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TribuneDakota County

Farmington | Rosemountand the surrounding areas

www.dakotacountytribune.comJanuary 30, 2014 • Volume 129 • Number 48

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INDEX

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ONLINE

NEWS

OPINION

THISWEEKEND

SPORTS

Thoughtful considerationLawmakers should exercise caution in determining how to use the state’s budget surplus.

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Country star in Apple ValleyBogart’s Place is playing host to country music artist Rockie Lynne as he releases his new album “Radio Road.”

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Football plan opposedRosemount High School’s athletic director and head football coach disagree with the state league’s decision on football scheduling.

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College project in bonding billGov. Mark Dayton proposed in his bonding bill that a Dakota County Technical College project be funded.

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Fund’s $1.5 million has city thinking big

Major propane shortage hits in midst of arctic blast

Welcome to the expo

Principal builds a school and hope

by Tad JohnsonSUN THISWEEK

DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Administrators of the SKB Environmental Trust and the city of Rosemount are thinking big. With a balance of close to $1.5 million in the trust fund that was created in 1992, leaders of the Rose-mount-based company, the SKB Trust Board and the city approved placing the balance in the city’s

Building Capital Improve-ment Fund with the idea that it could be used for one or more large projects. Among the most men-tioned large projects dur-ing the City Council’s ap-proval of the action on Jan. 21 was the construc-tion of a YMCA in Rose-mount. City Administrator Dwight Johnson said dur-ing the last year discussion about the trust centered

on if it might be best for the overall community to aggregate the funds in one project for the betterment of the community. “That might be closer to the true intent of the agreement,” he said. The trust agreement says the funds could be used for some of the fol-lowing: construction or maintenance of facilities for public recreation, fur-ther public education op-

portunities or provide for charitable needs. It would take a few months to complete the paperwork that would make the funds available for use, according to John-son.

YMCA possible Discussions between the city and YMCA-Twin Cities, which operates 24 recreational sites in Min-nesota and Wisconsin in

addition to camps, have been ongoing in the past two years. Though the YMCA has been mentioned as a possible use for the funds, it is not for certain that is where the funds would be dedicated as the YMCA idea has not advanced far enough for a financing plan to take shape. “I’d say it is looking

by Laura AdelmannSUN THISWEEK


Rural Dakota County homeowners are grappling with rising heating costs in the midst of one of the coldest winters in decades. Propane fuel prices have hit historic highs, said Steve Sargeant, vice presi-dent and general manager

of Lakes Gas Company, which provides propane throughout Minnesota and the upper Midwest. He said prices have climbed from $1.69 per gallon to over $5 per gal-lon since December. “This is unprecedent-ed,” Sargeant said. “And the supply is extremely dif-ficult.”

Gov. Mark Dayton and some Minnesota law-makers recently requested immediate action by Pres-ident Obama’s administra-tion regarding the nation’s propane shortage, which started when a major pipe-line was closed last fall. While supply dropped, demand rose as the wet fall forced farmers to use

more of the gas than usual to dry corn crops. Before reserves could rebuild, subzero tem-peratures hit and stayed, increasing demand for heating and significantly drawing down propane inventories, said Lake-ville River Country Co-op manager Ray Bohl. Dayton, U.S. Sens. Al

Franken and Amy Klobu-char, with U.S. Reps. Col-lin Peterson, Betty Mc-Collum, Rick Nolan and Tim Walz wrote the White House on Jan. 25 seeking “immediate action” in-cluding reduced shipping regulations and exports. The letter also states

Inspired to reach globally

Farmington students help

African schoolsby Jennifer Chick

SUN THISWEEKDAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

We Day Minnesota in-spired a Farmington High School junior to think glob-ally. Now Jason Lansing is planning a trip to Kenya this summer and Farmington High School has joined the cause by raising mon-ey to build a school there. “It’s just always been a dream of mine to help people in devel-oping countries, and that’s what I want to do out of

by Jennifer ChickSUN THISWEEK


North Trail Elemen-tary Principal Steven Geis just spent a week in the Dominican Republic and now he is back and ready to share his experiences with his students, intro-ducing them to a world beyond their classroom walls. In Constanza, Domini-can Republic from Jan. 20-28, Geis helped build a vocational school through the Lifetouch Memory Mission project. While there Monday morning, Geis planned to do a live webstream with students at North Trail. But while he was sitting

and sweating in 75 degree weather, his students were home for another day off from school because of record-breaking subzero temperatures. Students were invited to attend the school for the 9:30 a.m. broadcast and available staff members also par-ticipated. His recorded webcast is online at the Lifetouch Memory Mission web-site, lifetouchmemorymis-sion.com, by clicking the YouTube logo or Google Plus icon. Teachers will be showing the broadcast to North Trail students in the next few days. Geis spent the week

SKB Environmental’s endowment to go toward one or more projects in Rosemount

Home heating fuel prices skyrocket, state of emergency declared

Steven Geis introduces Farmington to Dominican Republic

Members of the Boeckman Middle School Student Council were at the Farmington Community Expo on Sat-urday, Jan. 25, to talk about the ways in which they contribute to the school. Many other organizations in the community also participated in the expo, which has been organized annually by Farmington Community Educa-tion. (Photo by Mary Waldschmidt, Farmington Community Education)

North Trail Elementary Principal Steven Geis visits with students in Constanza, Do-minican Republic. Geis spent last week in the Dominican Republic building a voca-tional school there. This trip was part of the Lifetouch Memory Mission program. (Photo from Lifetouch) See GEIS, 9A

See KENYA, 7A

See PROPANE, 8A

See TRUST, 7A

Jason Lansing

2A January 30, 2014 DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Doctor has 4,000 creatures in her careDakota County resident Rachel Thompson is zoo veterinarian

by John GessnerSUN THISWEEK


Moose are graceful for their size. Wolverines are feisty. Rats? They aren’t rare, en-dangered or expensive to replace, said Dr. Rachel Thompson, an associate veterinarian at the Minne-sota Zoo in Apple Valley. Thompson’s favorite animals include moose and wolverines, but she won’t play favorites with any of the zoo’s more than 4,000 residents. The Burnsville resident spent a recent morning operating on a rat who is part of a rat crew that provides “comic relief” by scampering across the stage during the zoo’s bird show. Thompson spayed the female patient and re-moved her ovaries and uterus to stop blood loss through her reproductive tracts. “She’s just as important as any other animals,” said Thompson, who considers all zoo animals ambassa-dors for their species and the zoo’s mission. Thompson, 34, came to the zoo six years ago. She moved to Burnsville in August 2012 with husband Aaron, dog Riley and cat Elsie. A full-time associate vet, she’s part of a crew that includes senior vet-erinarian Jim Rasmussen and part-time associate Tiffany Wolf. “We have a pretty com-prehensive medical pro-gram for all the animals at the zoo,” Thompson said. “They get lifelong medical care free of charge. ... We provide a very high stan-dard of care compared to maybe what people would even think of for them-selves.” Hailing from Sioux Falls, S.D., Thompson did

three years of pre-veter-inary and animal science studies at Missouri State University before enrolling at the University of Min-nesota’s College of Veteri-nary Medicine, where she earned her doctorate. “It took me a little while to land on veterinary medicine, compared to some of my siblings who knew right away what they wanted to do,” Thompson said. “I always wanted to do something with science and health as a focus, but I wasn’t completely de-cided on veterinary medi-cine until my junior year in high school. I went into college knowing that was what I wanted to do.” She was introduced to zoo medicine as a speciali-ty by a college advisor who did artificial insemination work with elephants. “I started getting ex-posed to the conservation work and more overarch-ing elements of zoo medi-cine,” Thompson said. “I really became interested in that and developed a pas-sion for the conservation and education compo-

nents that go along with that.” Most zoos — includ-ing the Minnesota Zoo — consider it part of their mission to promote preservation of plant and animal species and conservation of wild and natural spaces, Thomp-son said. “If you get to experi-ence seeing these animals in Minnesota they mean more to you, so that you might make more effort in your personal life — whether it’s by recycling, using less water, using less resources in general, con-tributing to projects, or maybe donating money to help with a specific conser-vation project, whether it’s a specific species or adopt-ing a park,” Thompson said. Most zoo animals are born under human care, she noted. “It’s not like they were plucked out of the wilds and introduced to an envi-ronment that’s very differ-ent,” she said. “That (the zoo) is all they’ve known. And they serve as ambas-

sadors for their wild coun-terparts.” Picking a favorite ani-mal is as hard as picking a favorite child, Thompson said. “I love working with the moose,” she said. “I re-ally like the wolverines as well. They’re feisty, very dynamic little creatures, and you don’t get to see them in a lot of collec-tions. Ours is unique in that we have wolverines.” Moose are “amazing,” Thompson said, graceful and fast-moving despite their bulk. She has worked on a Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chip-pewa project to collect data on Minnesota’s dwin-dling moose population. Thompson administered anesthesia to immobi-lized animals so research-ers could draw biological samples from them. “I did it last year,” she said. “I’m eight months pregnant, so I can’t ride in the helicopter this year.” John Gessner can be reached at 952-846-2031 or email [email protected].

Minnesota Zoo associate veterinarian Rachel Thompson, second from left, performed a medical checkup on the zoo’s 14-foot python Jan. 28. (Photo by Rick Orndorf)

DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE January 30, 2014 3A

Bonding request includes local projects Zoo, technical

college work up for discussion by Tad Johnson


Funds for two state-owned sites in Dakota County were included in Gov. Mark Dayton’s bond-ing request that was released this month. If approved, the Min-nesota Zoo would receive $12 million for renovations, repairs and a new exhibit, and Dakota County Tech-nical College would receive about $5 million to com-plete the Transportation and Emerging Technolo-gies project. It’s anyone’s guess if the funds will be approved in full as DFLers and Republi-cans will dissect the requests after the session begins Feb. 25. Sen. Greg Clausen, DFL-Apple Valley, said in all likelihood the $986 million in requests will be trimmed down. “At this time, it is dif-ficult to identify projects which may be eliminated or reduced,” he said. “It is my hope and goal that the Min-

nesota Zoo and Dakota County Technical College project allocations remain intact through the legislative process.” Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, said he didn’t see the need for the state to borrow another billion dol-lars since the state has a $1 billion surplus. “If these projects are needed, then government should pay cash for them as opposed to increasing the debt,” he said.

Garofalo said taxes were raised by over $2 billion last session. “Minnesota government has plenty of money with-out having to borrow more to spend,” he said. Included in the Minne-sota Zoo’s request are Dis-covery Bay renovations, the opening of a new Hawaiian monk seals exhibit, repairs to the Upper and Lower Plaza, and additional essen-tial repairs. Clausen said he met with

Dayton and Minnesota Zoo CEO Lee Ehmke on Dec. 17 to talk about the zoo’s request. He said the Senate Bonding Committee will tour the zoo in February. “My hope is that the committee will support the governor’s recommendation and allocate the full $12 mil-lion,” he said. The technical college in Rosemount request in-cludes renovations to com-mon instructional spaces and multi-use classrooms for the heavy truck pro-gram, heavy construction equipment program, and new emerging technology programs. Clausen said the DCTC project is in line with the governor’s emphasis on workforce training and is a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities priority as well. He said a bonding proj-ect such as this is an “invest-ment in needed public infra-structure improvements and asset preservation projects, which will strengthen the Minnesota economy, pro-vide better access to services and creates jobs.”

Email Tad Johnson at [email protected].

by Mike CookSESSION WEEKLY

Gov. Mark Dayton has whittled nearly $3 billion in requests into a capital investment, or bonding, proposal that totals just under one-third of that amount. His proposal includes $986 million in general-obligation bonding to-ward a $1.4 billion total investment. Local match requirements would make up the difference. “This proposal address-es many of our state’s criti-cal infrastructure needs, while strengthening our economy and getting more people back to work,” Dayton said. He estimated the pro-posal would create more than 27,000 jobs. “If you don’t do these projects you don’t put peo-ple to work,” Dayton said, adding that high priority was given to projects that are “ready to go.” Of the governor’s pro-posal, 38 percent of fund-

ing would be for projects in the seven-county Twin Cit-ies metropolitan area, 34 percent in Greater Minne-sota and 28 percent would go for statewide programs. By investment area: 27 percent is for education, 24 percent for economic de-velopment, 15 percent for environment, 13 percent for State Capitol renova-tion, 12 percent for correc-tions and human services, 7 percent for transporta-tion and transit and 1 per-cent for veterans and mili-tary affairs. The largest single in-vestment, $126.3 million, would be to complete the State Capitol renovation. Workers are currently in the process of upgrading the 109-year-old building, including repairs to its fa-çade and modernization of the mechanical, electrical, heating and plumbing sys-tems. With the new money, restoration should be com-plete by the end of 2016. Higher education sys-tems would receive $233

million worth of improve-ments, including $40 mil-lion in asset preservation for both the University of Minnesota and the Min-nesota State Colleges and Universities system, $74 million for additional in-frastructure improvements at 17 MnSCU campuses, $56.7 million for the uni-versity’s Tate Laboratory of Physics building and $12 million in research lab-oratory space on the Twin Cities campuses. Among other aspects of Dayton’s proposal are: • $50 million for hous-ing infrastructure and re-habilitation; • $17 million in transit investments; and • $12 million for eco-nomic development proj-ects and grant programs. “Governor Dayton’s robust bonding bill dem-onstrates strategic invest-ments in our state which will create thousands of jobs and support the con-tinued growth of Minneso-ta’s economy,” Rep. Alice

Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, said in a statement. She chairs the House Capital Investment Committee. “This is an excellent start to the conversation and it’s extremely encour-aging the governor has in-cluded many projects that have been in the queue for some time.” Rep. Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, the committee’s lead Republican, wasn’t as enthusiastic. “Today’s wish list is another example of Gov. Dayton asking hardwork-ing Minnesotans to over-pay for things they would never buy for their families or small businesses. … The governor shouldn’t send hardworking taxpayers a credit card bill for his out-of-touch spending,” Dean said in a statement.

This is an edited version of a Session Daily story. Ses-sion Daily is at www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/sdai-ly.aspx.

Capitol renovations are biggest slice of bonding pie

Minnesota Zoo officials will be back at the State Capi-tol again this legislative session to lobby for approval of funds requested through the bonding bill. Sen. Carrie Ruud, R-Breezy Point, (above) looked at a slow loris dur-ing a 2013 capitol visit by the zoo’s Kevin Weir. (Sun Thisweek file photo)

Chamber to host fourth WomEn’s Conference The Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting its fourth annual WomEn’s Conference from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at Lost Spur Golf and Event Center in Eagan. The event aims to con-nect women and enrich their personal and profes-sional lives by providing the tools and resources to fulfill their aspirations. The conference will feature a panel of women in business who are repre-sentative of varying ages and will share how they have successfully engaged all generations within the workplace, a featured speaker and a wine-tasting reception. More details about who will be the featured speak-er and panelists will be re-leased at a future date. A marketplace of busi-nesses will offer products and services related to En-

ergizing, Educating and Empowering women. The event, which an-nually has an attendance around 200, is a highlight of the chamber’s year. Past attendees have given posi-tive reviews of the confer-ence, saying is has moti-vated them on many levels. “The speakers were phenomenal with real life tips that I can apply to my growing career and en-hance my personal life,” one attendee said. This year’s event’s non-profit partner is the DCR Charitable Foundation. Funds raised will be used to give four, $500 schol-arships to deserving fe-male students attending high school in the Dakota County area. To be eligible for the scholarships, students must attend a high school in District 191, 192, 196 or 197; graduate in June 2014; and committed to

full-time attendance at a post-secondary insti-tution. The application deadline is Feb. 14. A Wine Pull will be of-fered at the conference with proceeds benefiting the DCR Charitable Foun-dation. People can make a wine donation valued at $10 and above through the chamber’s website. Sponsorship opportu-nities are available. Many local businesses have already offered to provide financial support to the event by sponsor-ship, including Fairview Ridges Hospital, An-chor Bank, Home Fed-eral, Gateway Bank, Sun Thisweek/the Dakota County Tribune, and Da-kota Electric Association. The early bird ticket price is $129 per person for DCR chamber members or $149 for non-members. A light lunch and refresh-ments are included.

Lost Spur is located at 2750 Sibley Memorial Highway in Eagan. Regis-tration will start at 11 a.m. For more information regarding registration, sponsorship or scholar-ships, contact the cham-ber office at 651-452-9872 or visit www.dcrchamber.com/womenconference.cfm.

Play event set The Apple Valley Senior Center is offering a trip to see the The Church Base-ment Ladies in “The Last (Potluck) Supper” at the Plymouth Playhouse on March 26. Cost is $38 and includes transportation and admission. Register by March 4 at the center or by calling 952-953-2345.


No new trails are necessary To the editor: In 2001 a Lebanon Hills Regional Park Mas-ter Plan was created with input by a stakeholders task force consisting of 13 park users and 13 rep-resentatives from affected surrounding municipali-ties. Development in the park is now being pro-posed with a new Master Plan backed by a major-ity of the Dakota County commissioners including the new chairwoman Liz Workman and vice chair-man Tom Egan. The 2001 plan desig-nated much of the park’s eastern section as the “preserve zone” with “de-velopment zones” located other areas. An asphalt connector trail is being proposed to traverse the park through the heart of this preserve zone under a new Master Plan. Many other new “soft trails” and features are being planned in the new proposal. The trouble is the “13 park users and 13 representa-tives,” or someone like them, have not been asked whether or not these new development schemes are wanted or necessary. At the open houses

in December and Janu-ary, I was amazed at the clever presentation of the various proposals. With regard to the paved con-nector trails: the posters and discussions that were offered centered on which of the paved trails I might like, rather than asking the question: “Is a connector trail needed in Lebanon Hills Regional Park?” No new trails are neces-sary. Further trail develop-ment will further segment the park, inherently di-

minishing existing natural secluded areas. For Leba-non Hills, “progress” does not always mean more de-velopment. There is much need of natural habitat restoration, including the eradication of buckthorn. Real progress in this park would be to get the buck-thorn situation under con-trol. I’ve lost faith in the cur-rent manner in which the exchange of ideas is taking place. I do not believe the Dakota County commis-

sioners are really listening to the basic questions. I have lost confidence in the Dakota County com-missioners that support the new Master Plan. It appears that meaning-ful, authoritative, citizen involvement is again nec-essary in this discussion, to bring the scale more in balance with the theme of preservation prevalent in the 2001 Master Plan. DALE FORDEagan

Minimum wage increase would provide stabilityTo the editor: Back in the 1920s Henry Ford began pay-ing his employees enough for them to be able to buy the fruits of their labor, his early cars. Forty years later Congress raised the minimum wage enough to afford minimum wage workers enough to raise a family. Today there is debate about just that question. Proponents of an increase say the mini-mum of the 1960s would run over $30 per hour to-day, after accounting for

inflation. Opponents say that would merely reduce the availability of jobs in the market place. Some economists challenge that otherwise widely-accept-ed idea, saying the raise would immediately be re-flected in pent-up demand in the markets for goods and services that would re-quire more jobs. If we are to be a hu-mane society, we must value the stability of fami-lies on a level that affords them a way to survive and care for children. This value is itself carried into the next generation. Chil-dren themselves must be equipped to care for their families through a decent education. An inhumane society would not care about the number of low-wage jobs it takes to put food onto the table. This debate must be resolved for the good of low-wage earners if our society is to retain a humane character. If we aim to preserve val-ues which care for vulner-able people, which prepare people to do well, we must take steps to improve our economy by rewarding people who work. We must educate our young and give people the means to earn their way out of the poverty, which has grown faster and larger than in recent memory.

LARRY KOENCKEagan

Obermueller’s tax policies favor middle-incomeTo the editor: Have you felt like the price of everything has gone up, while your in-come has stagnated or fallen? The Census Bureau reports those feelings have basis in fact. It says over the last decade, wages for middle- and lower-income taxpayers have actually declined, after inflation,

while those for upper-income folks have grown very nicely. In terms of public policy, this may mean better-off taxpayers may need fewer tax breaks than the rest of us. But in fact, they’ve gotten more of them until recently. Mike Obermueller, candidate for Congress in the 2nd District, thinks we need to end tax subsi-dies for big oil companies and ask millionaires to pay their fair share. Mil-lionaires tend to reply, “We actually pay most of the taxes. It’s for national security. If oil companies aren’t given every possible tax advantage, they might not supply us with enough gasoline.” Yet the most recent years have been off-the-charts for oil profits, increasing each year, and the Warren Buffett rule says rich folks should pay as high a percentage of their income as the rest of us, although they don’t just now. Obermueller’s got a point. Maybe it’s time to reduce the sweet tax breaks for the wealthy, and boost them for the rest of us. Economists say it could boost our economy’s demand, and small-business bottom-lines, and employment as well. While this may not coincide with the wishes of the already-wealthy, it may follow the advice of Pope Francis. He recently wrote that if we don’t at-tack the structural causes of income “inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems.” The pope agrees with 2013 No-bel-prize-winning Ameri-can economist, Robert Shiller, who believes our skewed income structure is “the most important prob-lem that we are facing now today.” Mike Obermueller has substantial backing for his desire to change our tax policies.

NANCY HALLBurnsville

Letters

Policymakers should be cautious with budget surplus

Seeking common ground may help improve schools

The governor, legislators and Min-nesota citizens all received good news in December. Minnesota Management and Budget, formerly known as the state Finance Department, in its most recent economic forecast projected an improve-ment in the state’s economic position of more than $1 billion for the current two-year budget cycle. When the Legislature comes back into session late in February, this uptick in available revenue will generate a lot of at-tention from policymakers across the en-tire political spectrum. This will include those eager to increase spending, those eager to reduce taxes and many wanting to do both. Inasmuch as 2014 is an elec-tion year for the governor and all mem-bers of the House of Representatives, we can expect considerable political dimen-sions to the public policy deliberations surrounding budget matters. We urge policymakers to be cautious in approaching their fiscal responsibili-

ties during the 2014 legislative session. In fact, we believe most, if not all, of this surplus should be added to the currently inadequate budget reserve. Past budget experiences should have taught everyone valuable lessons about state fiscal matters. Surpluses can evapo-rate quickly with economic downturns, and today’s actions can exacerbate to-morrow’s fiscal challenges. Remember the “Jesse Checks” employed to distrib-ute the surplus of the late 1990s? By 2002, newly elected Gov. Tim Pawlenty was confronted by a record $4 billion deficit. The “forecast balance” of $1.086 bil-lion projected this past December was immediately reduced by $261 million by operation of current law, almost all of which was to pay back state borrow-ings from school districts. This leaves a

“budgetary balance” of $825 million for consideration during the upcoming legis-lative session. It is important to note that the $825 million is not money on hand, but rather a balance projected to be on hand on June 30, 2015, 19 months from the time of the projection. While $825 million is a substantial sum, Minnesota’s two-year general fund operating budget is $39 billion. The pro-jected $825 million budgetary balance amounts to a variance of slightly more than 2 percent. This relatively small vari-ance could easily evaporate over the next 17 months. We would hope that Gov. Mark Day-ton and legislators read the statement of Minnesota’s Council of Economic Advi-sors included within the official Budget and Economic Forecast released in De-cember. The council observed that the “budget reserve remains well below the level bond rating agencies expect from

AAA-rated credits.” The council further noted that “Moody’s ratings guidelines indicate that AAA-rated states should have statutory reserves of at least 10 per-cent of current revenue.” Minnesota’s current reserves amount to 5.2 percent, the council noted. We know that legislators will face significant pressures to increase spend-ing and reduce taxes with this remaining $825 million budget surplus. We urge, however, that they heed the cautionary advice of the Council of Economic Ad-visors. We would hope that policymak-ers take a longer-term perspective and restore better fiscal discipline in Minne-sota’s financial affairs by avoiding spend-ing increases and revenue reductions dur-ing the 2014 legislative session.

An opinion of the ECM Editorial Board. Sun Thisweek newspapers and the Dakota County Tribune are part of ECM Publish-ers Inc.

by Joe NathanSUN THISWEEK


Can the Minnesota Business Part-nership, which focuses on making the best possible use of existing funds, and Parents United, which urges that more money be spent on Minnesota’s pub-lic schools, find things they agree on? Can the African American Leadership Forum, which represents more than a thousand Minnesotans, many deeply concerned about public schools, agree with what the Minnesota Association of School Administrators is suggesting? An intriguing new effort is hoping the an-swer to these questions is “yes.” I give former Minneapolis Mayor Don Fraser and former St. Paul Council of Churches Executive Director Grant Abbott considerable credit. Over the next few weeks, they are convening a va-riety of groups for public conversations that will be taped and available for view-ing online at Minnesota Achievement Gap Committee website. Their goal is to improve Minnesota’s public schools, with a focus on reducing

the achievement gap. First, they want to find several things these groups agree on. Then they hope to work with the organi-zations to focus on agreements in ways that make a real, positive difference for Minnesota students. Fraser started the Achievement Gap Committee in 2007. He wanted to pro-vide a forum for people to share their research, concerns, strategies and success in reducing the achievement gap. Over the years, teacher union presidents, uni-versity professors, district and charter educators, and a wide range of others described what they were doing. Despite their efforts, Minnesota has one of the nation’s largest gaps in high school graduation rates among students of different races. Abbott and Fraser

wanted to do more. So late last year, they began inviting a variety of groups to make brief, 15-min-ute presentations on a panel – with people they sometimes agreed with and sometimes disagreed with. Full disclosure: They asked me to be part of a panel that included Mary Cec-coni, executive director of Parents United for Public Schools; Maureen Ramirez, pol-icy and research director with Growth and Justice; and Chris Stewart, executive direc-tor of the African American Leadership Forum. The meeting, the first of three, was Jan. 21. Some of the talking points were: • Cecconi presented graphs illustrat-ing her view that Minnesota should spend more money on K-12 education. She does not think more money is the to-tal answer, but she definitely thinks it is part of what’s needed. More information is available at the Parents United website. • Ramirez explained that Growth and Justice has prepared reports showing key areas of what it describes as “strategic investment,” such as more high-quality early childhood education programs. • Stewart described what his organiza-

tion believes are five key gaps, including the “preparation gap” and the “belief” gap. Read more about education gaps at headwatersfoundation.org/Closing_the_Five_Education_Gaps. • I pointed to research about the value of strong early childhood programs for students from low-income families and of students taking dual-credit courses, the progress Minnesota has made and the need to do more. Over the next month, the committee will convene two more meetings to hear from other groups and then seek points of agreement. Cynics quote retired football coach Lou Holtz: “When all is said and done, a lot more is said than done.” Give Fraser and Abbott credit for tak-ing on tough but important issues. They may not succeed. But they may.

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

ECM Editorial

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Kent Boyum - Pastor

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SUNDAY SCHOOL - 9 AMWORSHIP - 10 AMEVENING WORSHIP - 6:30 PMWED. FAMILY NIGHT - 6:30 PM

Kent Boyum Pastor

christianlifeag.orgchristianlifeag.org

Catherine Byers Breet will present “The Job Search Over 50” at the Feb. 4 meeting of the Eas-ter Job Transitions Group. The group meets at 7:30 a.m. at Easter Lutheran Church – By the Lake, 4545 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan.

Small group sessions for those who would like the opportunity to process their job loss in a safe, car-ing environment will be of-fered at 9:30 a.m. in a pri-vate setting at the church following the speaker. Call 651-452-3680 for information.

District 196 converts staff days to add two student days to calendar District 196 has added two days of student in-struction to the 2013-14 calendar to make up for some of the instructional time that has been lost due to the cold-weather can-cellations this month. The calendar revisions were approved by the School Board at a special meeting Jan. 27. Under the revised cal-endar, all students will have school on Thursday, Feb. 13. That date had been scheduled as a day off for elementary and middle school students, for parent-teacher con-ferences. The first added day of school for high school students will be Friday, Feb. 14. That date had been scheduled as a day off for all students, but only elementary and middle school students will have Feb. 14 off un-der the revised calendar. The revised schedule for elementary and middle school conferences will be Feb. 12 and 13, from 4 to 8 p.m. both nights, and Feb.

14 from 8 a.m. to noon. The second added day of school for all students will be on Friday, March 14. That date had been scheduled as a staff devel-opment day for all levels, but will now be a day of school for all students. “We believe adding these two days for stu-dents is important given the unusual amount of instructional time that has been lost due to the weather cancellations,” said Superintendent Jane Berenz. “Having these ad-ditional days earlier in the calendar will provide for a better teaching and learn-ing environment than add-ing them to the end of the school year.” District 196 and most other districts in the metro area have canceled school four times this month – Jan. 7, 23, 27 and 28 – due to the extreme cold temperatures and wind-chill warnings. Gov. Mark Dayton canceled school statewide on Jan. 6 due to the cold.

Businesses invited to share their STEM careers Area businesses and individuals are invited to share their expertise with students at the District 196 STEM Career Fair from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at Eagan High School. Businesses and indi-viduals who work in the

fields of science, technol-ogy, engineering and math are encouraged to set up a display and talk informal-ly to students about career options with a STEM-focused curriculum. The program is hosted by Ea-gan High School.

Students from the Dis-trict 196 schools and many surrounding area schools will gather for two hours seeking information from professionals about career preparation and oppor-tunities in STEM-related fields. There is no cost to

business owners and indi-viduals to participate. Interested businesses and individuals seek-ing more information or to register by Feb. 1 can go to http://tinyurl.com/2014STEM.

The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, fall dean’s list, Tori Sherack of Rosemount. Ridgewater College, Willmar, fall dean’s list, from Rosemount – Steph-anie Blood, Scott Saun-ders.

Dunwoody College of Technology, Minneapolis, fall dean’s list, from Rose-mount – Mark Gerrits, Michael O’Connor. Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, fall dean’s list, from Farmington – Isaac Baer; from Rose-

mount – Shelby Erickson, Michael Gubbels, Brad-ley Jackson, Tyler John-son, Aiden Jones, Wesley Vansteenburg, Haley Weis. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, N.D., fall dean’s list, from Farmington – Nicole

Heagy, Garrett Heidel-berger, Bradley Jokinen, Alex Roschen, Allison Simon; from Rosemount – Brooke Bohnert, Luke Cassell, William Hoffman, Maggie O’Malley.

Area students nominated to service academies U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Burnsville, honored over two dozen students Tuesday at a ceremony in his Burnsville office to rec-ognize his nominees to the U.S. Service Academies. Farmington nominee: • Kaitlyn O’Reilly, a se-nior at Farmington High School, nominated to the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy,

and West Point. O’Reilly competes in swimming and is a member of the National Honor Society. Her parents are John and Gina O’Reilly. Rosemount nominees: • Ryan Condon, a se-nior at Rosemount High School, nominated to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and West Point. Condon competes in track

and field, and is an Eagle Scout, life guard, and member of the National Honor Society. His moth-er is Sheila Condon. • Grant Jackson, a se-nior at Rosemount High School, nominated to West Point. Jackson competes in wrestling and plays football, and is a member of the National Honor So-ciety and student council.

His parents are Joel and Nikki Jackson. Students interested in applying for a nomina-tion for the class entering the academies in 2015 can receive more information on the “Student Corner” page at http://kline.house.gov or by calling Kline’s Burnsville office at 952-808-1213.

College News

Job Transitions Group to meet

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.


One Rosemount reaches goal

Ramon Pastrano, CEO and president of St. Louis Park-based Impact Lives, met with organizers of the One Rosemount Feeding Families effort on Thursday, Jan. 16, to thank them for raising the $50,000-plus necessary to deliver 286,120 meals to Haitian refugees living in the Dominican Republic. From left are Rosemount Middle School Principal Mary Thompson, Pastrano, the Rev. Bill Goodwin, Mayor Bill Droste, and Tom Meaden. Goodwin and Meaden were co-leaders of the event. The packing event was March 2, 2013, at the middle school and Rosemount Elementary School. (Photo by Tad Johnson)

Eagan outlet mall names more tenants by Jessica Harper


Paragon Outlet Part-ners, a Baltimore-based real estate develop-ment firm, announced more tenants for its 409,000-square-foot out-let center currently under construction in Eagan. The list released Jan. 23 includes Reebok, Old Navy, True Religion, Lucy, Talbots, Gymboree and Movado. With the latest group of tenants, the outlet center is 90 percent committed. The latest tenants are in addition to the list an-nounced last summer: Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, Coach Factory Store, Michael Kors, Cole Haan, Banana Republic Factory Store, Gap Fac-tory Store, J. Crew, Polo

Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Adidas and Nike Factory Store, among oth-ers. The outlet center, which will serve the Minneapo-lis-St. Paul area, is the first major new development project within the Cedar Grove Redevelopment District. “Leasing has pro-gressed at a rapid and re-warding pace,” Paragon Outlet Partners Principal Nicholas King said in a news release. “As the Twin Cities region’s newest out-let shopping center con-tinues to take shape, we are delighted to welcome our newest tenants to our growing merchant com-munity.” Construction of the outlet mall began in June 2013 and is expected to bring approximately 400

construction jobs. Para-gon representatives expect the mall will bring up to 2,000 retail jobs to the area when it celebrates its grand opening this sum-mer. The mall’s construction has spurred development in the Cedar Grove Rede-velopment District includ-ing a hotel, and a housing and retail complex. Morrissey Hospital-ity Co., which manages the St. Paul Hotel, plans to build a 123-room hotel next to the outlet mall. Apple Valley developer Stonebridge Communities plans to build a four-story mixed-use building near-by. The proposed project includes 180 market-rate rental housing units com-bined with between 12,000 and 14,000 square feet of commercial space.

2014 Tax Guide

Don’t let gravity be your downfall.

One in three. That’s how many adults over 65fall each year in the United States. Becauseolder bones break more easily, falling injuriesfor seniors can be traumatic. Staying activeand strong is key — along with making homeenvironments as safe as possible. For moreinfo on senior fitness and home safety, visitorthoinfo.org and nata.org.


real positive,” Mayor Bill Droste said of the YMCA building in Rosemount. In the past few months, representatives from the city and YMCA met with officials with Dakota County Technical Col-lege and the University of Minnesota to talk about potential site locations. Droste said they have identified a location south of County Road 42 on both sides of Akron Av-enue as a potential loca-tion. A YMCA-commis-sioned study found there was strong support among Rosemount residents and DCTC students for the recreational, educa-tional and family services YMCA provides, particu-larly a pool. “We have real good sur-

vey data,” Droste said. He noted that Rose-mount doesn’t have a large privately-owned fit-ness facility like those in Lakeville and doesn’t have a public aquatics site like Farmington, Apple Valley and Eagan. YMCA currently op-erates sites that include pools, gyms, fitness cen-ters and other features in Eagan and Burnsville. Droste said YMCA construction projects are typically funded by a por-tion of funds raised in the local community.

Trust fund history The SKB Environmen-tal Trust Fund was capped at $1.5 million in 2008 and the excess funds generated by its investments were di-rected to be distributed to the city and to local orga-nizations.

The fund has helped de-velop projects such as the Dakota County branch Robert Trail Library, ath-letic fields and street lights. At the Trust Board’s Dec. 16 meeting, it granted $1,000 to the Rosemount High School Girls Hockey Blue Line Club and $933 to the Salvation Army. SKB Environmental was established in 1983 as a landfill for construction and demolition debris. Over the years, the com-pany has added efforts to recycle many of the waste materials brought to its lo-cations. Johnson said a contrib-uting factor that led to the decision to end the trust fund was the acquisition of SKB by Texas-based Waste Connections in mid-2012.

TRUST, from 1A

college,” Lansing said, “to teach in developing coun-tries. I thought this would be a great way to start that career.” Lansing was part of a group of Farmington High School students who attended We Day Min-nesota on Oct. 8, 2013, at the Xcel Energy Center. We Day was an educa-tional event that prompted young people to lead local and global change, and is part of the yearlong We Act Program. At the event, Lansing filled out a postcard indi-cating he was interested in participating in a youth volunteer mission and soon ME to We, an non-profit that organizes youth volunteer trips, contacted him. The group was orga-nizing a three-week trip to Kenya from July to August and asked if he wanted to join the trip. After persuading his parents, Heidi and Dave, Lansing began raising the $5,300 needed to fund his trip. He talked to Theresa Agerter, an assistant prin-cipal at the high school, and she was interested in

bringing his project to the attention of the student body. Since We Day Min-nesota, the school’s stu-dents had been looking for a project to support. This seemed like a good fit. In addition to Lan-sing’s own fundraising, now students from across the Farmington School District have started col-lecting change through We Create Change, a year-long fundraising campaign in support of international charity and educational partner Free The Children. The project is made possible in Minne-sota by Bremer Bank. Across the district, stu-dents are gathering change to fill special Free The Children/Bremer Bank cardboard school houses. Each $20 will purchase a brick to build a school in Kenya. All five elemen-tary schools, two middle schools, and Farmington High School are working together to raise $10,000 to build a school in Kenya. Farmington High School students are build-ing an 8-foot long wall to track the progress of their fundraising efforts. For each $20 raised for a

school brick overseas, stu-dents will place a paper brick on the wall to raise awareness and encourage their fellow students to get involved in We Create Change. They are hoping to raise the money by the end of the school year be-fore Lansing leaves on his trip. He will be traveling to southern Kenya to live with a Maasai tribe. “I’m hoping that I will be able to gain a really good understanding of what it means to be a good global citizen,” Lansing said, “to be immersed in a new experience and cul-ture, and I’m excited to meet people from the oth-er side of the world, to tell them that there are others here that want to see them succeed and prosper.” Lansing still needs to raise about $3,000 for his trip expenses by April 30. To donate to his trip, contact Lansing at [email protected], or call Farmington High School at 651-252-2501. For more information or to donate to the Farm-ington High School We Create Change project, call the school.

KENYA, from 1A


Obituaries

JOHNSON/TAYLOR-ALONSO

Eileen and Gary John-son, and Petra Meliet Alonso are pleased to an-nounce the engagement of their children Phyllip Chase Johnson and Susan Marie Taylor-Alonso.

Phyllip graduated from Apple Valley High School and St. Olaf College. He is a doctoral candidate of Audiology at the Univer-sity of Minnesota. Phyllip currently works as an Ad-ministrative Assistant in the International Business Development Depart-ment of Starkey Hear-ing Technologies. Susan graduated from Denton High School, Linden-wood University, and re-ceived her Master’s degree in Bilingual/Multicultural Special-Education from the University of Ari-zona. She currently is the Middle School Learning Support Coordinator at The American School In Switzerland in Lugano, Switzerland. A July 2014 wedding is planned.

Nelson/MadayAmanda Kay Nelson,

daughter of Mark Nelson and Diana Neameyer and Richard Daniel Maday, son of Robert and Jodi Maday are planning a July wedding.

Both are graduates of Lakeville North and now reside in New Hope. Richard is a product mar-keting manager at Pentair and Amanda is the owner of her own interior design company, Studio Grey.

Engagements Engagements

communities may be “in danger of running out completely — a develop-ment that would be devas-tating for those communi-ties.” The letter asks that funds be available for emergency deliveries of propane. Dayton declared a peacetime State of Emer-gency on Monday, activat-ing the Minnesota Emer-gency Operations Plan and coordinating response efforts across all state agencies. The National Guard is also placed on active duty to respond to emergency situations. He also directed the commissioner of com-merce to “use his con-sumer protection author-ity” to guard Minnesotans against price gouging. Minnesota Propane Association Executive Di-rector Roger Leider said production is “very tight” and expects supply will re-main limited until spring. He said most concern-ing is that people need another fill to get them enough propane to heat their homes through the winter. Kevin Sexton, general manager of River Coun-try Co-op, owned by its members in and around Dakota County, cited con-cerns about rising prices and dropping supply. “I’ve never seen some-thing like this,” Sexton said. “I’ve been around 30 years, and we usually have a little spike every year,

but I don’t think it’s ever gotten this high.” Sexton said the same propane fill that used to take truckers an hour at the terminal now takes al-most two days. “There’s nothing there,” Sexton said. “All that has been in storage has been sucked dry in Minnesota. There’s no gas.” Many propane compa-nies are rationing propane to customers who heat their homes with the fuel. Soaring propane prices are forcing Dwight and Donna Pederson, of Lake-ville, to take money from their savings to pay for it. Donna Pederson said their last fill in early De-cember cost $1.89 per gallon; now prices are at $5.69 per gallon. With just 29 percent re-maining in their tank, they expect to need a refill this week; their fuel company will only provide a maxi-mum of 250 gallons per fill. “I’m very concerned,” Donna Pederson said. “My hot water heater and furnace operate on pro-pane, so if I don’t have heat, the water freezes and my pipes burst.” Propane officials say things will get better once spring comes, and in the meantime are urging cus-tomers to conserve their propane supply by turning down the thermostat and not heating buildings or rooms that don’t need to be heated. “Hopefully, spring will come soon,” Leider said.

Laura Adelmann is at [email protected].

PROPANE, from 1A

Customers asked to conserve natural gas Minnesota Energy

Resources said cooperation was

great Rosemount-based Min-nesota Energy Resources asked customers to turn their thermostats down to 60 degrees on Saturday after a natural gas pipe-line in Winnipeg, Canada, ruptured further pinching supply. The company said one of three pipelines affected by the incident was ex-pected to return to normal Monday as Minnesota Energy asked customers to continue to conserve and avoid using natural gas appliances and to use electric space heaters but be careful not to overload circuits. “By everyone pitching in, customers, utilities, pipelines, local govern-ment and the media, we were able to maintain sys-tem stability during a very difficult time,” said Barb Nick, president of Min-nesota Energy Resources. “A combination of factors including extreme cold weather and the loss of natural gas supply really tested the pipeline system and customers’ patience. We know this hasn’t been easy for our customers and we thank them for their cooperation and con-tinued conservation.” Minnesota Energy said the rupture severely dis-rupted gas supply through-

out the company’s service area, which includes parts of Dakota County. “Our system is stable at this point, and we are watching closely to ensure safe, reliable service to our customers,” Nick said on Monday. “Customer re-sponse to this has been a great help. We still request that customers take mea-sures to conserve without impacting their individual safety.” The company informed customers on Tuesday that they could resume normal natural gas use. Minnesota Energy said it had curtailed natural gas service to commercial and industrial “interruptible” customers. The company said it expected interrup-tions could continue dur-ing this unusually cold weather pattern. Due to the problems with supplying natural gas, there also has been shortages of propane. Equal parts of natural gas and crude oil are used to make propane (see related story). Information on safety and cold weather tips is available on the Minne-sota Energy’s website at www.minnesotaenergyre-sources.com. If customers smell gas or suspect a gas leak, they should move to a safe loca-tion and contact the Min-nesota Energy customer service center at 800-889-4970.

– Tad Johnson

Farmington residents can dispose of medicine safely Residents can dispose of expired and unwanted over-the-counter and pre-scription medicines safely and anonymously at drop-off sites in Dakota County including the Farmington Police Department in the lobby, 19500 Municipal

Drive, Farmington, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Household medicines are accepted in any form, including prescription, over-the-counter and pet medicines. Examples of medicines that can be

dropped off include cap-sules, pills, inhalers, liq-uids, patches, sprays and tablets. Do not drop off sy-ringes, needles, lancets or thermometers. Take these items to The Recycling Zone, 3365 Dodd Road,

Eagan. For more information or for a list of additional medicine drop-off loca-tions, contact the Dakota County Sheriff ’s Office at 651-438-4710 or visit www.dakotacounty.us and search medicine disposal.

Weatherization loans available to Rosemount residents

Dakota County CDA has zero percent interest, forgivable weatherization loans for income-eligible Eagan and Rosemount homeowners through the Weatherization Plus Loan Program to permanently reduce energy bills by making home improve-ments such as wall and attic insulation, air infil-tration and bypass seal-ing, bathroom and kitchen venting, furnace repair or replacement, and installa-tion of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detec-tors. The loan features a zero percent interest, forgiv-able 15-year loan with no monthly payments. The minimum loan amount is $4,000, and the maximum

loan amount is $8,500. Eligible applicants must reside within the city of Eagan of the city of Rosemount, own their own homes, demonstrate ability to make mortgage payments, have a gross annual income within the program limits, and can-not have assets greater than $60,000. Weatherization Plus Loan applications can be requested by calling the Dakota County CDA at 651-675-4469 and are also available online at www.dakotacda.org/homeown-ers.htm#EAWP2. Call 651-675-4469 or email [email protected] with questions.

Share your good news with the

community!To place your enagement,

wedding, anniver-sary, birthday ad, birth announce-

ment, graduation or any other con-gratulatory note

please call Jeanne Cannon at

952-392-6875; or email:

[email protected]


shoveling, not snow, but sand to build pillars and steps for the new school. “What I thought we were coming down here to do was to build a building, however, it is much more than that, we are building hope,” Geis said in his re-corded interview. Geis, along with ap-proximately 50 other volunteers and educa-tors, flew into the capital of Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, last week and then traveled to the mountain town of Con-stanza. Geis said Constan-za is an agricultural area where residents grow fresh lettuce, beets, cucumbers and squash, but most of the food grown there is exported. As a Minnesota farmer, Geis was fascinat-ed by the agriculture. “It’s an impressive and very fertile valley that we are in,” he said during his web broadcast. The average laborer working in the field there earns $8 per day three days a week. “It’s incredibly hard to make a living so the whole notion of this is to break that cycle of poverty,” he said. The current school at Constanza educates 230 students, but once the vo-cational school is built, 400 students can be edu-cated there in welding, culinary arts, tailoring, construction and other vocational skills. “The whole notion of this school, it’s revolution-ary in the sense that the children, in their hearts, we are lighting this fire that they can do more,” Geis said. During the students’ recess breaks, the work group also took a break, playing football, baseball and Frisbee. At times, Geis said the group was frus-trated with the slow pace of the project since much of the building is done by hand, but part of the mis-sion was realizing the cul-

tural differences that exist between the United States and the Dominican Re-public. “Not only are we build-ing hope and transforma-tion here, we are building relationships, which is much more powerful and longer lasting,” he said. The Lifetouch workers will not finish the school building. “We’ve got the founda-tion started and the people here are actually going to finish it,” Geis said. “And it’s important that they finish it so that sense of accomplishment that they have it done is a wonderful thing for them.” While there, Lifetouch and the volunteers spent a day taking pictures of the students. For many, this will be their only printed photo. Once the photos were handed out to stu-dents, Geis said they were trading them like baseball cards. In addition to working at the school, Geis and other volunteers visited with families around Con-stanza. Most students live in two-room houses the size of living rooms in the United States. The vol-unteers received a warm welcome everywhere they went. “You won’t find them any more kind and show-ing that hospitality,” Geis said. “What I see coming to light is the scripture every single day, the story of the widow’s mite. Here they give what they truly need.” While there Geis tweet-ed photos and comments of the week’s activities. He arrived back in Minnesota on Tuesday evening. “It has been one of the most profound learning experiences and given me a new lens, not only on ed-ucation, but about culture, about the diversity of our whole society and I look forward to coming back sharing that with you all back in Minnesota,” Geis said as he ended his broad-cast Monday morning.

GEIS, from 1A

The Farmington Knights of Columbus will host a pancake breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb.

2, at the Church of St. Michael, 22120 Denmark Ave., Farmington. Pan-cakes, French toast, sau-sage links and scrambled

eggs will be served along with coffee, juice and wa-ter. Good-will offerings will be accepted. Proceeds will go towards DARTS.

Farmington Library events set 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. • Storytime for All Ages, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 6. Stories and activities for mixed-ages such as child care groups and families. Ages 0-6. • Farmington Library Afternoon Book Group, 12:30-1:30 p.m. The group will discuss “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hos-seini. The meeting will be at Dunn Bros Coffee, 20700 Chippendale Ave. W., Farmington. Call 651-438-0250 for more information.

‘Super’ pancake breakfast is Sunday, Feb. 2


Sports

Shakeup of football scheduling on the wayMSHSL approves district plan; Rosemount athletic director casts dissenting vote

by Mike ShaughnessySUN THISWEEK


It’s possible the 2014 South Suburban Conference football champion could be the last South Suburban Conference football champion. Not because the conference is going away, but because of a change in how the Minnesota State High School League will have its members schedule games. The MSHSL board of directors Jan. 23 voted to restructure high school regu-lar-season football by approving a “Dis-trict Football Scheduling” proposal. The plan, designed to help schools that have had trouble scheduling their full comple-ment of eight regular-season games, will divide schools into districts of at least 10, and preferably 16 or more, with proxim-ity and similar enrollments among the criteria for placement. Schools within a district then would collaborate to create schedules for each team. The plan will take effect in 2015. Section and state playoff formats would not change. Districts could have teams from more than one enrollment class, and there is no assurance that all schools within a conference would be placed in the same district. The MSHSL board approved the pro-posal 19-1, with Rosemount High School athletic director Mike Manning casting the dissenting vote. Manning said Tuesday it was his un-derstanding that 80 percent of the high schools in the state opposed district foot-ball scheduling. “I disagree with it as well,” said Rose-mount football coach Jeff Erdmann, whose team was Class 6A runner up in 2013. “I believe there are too many un-knowns ... “The big issue is the Lake Conference teams being able to fill a schedule. Our conference has made arrangements with the Lake for the past five years to play non-conference games. This issue could be resolved easily if another big-school conference would simply help with scheduling non-conference games with the Lake, like our conference has done.” Lake Conference member Eden Prai-rie, the 2013 Class 6A football champi-on, played two games against Northwest

Suburban Conference schools and one against a South Suburban Conference school and yet still had only seven regu-lar-season games, one short of the maxi-mum. Manning said he favored continu-ing to work with the Lake Conference, which has only five schools, to help them fill their schedules. But he added that the problems could be handled at the local level without introducing a new schedul-ing system statewide. He said he also would like to see cur-rent conference structures remain in place. When Farmington and Shakopee join the South Suburban next year, it will give the league eight schools in Dakota County and two in neighboring Scott County. “We’re spoiled,” Manning said. “The South Suburban Conference is such a good deal for us. We also think it’s good for our fans when they don’t have to drive as far to our road games. I don’t know if as many of them would travel to Wayzata or Eden Prairie.” A committee will be formed to deter-mine district lineups in the spring, with the goal to have them approved at the June 2 MSHSL board meeting. Districts then would begin work on scheduling for the 2015 and 2016 seasons with a Nov. 1, 2014, deadline to have them completed. The high school league will encourage schools in each district to form their own football-only conferences, complete with all-conference or all-district teams. While there was some concern ex-pressed about scenarios in which Class 5A teams would have to play Class 6A powers such as Eden Prairie and Wayza-ta, Lakeville North football coach Brian Vossen wondered if the changes would take away opportunities for the Panthers to play the large-school powers. Lakeville North is one of the smallest schools in Class 6A football, and Vos-sen said he believes it’s possible a district scheduling arrangement would match the Panthers with some Class 5A teams. “I don’t want to play 5A schools,” Vossen said. “Nothing against them; a lot of them have very good programs. I’ve told my athletic director, Russ Reetz, that I want to play the most competitive schedule we can get. “We’ve lost to Eden Prairie in the

(state) playoffs the last two years. To learn to beat a team like that, you have to play teams like that.” Class 6A football has 32 schools. The group consists of most of the state’s larg-est high schools, plus a couple of private schools (Cretin-Derham Hall, Totino-Grace) that opted up. “I think 16 is a perfect number of schools for a district,” Vossen said. “If they split the 32 (Class 6A) schools into two groups of 16, I’d be happy.” MSHSL associate director Kevin Merkle gave the board results of a foot-ball survey that found 18 percent of member schools currently had “chal-lenges” scheduling regular-season foot-ball games, and 41 percent had difficulty with scheduling within the past 10 years. Some of those schools are in outstate Minnesota, which either had to travel long distances to play a game or went with a week unfilled on their schedules. “The arrangement that passed simply passes the very difficult task of arranging new conferences to the athletic directors and principals of the 16-team districts,” Erdmann said. Filling football schedules has not been a problem in the 10-school South Suburban Conference since its formation in 2010. But the league does have some scheduling idiosyncrasies. Because the regular season is limited to eight games, teams can’t play all of the other schools in the conference in the same year. Some teams play conference opponents in all eight of their regular-season games, while others play seven conference games and one non-conference game. Those issues pale in comparison to the benefits the South Suburban Conference provides Rosemount, Erdmann said. “Our current conferences are geo-graphically based and help us out with short drives, reduced transportation ex-penses, and less dangerous routes for par-ents and students during rush hour traf-fic,” Erdmann said. “Kids get back from games at a decent time so they have more time for downtime or to do homework. Schools that end up having to make lon-ger trips for all sports all year will be greatly impacted by this decision.” Rosemount, the easternmost South Suburban Conference school, is about 25 miles from Shakopee, which will be the

SSC’s westernmost school when it joins the conference for the 2014-15 school year. Most of Rosemount’s other road trips within the conference are much shorter and don’t involve getting on a freeway. Erdmann said that appeals to schools such as Rosemount, where trans-portation budgets have been cut to the point where athletes in some sports drive themselves to road games. “If our transportation expenses in-crease we will have to raise funds or raise fees for participating,” Erdmann added. “I am guessing our district isn’t going to say, ‘Oh, now we have to travel to Eden Prairie, Mounds View or Stillwater more often through rush-hour traffic, so we will increase the funding for all of our sports at every level.’ ”

2015 season starts earlier The MSHSL board also approved an earlier start to the 2015 football season, made necessary because the Prep Bowl is expected to take place two weeks earlier than usual. The 2014 and 2015 Prep Bowls will be at TCF Bank Stadium. Because of University of Minnesota games already scheduled, Nov. 13-14 are the only week-end dates in November 2015 that the sta-dium is available to the MSHSL. In 2015, preseason practices will start Aug. 10, one week earlier than usual. Teams will be able to play games begin-ning Saturday, Aug. 22. Games are likely to replace the scrimmages that many teams schedule at the end of the second week of practice. The change means most teams will have played three games before the opening day of school. The change is likely to be for the 2015 season only because the MSHSL is ex-pected to move the Prep Bowl to the new Minnesota Vikings stadium when it opens in 2016.

Four classes for softball The MSHSL board also approved a proposal to expand the state softball tournament from three classes to four beginning in 2016. The tournament is ex-pected to remain at its present location, Caswell Park in North Mankato.

Email Mike Shaughnessy at [email protected].

Tigers hit a speed bump

(Top) Farmington guard Jordan De-

Croock grabs a rebound in a recent

boys basketball game against Spring Lake

Park. (Right) The Tigers’ Zach Speikers

tries to pass the ball once a defender moves

into his path. The Tigers are 14-5 overall but have lost their last two games. On Tues-day night, they had a

season-low point total in a 54-29 home-court loss to Shakopee. Eli Rockett, who scored

12 points, was the only Farmington player

with more than five. A quirk in the Missota Conference schedule

gives Farmington a quick opportunity

for redemption as the Tigers go to Shakopee

for a rematch Friday night. (Photos by Rick

Orndorf)

Rosemount wrestlers take place in top 10Irish one of five SSC teams that

are ranked by Mike Shaughnessy


Critics might dismiss South Suburban Confer-ence wrestling as being one team deep, but the state Class 3A rankings suggest otherwise. While Apple Valley continues to be the state’s dominant team, last week’s theguillotine.com Class 3A rankings had four other South Sub-urban teams in the top 12: Prior Lake (third), Rosemount (ninth), East-view (10th) and Lakeville North (12th). Rosemount is having one of its best seasons in years, cracking the top 10 in the state rankings and having several highly ranked individuals. Last week the Irish lost to Prior Lake in a matchup of ranked teams but came back the next day to beat Hopkins and Henry Sib-ley in a home triangular. The Irish tossed a shutout at Hopkins, winning 61-0. The team also finished fourth at the Eastview Invitational on Jan. 18. While it might not have been the greatest day for the team, which was miss-ing three of its varsity regulars, it was a huge day for some individu-als – most notably Adam Hedin, who won the 132-pound bracket and was named the tourna-ment’s most outstanding wrestler. Hedin edged Wayza-ta’s Nick O’Brien 5-4 in the championship match. O’Brien is a four-time state tournament qualifi-er and was Class 3A run-ner-up at 126 last season. “The kid from Way-zata has about 175 career victories,” Rosemount coach Brett Larson said. “Adam had a great tour-

nament, and the cham-pionship match was his 100th career victory.” Hedin, a sophomore, is the fastest to 100 vic-tories in Rosemount High School history. He’s ranked third in Class 3A at 132 pounds by theguil-lotine.com. Irish senior Adam Jackson won four match-es at 145 and took first in the weight class. A pin and a major decision were among the victories. Jackson missed some matches earlier in the season but is in a groove now, Larson said. “He really looked dominant,” the coach said. “It was by far the best he’s wrestled all season.” Jake Baker (113) and Payton Otterdahl (285) were second in their weight classes at the East-view tourney. Otterdahl lost in the finals to an undefeated wrestler from Winona who’s ranked fifth in Class 3A. Austin Valenzuela, see-ing his first varsity action

of the season, went 3-2 and placed fifth at 160. The Irish had four wrestlers ranked in the top 10 at their weight classes by theguillotine.com. In addition to He-din’s No. 3 ranking at 132, Baker is seventh at 113, Craig Syzmanski is 10th at 220 and Otterdahl is ninth at 285. The Irish wrestle at Lakeville South at 7 p.m. Thursday and close the regular season at Lakev-ille North on Feb. 6. Fol-lowing that is the Section 3 tournament, where Apple Valley is again the heavy favorite. Rosemount was sec-ond to Apple Valley in last year’s section team tourney and would like another shot. “I think we’re stronger than last year,” Larson said. “We have some tal-ented individuals and a good lineup overall.”

Email Mike Shaughnessy at [email protected].

Rosemount’s Cameron Womack (right) takes down De-vione Malone of Hopkins during a match Saturday at Rosemount High School. Womack won the 182-pound match 15-6 and the Irish went on to win 61-0. (Photo by Mike Shaughnessy)


The following activities are sponsored by the Rose-mount Parks and Recre-ation Department and the Rosemount Area Seniors. For more information, call the Rosemount Parks and Recreation Department at 651-322-6000. Monday, Feb. 3 – Bridge, 9 a.m., Do Drop Inn; 500, 1 p.m., DDI. Tuesday, Feb. 4– Cof-fee, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Rosemount Cub; Bid Eu-chre, 9 a.m., DDI; Blood Pressure Checks, 11 a.m., Rosemount Community Center; Catered Lunch, 11:30 a.m., RCC, RSVP required.

Wednesday, Feb. 5 – Water Color Painting, 9 a.m., DDI; Velvet Tones, 10 a.m., Apple Valley Se-nior Center. Thursday, Feb. 6 – Bin-go, 1 p.m., DDI. Friday, Feb. 7 – Euchre, 9 a.m., DDI; Bowling, 1 p.m., Apple Place in Apple Valley. “Always a Bridesmaid” at the DayTrippers Din-ner Theatre – Wednesday, March 19. Buffet lunch served prior to the stage production of “Always a Bridesmaid,” a com-edy about six high school friends who make a vow to be in each other’s wed-

dings no matter what. Cost is $50; includes show, meal, bus, and gratuity. The bus will depart from the Rosemount Commu-nity Center at 11:30 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. Reg-istration deadline is Mon-day, March 10. The Rosemount Area Seniors “Do Drop Inn” is open to senior citizens 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday. The room is lo-cated in the Rosemount Community Center and allows seniors a place to stop by and socialize dur-ing the week.

Seniors

Rosemount Parks and Recreation programs Register for the following Rosemount Parks and Recreation programs online at www.ci.rosemount.mn.us, at the parks and recreation office, or call 651-322-6000 for more information. • Spy Science, grades K-5, 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Feb. 14, at Rosemount Community Center. Look into the mys-tery behind secret codes, make some spy tools and more. Cost: $17. Registration deadline: Feb. 7. • Family Fun Festival, 6-8 p.m. Fri-day, Feb. 7. Activities include music, an inflatable obstacle course, jumpies and slides, carnival games and more. Open ice skating available from 6:30-7:30 p.m. (bring your own skates). Free. • Messy Art for Little Doodlers II, ages 2-5, 9:30-10:15 a.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 25 through March 18, at Rosemount Community Center. Children will paint and collage some raccoons on canvas, make a snowman, sculpt with clay and more. Children 2 years of age must at-tend with a parent; children ages 3-5 can attend with or without a parent but must be potty trained if attending alone. Cost: $49. Registration deadline: Feb. 18. • Free Open Gym on no school days at the Rosemount Community Center. Open gym for children in grades K-5 is 12:30-1:30 p.m. with a parent; open gym for grades 6-12 is 1:30-2:30 p.m. The re-maining winter and spring open gym dates are Feb. 14, 17; March 27, 28. No preregistration is needed.

Library programs Robert Trail Library, 14395 S. Robert Trail, Rosemount, has planned the fol-lowing programs. Call 651-480-1200 for more information. • Make & Take: Duct Tape, 3-5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13. Teens. • Game Day, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27. Play some games, have some light refreshments. Teens. • Blues for Kids, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Sat-urday, Feb. 15. Registration required be-ginning Jan. 31. Ages: 6-16. • Interviewing Skills, 2-3:30 p.m. Fri-day, Feb. 7. Presented by Dakota County WorkForce Center staff. Registration re-quired beginning Jan. 24. Adults. • Crafts from Old Books, 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12. Registration re-quired beginning Jan. 29. Adults. • Meet the Author: Maureen Geragh-ty Bouchard, 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18. Adults. • Robert Trail Book Group, 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25. The group will discuss “The Last Time I Saw You” by Elizabeth Berg. Adults.

Teen driver safety Tire Rack Street Survival, a driver education program for licensed and per-mitted drivers age 15-21, will be offered 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, at Dakota County Technical College, 1300 145th St. E., Rosemount. Cost is $75. Forms, schedules and more information can be found at www.streetsurvival.org.

Rosemount

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INDEX

Garage Sales Transportation$44• 3 lines, 4 weeks, All zones• Additional lines: $7.00• Private party only

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classifieds• Wheels 1010-1070• Sporting 1510-1580• Farm 2010-2080• Pets 2510-2520• Announcements 3010-3090• Merchandise 3510-3630• Sales 4010-4030• Rentals/Real Estate 4510-4650• Services 5010-5440• Employment 5510-2280• Network Ads 6010

1020 Junkers& Repairables


1000 WHEELS


$$$ $200 - $10,000 $$$Junkers & Repairables

More if Saleable. MN Licensed

www.crosstownauto.net 612-861-3020 651-645-7715

Looking for a job?Check out our Employment Section!

$225+ for most Vehicles Free Towing

651-769-0857

2500 PETS

2510 Pets

Kittens: 1 Champagne, 2 Orange Tabbies, $50 2 M, 1 F. 952-435-8049

2520 Pet Services

Rich’s Pet Sitting Great care, affordable rates. 952-435-7871

3000 ANNOUNCEMENTS

3010 Announcements

Burnsville Lakeville

A Vision for You-AA

Thursdays 7:30 PMA closed,

mixed meeting atGrace United

Methodist Church

East Frontage Road of I 35 across from

Buck Hill - Burnsville

3010 Announcements

Recovery International

Self-help organization offers a proven method to combat depression,

fears, panic attacks anger, perfectionism, worry, sleeplessness,

anxiety, tenseness, etc. Groups meet weekly in several locations.

Voluntary contributions. Dona:

612-824-5773

www.LowSelfHelpSystems.org

3090 BusinessFor Sale

CD ONE PRICE CLEANERS FRANCHISE31 store chain with one store in Hopkins. Fran-chise locations available in the Twin Cities. Call 888-253-2613 for info.

3500 MERCHANDISE

3520 Cemetery Lots

Lakewood CemeteryFour gravesites, $4,985/per lot.

Call 952-926-8842 or 1-715-220-2330.

3540 Firewood

Ideal FirewoodDry Oak & Oak Mixed

4’x8’x16” $120; or 2 for $220 Free Delivery.

952-881-2122 763-381-1269

3580 Household/Furnishings

QN. PILLOWTOP SETNew In Plastic!! $150

MUST SELL!! 763-360-3829

3600 MiscellaneousFor Sale

Piano Kimball Oak Con-sole w/bench $700 952-892-0143 Leave Msg.

3610 MiscellaneousWanted

Buying Old Trains & ToysSTEVE’S TRAIN CITY

952-933-0200

* WANTED * US Coins, Currency Proofs,

Mint Sets, Collections, Gold & 14K Jewelry

Will Travel. 30 yrs exp Cash! Dick 612-986-2566

3610 MiscellaneousWanted

◆ ◆ WANTED ◆ ◆Old Stereo / Hifi equip.

Andy 651-329-0515

4500 RENTALS / REAL ESTATE

4510 Apartments/Condos For Rent

Farmington1BR Apartment

$645/mo.,Heat included

Garage available612-722-4887

Lakeville- lwr lvl. includs. utils,cble,lndry,$800/mo, NS/NP -952-469-2232

Rosemount, 2 BR Off St. prkg. No Pets. Available NOW. $600 952-944-6808

4520 Townhomes/Dbls/Duplexes For Rent

AV TH! 2BR/1.5 BA, Fplc., W/D, lg. Kitch, $1200+utils. 651-437-8627

SunThisweek.comAV: 2BR 1BA 1 attach gar. fplc, $1025 + elec & gas. Avl immed. 952-356-7072

Eagan: 2 BR, 2 BA TH wood burn. fplc, 2 car gar. Priv. $1250/mo. 612-423-5881

LV: 3BR, 2.5 BA, TH. Off Dodd Rd & Cedar $1350 Avl. 2/1. 612-868-3000

4570 StorageFor Rent

Castle Rock STORAGE 6X 8 just $45. Outside starts at $29 [email protected] 651-463-4343

4610 Houses For Sale

Looking to $ell your Hou$e?

We pay more so call us last! - 651-317-4530

5000 SERVICES

5080 Child &Adult Care

Sonshine Friends All Ages AV 55124 Nana 952-432-0908

5140 Carpet, Floor& Tile

Above All Hardwood Floors Installation-Sanding-Finishing

“We Now InstallCarpet, Tile & Vinyl.”

952-440-WOOD (9663)

Escobar Hardwood Floors Carpet & Ceramic Tile

We offer professional services for your wood floors!

Installs/Repair Sand/RefinishFree Ests Ins’d Mbr: BBB

Professional w/12 yrs exp.952-292-2349

5% Discount With Ad

◆ ◆ ◆ MAC TILE ◆ ◆ ◆mactilemn.com

Ed McDonald 763-464-9959

SANDING-REFINISHINGRoy’s Sanding Service

Since 1951 952-888-9070

2510 Pets 2510 Pets

This space could be yours

952-846-2000

This space could be yours

952-846-2000

Turn your unneeded items in to

$$$$$$$$$Sell your items in Sun•Thisweek Classifieds

952-846-2000

Sun•ThisweekClassifieds

WORK!952.846.2000


5370 Painting &Decorating

5170 Concrete/Mason-ry/Waterproofing


5390 Roofing, Siding& Gutters




5420 Tree Care &Stump Removal

5510 Full-time


5510 Full-time

5510 Full-time

Family Owned & Operated Free Estimates

QUALITY SERVICE Since 1949

Licensed (MN# BC215366) • Bonded • Insured

612-824-2769612-824-2769952-929-3224952-929-3224

Concrete & Waterproofing, Inc.We Specialize In:

• Buckling Walls• Foundation Repair• Wet Basement Repair• Wall Resurfacing• Garage/Basement Floors

READERS’CHOICE

READERS’CHOICEAwards

www.MinnLocal.com

www.gardnerconcrete.netwww.gardnerconcrete.net

The Original

TY CIVRESYTILAUQ

9491ecniSEC

952-929-32

Family Owned & Operated

952 929 32952-929-32952-929-32612-824-27612 824 27612-824-27612-824-27

www.gardnerconcre

215366CMN# B(Licensed

• Garage/Basement Floors• Wall Resurfacing• Wet Basement Repair• Foundation Repair• Buckling Walls

We Specialize In:Concrete & Waterpro

gwww.gardnerconcrewww.gardnerconcre

READERS’READERS’EEOOHHCCHHA EEd

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224224224769769769769

• Bonded • Insured) 215366

• Garage/Basement Floors• Wall Resurfacing• Wet Basement Repair• Foundation Repair

We Specialize In:Concrete & Waterproofing, Inc.

REREAEAADERERRS’’IIAA ddAwardsCCH ICCHHACCAOHAOOOI EEdEdCdCdIHACACA

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Note: Newsprint does not fax legibly, you must fax a photocopy of the completed order form below.Please use this order form when placing your Classified ads.

classifiedsAdvertise in Sun•Thisweek Newspapers and reach 62,000 homes every Friday!

5510 Full-time

5160 Commercial &Residential Cleaning

Cleaning. 13 yrs exp. Reas. rates - Refs. available.Vicky 651-493-0856

Melissa’s HousecleaningReliab. 13 yrs exp. Exc rates S. Metro 612-598-6950

Professional Cleaning w/o paying the high priceHonest, dep, reas. Exc. refs Therese 952-898-4616


CONCRETE & MASONRYSteps, Walks, Drives,

Patios Chimney Repair. No job to Sm. Lic/Bond/Ins

John 952-882-0775

5210 Drywall

3-D Drywall Services36 yrs-Hang • Tape • Spray • Painting 651-324-4725

PearsonDrywall.com 35 yrs taping, ceiling repair, remodel. 952-200-6303

Classifieds…The Little Ads with

BIG results!

PINNACLE DRYWALL*Hang *Tape *Texture

*Sand Quality Guar. Ins., 612-644-1879

5220 Electrical

DAGGETT ELECTRICGen. Help & Lic. Elec.

Low By-The-Hour Rates651-815-2316 Lic# EA006385

JNH Electric 612-743-7922Bonded Insured Free Ests

Resid, Comm & Service. Old/New Const, Remodels Serv Upgrades. Lic#CA06197

Lew Electric: Resid & Comm. Service, Service Upgrades,

Remodels. Old or New Constr. Free Ests. Bonded/Insured

Lic#CA05011 612-801-5364

Lew Electric: Resid & Comm. Service, Service Upgrades,

Remodels. Old or New Constr. Free Ests. Bonded/Insured

Lic#CA05011 612-801-5364

5220 Electrical

TEAM ELECTRICteamelectricmn.com

Lic/ins/bonded Res/Com All Jobs...All Sizes

Free Ests. 10% Off W/AdCall 952-758-7585

5260 Garage Doors

GARAGE DOORS & OPENERS

Repair/Replace/Reasonable

Lifetime Warranty on All Spring Changes

www.expertdoor.com 651-457-7776

5280 Handyperson

0 Stress! 110% Satisfaction!Status Contracting, Inc. Kitchens & Baths, Lower Level Remodels. Decks.

Wall/Ceiling Repair/Texture Tile, Carpentry, Carpet,

Painting & Flooring#BC679426 MDH Lead SupervisorDale 952-941-8896 office

612-554-2112 cellWe Accept Credit Cards

“Soon To Be Your Favorite Contractor!”

Statuscontractinginc.comFind Us On Facebook

952-484-3337 Call RayR & J

Construction* Decks * Basements*Kitchen/Bath Remod*Roofing & Siding*All Types of Tile

Free Quotes & Ideas

A-1 Work Ray’s Handyman No job too small!!

Quality Work @ Competitive Prices! Free Estimates.

Ray 612-281-7077

All Home Repairs! Excell Remodeling, LLC Interior & Exterior Work

One Call Does it All!Call Bob 612-702-8237or Dave 612-481-7258

Dakota Home Improvement

Kitchens, Baths, Bsmts Drywall, Tile & Decks

CCs accept’d 952-270-1895


*A and K PAINTING*Spruce Up Your Home

For The New Year! Interior Painting now! Free Est.

952-474-6258 Ins/BondMajor Credit Card Accepted

Ben’s Painting

Int/Ext, Drywall Repair Paint/Stain/Ceilings. We accept Visa/MC/Discvr.,

952-432-2605 DAVE’S PAINTING

and WALLPAPERINGInt/Ext • Free Est. • 23 Yrs.

Will meet or beat any price! Lic/Ins

Visa/MC 952-469-6800

**Mike the Painter Interi-or/ exterior, Wallpaper, 35 yrs exp, Ins 612-964-5776


A Family Operated Business

Roofing/Tear-offsNew Construction

BBB Free Est. MC/Visa Lic # BC170064

No Subcontractors Used. Ins. 952-891-8586

GOT ICE DAMS? Roof, snow & ice removal

Dun-Rite Roofing Co.952-461-5155 Lic# 2017781

www.DunRiteMN.com


Roof Repairs & Roof Snow Removal - 30 Yrs Insured - Lic#20126880

John Haley #1 Roofer, LLC. Call 952-925-6156


◆ ROOF SNOW & ICE REMOVAL

Roofing ◆ Siding ◆ Insulation

TOPSIDE, INC. 612-869-1177 ◆Insured Lic CR005276 ◆ Bonded

34 Yrs Exp. A+ Rating BBB

5410 Snow Removal

Ice Dams SteamedRoof Snow Removal-Reas $

Roofers 612-750-8252

Roof Snow Removal & Low Pressure Steaming.

Insured 612-226-5819

SNOW PLOWINGCommercial & ResidentialDependable - Insured - Exp’dLSC Construction Svcs, IncMbr: Better Business Bureau Free Ests. 952-890-2403

Visit us atSunThisweek.com


$0 For Estimate Timberline Tree & Landscape.

Winter Discount - 25% Off Tree Trimming, Tree

Removal, Stump Grinding 612-644-8035 Remove Large

Trees & Stumps CHEAP!!

A Good Job!! 15 yrs exp.Thomas Tree Service

Immaculate Clean-up! Tree Removal/TrimmingLot Clearing/Stump Removal Free Ests 952-440-6104

5500 EMPLOYMENT

5510 Full-time

Automotive Service Tech, Burnsville, Mobility Tech to service & trouble shoot electrical & mechanical issues on handicap con-verted vehicles. Automo-tive exp. required. email: [email protected] or fax 763-497-3540.

Carpenters WantedEstablished company

seeking self motivated, hard working individu-

als. Excellent pay. Room for advancement.

Immediate start. Call Chris at

612-749-9752

Castle Rock Bank is currently accepting applications for a full-time teller position. Previous teller experi-ence is preferred with Spanish as a second language a plus. Con-tact either Dave Nicolai or Jane at 651-463-4014

5510 Full-time

Drivers Full-time OTR, Van/ Reef-er. Minimum 2 yrs re-quired. Late Model equip-ment. Regional/ Long haul. Class A CDL required. Weekend Home time. .42 cents/mile starting wage. Call Nik: 651-325-0307

SELL IT, BUY ITin Sun Classifieds

952.846-2000 orSunThisweek.com

5510 Full-time

DRIVERS- Full Benefits/Home Weekly.Ashley Distribution Ser-vices seeks the following positions: *LTL Drivers-*UP to $65-$75K/1st YEAR* Ability to Enter Canada.*Truckload *Up to $58-$62K/1st YEAR *No Touch Deliveries Class A CDL & at least 1 year current OTR exp. Clean MVR/PSP Reports. We offer Paid VACA, 401k,Med/Life/Drug/Den-

tal! Cal1-800-837-2241 8AM to 4PM CST for info & app or email: jobs@

ashleydistributionservices.com

5510 Full-time

DESIGNER / SALES NEEDED

Diversified Distributors, Inc., a supplier of Kitch-en and Bath Cabinetry is seeking an exp. designer to share in our growth & success. Responsibili-ties include: Kitchen & Bath Design, Project Management & Sales. Qualified candidates must be organized, have a minimum of five years design exp., be comput-er literate (20/20 Design Program/ Version 8.1) and motivated. We offer health benefits, 401K & paid vacation.

Apply in person at: DIVERSIFIED

DIST., INC.11921 Portland Ave. So., Ste A.

Burnsville, MN 55337 (952)808-9646

Education

TEACHERSNew Horizon Academy in Lakeville is now accepting

resumes for: Early Childhood

Teachers! Applicants must qualify under MN Rule 3. 401K, health and life insurance, childcare discount & much more! For more informa-tion or to schedule an in-terview contact Lori at 952-469-6659 or submit resume

to: [email protected]. E.O.E.


5530 Full-time orPart-time

5520 Part-time


5520 Part-time

5520 Part-time

DARTS - PT Homemakers

DARTS – PT Homemak-ers needed in BV, LV, & AV. Seeking caring, responsible people to provide housekeep-

ing / companionship for older adults. Please fill-out

our online app. at dartsconnects.org Mail or drop off the

app to DARTS. 1645 Marthaler, West

St Paul. M-F 9-4. EOE

General Office Cleaning5pm-9pm Mon-Fri.

Coon Rapids, Blaine Brooklyn Park, New Hope

Fridley, Plymouth, Hastings, Cottage Grove, Ham Lake, and St Francis. Apply in person Mon-Fri

8am-4pm.Mid-City Cleaning

8000 University Ave. NE. Fridley. 763-571-9056

NEWSPAPER DELIVERY

Do you have some spare time on Thurs/Friday?Earn some extra cash! ECM DISTRIBUTION is looking for you! We currently have motor routes in Burnsville, Eagan, Apple Valley, Rosemount, Farming-ton, Lakeville. A typical route takes 1 to 2 hours. Motor routes require a reliable vehicle. Delivery time frames are long enough to allow flexibility for your schedule. Give us a call for more details.

ECM DISTRIBUTION

952-846-2070

Retail/ClerkPT- Evenings & Weekends

for responsible adult.Apply in person:

Blue Max Liquors14640 10th Ave S.

Burnsville

5520 Part-time

Permanent PT TELLER

Provincial Bank, lo-cated near downtown Lakeville, is looking for an individual with great customer service skills and availability to work approximately 15-20 hrs/wk. Hours are flexible but typically re-quire 2 or 3 days a week w/alternate Saturdays. Pick up an application at any of our offices or call for more info 952-469-2265.


Drivers: LOCAL St. Paul Openings! Comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision, Life & More! Paid Orienta-tion! 1yr Class-A CDL exp req. America’s Service Line: 1-855-273-8068

HIRING: Experienced Hydraulic Cylinder Re-pair Technician, Lakev-ille. Email: [email protected] / call 612-314-3778

Leaps and Bounds Child Care Center

is now hiring full & part time teachers, assistant teachers and aides. Ap-plication available at http://www.leapsand boundscc.com/ Or fax resume to 651-322-1478. Call 651-423-9580 with questions.


Production Staff to pro-duce plants. Apply: Wagner Greenhouses 6024 Penn Ave S. Mpls. M-F, 8-4:30


Spartan Staffing currently has several openings for a custom metal fabrication company in Bloomington.* METAL FINISHERS

* SORTERS* ASSEMBLERS

1st and 2nd shifts. Qualified candidates must be safety conscious, lift up to 50 lbs, have good count-ing skills & excellent at-tendance! Previous metal experience in a manufac-turing environment pref-ferred. Spartan is an EEO and may conduct a drug screen and background check prior to placement. If you are interested please call the branch for more in-formation at 651-774-9675 or apply online at: www.spartanstaffing.com.

Visit us atSunThisweek.com

Tax Airfreight is seeking an Import Freight Coordinator!Monday-Friday,

7:30 AM – 3:00 PMResponsible for customer care functions for import

freight customers. Minimum 6 months freight import experience re-quired (handling calls,

data entry, etc.).Apply today:

917 Lone Oak Rd. Ste 800Eagan, MN 55121

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ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20Aries, you are inspired to take on the world, but you maywant to focus on smaller goals this week. Finishing a long-lin-gering work project is a viable option.

TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21Taurus, something does not seem to be falling into place.Take stock of things at home and at work to see if you cancrack this nut. A little more investigation many be necessary.

GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21You may be offered a professional opportunity this week thatis too good to pass up, Gemini. Despite this great offer, doyour best to stay focused on work for the next several days.

CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22Exercise caution and do not jump to any conclusions at work,Cancer. While you may know what your boss expects fromyou, it is better to wait to hear what he or she has to say.

LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23Leo, you can envision exciting adventures ahead, and thosetimes will be here before you know it. Channel your enthusi-asm so you can get a head start on planning your adventure.

VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22Virgo, you have a desire to be different from everyone elsethis week. It's good to be original, but don't stray too far offthe beaten path or you may find yourself lost.

LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23Libra, a friend may shock you by doing something really out-rageous. You do not know what to make of this change inpersonality, but do your best to take it in stride.

SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22Scorpio, work figures to put a lot on your plate in the comingweek. You can handle everything that comes your way, solong as you keep your cool and continue to work hard.

SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21You may be tempted to sneak off and play hooky from work,Sagittarius. Just make sure you handle all of your obligationsfirst. Now is not the best time to kick up your heels.

CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20Capricorn, you have so much to do now that your mind maybe in a complete jumble. Others will come at you with ques-tions, but take a deep breath and answer them one at a time.

AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18Change is not the best idea right now, Aquarius. It is muchbetter to stick with the status quo for a little while longer.Then you will have enough stability to make a change.

PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20Pisces, you have many new ideas about how to get richquick, but you will probably want to find more sensible waysto earn a living.

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theater and arts briefs

theater and arts calendar

family calendarTo submit items for the Family Calendar, email:

[email protected].

Friday, Jan. 31 Family Fun Night, 5:30-8 p.m., Church of St. Joseph and School, 13900 Biscayne Ave. W., Rosemount. Theme: Under the Big Top. Carnival games, prizes, music, raffles, silent auction and more. Pasta dinner served until 7 p.m. Con-cessions available. Free admis-sion. Dinner tickets at the door: $6 children, $9 adult, $30 family maximum. Information: www.stjosephcommunity.org or 651-423-1658.

Saturday, Feb. 1 Winter Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to noon, Eagan Com-munity Center, 1501 Central Parkway, Eagan. Items for sale include locally produced food items such as honey, jams, sauces, sweet treats, artisan bakery items, strudel, root veg-etables and more. Youth Ice Fishing Con-test, noon to 2 p.m., Valley Lake Park, 16050 Garrett Path. Prizes will be awarded to youth ages 13 and under for different fish categories. Participants need to bring their own fishing equipment and bait. Register the day of the contest. Free. Sponsored by Lakeville Knights of Columbus. Mid-Winter Fest “All Com-ers” Pinewood Derby, noon to 3 p.m., Apple Valley Commu-nity Center, 14603 Hayes Road. Open to all. Sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America. Infor-mation: http://chiefblackdog.nsbsa.org, click on Mid-Winter Fest Pinewood Derby. Bingo fundraiser for the Farmington High School boys lacrosse team, 2-4 p.m., host-ed by the Farmington Eagles

at Celts in Farmington. Meat board raffles will be sold for $1.

Thursday, Feb. 6 AARP Tax Aide, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Burnhaven Library, 1101 W. County Road 42, Burnsville. Tax preparation help for low-income seniors, adults and families. Registration re-quired at 952-891-0300. Legal Resources, 6-8 p.m., Galaxie Library, 14955 Galaxie Ave., Apple Valley, 952-981-7045. Learn how to find infor-mation on various legal issues. Information/registration: www.co.dakota.mn.us/libraries.

Friday, Feb. 7 Forever Wild Family Fri-day: Sledding Party, 7-8:30 p.m., Lebanon Hills Regional Park, 860 Cliff Road, Eagan. Bring your sled for a fun party on the lit sledding hill. All ages. Free. Registration requested at www.co.dakota.mn.us/parks.

Saturday, Feb. 8 How To Make 2014 Your Best Year Ever, women’s well-ness seminar, 9-11 a.m., Lake-ville Chart House, 11287 Klam-ath Trail, Lakeville. Free, but a $10 tax-deductible donation to the 360 Communities’ Lewis House will be taken at the door; receipts given. Information: www.lakevillefitwomen.com. Co-Parenting Following Divorce, 9-11 a.m., InnerLight Healing Center, 17305 Cedar Ave. S., Lakeville. Cost: $39. Registration/information: coun-selingandhealing.com, 952-435-4144. Volunteer Income Tax As-sistance (VITA), 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Galaxie Library, 14955 Galaxie Ave., Apple Valley, 952-981-7045. For those who are age 65 or older, disabled, speak limited English, or whose an-

nual household income is less than $52,000. Free income tax preparation assistance. Bring tax-deductible expenses (in-cluding property tax or rental payment records), photo ID, family Social Security cards and a copy of last year’s tax re-turn. No appointments taken.

Ongoing Feed My Starving Children South Metro Mobilepack, Feb. 3-8, various shifts available, Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, 3611 North Berens Road N.W., Prior Lake. Volun-teers are needed to help pack 3 million meals to be distributed to children across the world. To register or donate: www.fund-raising.fmsc.org/southmetro. For questions, contact Heather Hecht at [email protected].

Blood drives The American Red Cross will hold the following blood drives. Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit red-crossblood.org to make an ap-pointment or for more informa-tion. • Jan. 31, 1-6 p.m., Advent United Methodist Church, 3945 Lexington Ave. S., Eagan. • Feb. 3, 1-7 p.m., Berean Baptist Church, 309 E. County Road 42, Burnsville. • Feb. 3, 12:30-6:30 p.m., Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 3930 Rahn Road, Ea-gan. • Feb. 4, 12:30-6:30 p.m., Shepherd of the Valley Luther-an Church, 12650 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley. • Feb. 6, 1-6 p.m., Mt. Oliv-et Assembly of God Church, 14201 Cedar Ave. S., Apple Valley. • Feb. 8, 10:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Burnhaven Library, 1101 W. County Road 42, Burnsville.

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

[email protected].

Books Lori Campbell, 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, Dakota Lodge, Thompson County Park, 360 Butler Ave. E., West St. Paul, 952-891-7000. Meet Lori Campbell, an expert in wellness and aging and author of “Awaken Your Age Poten-tial: Exploring Chosen Paths of Thrivers,” and learn how to master the art of aging. Spon-sored in part with TriDistrict Community Education. Regis-tration required: Call 651-403-8313 or visit www.celearn4ever.org. Master storyteller Noth-ando Zulu, 7-7:45 p.m. Mon-day, Feb. 3, Burnhaven Library, 1101 W. County Road 42, Burnsville, 952-891-0300. Zulu will recreate colorful characters from African and African-Amer-ican folktales. Free.

Exhibits Best of Bonnie Feather-stone & Friends exhibit will be on display through Feb. 1 in the art gallery at Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Information: 952-895-4685, facebook.com/bon-nieandfriends. Winter Art Experience, an exhibit sponsored by the Ea-gan Art Festival and Eagan Art House, is on display through February at the Eagan Byerly’s, 1299 Promenade Place. Infor-mation: 651-675-5521.

Music Patty Peterson with Family & Friends, 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, Valleywood Golf Course clubhouse, 4851 McAndrews Road, Apple Valley. Part of the Frozen Apple concert series by the Apple Valley Arts Founda-tion. Free. Information: avarts-foundation.org. Saturday Musical Matinee with MacPhail Center for Mu-sic cellist Jacqueline Ultan and flutist Julie Johnson, 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, Apple Valley Villa, 14610 Garrett Ave., Apple Valley. Features music through the centuries from around the world. Refreshments follow. Free. RSVP at 952-236-2600. Sponsored by Augustana Care and MacPhail Center for Music. Rockie Lynne “Radio Road” CD release event Sat-urday, Feb. 8, at Bogart’s Place, 14917 Garrett Ave., Apple Val-ley. Pre-show dinner at 6 p.m. with main show at 9 p.m. Din-ner and main show, $40, http://shop.rockielynnemusicgroup.com. Tickets for the 9 p.m. per-

formance are $15 at the door. Information: www.rockielynne.com.

Theater Auditions for “The Dixie Swim Club” by Expressions Community Theater, 6-8 p.m. Feb. 3-4, at the Lakeville Area Arts Center, 20965 Holyoke Ave. Roles for five women who will be portrayed at ages 44, 49, 54 and 77. Must be able to speak with a Southern accent. Performances will be April 4-6, 11-13. Call backs, if needed, will be 6 p.m. Feb. 6. Informa-tion: 952-985-4640. “Snow White & the 7 or 8 Dwarfs,” presented by Lake-ville Area Community Educa-tion and Giant Step Children’s Theatre, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, Feb. 7-8, Feb. 14-15 and Feb. 17, Lakeville North High School, 19600 Ipava Ave. Tickets: $6 in advance at 952-232-2150 (www.lakevilleareacommuni-tyed.net) or $8 at the door. “Ole & Lena’s 50th Wed-ding Anniversary and Vow Renewal,” 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Tickets: $20 at 952-895-4680 or Ticketmaster.com.

Workshops/classes/other Allegro Choral Academy is accepting registrations for its second semester for grades 2-8. Registrations accepted until classes are full. Campuses in Lakeville and Rosemount. Information: allegroca.org, [email protected] or 952-846-8585. Valentine Cards in Water-color, ages 14 and older, 6:30-9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, Eagan Art House, 3981 Lexington Ave. S. Cost: $34. Supplies provid-ed. Registration/information: 651-675-5521. Drawing from the Imagi-nation, ages 11 and older, 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays, Feb. 5-19, Eagan Art House, 3981 Lexing-ton Ave. S. Cost: $62. Supplies provided. Registration/informa-tion: 651-675-5521. Family Saturday Sampler - Painting, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, Eagan Art House, 3981 Lexington Ave. S. For families with children ages 6 and above. Cost: $20 per family up to four people, $3 each additional per-son. Supplies provided. Reg-istration/information: 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 Lake-ville Senior Center, 20110 Holy-oke 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].

Call for artists for ‘Art Is …’ The Eagan Art House is accepting registrations for the 2014 exhibit “Art Is … Exhibit and Artist Perspective.” The exhibit highlights what art means to individual artists and is open to all local working artists living in Eagan or Dakota County. Each participant is re-quired to write an artist statement and can submit up to two pieces, free of charge. All two-dimen-sional media will be ac-cepted. The exhibit will be displayed at Byerly’s and Ring Mountain Creamery in Eagan. Registrations are due by Feb. 21 by email to [email protected]. Drop-off is at the Ea-gan Art House between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28. The exhibit will be on display from Mon-day, March 3, through Wednesday, April 30. Visit cityofeagan.com/index.php/recreation/ea-gan-art-house for registra-tion forms and submission details.

Coffee Concert in Lakeville The Grammy Award-winning Chestnut Brass Company presents the sec-ond of this year’s Kingsley Shores Coffee Concerts at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Lakeville Area Arts Center, 20965 Holyoke Ave. “Our Lakeville pro-gram is ‘Made in Amer-ica.’ We’ll perform folk songs from diverse tradi-

tions, popular tunes of George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Duke Elling-ton, and two new works by American composers Joseph Turrin and Eric Ewazen,” said Larry Zim-merman, Apple Valley na-tive and trombonist. Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 students and seniors. Call 952-985-4640 for tickets and more information.

IMAX offers Language Days The Great Clips IMAX Theatre at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley is cel-ebrating languages from around the world with se-lect films shown in French, German and Spanish. French Day (films shown in French): Tues-day, Feb. 4, 10 a.m., “To the Arctic 3D”; noon, “Born to be Wild 3D.” German Day (film shown in German): Wednesday, Feb. 5, 10 and 11 a.m., “Deep Sea.” Spanish Day (film shown in Spanish): Tues-day, Feb. 11, noon and 1 p.m., “Deep Sea.” Spanish Day (films shown in Spanish): Wednesday, Feb. 12, 9 a.m., “Born to be Wild 3D”; 11 a.m., “Deep Sea”; noon, “Born to be Wild 3D”; 1 p.m. “Galapagos 3D.” Tickets are $9.75 for adults and $7.50 for chil-dren ages 3-12 and se-niors age 65 and older. For group reservations, contact 952-997-9714 or [email protected]. The Minnesota Zoo also will participate by presenting select indoor

exhibits in the featured language of the day. Up-per level language students use music, costumes, and props to interpret more than 40 animal exhibits. All days are geared to-ward language students in grades 7-12 and elementa-ry immersion students. To register a class, visit www.mnzoo.org/teachandlearn or call 952-431-9218.

Area choirs join symphony The choirs from Lake-ville North and Lakeville South high schools will join the Dakota Valley Symphony and Chorus at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Three Choirs Festival to perform “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. The piece was commis-sioned by the Royal Ar-mouries Museum in Great Britain and dedicated to Kosovo war victims. The program also will feature Dr. Angela Han-son’s solo performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 (The Turkish) and Egyptian March op. 335 by Strauss Jr. During intermission, the Dakota Valley Sym-phony will conduct its annual silent auction and Wall of Wine fundraiser. The Three Choirs Festi-val will be at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Tick-ets range from $5-$16 and can be purchased at the box office, by phone at 800-982-2787 or Ticket-master.com. More infor-mation is at www.Dakota-ValleySymphony.org.

All jazzed up in Rosemount Septonics, Night Owl Band open jazz concert series

Fans of live jazz can get their fix at Rosemount’s Steeple Center in the com-ing months. The Rosemount Area Arts Council is presenting three concerts in its “Jazz at the Steeple Center” se-ries, which opens Feb. 8 with performances by Twin Cities-based groups the Septonics and the Night Owl Band. Both bands feature gui-tarist Paul Renz, director of jazz studies at the West Bank School of Music and a MacPhail Center for Mu-sic jazz guitar instructor. Guests at the concert can expect a mix of jazz standards as well as swing, Latin and contemporary jazz pieces, according to Greg Twaites, the Rose-mount arts council mem-ber coordinating the series. The concerts continue March 15 with 651 Jazz, a quintet of Rosemount-based musicians including alto sax player Connor Carroll, a 2009 Rosemount

High School graduate who went on to major in perfor-mance sax at Indiana Uni-versity. The spring finale con-cert on May 3 again brings Renz to the Steeple Center stage; he’ll be performing this time around as part of the Paul Renz Quartet. The arts council is look-ing to make “Jazz at the

Steeple Center” an ongo-ing program, with tenta-tive plans for additional concerts in the fall, Twaites said. Tickets for each of the concerts, which run from 7-9 p.m., are $5 and will be available at the door and in advance at www.rose-mountarts.com.

—Andrew Miller

The Septonics (above) and the Night Owl Band are set to open the jazz series at Rosemount’s Steeple Center on Feb. 8. (Photo submitted)

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Jenkins: The Armed Man, a Mass for Peacewith the DVS Orchestra and Chorus and the

Lakeville North High Schooland Lakeville South High School choruses

Also featuring works by Mozart and Strauss Jr

Three Choirs FestivalSunday Feb. 9, 2014 3:00 pm

Stephen J. Ramsey, Conductor / Music Director

Fund raisingopportunitiesbefore theconcert or atintermission:* Silent Auction* Wall of Wine Drawing!

Ticketsavailable at

the BurnsvillePerforming Arts

Center box office,by phone at

Ticketmaster800-982-2787

or online atTicketmaster.com

ThisweekendThisweekend

For CD release, country star will brave the cold Rockie Lynne concert Feb. 8 at Bogart’s Place

by Andrew MillerSUN THISWEEK


Country music artist Rockie Lynne is no stranger to Minne-sota winters — he lived in Coon Rapids for a spell before signing his first major-label record deal and heading to Nashville – but the North Carolina native admits he never really acclimated to the arctic chill of the Land of 10,000 Lakes. “When I lived in Minnesota, my friends would come over and I’d be in the house with a stock-ing cap and a coat on,” Lynne said. “I love it in Minnesota, I love the whole way Minnesotans look at life – it can be 20 below zero and nothing really stops – but I never got used to the weather.” Lynne joked that he’ll be bringing every item of clothing he owns for his return to Min-nesota next month, when he’ll be performing a CD release concert Feb. 8 at Bogart’s Place in Apple Valley in support of his new al-bum, “Radio Road.” The album takes its name from the address of Lynne’s re-cording studio – housed in an old radio station at 1117 Radio Road.

Lynne’s self-titled 2006 debut album produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts – “Lipstick,” “Do We Still” and “More” – and since his breakthrough onto the national country music scene the U.S. Army veteran has been working to build Tribute to the Troops, an annual charity motorcycle ride he co-founded that raises money for families of soldiers who died in non-combat situations. Among the highlights of his country music career, Lynne has logged more than a dozen ap-pearances on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry and seen his music aired on TV programs in-cluding CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and “Fox NFL Sunday.” This past week saw him putting the finishing touches on the theme song for next year’s United Way campaign, which he was com-missioned to produce. Tickets for the concert at Bo-gart’s in Apple Valley are $15; more information is at www.bogartsplace.com. The Bogart’s event also features a pre-show dinner with Lynne; details are at www.rockielynne.com. Email Andrew Miller at [email protected].

Since the release in 2006 of his self-titled debut album, Rockie Lynne has been work-ing to build Tribute to the Troops, an an-nual charity motorcycle ride he co-founded that raises money for families of soldiers who died in non-combat situations. (Photo submitted)

DANCING INTOTHE NEW YEAR

Apple Valley’s Galaxie Library celebrated the Chinese New Year on Jan. 25 with a performance by the Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center. It was a pre-New Year’s party, so to speak, as this year the Chinese New Year falls on Jan. 31.

The event was part of the ongoing Minnesota Mosaic Cultural Arts series offered by the Dakota County library system; the next Minnesota Mosaic event will feature storyteller Nothando Zulu sharing African and African-American folktales at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3, at the Burnhaven Library in Burnsville. More about the series is at www.dakotacounty.us/library. (Photos by Andrew Miller)

Neil Diamond Tribute Philip Bauer’s Neil Diamond Tribute takes the Lake-ville South High School stage Saturday, Feb. 1. This is Bauer’s second appearance in Lakeville – the first was for a Johnny Cash Tribute in 2013. Bauer’s music career began locally when he won first place in the Minnesota State Fair Talent Contest. Since then he has performed all over the world. Tickets are $28 for preferred seating and $23 for balcony seating, and are available at www.LakevilleAreaArtsCenter.com or at the arts center at 20965 Holyoke Ave. The event is hosted by the Lakeville Area Arts Center and the Lakeville Rotary. For more information, call 952-985-4640. (Photo submitted)


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