illegal. What is incongruous is how these two plants are treated by Minnesota stat-ute. It is time to correct the error and stop wasting scarce law enforcement resources trying to keep a medicinally useful plant away from people who would benefit from it.

DANIEL FITZSIMMONSApple Valley

Obermueller supports women’s issues To the editor: March is Women’s His-tory Month, and it’s im-portant to celebrate wom-en’s past achievements so that all of us can imagine and work for a future in which gender equity is the norm. Without such knowledge — for example, knowledge of American women’s successful strug-gle to win the vote in 1920 — women will continue to be treated as second-class citizens. Sadly, gender equality is not yet the norm. Even in the United States, wom-en have not achieved full equality. Fortunately, now that women have won the vote, we have the freedom to support candidates who believe in gender equality and, if necessary, remove from office those who con-tinue to impede our prog-ress for equal pay, repro-ductive justice, and family planning. Voters in the 2nd Dis-trict have a clear choice in 2014: Mike Obermuel-ler, candidate for the U.S. House, believes that wom-en deserve equal pay for

equal work. He supports the Paycheck Fairness Act and opposes any weaken-ing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. By contrast, our current rep-resentative, John Kline, voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. In addition to equal pay for equal work, wom-en have a right to make choices that affect our bodies and our families, including the use of con-traception and safe access to abortion. Again, the contrast is clear: Oberm-ueller believes that women have the right to access ef-fective birth control, while John Kline consistently votes against women’s re-productive freedom. John Kline may have big money on his side, but voters can exercise their rights by choosing a can-didate, Mike Obermueller, who believes in women’s equality, both at work and at home.

BRENDA DALYBurnsville

Early education not a solution To the editor: I see by the Feb. 28 edi-tion of the paper that the prolific letter writer Paul Hoffinger has once again put forth his liberal views, this time on education. He claims that early childhood education is vi-tal for the success of chil-dren later on in their lives. He further states that a recent Harvard study says there are huge benefits from early childhood edu-cation programs. I can cite a Stan-ford University study that tracked over 14,000 youngsters nationwide and found that by fifth grade all gains experi-enced by early pre-K pro-grams vanished. Squandering tax dol-lars on a questionable full-

LETTERS, from 4A day program does little more than enhance unions who benefit by addition-al union dues and more teachers who are union members. Home environment is by far a better learning are-na for most students than classrooms. Yes, there are single-family households and low-income people with children that could benefit, but to include all students into a one-size-fits-all-pre-K program is not a smart or financially practical solution.

PETER CARNEYEagan

Rejecting early education is foolish To the editor: A recent letter writer suggests I didn’t provide evidence that early child-hood education prevents criminal behavior later in life. Apparently that as-sumption, that it really does not give rise to lawful behavior, may be behind opposition by U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Burnsville, to public early childhood education. It seems the writer, and Kline, even believe that the majority of studies show no long-term ben-efits to participants. I dis-agree with that idea. The HighScope Perry studies, the Abecedarian studies and the research by con-servative University of Minnesota senior econo-mist, Arthur Rolnick, are

examples of studies that demonstrate these long-term benefits. There are TED talks that explain how these benefits hap-pen. Rolnick says the best return-on-investment we can achieve is through in-vesting in high quality pre-school education. A further study by Har-vard University in Boston showed that in reading and math, children who went for more than a half-day learned more. Children in smaller classes made more progress than those in larger classes, and the availability of a teaching aide was especially helpful for some students. These studies may be why Mike Obermueller, a candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 2nd District, agrees with sheriffs, po-lice chiefs, and county at-torneys in Dakota, Scott, Goodhue, Wabasha, Rice and Washington counties. They say it makes the job of law enforcement easier when we invest in quality early childhood education. These law enforcement people are part of a group called “Fight Crime: In-vest in Kids.” Being judicious with government spending may be prudent. Rejecting it out of hand, without con-sulting research, is foolish. We have allowed the in-cumbent representative in Washington, D.C., to act abruptly in rejecting early childhood education. PAUL HOFFINGEREagan

Weigh in on Vermillion watershed plan The Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization is looking for public input to develop the next 10-year watershed plan to improve water quality and overall health of the watershed. The public will have three opportunities to at-tend a “community con-versation” workshop from 6-8 p.m. on the following dates:

• March 26 at Pleas-ant Hill Library, 1490 S. Frontage Road, Hastings. • April 1 at the Scott County Library, 110 J. Roberts Way, Elko New Market. • April 10 at the Dakota County Extension and Conservation Center, 4100 220th St., Farmington. Community conversa-tions offer an opportu-nity for people living in

the watershed to express their views about water resource issues and priori-ties that the Joint Powers Organization Board will consider as the watershed plan is developed. Each meeting will in-clude discussions of water resource issues and strate-gies to achieve water re-source goals. Space is lim-ited and reservations are recommended by emailing

[email protected] or calling 952-891-7000. Twenty communities and townships in central Dakota County and east-ern Scott County are com-pletely or partially includ-ed in the Vermillion River Watershed. To learn more or find out if you reside within the watershed, visit www.vermillionriverwa-tershed.org.

Worship Directory

Share your weekly worship schedule or other activities with the community. Email [email protected]

or call 952-392-6875 for rates and informatilon.


Nine students from Rosemount High School and four from Eastview High School had top four finishes at the Distribu-tive Education Clubs of America (DECA) state competition March 2-4 in Minneapolis. Approximately 200 students competed in each business- and mar-keting-related event at the state competition and the top four finishers in each event qualified for the DECA International Ca-reer Development Con-ference May 3-6 in Atlan-ta. Virginia Norder of Rosemount was a quali-fier in two events, taking first in Business Finance Services and second in Economics and Market-ing. Katie Coyne of East-view was also a double qualifier, finishing first in Public Speaking and second in the Marketing Communications team event along with team-mate Taylor Leighton. Ribhav Gupta and

Rishabh Gupta of East-view qualified for the in-ternational conference by taking third place in the Entrepreneurship Grow-ing Your Business team event. Other qualifiers from Rosemount are Brady Drescher, third place, Food Marketing Series; Kaitlyn Debaun and Anna Grausnick, third place, Hospitality and Services team event; Jen-nifer Wahl, third place, Quick Serve Restaurant Series; John Herron, third place, Retail Merchandis-ing Series; William Lai, fourth place, Business Fi-nance Services; and Me-gan Beasley and Carley Cook, fourth place, Hos-pitality and Services team event. DECA is an inter-national association of high school and college students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospi-tality, and marketing sales and service.

Fifteen teams repre-senting eight District 196 schools had top finishes at regional competitions and qualified to compete at the Destination Imagi-Nation (DI) state tourna-ment April 12 in Cham-plin. Destination Imagi-Nation is a worldwide, performance-based com-petition that develops students’ creative skills through problem-solving, improvisation, teamwork and independent think-ing. Teams of students ranging from elementary to high school compete by age level in one of seven different challenges: tech-nical, scientific, struc-tural, fine arts, improvisa-tion, service learning and early learning. District 196 schools competed in regional tournaments held Feb. 22 in Maple Grove and

March 1 in St. Paul. At each regional event, the top two or three finish-ers in each challenge and age level qualified for the state tournament. The state qualifying teams from District 196 include the following: • Squishy Flaming Dic-tionaries, Diamond Path Elementary School of In-ternational Studies, first place in the Laugh Art Loud fine arts challenge. • Psychedelic Crea-tures, Diamond Path, first place in the Pitch & Play service learning challenge. • Duct Tape Phobia, Dakota Hills Middle School, first place in The Tension Builds structural challenge. • The Flaming Foxes, Greenleaf Elementary School, second place in the Laugh Out Loud chal-lenge. • Society of Cham-

pions, Greenleaf, third place in The Tension Builds challenge. • Panda Portraits, Parkview Elementary School, first place in the Laugh Out Loud chal-lenge and winner of the DaVinci Award. • Jumpin’ Monkeys, Pinewood Community School, third place in the Going to Extremes scien-tific challenge. • Argentina Apples, Rosemount Middle School, first place in the Going to Extremes chal-lenge. • Simply Intense Com-plex Butter, Rosemount Middle, second place in The Tension Builds chal-lenge. • Pigs Who Shall Not Be Named, Shannon Park Elementary School, sec-ond place in the Going to Extremes challenge. • The Dragon Bolts,

Shannon Park, second place in the Going to Ex-tremes challenge. • Everyone, Shannon Park, fourth place in the Going to Extremes chal-lenge. • Little Neon Mon-sters, Woodland Elemen-tary School, first place in the Dig In technical chal-lenge. • Flaming Rainbow Monkeys, Woodland, third place in the Dig In challenge. • The Mighty Mus-taches, Woodland, sec-ond place in The Tension Builds challenge. The Awesome People team from Shannon Park Elementary won the Spir-it of DI Award at the east metro regional tourna-ment in St. Paul, but fin-ished one place short of qualifying for the state tournament.

District 196 ice skating show The District 196 Icettes figure skating team will present its annual ice skat-ing show at 7 p.m. March 13-15 at the Apple Valley High School arena. This year’s show, titled “Cirque du Glace,” features 33 skaters from all five dis-trict high schools and five of the six middle schools. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and se-niors at the door.

College fair at AVHS Apple Valley High School will host the Dis-trict 196 College Fair from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet with representatives from 124 regional universities, community and technical schools. The fair is free and open to all high school students. Preregister at www.gotocollegefairs.com to save time filling out pa-perwork.

Officials in the Rose-mount-Apple Valley-Ea-gan School District are hoping to build an addi-tion onto Parkview El-ementary School in Lake-ville to combat growing class sizes. Though enrollment has remained stable with about 800 students in the past 10 years, the 44-year-old school expects to face a rapid increase in en-rollment in the next few years due to new housing development within its at-tendance area and the dis-

trict’s new all-day kinder-garten program. “A new addition will create space added for our learners and an added value to our taxpayers,” Finance Director Jeff Sol-omon said at the March 10 board meeting. The School Board unanimously approved that a proposal be submit-ted for review by the De-partment of Education. From there, the Board will review more detailed plans.

— Jessica Harper

EducationFifteen District 196 teams headed to state Destination ImagiNation

Parkview Elementary addition under consideration

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Minnesota will hold a free, six-session course de-signed to empower young people to take charge of their lives and deal with the issues they are facing in a healthy and effective way. It will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. Mondays, April 7 to May 12, at Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, 7160 S. Robert Trail, In-ver Grove Heights. The course helps teens

understand how to main-tain good mental health; how to recognize signs of stress, anxiety, depres-sion, and bipolar disor-der; how to help friends, siblings and parents un-derstand what they are going through and differ-ent types of treatment op-tions. Registration is re-quired. For information, or to register for this class, contact Andrea Lee at 651-645-2948, ext. 106.

District 196 students qualify for DECA international conference

Progression course offered for teens

2014 Tax Guide

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said Jay Haugen, super-intendent of Farming-ton Area Public Schools. “They were given the li-cense to think big and do great things. They were the drivers and the leaders. They don’t need an adult to organize them, they can make the difference them-selves.” Each $20 collected provided a brick, the cor-nerstone of a new school that will transform the

lives of hundreds of chil-dren. According to Free The Children, 57 million children around the world are still denied access to education. Because of this, Free The Children’s Year of Education initia-tive is focused on building 200 schools and improv-ing access to education in developing communities around the globe. On Feb. 25, 35 students from Farmington Area Public Schools joined Jeanne Crain, president

and CEO of Bremer Bank Twin Cities, for the first-ever official We Create Change “quarter drop-off” event in Minnesota. At that time, the students had raised more than $6,000 in support of We Create Change. By Feb. 28, they had raised their goal of $10,000, celebrat-ing through a tweet from a special Twitter account, Tiger Bricks, which they had set up to track prog-ress. “$10,000 raised in un-

der a month and a half!! Farmington,MN is sup-porting a school in Kenya. Thank you all,” the tweet said. Haugen said this was a great example of older students leading by ex-ample. They started the

project and then encour-aged younger students in the district to get involved. This is not the first time students at District 192 have organized to support a cause. For the last few years, the students have participated in Games 4

Change, an effort to raise money for local food shelves, and they have also supported Soles4Souls, a drive to collect shoes for those in developing coun-tries.

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Farmington area students (above and below) hold We Create Change/Bremer Bank cardboard school houses used to collect coins in support of Free The Children. (Photos by Amy Jeanchaiyaphum Photography/eyelovephoto.com)

Jeanne Crain, president and CEO of Bremer Bank Twin Cities, addresses students at the first ever “coin drop-off” event in St. Paul. (Photo by Amy Jeanchaiyaphum Photography/eyelovephoto.com)

KENYA, from 1A

was in need of repair, the county and Farming-ton decided to look at it with an eye toward future growth. That section of 195th Street will be ex-panded to a three-lane road to accommodate a turn lane for vehicles. Trails will be located on both sides of that section of road, and Farmington will also be installing curb and gutters to help with storm runoff. At the intersections of Flagstaff Avenue, Pi-

lot Knob Road and Akin Road, the plan proposes roundabouts instead of all-way stops. Right now, Farmington has just one roundabout, at the inter-section of Highway 3 and 195th Street. Schorzman said it has been there since 2008. One of the concerns raised by citizens has been how traffic will be spaced with a roundabout. Schorzman said a round-about may not create quite as even spacing between cars as a four-way stop would, but gaps between

the groups of cars should be longer than with an all-way stop. Data pre-sented at the open house, and also available on Da-kota County’s website under transportation and planned road construc-tion, showed that round-abouts can be more fuel efficient than an all-way stop, with fewer delays during peak and non-peak periods, and a lower per-centage of injury crashes, 16 percent compared to 34 percent for all-way stops. “Traffic engineering is very counterintuitive,”

Schorzman said. “What most people think is a so-lution will actually make it worse.” As an example, he said many people suggested lowering the speed limit along 195th Street. But lowering the speed arti-ficially can create more hazards and make it even harder for people from the side roads to turn onto the main road. Another concern along 195th Street is the conges-tion at the intersection with Pilot Knob Road (County Highway 31). Because of

this, Dakota County is recommending that Pilot Knob be expanded to four lanes from 190th Street to 195th Street. From 190th Street north, Pilot Knob is already four lanes, so this will extend that four-lane section further south. Meadowview Elemen-tary is located along 195th Street, so traffic flow around the school will be assessed as the county and city move forward. One of the proposed changes Schorzman is most excited about is a planned pedes-trian underpass at Mead-

owview Elementary. This way, students walking to school will not have to cross the expanded three-lane road. “We’re trying to sepa-rate the kids from the traf-fic,” Schorzman said. A proposed schedule will have work on 195th Street starting in April or May 2015 and going through October. Schorz-man said another open house is planned in Sep-tember to roll out the ac-tual design to residents.

STREET, from 1A


Jeff ScislowScislow Receives

Chairman’s Club Award

Jeff Scislow, of RE/MAX Results, has been recognized by RE/MAX International as one of their Top Sales Associates in the company. This past week he received the Chairman’s Club award in Las Vegas at the International Convention.

Scislow has earned a number of nationally recognized Certifi cations in his career, and has been awarded the Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement and the coveted Circle of Legends awards from RE/MAX. In 2010 he captured fi rst place in a national marketing competition and was named National Marketer of the Year. In 2011 he earned the Certifi ed Negotiation Expert designation.

Scislow offers his clients some of the latest and most advanced marketing techniques available today. He can be reached by calling (952) 953-5000 or by email at [email protected].

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Farmington Library events During its remodeling project, the Farmington Library is located in tem-

porary space on the sec-ond floor of City Hall, 430 Third St. in downtown Farmington. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Monday and Tues-

day; 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Fri-day; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat-urday. Closed on Sunday. • Men’s Book Group, 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. “Rough Country” by John Sandford will be discussed. The group will meet at Dunn Bros Coffee, 20700 Chippendale Ave. W., Farmington. • Storytime for All Ages, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Fri-day, March 21. Stories and activities for mixed-ages such as child care groups and families. Ages 0-6. Call 651-438-0250 for more information.

Transit open house in Eagan An open house on up-dates to the Highway 77 managed lane options between 138th Street and Old Shakopee Road and the Cedar Grove Tran-sit Station Access will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at the Eagan City Hall-Eagan Room, 3830 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan. The project aims to ex-plore options to manage congestion on Highway 77 through the implemen-tation of a managed lane (MnPASS express lane) and through improved bus access to the Cedar Grove Transit Station in Eagan. This is the third open house for the projects, and new information is avail-able for review. Open house attendees will be able to learn the details of the project, view project layouts and ask questions of project staff. To sign up for project email updates or for more information, visit www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy77managedlanes.

Photography seminar The Twin Cities Area Council of Camera Clubs will host its annual Spring Break Seminar at 8 a.m.

Saturday, March 22, at Dakota County Technical College, 1300 145th St. E. (County Road 42), Rose-mount. Registration will open at 7:15 a.m. Cost is $40 for mem-bers, $45 nonmembers, $25 students if registered by March 18; $50 cash or check at the door. For information, visit http://cameracouncil.org.

Dakota Electric annual meeting Dakota Electric As-sociation will hold its an-nual meeting Thursday, April 24, in the social hall of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 22120 Denmark Ave., Farmington (next to Dakota Electric’s of-fice). The meeting begins at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served before the meeting. Dakota Electric mem-bers will have the oppor-tunity to hear reports from officers and directors, ask questions and hear elec-tion results at the meeting. Balloting materials will be mailed to members on April 8. Members can vote online (www.dakotaelec-tric.com) using the e-sig-nature included with their ballots, or by mailing the ballots in the postage-paid envelope to Survey and Ballot Systems. Ballots must be received at Sur-vey and Ballot Systems of-fice no later than noon on April 24, or members may bring their ballots to the annual meeting. Ballots should not be dropped off or mailed to Dakota Elec-tric Association’s office. Once again this year, members may use a mobile device to scan the QR code located with the balloting materials to be quickly logged in to vote. Following are the can-didates running for four seats on the board of di-rectors: District 1 – John (Jack) DeYoe, Lakeville, incum-bent.

District 2 – Janet Lek-son, Rosemount, incum-bent. District 3 – Margaret D. Schreiner, Eagan, in-cumbent; Douglas Bonar, Farmington; Raymond Yarwood, Eagan. District 4 – Paul Bak-ken, Eagan, incumbent. All directors are elected by membership vote to serve three-year terms on the 12-person board of di-rectors. A customer-owned, nonprofit utility since 1937, Dakota Electric As-sociation provides electric-ity to more than 103,000 members throughout Da-kota County and portions of Goodhue, Rice and Scott counties.

Free home staging seminar Realtor Denise Sjoberg and interior designer Patty Farris will offer a free sem-inar on home staging from 7-8 p.m. Thursday, March 20, in Room 215 of the Rosemount Community Center, 13885 S. Robert Trail. Participants will learn the tricks professional stag-ers and real estate agents use to make homes attrac-tive and enticing to buyers. For more information, call Sjoberg at 651-485-8137 or Farris at 651-587-6532.

DCTC grants Dakota County Tech-nical College recently re-ceived two grants from the Minnesota Job Skills Part-nership. DCTC received a $300,000 grant to fund training, including robotic welding and fabrication, for 290 BTD Manufac-turing employees. The training will be delivered to BTD employees at the company’s facilities in De-troit Lakes and Lakeville. The college also received a $260,096 grant to fund training for Intek Plastics employees in Hastings.

Area Briefs


Legacy to perform at Rotary event and

in St. Paul by Tad Johnson

SUN THISWEEKDAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Rosemount residents Kev-in Carroll and Patti Drew, along with David McKos-key, of St. Paul, are members of the Celtic band Legacy, which will play during Rose-mount Rotary’s Irish for a Day Soiree at the Rosemount Community Center on Satur-day, March 15, but it won’t be the only jig gig on their slate. While the band will high-light the Rotary fundraiser that will also include a per-formance by Irish dancers, a raffle, a silent auction, a cash bar and a traditional Irish meal catered by Rosemount’s Las Tortillas Restaurant, the band will also offer a seminar on Irish music and play on the main stage during the St. Patrick’s Day Irish Celebra-tion at the Landmark Center in St. Paul. The seminar, from 2:30-3:20 p.m., will focus on “Reb-el Songs” as band members will offer some insight into the Irish musical tradition. After the seminar, the band will set up at the main stage for a music set as part of the Irish Music and Dance

Association event that runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with music, dance, food, children’s crafts and other vendors. While the St. Paul events make this a busy time for Legacy, they have certainly enjoyed being part of the Rotary event, which is in its third year. “One of the things people like most about the soiree is that it is a casual fundrais-ing event,” said Rotary mem-ber Erin Edlund. “People wear their favorite St. Pat’s T-shirts, beads and jeans – we have even had a few brave souls dress up as lepre-chauns.” Tickets are $50 per person or $350 for a table of eight. “It’s been a privilege to be part of a club that is really passionate about everything ranging from local to inter-national service projects – and that impact always seems so much bigger because of the amazing amount of work Rotary International does around the world,” Edlund said. The event supports the club’s projects, which will have a special focus this year on providing financial sup-port for children at the Rose-mount Family Resource Cen-ter to attend various camps, workshops, field trips and other educational and lead-

ership activities during the summer months. “One of the things that our club is really passionate about is youth development,” Edlund said. “We are very excited about the project and are hoping to increase our fundraising over years past to give the fund a good start.” Funds also help support STRIVE, a mentoring pro-gram at the high school, and international programs like polio vaccinations and the packing of food for those in need. “Students in the STRIVE program develop strong re-lationships with their Rotary mentors, and we often hear feedback from those students that their mentors helped them get through their senior year, think about their futures differently and helped inspire them to do and be more,” Ed-lund said. Those interested in pur-chasing tickets should con-tact any Rosemount Ro-tarian, call Erin Edlund at 952-261-6133 or email [email protected]. More about the Irish Cel-ebration is at www.irishmu-sicanddanceassociation.org, then click on St. Patrick’s Day in the menu at the left.

Email Tad Johnson at [email protected].

Legacy includes Rosemount residents (from left) Patti Drew, Kevin Carroll and David McKoskey of St. Paul. The group will play during the Rosemount Rotary Club’s “Irish for a Day Soiree” at the Rosemount Community Center on Saturday, March 15. (Photo submitted)



The Rosemount Leprechaun Days Committee is expanding op-portunities for local businesses and organizations to promote themselves as sponsors after the committee learned earlier this year that one of its consistent sources of funding was going away. With the conversion of the SKB Environmental Trust Fund monies to the city for a future large-scale city project, donations from the trust fund will no longer be available. “SKB has done so much for Lep-rechaun Days and the entire city over the years,” said Diane Wellman, Leprechaun Days Committee chair-woman. “We are very appreciative of their efforts, and we know the com-pany will continue to be great com-munity supporters. We understand that the trust fund liquidation was important for the good of the city’s residents, and we are confident we can raise enough money to replace it.” With that in mind, the committee is offering businesses that give at the two top levels of sponsorship – Gold and Sapphire – a chance to enter their own float in the Grand Parade on Saturday, July 19, which is dur-ing the first weekend of Leprechaun Days. The parade has traditionally been held the second weekend. The parade is annually attended by thousands of spectators. Wellman said it is a great way to promote one’s business to paradegoers. A 2007 survey commissioned by the city of Rosemount found that 72 percent of local residents participate in the annual 10-day festival. It is likely many of those who participate in Leprechaun Days make attending the parade part of their tradition. “We feel that the exposure that businesses receive from being in the parade far outweighs the cost to par-ticipate,” Wellman said. Businesses that become a Sap-phire Sponsor at the $501 to $2,499 level won’t have to pay the $100 pa-rade registration fee. The fee will also be waived for Gold Sponsors at the $2,500 to $5,000 level. Parade participation is free for community service or nonprofit groups. Gold and Sapphire sponsors will

have their names and/or logos in-cluded on promotional items related to Leprechaun Days, which may in-clude banners, fliers, newspaper and website listings. Emerald Sponsors that give up to $500 will have their names listed on promotional items. The deadline for becoming a sponsor is June 1. Most of the money raised by the committee goes to pay for planning costs related to the Midsummer Faire’s stage entertainment, carnival, fireworks show, contracted services for items such as waste removal and much more. Businesses and individuals inter-ested in donating can do so by send-ing checks payable to Rosemount Leprechaun Days, P.O. Box 256, Rosemount, MN 55068. Those with questions about do-nating time or in-kind services can send an email to [email protected]. More information about Lepre-chaun Days is at www.RosemountE-vents.com.

Rosemount band members to play at Irish events

Leprechaun Days looks

to replace funding sourceFree parade entry offered

to businesses that give over $501

Get involved Application forms to par-ticipate in various aspects of the 2014 Rosemount Lepre-chaun Days events are available at www.RosemountEvents.com or SunThisweek.com/tag/Rose-mount-Leprechaun-Days-2014. The participation forms in-clude those for having a com-mercial or food booth at the Midsummer Faire, an entry in the Grand Parade or to plan an individual event. The Faire will be held Friday, July 25, and Sat-urday, July 26. The Grand Parade will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 19. This is new date for the event will be during the first weekend of Leprechaun Days. The pa-rade has traditionally been held on the second Saturday. Groups, organizations and businesses are encouraged to plan an event that can add to the 60-plus events that make up Leprechaun Days. An applica-tion is required to include it in the official schedule of events.


SportsEagles won’t be back-to-back champs

Cretin-Derham Hall upset ends Apple Valley’s season by Mike Shaughnessy


One day after Apple Valley’s boys basketball season ended earlier than many thought it would, the Eagles were still hav-ing trouble processing the result. “It’s 2:30 (Friday af-ternoon) and I feel like I should be in the gym get-ting ready to play next week,” Eagles coach Zach Goring said. Apple Valley isn’t there because of an 89-77 loss to Cretin-Derham Hall in the Class 4A, Section 3 cham-pionship game Thursday night at Farmington High School. The Eagles held an eight-point lead (65-57) with 6:45 remaining in the second half but couldn’t maintain it. Neither team scored in the first overtime as the Raiders held the ball for most of the four min-utes. In the second over-time, Cretin-Derham Hall outscored Apple Valley 15-3. Eagles fans also saw starters Tyus Jones and Dennis Austin hit the floor hard within seconds of each other in the final minute of the second over-time. Austin was taken out of the gym on a stretcher

with an apparent back in-jury. Austin was evaluated, tested and then released from the hospital at 12:30 a.m. Friday, Goring said. Jones stayed down for a couple of minutes after he collided with a CDH player, then walked slowly to the locker room. He returned to the floor and played briefly in the final minute. Although Cretin-Der-ham Hall is ranked fifth in Class 4A, its victory over Apple Valley was por-

trayed as a massive upset. And perhaps justifiably so – the Eagles had not lost to a team from Minnesota since December 2012. Apple Valley (27-2) will not get a chance to defend the state championship it won in 2013. “The hard part is, the kids loved playing at the Target Center and wanted to do it again,” Goring said. Cretin-Derham Hall (23-6) limped into the playoffs with three losses

in its last five regular-sea-son games, but the third-seeded Raiders beat No. 2 seed East Ridge and No. 1 seed Apple Valley to earn their place in the state tournament. The Raiders attempted more three-point shots (37) than two-pointers (32) in the section final, and their comeback took shape when some of their long-range shots started falling. They had 12 three-point baskets to Apple Valley’s two.

“Whenever we were up by five or seven points, I thought if we could get a stop or two we’d have a lot of momentum,” Goring said. “But we couldn’t do it. Every time there was a loose ball it seemed like they got it, got an open three and made it.” Cretin-Derham Hall also created some match-up problems for Apple Valley, Goring said, be-cause the Eagles’ taller players had to spend some time defending the perim-eter, which took them out of rebounding position. Guards Michael Han-non and Donnell Gresham scored 26 and 25 points for Cretin-Derham Hall. Jones, Apple Valley’s career leader in points and assists, finished his five-year Eagles career with 35 points on 14-for-25 shooting from the floor. He also made six of nine free throws and had eight assists. Sophomore center Brock Bertram had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Austin had 10 points and 15 rebounds. In addition to Jones, Apple Valley will graduate starters Austin and Robert Tobroxen. Goring said he expects Austin to continue his playing career, possi-bly at a junior college. To-

broxen sacrificed some of his offense to guard oppo-nents’ top scoring threats. Trey Pipkins, a 6-foot-7 senior, became a key play-er off the bench for the Eagles this season. Guards Jake Rhyner and Charles Young also graduate. Jones, who was Apple Valley’s starting point guard from the day he joined the varsity as an eighth-grader, will be at Duke University next year. But there still should be plenty of Jones family influence on the Eagles. Eighth-grader Tre Jones, who missed the end of this season because of a bro-ken clavicle, will be back next year. Older brother Jadee is an Apple Valley assistant coach. As for Tyus Jones, “he was always great with the traveling basketball kids and the (Valley Athletic Association) kids,” Goring said. “There are many kids in Apple Valley who want to be the next Tyus Jones. That’s leading to more numbers in our youth program and kids spend-ing more time working on their skills.”

Email Mike Shaughnessy at [email protected].

Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones and his brother, Tre, share a moment during the awards cer-emony. Tre Jones did not play in the section championship game because of an injury. (Photo by Mike Shaughnessy)

Overachieving Wildcats take third by Mike Shaughnessy


To hear coach Mike Taylor and his players tell it, this might not have been the most heralded group of players to come out of Eagan youth hock-ey. “We just kind of played the game” as youths, said Nick Wolff, who devel-oped into a workhorse defenseman for a Wild-cats team that took third place at the state tourna-ment last week. “We weren’t very good, but we weren’t poor, ei-ther. We just had fun with it. But we started building a team.” Last offseason, the players started asking Taylor for more demand-ing workouts. Taylor, who said he thought the con-ditioning program was pretty grueling as it was, went along. By the end of a 20-10-1 season, the Wildcats be-came a team that could do more than just hang out together. They matched the highest finish ever for an Eagan team at state, and their overachieving ways likely had a lot to do with Taylor being named Class AA coach of the year. Taylor described the players as a group that’s ruthless when needling each other, “but if any-one outside their group says boo, they’re com-ing after them. They call themselves a family, and I think they are.” Eagan completed its season with a 6-4 vic-tory over Eden Prairie in the state Class AA third-place game Saturday at Xcel Energy Center. Wolff scored the game-

winner with 25 seconds left and the Wildcats skating shorthanded. He added an empty-net goal with six seconds remain-ing. Max Elsenheimer and Ian Entzion also scored two goals each for the Wildcats. The Wildcats faced a quick turnaround as they had to play again less than 17 hours after losing to Edina 3-1 in the semifi-nal round Friday night. “It’s tough. If you play 40-45 minutes, it takes a toll,” Wolff said. “But you’ve got to rest and hy-drate and prepare for the next game.” The Wildcats were playing catch-up all night against Edina, which took the lead less than two minutes into the semifinal game. The Hor-nets made it 2-0 late in the second period. Eagan, which was held to 16 shots, had some hope when it pulled goalie Andrew Lindgren for an extra attacker and Jack Jenson scored with 46 seconds remaining. But the Hornets put it away with an empty-net goal with 16 seconds to play. Eagan, the tourna-ment’s fifth seed, opened with a 3-0 victory over fourth-seeded Duluth East. Senior forward Max Elsenheimer scored two goals and had one assist. Lindgren made 28 saves to earn the shutout. Elsenheimer had 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in six postseason games and likely will get a closer look from col-lege and junior programs, Taylor said. Lacrosse also could be an option for Elsenheimer, who will be

one of the Eagan boys team’s top returning play-ers this spring. Wolff is expected to join the Des Moines Buc-caneers of the United States Hockey League this week and is keeping his options open about college. His defense part-ner, senior Tom Muck, “is going to get a plethora of offers from junior teams,” Taylor said. Jenson and Taylor Karel are expected to be with a junior team in Corpus Christi, Texas, next year. The Wildcats came on late in the regular season, winning five of their final seven games. The only losses in that stretch were to Lakeville North and Burnsville, the top two teams in the South Sub-urban Conference. They finished fifth in the South Suburban and were seeded fourth in the Section 3AA tourney, but the Wildcats did their best work late in the season. “Kids grow up, change and mature,” Taylor said after Eagan’s state tour-nament victory over Du-luth East. “Yeah, maybe we didn’t think this run would happen when we looked at these guys as Bantams and Peewees. But looking at them now, I’m not surprised.” In four trips to the state tournament – in-cluding three in the last four years – the Wildcats have two third-place tro-phies. Wolff said he doesn’t believe it will be long be-fore a future Eagan team tops that. “Eagan’s going to get first place sometime,” he said. “No doubt about it.”

TAGS South competes at Northern Lights

The TAGS South Level 6-9 teams competed in the Northern Lights Invite at the Minneapolis Conven-tion Center Feb. 28 and March 1. Coaches attend-ing the competition were Kevin Brown, Kristin Fu-rukawa and Scot Gallagh-er. The Level 6 team con-sisted of two athletes: Syd-ney McGregor, of Lakev-ille, and Ally Keehn, of Farmington. McGregor’s scores were 8.8 on vault, 8.725 on balance beam and 9.225 (eighth) for her sea-son high on floor. Keehn earned 8.45 on vault, 8.075 on the uneven bars, 8.550 on balance beam and 33.425 in the all-around. The Level 7 team be-gan the competition on uneven bars. Grace Keller, of Rosemount, earned the team’s high score of 9.25 for seventh place. Lind-sey Neumann, of Eagan, and Alex Barcus, of In-ver Grove Heights, placed seventh and eighth with scores of 8.1 and 7.9 in their respective age groups. Maja Decker, of Lakeville, earned the team’s highest balance beam score of the year (9.4) to receive second place. Maria Kummer, of Hastings, pulled through with her season high of 9.3 for fourth. Teagan

Klinkner, of Apple Val-ley, rounded out the top three with 8.975 (eighth). Decker’s 9.75 in floor ex-ercise was the highest score recorded during the Level 7 session. Barcus received her season high of 9.45 for fifth place. Neumann and Kum-mer recorded their season highs as well with scores of 9.4 and sixth and seventh places, respectively. Keller earned the team’s high-est all-around with 35.65 (10th). Neumann finished in seventh with 34.95 and Kummer placed 12th with 34.675. The Level 8 team had a strong start on the vault with Teagan Ramboldt, of Eagan, leading the group with 9.375 for first. Her score also earned her a spot in the event finals com-petition, which was held Sunday, March 2. Taylor Thorberg, of Farmington, received third place with 9.15. Both Natalie Meyer, of Lakeville, and Kait-lin O’Tool, of Hastings, won the event in their age groups with scores of 8.95 and 8.5, respectively. Meyer scored 9.425 and received another first place finish on the uneven bars. Sarah Wilken, of Eagan, earned her season high (9.05) to win the event, fol-lowed by Tiffany Walker,

of Elko, who also received her season high and was second with 9.0. Thorberg was the high-est beam scorer with 9.125, followed by Talia Whitmore, of Inver Grove Heights, and Walker, each with season high scores of 8.825 and 8.25, respectively. On the floor exercise, Thor-berg and Ramboldt placed eighth and ninth with scores of 9.15 and 9.125. Indya Volk, of Lakeville, rounded out the top three with her 9.05 (fifth). In the all-around, Thor-berg received sixth place with 36.275. Meyer was third with 35.525 and Ram-boldt finished with 36.275. Also competing for TAGS South was Mackenzie Hughes, of Red Wing. Competing for the Level 9 team were Olivia Larson, of Lakeville, and Shelby Neumann, of Eagan. Larson’s scores were 9.25 (eighth) on vault, 9.075 (seventh) on balance beam and 34.85 (12th) in the all-around. Neumann placed 12th on vault with 8.825, 10th on balance beam with 8.7 and 13th all-around with 34.075. Levels 6-10 will next compete March 21-23 at the Minnesota State Championship at the Colin Powell Center.

Doing the heavy lifting

Tre Peterson of Rosemount does a snatch lift in the boys varsity 105-kilogram weight class during the state high school weightlifting championships Saturday at Lakeville South High School. He went on to finish third in his weight class. Order of finish is determined by the combined weight of a competitor’s best snatch lift and clean and jerk. Burnsville won the boys, girls and combined team championships. Rosemount was second in the overall standings and Lakeville South was fourth. (Photo by Mike Shaughnessy)

Kevin Sturgeon (25) skates

the puck out of the Eagan

zone during the Wildcats win

over Duluth East in a Class

AA state tournament quarterfinal game at the

Xcel Energy Center in St.

Paul. (Photo by Mike Shaugh-

nessy)


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Staff Writer

The Stillwater Gazette seeks a full-time staff writer to handle writing and pho-to duties. Strong reporting, photography and InDesign experience is ideal. Must have a degree in journal-ism or related field. The Gazette is a twice-weekly paper in a beautiful city near St. Paul. This posi-tion is a great opportunity for a reporter interested in covering a variety of topics.The Gazette offers com-petitive wages plus ben-efits. (Stillwater Gazette is a drug-free workplace - pre-employment drug screen required.)If you would like to join our fast-paced and professional team, please email your cover letter, re-sume, references and writ-ing samples to Managing Editor Jonathan Young at [email protected].

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Bus Driver (PT)Rosemount

MRCI WorkSource is seek-ing a PT Driver to work split shift hours 7-9:00am and 2:30-4:30pm, M-F, paid time off and eligibility for retirement. H.S diploma/ GED, previous experience, valid license & good driv-ing record. Basic knowl-edge of individuals with developmental disabilities & interpersonal communi-cation skills preferred. To find out more, contact

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Jury Research Project: Dakota County residents have the opportunity to learn more about MN civil justice system by par-ticipating in a Legal Focus Group on Wednesday, April 2nd from 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. A meal, park-ing and $50. If interested contact Bryan or Rochelle at 612.375.1707 or email [email protected].

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LOOKfor a new pet

in Sun•ThisweekClassifieds


LAKEVILLE SOUTHHIGH SCHOOL

Mitch is an outstanding student whose schoolwork is of the fi nest quality. As a student, Mitch is a hard worker who strives to reach well planned goals. Be-ing the type of athlete coaches dream of, Mitch is blessed with talent, an excellent work ethic, and a never say die attitude!Mitch’s exceptional abilities include creativity, en-thusiasm, and task commitment. Mitch’s most im-pressive attribute, however, is his ability to perform under pressure, both mentally and physically. As a coach, I could always count on Mitch to be his best at the big meets.It was as a leader of the swimming & diving team that Mitch shined the brightest. His leadership style is well balanced, leading by example and vo-cally as required by the circumstances. As a junior leader Mitch demonstrated great commitment and did so unselfi shly for the benefi t of the team. Mitch also proved to be a very inspirational leader to his teammates.

DANI SADEKGIRLS HOCKEY

DEFENSE

12TH GRADELAKEVILLE NORTH

HIGH SCHOOLDani will be attending Ohio State University next fall. Dani led the Panthers to a 3rd place fi nish at the State Tournament. She had 1 goal and 4 assists from her defensemen position. She was named 2014 SSC All Conference and All State and to All State Tournament team this season.

s o u t h m e t r o

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theater and arts briefs

theater and arts calendar

family calendar

Art exhibition and talk Rosemount United Methodist Church is exhibiting assemblage crosses by sculptor James Quentin Young through April 20. Young was an artist-in-residence at the Henry Luce Center in Washington, D.C., and in Prague, Czech Repub-lic. He will be present for a brief talk and tour of the exhibit at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, March 23. All are welcome. The exhibit can be viewed Sunday mornings, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and dur-ing all scheduled church activities. The church is located at 14770 Canada Ave. Call 651-423-2475 for more information.

Elvis tour stops in Burnsville “3 Faces of the King,” a national touring show that combines three pe-riods of Elvis’ career, returns to the Burnsville Performing Arts Center at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27. The family-style show is suitable for all ages. Tickets range from $39 to $59 at the box of-fice, Ticketmaster.com or 800-982-2787.

A Taste of Eagan tickets Tickets are available for A Taste of the Eagan Foundation 13th annual Wine Tasting & Silent Auction from 6-9:30 p.m. Thursday, June 19. Tick-ets are available at www.eaganfoundation.org for $45 in advance and $55 after June 12.

Franken seeks entrants for student poetry contest In recognition of the Month of the Military Child and National Po-etry Month in April, U.S. Sen. Al Franken is hosting his third annual poetry contest for Min-nesota students. The theme of this year’s con-test is “Celebrating the Veteran in My Life.” The contest is open to all children of military families in Minnesota grades K-12, with three age categories: Kinder-garten to sixth grade; seventh to ninth grades; and 10th to 12th grades. Winners will be cho-sen in each age category. Top winning poems in each category will be framed and displayed in Franken’s offices in St. Paul or Washington, D.C. The overall winner

in each age group will receive an autographed book by Minnesota au-thor Garrison Keillor. Submission should be made by April 18 by email to [email protected] or by mail to: Office of Sen. Al Franken, c/o ‘Poetry Contest,’ 60 Plato Boule-vard East, Suite 220, St. Paul, MN 55107. Participants may sub-mit only one entry, with a maximum word count of 250 words. Each entry must include the name of the child, the parent/guardian’s name, a phone number, and the name of the child’s school. Please clearly indicate the par-ticipant’s age category.

Home & Leisure Show The Eagan Civic Arena will host its 15th annual Home & Lei-sure Show from 3-7 p.m. Friday, March 14, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 15. Admission is free. More than 80 vendors will showcase their ser-vices. Vendors will offer free seminars on Friday. The Dakota County Master Gardeners will provide free seminars and children’s activities on Saturday. For more information, visit www.eagancivicarena.com.

To submit items for the Arts Calendar, email: darcy.

[email protected].

Books Barbara Ellen Brink, au-thor of The Frederickson Win-ery novels, a mystery series set at a California vineyard, book signing, 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, Robert Trail Library, 14395 S. Robert Trail, Rose-mount. Cary J. Griffith, author of “Wolves,” which is nominated for a Minnesota Book Award in the genre fiction category, book signing, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at the Apple Valley Barnes & Noble.

Exhibits Burnsville Visual Arts So-ciety’s Art Fete, Feb. 13 to March 23, Burnsville Perform-ing Arts Center gallery, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Information: 952-895-4685.

Music “Dave and Ted Present: What a Wonderful World,” 2 p.m. Friday, March 14, Lakeville Area Arts Center, 20965 Holy-oke Ave. Tickets: $15, online at LakevilleAreaArtsCenter.com or at the Arts Center. Information: 952-985-4640. “Deuces Wild! Dueling Pi-anos,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 14, Lakeville Area Arts Center, 20965 Holyoke Ave. Tickets: $25 in advance at Lakevil-leAreaArtsCenter.com or at the Arts Center; $28 at the door. In-formation: 952-985-4640. “1964…The Tribute,” Bea-tles tribute, 8 p.m., Saturday, March 15, Burnsville Perform-ing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Tickets: $30-$40 at the box office, by phone at 800-982-8787 or online at Ticket-master.com. 651 Jazz, 7-9 p.m. Satur-day, March 15, part of Rose-mount’s “Jazz at the Steeple Center” concert series, 14375 S. Robert Trail. Tickets: $5 at the door. Baroque music concert by the Dakota Valley Sympho-ny, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, March 16, Burnsville Perform-ing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Tickets range from $5-$16 at the box office, by phone at 800-982-8787 or online at Tick-etmaster.com.

Theater “B-I-N-G-O Spells Mur-der,” presented by the Eagan Theater Company and Eagan 55 Plus/Seniors, Thursday, March 13, and Friday, March 14, at the Eagan Community Center, 1501 Central Parkway. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets: $40 (includes dinner, perfor-mance and bingo card). Lim-ited seating available. Purchase tickets in person at the Eagan

Community Center or online at www.etc-mn.org. “Lightwire: The Show,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 14, Burnsville Performing Arts Cen-ter, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Tickets: $30-$40 at the box office, by phone at 800-982-8787 or on-line at Ticketmaster.com. “Disney’s Little Mermaid Jr.,” presented by Kenwood Trail Middle School, 7 p.m. Friday, March 14, and 1 p.m. Saturday, March 15, in the Ken-wood Trail Middle School audi-torium, 19455 Kenwood Trail, Lakeville. Tickets available at the door: $7 for adults, $5 for students, free for children age 4 and younger. “Footloose – The Musi-cal,” presented by The Play’s the Thing Productions performs at the Lakeville Area Arts Cen-ter March 21-22, 28-29 at 7:30 p.m. and March 23 and 30 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available on-line at LakevilleAreaArtsCenter.com. Information: www.chil-drenstheatretptt.com or 952-985-4640. Spencer’s “Theatre of Il-lusion,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 20, Burnsville Perform-ing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Tickets: $30-$40 at the box office, by phone at 800-982-8787 or online at Ticket-master.com.

Workshops/classes/other Music and Movement Class with Music Together, 4 p.m. Sunday, March 23; 6:15 p.m. Monday, March 24; 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, March 26; 10:15 a.m. Friday, March 28; at the Apple Valley Community Center, 14603 Hayes Road. For children from birth to kinder-garten and the grown-ups who love them. Free. Information: musictogetherclasses.org. Joy of Photography, 6:30-9 p.m. Wednesdays, March 19, 26, and April 2, plus an optional session Saturday, March 22, at the Minnesota Zoo. Class meets at the Steeple Center in Rosemount. Cost: $50. Regis-ter at www.rosemountarts.com. Danceline prep workshop, 4-5 p.m. Wednesdays, April 9 through May 7, at DanceWorks Performing Arts Center, Lakev-ille. Instructor: Lisa Orth. Cost: $60. Information: danceworks-mn.com. Art-themed birthday par-ties are offered by the Eagan Art House, 3981 Lexington Ave. S. Cost: $125-$135 for up to 10 people. Additional guests are $12.50 per child. Supplies pro-vided. Information: 651-675-5521. Winter art classes are open for registration at the Eagan Art House, 3981 Lexington Ave. S. Information: www.cityofeagan.com/index.php/recreation/ea-gan-art-house, 651-675-5521. Teen Poetry Jam/Rap Bat-

tle, 4-5 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at Apple Valley Teen Center, 14255 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley, 952-953-2385. Ages 12-18. Adult painting open stu-dio, 9 a.m. to noon Fridays at the Eagan Art House, 3981 Lexington Ave. S. Fee is $5 per session. Information: 651-675-5521. Drawing & Painting (adults and teens) with Christine Tier-ney, 9 a.m. to noon Wednes-days, River Ridge Arts Building, Burnsville. Information: www.christinetierney.com, 612-210-3377. Teens Express Yourself with Paint, 5-7 p.m. Mondays at Brushworks School of Art in Burnsville, www.BrushworksS-choolofArt.com, 651-214-4732. Act-Sing-Dance winter session enrollment open for ages 7-17. Burnsville location. Information: 952-220-1676, Drama Interaction. Homeschool Theatre Pro-gram, winter session open enrollment, Wednesdays, ages 7-17. In the Company of Kids, 13710 Nicollet Ave., Burnsville, 952-736-3644. Show Biz Kids Theater Class for children with special needs (ASD/DCD programs), In the Company of Kids, 13710 Nicollet Ave., Burnsville, 952-736-3644. Broadway Kids Dance and Theater Program for all ages and abilities, In the Company of Kids, 13710 Nicollet Ave., Burnsville, 952-736-3644. Join other 55-plus adults at the Eagan Art House to create beaded jewelry. The Jewelry Club meets on the third Friday of each month from 1-3 p.m. Information: 651-675-5500. Soy candle making class-es held weekly in Eagan near 55 and Yankee Doodle. Call Ja-mie at 651-315-4849 for dates and times. $10 per person. Presented by Making Scents in Minnesota. Country line dance class-es held for intermediates Mon-days 1:30-4 p.m. at Rambling River Center, 325 Oak St., Farmington, $5/class. Call Mar-ilyn 651-463-7833. Country line dance class-es on Wednesdays at the Lakeville Senior Center, 20110 Holyoke Ave. Beginners, 9-10 a.m.; Intermediate, 10 a.m. to noon. $5/class. Call Marilyn 651-463-7833. The Lakeville Area Arts Center offers arts classes for all ages, www.lakevillemn.gov, 952-985-4640. Rosemount History Book Club meets 6:30-8 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the Robert Trail Library. Infor-mation: John Loch, 952-255-8545 or [email protected].

To submit items for the Family Calendar, email:

[email protected].

Friday, March 14 Home & Leisure Show, 3-7 p.m., Eagan Civic Arena, 3870 Pilot Knob Road. Free admission and free seminars. Information: www.eagancivi-carena.com. Fish fry dinner, 5-8 p.m., Lakeville VFW Post 210. All-you-can-eat fish (broiled or fried) dinner, salad and soup bar included. Cost: $10.95 for adults, $7.95 for children age 10 and younger. Information: 952-469-5717. Fish fry dinner, 5-8 p.m., Rosemount VFW Post 9433. All-you-can-eat. Cost: $11. Information: 651-423-9938. Lenten fish dinner by the Faithful Shepherd Knights of Columbus, 5-7 p.m., St. John Neumann Parish Social Hall, 4030 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan. All-you-can-eat fish, macaroni and cheese, cole-slaw and ice cream; takeout orders available from the curb. Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for children (3-10 years), and free under 3.

Saturday, March 15 Home & Leisure Show, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Eagan Civic Arena, 3870 Pilot Knob Road. Free admission and free sem-inars. Information: www.ea-gancivicarena.com. 2014 Landscape & Home Expo & Consumer Show-case, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Lakev-ille North High School, 19600 Ipava Ave. Free admission. Information: Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau, 952-469-2020. Rosemount High School Art & Craft Fair, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3335 142nd St. W.,

Rosemount. Free admission. Adjusting to Life Beyond Divorce and Looking to the Future, 9-11 a.m., InnerLight Healing Center, 17305 Cedar Ave. S., Lakeville. Cost: $39. Regist rat ion/ in format ion: counselingandhealing.com, 952-435-4144. Family History Fair, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Lakeville Stake Center, 18460 Kachina Court. The free event includes pre-sentations from RootsTech 2014, live classes and free time in the Family History Center. For more information and to sign up, visit www.lds.org/familyhistoryfair.

Sunday, March 16 St. Pat’s Day dinner spe-cial, Rosemount VFW Post 9433. Information: 651-423-9938.

Wednesday, March 19 Advance Care Planning class, 1 p.m., Burnsville Park Nicollet, 14000 Fairview Drive, Burnsville, in the third floor administration confer-ence room A. Free, but reg-istration is required. Call 952-993-3454 for more infor-mation or to register.

Thursday, March 20 Identity theft work-shop, 7 p.m., Trinity Lu-theran Church, 600 Walnut St., Farmington. Sponsored by Thrivent Financial. Free. Complimentary pie and cof-fee served. Sign up before March 18 by calling Ger-maine Beyl at 651-463-1010 or email [email protected]. Home staging seminar, 7-8 p.m., Rosemount Com-munity Center, Room 215, 13885 S. Robert Trail. Learn the tricks professional stag-ers and real estate agents use

to make homes attractive and enticing to buyers. Presented by Patty Farris, interior de-signer, and Denise Sjoberg, Realtor. Free.

Friday, March 21 Fish fry dinner, 5-8 p.m., Lakeville VFW Post 210. All-you-can-eat fish (broiled or fried) dinner, salad and soup bar included. Cost: $10.95 for adults, $7.95 for children age 10 and younger. Information: 952-469-5717. Fish fry dinner, 5-8 p.m., Rosemount VFW Post 9433. All-you-can-eat. Cost: $11. Information: 651-423-9938.

Thursday, March 20 “Using DNA in Geneal-ogy,” 7 p.m., Dakota County Historical Society, 130 Third Ave. N., South St. Paul. Sponsored by the Dakota County Genealogical Society. Free. Information: Dick Thill, 651-248-9251.

Blood drives The American Red Cross will hold the following blood drives. Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. • March 15, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Crown of Life Luther-an Church, 4150 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan. • March 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wescott Library, 1340 Wescott Road, Eagan. • March 21, 1-6 p.m., Car-mike 15 Theatres, 15630 Ce-dar Ave., Apple Valley. • March 21, noon to 6 p.m., Kowalski’s Market, 1646 Diffley Road, Eagan. • March 22, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Brunswick Zone XL, 11129 162nd St. W., Lakev-ille.

Twin Cities bluegrass quartet Ivory Bridge is set to perform March 20 as part of the ongoing “Bluegrass at the Steeple Center” series at the Rosemount venue located at 14375 S. Robert Trail. The band — featuring, from left, Bill Liners, Kathe Liners, Jim Tordoff and John Bodle — combines original numbers with traditional Americana and gospel music. The series sponsored by the Rosemount Area Arts Council offers a different bluegrass band each month, January through May; other acts booked include Marty Marone and the Blue Moon Boys (April 17) and the Roe Family Singers (May 15). Tickets for all the shows, which run from 7-9 p.m., are $5 and can be purchased at the arts council’s website, www.rosemountarts.com, and in person at the Steeple Center.

Bluegrass at the Steeple Center


ThisweekendThisweekend

‘Dixie Swim Club’ opens in Lakeville Expressions Lakeville Community Theater opens its 2014 season with the comedy “The Dixie Swim Club,” a story of five women who gather annually at the same beach cottage on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Performances are 7:30 p.m. April 4, 5, 11 and 12 and 2 p.m. April 6 and 13 at the Lakeville Area Arts Center, 20965 Holyoke Drive, Lakeville. Tickets are $13 at www.LakevilleAreaArtsCenter.com or 952-985-4640. (Photo submitted)

Oenophile intrigues Author of winery mystery series featured

at Rosemount library event by Andrew Miller


Wine country is awash in mystery in the fiction of Barbara Ellen Brink. The Rosemount author of the Fredrickson Winery mystery series — which is set at a small Califor-nia winery and includes the novels “Entangled,” “Crushed” and “Savor” — will be appearing at the Robert Trail Library on Tuesday, March 18, as part of the ongoing “Meet the Author” series spon-sored by the Rosemount Area Arts Council. Admission is free to the 6:30-8 p.m. library event, which will see the author reading excerpts from the three winery novels. Brink took time re-cently to talk with Sun Thisweek about her writ-ing rituals, the secrets to writing suspense and why wine country makes a good setting for murder. Q: What inspired you to write a mystery series set at a winery? A: Inspiration comes in strange and varied ways. I’ve dreamed whole book plots while sleeping. I’ve been inspired by personal

stories of people I know. Sometimes I’ve read an ar-ticle or heard a news story that set my mind spinning with “what ifs.” That’s basically what happened when I started “Entangled,” the first win-ery novel. It was around 2006 when I noticed how wine had become a huge story in the news. Articles were being written about new vineyards, wine tast-ing parties and the growth of the industry. I thought with so many people in love with wine and so many mystery lovers out there, that the two should go hand in hand. Q: At what point in your life did you know you

wanted to be a writer? A: I always loved writ-ing, and after high school, I even considered going into journalism. But life took over and I didn’t re-ally have time to give it serious thought once I was married and had children. About 14 years ago, I de-cided it was time. I started writing again and haven’t stopped since. Q: What is your writing strategy? Do you have any writing rituals? A: My strategy for writ-ing a novel is to keep my rear in the chair and con-tinue writing even when the inspiration disappears. Inspiration is just a glim-mer of an idea. The actual writing — putting one sen-tence after another — is hard work. I have a home office where I write. Some writ-ers say they can write at the coffee shop or in a crowded restaurant, but that doesn’t work for me. I’m a creature of habit and I need solitude to con-centrate. Besides, it can be embarrassing if you’re talking back to the char-acters in your head and you’re sitting all alone. The only rituals I have

would be to have plenty of coffee on hand, my snack drawer stocked with choc-olate and almonds, and a good book to read when I need a break from my own writing. Q: Which authors have inspired you? A: I tend to read a lot of thrillers, suspense and mysteries for the very same reason that I write them. I like solving the puzzle. The problem is, I of-ten solve the puzzle way too soon. But there are some authors that are masters at keeping se-crets to the end. Some of my favorites are Pa-tricia Cornwell, Linda Fairstein, Sibella Gio-rello and Steven James, to name just a few. Q: Any book proj-ects currently in the works? A: I’m working on a murder mystery set right here in the southern sub-urbs of St. Paul. Young women are going miss-ing and a female reporter with the local news station teams up with a detective to solve the case.

Email Andrew Miller at [email protected].

Barbara Ellen Brink


law enforcement officials made approximately 400 DWI arrests on St. Pat-rick’s Day (Sunday, March 17) and the day before. This year the holiday is on Monday. It’s unknown how many crashes the arrests may have prevented, but Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows said Nation-al Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics indicate that on St. Pat-rick’s Day in 2011, 34 per-cent of the fatalities from motor vehicle crashes were connected to drunk driv-ing. If the fear of dying isn’t enough to deter one from getting behind the wheel after a few drinks, consid-er this: Those arrested for DWI can serve jail time, lose their driver’s license, their jobs, their quality of life and spend about $10,000 in court costs. It’s estimated that the average alcohol-related fa-tality in Minnesota costs $5.5 million in medical, property damage, insur-ance and court costs, ac-cording to a University of West Virginia study. Al-cohol-related crashes cost the people of Minnesota more than $1 billion each year, the study reported. The Minnesota De-partment of Public Safety

encourages those who cel-ebrate with alcohol and need transportation to plan for a safe ride. Those who are on the roads this weekend should wear a seat belt, which the de-partment says is their best defense against a drunken driver, and call 911 if they see a motorist driving while impaired.

The study The seven people who participated in Rose-mount’s controlled drink-ing event had a wide range of reactions as they drank and were tested using a breathalyzer periodically. When one 21-year-old man who had a couple of drinks was asked before he was tested if he would drive, he said, “No way, not a chance.” He tested at 0.04, half the legal limit. A man who was about 80 pounds heavier than a similarly aged woman registered the same BAC even though the man had consumed twice as much alcohol. Zajac said alcohol af-fects every person in dif-ferent ways. While it takes a short time for alcohol to impair one’s senses, it takes a longer time for its effect to wear off, he said. Another man tested at a higher BAC a few min-utes after a previous test

even though he hadn’t had another drink. Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Dan Marose said that’s why people who feel they are too drunk to drive shouldn’t “wait it out” be-cause they may actually be becoming more intoxicat-ed without having another drink. Marose points out that studies have shown that the “buzz” from alcohol impairs one’s decision-making as it “tricks” peo-ple into thinking they are

OK to drive when they are really over the legal limit – and have been for some time. While law enforcement officials say publicity in advance of holidays like St. Patrick’s Day is impor-tant, they also used the event to demonstrate their skill at detecting if some-one has been drinking by noticing changes in their speech or appearance, such as having glassy or red eyes. They say that those

who have been drinking and think they can “fake out” an officer will find it nearly impossible, since many officers have years of experience dealing with drunken drivers.

Zero deaths From 2008-2012, ap-proximately 130 people died annually in drunk-en-driving crashes. That statistic dropped to 93 in 2013. “That’s too many spouses, parents or sib-

lings that won’t ever be home to celebrate St. Pat-rick’s Day or any other holiday,” Dakota County Attorney James Back-strom said. Toward Zero Deaths’ enforcement effort aims to reduce that number to zero through the rotat-ing targeted enforcement every weekend in Dakota County. On any given weekend, 12 more officers will be in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Lake-ville, Rosemount or one of five other cities specifically looking for drunken driv-ers. In 2013, the officers in-volved in the effort handed out 15,528 violations, in-cluding 125 DWI arrests. “That shows the success of the program,” Rose-mount Police Chief Eric Werner said. “It works be-cause of all of the agencies working together.” A grant of $307,375 paid for 6,487 hours of the officers’ time in 2013, and a grant of $354,976 is expected to fund a similar amount of hours in 2014. It cost about $20 of of-ficers’ time for each DWI, seat belt, child restraint, speeding, warrant arrest, texting and other viola-tions logged.


SMART, from 1A

sponses as news of the tweet was reported by Twin Cites media outlets, Deadspin and Huffing-ton Post. Some credited Ga-rofalo for speaking his mind, while others said the comment was racist, citing its use of “street-crime” and that most of the NBA is comprised of African-Americans – 76.3 percent, according to a 2013 University of Central Florida study. The fervor over the

comment led Garofalo to issue a press release through his House office that said: “In the last 24 hours, I’ve had the opportunity to relearn one of life’s les-sons: Whenever any of us are offering opinions, it is best to refer to people as individuals as opposed to groups. Last night, I publicly commented on the NBA and I sincerely apologize to those who I unfairly categorized. The NBA has many examples of players and owners who are role models for

our communities and for our country. Those individuals did not de-serve that criticism and I apologize. In addition, it’s been brought to my attention that I was mis-taken and the NBA pol-icy on drug enforcement is stronger than I previ-ously believed. Again, I offer my sincere apolo-gies for my comments.” When questioned yes-terday about the original comment by Kevin Drap-er of The Diss, Garofalo said he was referring to the NBA’s high arrest rate

and that the NBA doesn’t consider marijuana use a substance-abuse viola-tion. Draper wrote on his site that the NBA’s 5.1 percent arrest rate in 2010 would have matched the national arrest rate of 4.2 percent if five fewer NBA players were ar-rested that year, accord-ing to a San Diego Union Tribune study. Draper added that five or six NBA players were arrested in 2012, which would put its arrest rate at 1.1 to 1.3 percent. The

national arrest rate was 3.8 percent in 2012, he wrote. The NBA’s policy re-garding marijuana use in-cludes entering an abuse program on the first of-fense, a fine for a second offense and game suspen-sion for subsequent of-fense, Draper wrote. The Pioneer Press re-ported that Garofalo told reporters outside a com-mittee meeting room on Monday: “I don’t have a racist bone in my body. I pride myself on the fact that I’ve tutored in

inner-city Minneapolis and in addition have been a strong advocate for the charter schools in our communities. But there’s no excuses. I apologize. I’m responsible for my actions and just want to promise everybody I’ll do my best to not make that mistake again.” Garofalo was elected to the Minnesota House in 2004.


GAROFALO, from 1A

Farmington Police Officer Pete Zajac shows an example of a field sobriety test to one of the participants in a controlled drinking exercise at Fire Station No. 2 in Rosemount on Monday, March 10. (Photo by Tad Johnson)

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