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December 27, 2013 | Volume 34 | Number 44

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NEWS

OPINION

THISWEEKEND

Input welcome on master planDakota County Commissioner Tom Egan says input regarding the Lebanon Hills Regional Park Master Plan has always been encouraged.

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New Year’s with LouieBurnsville’s Performing Arts Center is ringing in the new year with laughter when it hosts Minnesota funnyman Louie Anderson.

7A

Early deadline for newspapersThe deadline for news submissions for the Jan. 2 and 3 editions of the Dakota County Tribune and Sun Thisweek, respectively, will be 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30. The newspaper office will be closed Jan. 1. The newspapers will be on a normal delivery schedule next week.

Lakeville has a new police chief Edina Chief Jeffrey Long will start in new post Jan. 20

by Laura AdelmannSUN THISWEEK

DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

After months of search-ing, Lakeville has a new police chief. Jeffrey R. Long will leave his post as chief of the Edina police force to lead the Lakeville Police Depart-ment starting Jan. 20. Long, 45, has served as Edina’s police chief since 2012, moving up from the department’s chief deputy in 2008. He started as a community ser-vice officer in the department in 1987, was hired as a police officer in Fridley, then returned to the Edina police in 1989, where he has held a variety of positions, including pa-trol officer, detective, sergeant and lieutenant, according to his resume.

Long said he applied for the Lakeville position be-cause of the opportunity it offers as a growing city. “I don’t like the status quo,” Long said. “Edina is landlocked; 16 square miles, fully developed. Ob-viously, Lakeville’s about

38 square miles with a large por-tion undeveloped. Being able to chart a new course and having the opportunity to lead a department like Lakeville is what made me ap-ply.” In Lakeville, Long will oversee 53 sworn officers and 11 staff; there are 51 sworn officers and 24 staff members at the Edina Police De-partment. City Administrator Steve Miel-ke said Long stood out among the finalists not only because of his ex-

perience as a chief, but how he has worked his way through the ranks. Mielke said that is an advantage because he knows what it is like to want to advance in a police career and what steps to take to accom-plish them. “We have a relatively young de-partment,” Mielke said. “It’s go-ing to need strong mentoring and training opportunities.” He said he was “impressed” with Long’s ideas for career enrich-ment opportunities for officers. “What struck me about Jeff was his presence, confidence and expe-rience,” Mielke said. “I just think he’s an outstanding chief, and I think we’re very fortunate to have him want to be our chief.” Long said he plans to spend the first 100 days on the job meeting with the department’s officers and

staff. Mielke said one of the top pri-orities he expects Long to address is to set the internal leadership and strategic direction for the depart-ment. Once Long gets to know the department, Mielke said he may make some recommendations for structural changes. “If he thinks a reorganization is necessary, we’ll talk that through and figure out how to make that work,” Mielke said. “If he’s com-fortable with the structure and it’s more a matter of molding and shaping then we’ll do that, too. But he’s going to have to figure that out, because I don’t have that an-swer.” Long’s focus on building com-

Jeff Long



Big changes in city leadership bracketed 2013 in Lakeville, starting with the new mayor taking helm after an election win that unseated two incum-bents and ending the year with the city’s high-profile search and selection of a new police chief. Jeffrey R. Long, cur-rently chief of the Edina Police Department, is set to start in the position Jan. 20. Long was selected out of a group of three final-ists that included Nathan R. Gove, commander with the Golden Valley Police Department; and Brian P. Peters, a commander with the Brooklyn Center Po-lice Department. City Administrator Steve Mielke credited Long for having the ex-perience and successful management necessary to manage a suburban police department, and Mayor Matt Little cited Long’s experience and ability to build relationships within the police department and the community as factors that led to his selection for the position. Chief Tom Vonhof retired Sept. 30 after 33 years with the Lakeville Police Department, serv-ing as chief since 2006.

The city held a recep-tion in Vonhof’s honor this fall, and Little said he was sad to see the chief go, calling him “an abso-lute expert” who has a mix of law enforcement expe-rience, people skills, pub-lic presentation skills and leadership skills. Little’s election win against former Mayor Mark Bellows and Coun-cil Member Laurie Rieb opened his seat as a Lake-ville City Council mem-ber, which became coun-cil’s top priority to start the year. To fill the opening, the council decided to follow precedent set by previous councils, electing to fill the open seat themselves instead of appointing the next-highest vote-getter, David Bares, to the posi-tion. Citizens interested in the council seat applied and finalists were inter-viewed by the City Coun-cil. After extensive con-sideration, then Planning Commission Member (former chair of that com-mission) Bart Davis was selected to fill the role. Among the significant issues city officials tackled in 2013 was developing the city’s visioning plan, a document to define how the city should look by 2040 and drafted by the

Envision Lakeville Task Force. Economic sustainabil-ity and support of high-quality education were named as strategic priori-ties for developing Lake-ville’s future, and City Council members will use the plan to make deci-sions and chart Lakeville’s future course. Traffic and transpor-tation were also a major concern by citizens and council members alike as residents rallied against parked railroad cars and wrangled with traffic tangles as I-35 work com-menced and shut down lanes; the year also in-cluded debate centered on the planned roundabout at county roads 50 and 60 (185th Street). City officials and Da-kota County commission-ers agreed to include in road work plans the wid-ening of County Road 50 from 185th Street to Ipava Avenue, planned for 2017. Traffic issues are ex-pected to persist in the spring as the two-year roundabout construction project commences in the spring, causing some road closures. Drivers will also expe-rience additional traffic delays next year because the Minnesota Depart-ment of Transportation’s I-35 road repair work,

expected to be completed last season, was extended into 2014. To better predict where traffic backups will occur by closing the heavily used 50-60 intersection and devise options to reduce delays, Lakeville and Da-kota County will fund a $15,000 to $20,000 study that may recommend adding traffic signals or additional turning lanes in certain areas of the city. Lengthy delays at train crossings that caused out-rage among residents may improve in 2014, since the city took steps this year to improve communication with Progressive Rail and give citizens advanced warning of planned train movements. Recognizing the poor condition of some lo-cal roads, the Lakeville City Council also passed a 2014 budget that puts road projects on a fast track. Lakeville, as a com-munity, suffered multiple losses of prominent citi-zens in 2013. Lifelong resident and businessman John Eng-gren died unexpectedly on May 4 from pneumonia that occurred after suffer-ing a back injury in a fall. Enggren, with his fam-ily members, operated a

Matt Little was sworn in as Lakeville mayor by Minnesota State Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea at the Jan. 7 City Council meeting. An audience of about 50 people attended the ceremony where new City Council Member Doug Anderson and incumbent Kerrin Swecker also took the oath of office, which was administered to them by Dakota County Judge Thomas Poch. (Photo by Laura Adelmann)

Lakeville police Chief Tom Vonhof grinned as Lakeville City Administrator Steve Mielke presented Vonhof’s wife Nancy with flowers during the Sept. 16 City Council meeting in gratitude for “all the time and effort (the family has) allowed Tom to do.” (Photo by Laura Adelmann)

Attempted crime spree suspect arrested in LakevilleLakeville police track prints to alleged thief



Alert residents helped Lakeville police capture Mathew Dyllon Danay, 18, whom interim police Chief John Kornmann said was a one-man crime spree. Following up on a 12:30 a.m. 911 call of a suspicious man near a residence on Ketchikan Court in Lakeville on Dec. 9, officers found and followed fresh footprints that led to 25 mailboxes, three vehicles and various residences, according to a Dakota County criminal complaint filed Dec. 11. Police say they found one of the mailboxes with prints leading to it and mail had been ripped up and strewn about on the street. The complaint states that the footprint trail also led to a vehicle with the door wide open and the interior appeared to have been rifled through. Officers reported the prints led to at least two garage service doors, but it appeared access was not gained to the interior of the garages. Eventually, the prints led officers to Danay, of Lakeville, who ran and hid under a bush where police discovered him, the com-plaint stated. It said police found he was carrying a fold-ing knife, flashlight and empty backpack. They say they also found a window punch near where Danay had been. The complaint states Danay told officers he had left home intending to steal money from cars, admitted to entering three cars and attempting to en-ter four others, checking three mailboxes and rip-ping up mail he found in one of them. He also allegedly admit-ted he attempted to break into two homes through

Year inYear in ReviewReview2013

See REVIEW, 8A See CRIME, 9A

See CHIEF, 9A

Year was bookended by big leadership changes in Lakeville

Community also grieved significant losses together

INDEX

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

Announcements . . . . . 5A

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

Classifieds . . . . . 13A-15A

Public Notices . . . . . . 12A

The year’s best recappedArea high school sports teams and individuals had successful 2014 campaigns.

Page 10A

2A December 27, 2013 SUN THISWEEK - Lakeville

KOOB AGENCY, LLC

EUROPEAN TOURS

by Andrew MillerSUN THISWEEK


Kristopher Francisco’s 2010 deployment to Af-ghanistan came to an abrupt and terrifying end. While on a mission, the 2005 Apple Valley High School graduate and then-U.S. Army specialist was injured after an impro-vised explosive device was detonated directly beneath his vehicle. Making matters worse, he and the other soldiers came under enemy fire during the evacuation, and it was several hours before they were transported to a safe area. Even after leaving the combat zone, Francisco has had an uphill battle. He’s endured more than a dozen surgeries address-ing a leg injury, and he still suffers from a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. Francisco, who enlisted with his older brother in the Minnesota Army Na-tional Guard in 2009 and went on to join the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, was awarded the Purple Heart for the injuries he sustained in Afghanistan. He also received a “thank you” of sorts re-cently in the form of a $10,000 grant from the Minnesotans’ Military Appreciation Fund, a

nonprofit that awards grants to the state’s mili-tary personnel. “It will go a long way toward paying the bills,” Francisco, a Prior Lake resident who recently re-tired from the Army, said of the grant awarded Dec. 13. “It’s very humbling to be thanked for my service, and it feels really good that the people of Minne-sota recognize those that serve in the military.” Since 2005, the non-profit has awarded 15,000

grants totaling $9 mil-lion to Minnesota service members. The levels of grants are: $500 for all Minne-sota military personnel who serve in a combat zone; $2,000-$10,000 for those wounded in a com-bat zone, with the amount based on the severity of injury; and $5,000 to the families of those killed in combat. “Minnesotans’ Military Appreciation Fund was founded to honor Minne-sota heroes like Spc. Kris-

topher Francisco, who risked his life for our free-dom,” said MMAF chair-man Roger Sit. “Awarding (Francisco) this grant is the least we can do to thank and hon-or him for the sacrifices he and his family have made for our country.” More about the Min-neapolis-based MMAF’s grant program is at www.mmaf.org.

Email Andrew Miller at [email protected].

U.S. Army Spc. Kristopher Francisco, 27, was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained after an IED was detonated under his vehicle during his 2010 deployment to Afghanistan. The 2005 Apple Valley High School graduate, who has retired from the Army, recently received a $10,000 grant from the Minnesotans’ Military Appreciation Fund. (Photo submitted)

Local soldier on road to recovery AVHS graduate injured in Afghanistan, receives MMAF grant

SUN THISWEEK - Lakeville December 27, 2013 3A

Burnsville company to help raze MetrodomeAmes

Construction is one of the major contractors on stadium project

by Steven ShaverSUN THISWEEK


The “suits” threw around a few shovels full of soil off a prepared dirt pile at the ground-breaking for the new Vikings stadium last Tuesday morning, but a local firm moved a whole lot more soil from the site in the 24 hours leading up to the event and will haul much more out in the com-ing months. Ames Construction, of Burnsville, has the contract for the excavation work, demolition of the Metro-dome and the building of retaining walls at the new

Vikings stadium site. By the start of the ground-breaking ceremony, 61 trucks had already hauled over 10,000 cubic yards out of the east parking lot site, which will serve as the east end of the new $975 mil-lion multipurpose stadium. Ron Ames, co-owner of the family construction firm, said that when the excavation work is in full-throttle there will be 85 trucks hauling 20 hours a day, six days a week, shut-ting down only during the morning and evening rush hours. The frigid arctic air that funneled in last Wednesday, the day after the ceremonies didn’t slow down the excavation work, according to Ames, but the crews did shut down dur-ing the snowfall that fol-lowed for safety reasons. Ames, who has been

with the company for 47 years, said that by mid-July, over 800,000 cubic yards of material will be hauled out of the site. An estimated 300,000 cubic yards will be stockpiled at another site to return later for in-filling around the base of the new stadium. Ames Construction also did excavation work for the Metrodome 34 years ago. Ames is hoping crews don’t run into an unexpected ob-stacle in the east parking lot that they faced at the original Metrodome site. “We thought we had hit an old foundation,” Ames said. Instead, a bulldozer had hit what turned out to be a 250,000-pound gran-ite rock — some 57 cubic yards large. Now known as the “Plymouth Rock,” it sits on

the site of a bank in subur-ban Plymouth. Ames isn’t too con-cerned about hitting an-other rock that large as he noted, “it was a rare find in the entire state of Min-nesota.” Ames will also be in charge of the demolition of the Metrodome with the aid of Frattalone Com-panies, of Little Canada. Ames said that after the interior of the dome has been stripped of anything of a saleable value, 17 large pieces of equipment will descend upon the dome to mechanically dismantle it beginning in mid-January. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, David Mortenson, president of Mortenson Construction Co. of Minneapolis, the general contractor, noted how his great-grandfather,

Nels, immigrated from Sweden in the late 19th century to become the first Mortenson success story in Minnesota. His grand-father, M.A. Mortenson Sr., had started the com-pany 60 years ago in the mid-20th century and now, their generation would un-dertake the greatest chal-lenge in their home state in this new 21st century. Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak recalled how as a youth their family bond-ed together at the old Met-ropolitan Stadium watch-ing the Vikings in end zone seats they inherited thanks to their mother’s second husband, who happened to have the additional ben-efit of being a Vikings sea-son ticket holder. Rybak also stated he believed the new stadium would turn around the neighborhood

in a manner similar to what has happened in Bal-timore with Camden Yards or Denver, where Coors Field transformed a seedy warehouse district into a dynamic part of the down-town. Gov. Mark Dayton thanked the Wilfs’ for their final $41 million contribu-tion to the project to main-tain all of the features that had been presented in the initial public showing in May. “We’ve had a dilapi-dated stadium with an un-certain roof,” Dayton said. “Now we have a vital proj-ect that will put thousands to work — Minnesota people will build and enjoy this building for years to come.” Steven Shaver is a Farming-ton resident.

Blowing smoke – from a hookah – now only allowed outdoors by Jennifer Chick

SUN THISWEEKDAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Hookah smoking in-doors will no longer be allowed at local tobacco establishments in Burns-ville. Last Tuesday night, the Burnsville City Coun-cil approved a new to-bacco ordinance that will limit hours of operation, square footage and seat-ing capacity at tobacco shops in Burnsville. After a split vote, the council added an indoor use ban on tobacco sampling from devices such as hookah pipes, similar to a ban en-acted by Minneapolis in 2011. The new ordinance would not put a ban on cigar bars. Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, council members Mary Sherry and Suzanne Nguyen voted in favor of the new regulations and ban, while council mem-

bers Bill Coughlin and Dan Kealey opposed the new ordinance. The ordi-nance, as originally pre-sented by the city staff and city attorney, did not include a ban on indoor hookah smoking, but was added by Sherry during discussion. Coughlin said he would have supported the ordinance without the ban. Burnsville currently has two hookah shops, Taha Hookah at 12010 County Road 11 and Ig-nite Hookah at 2552 Ho-rizon Drive. Most of the discus-sion centered around the shops’ policies of letting customers buy tobacco in their shops and then smoke that tobacco in the shop through hoo-kah pipes. That is what is referred to as sampling. Amendments to Minne-sota’s Clean Indoor Air Act prohibit most indoor smoking in public places,

with some exceptions, in-cluding lighting of tobac-co in tobacco-products shops “for the specific purpose of sampling to-bacco product,” accord-ing to the state health de-partment. Sherry said the hookah shops are exploit-ing a loophole by allowing customers to stay in the shops to smoke hookahs. Last February, a health department advisory said shop owners whose busi-ness model is “tobacco lounge” or “smoking lounge” should be denied local tobacco licenses “be-cause this model is not le-gal in Minnesota.” Alex Bajwa, a lawyer representing Taha Hoo-kah, attended Tuesday night’s meeting and spoke out against the indoor smoking ban from devices such as hookahs. His cli-ent had supported the ordinance as originally proposed by city staff

without the indoor smok-ing ban. “The major concern for us was, we were actually very happy to see that all of the tobacco shops were treated the same under the city staff ’s ordinance,” he said. “I guess the ques-tion comes when we ban sampling from devices but not sampling from cigars or cigarettes or cigarillos. The question we have is, why is one different from the other? “ Bajwa said his client is hearing from customers that it feels like the city is only banning hookahs and saying that those are different, more dangerous than being able to sample a cigar. “Why is hookah tobac-co considered more dan-gerous and it needs to be banned outright for sam-pling inside the shop, but it’s OK for the cigar bars to continue on in that op-

eration?” Bajwa asked. Bajwa said hookahs are tied culturally to East Af-rica and the Middle East. Cigars within the city are predominately smoked by those who aren’t from those ethnic traditions. Kautz said customers can rent the hookah pipes and take them outside to smoke, which is what cus-tomers at Mediterranean Cruise Cafe in Burnsville do right now. “Having a lounge is prohibited by state stat-ute,” Kautz said to Bajwa, “so you are in violation of state statute by hav-ing a lounge. We’re not even speaking about that. When we’re saying prohib-iting sampling of tobacco product, we are looking at the Indoor Clean Air Act for all tobacco prod-uct. You just happen to use tobacco and you have a delivery device that we have had in this city for

the last five years, or is it six? We have been open to that (with Mediterranean Cruise Cafe), but they are in compliance with state statute and with the city’s laws, so don’t do that, be-cause that is incorrect.” The hookah shops came under fire in Burns-ville following reported nuisances. The Fire De-partment has discovered instances of over-occu-pancy and other fire code violations at both busi-nesses. A carbon monox-ide reading taken in early November at Ignite, at a time when its ventilation system wasn’t working, showed levels five times acceptable Occupational Safety and Health Ad-ministration levels. Police have increased patrols at both businesses and there have been complaints of noise, large crowds out-side, loud vehicles, and other problems.


Letters

Correction In the Dec. 19 story “Prior Lake teacher, Farmington resident faces drug charges,” the information attributed to Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows should have been attributed to Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom. The newspaper regrets the error.

OpinionBoard member welcomes input on Lebanon Hills master plan

‘Vitally important’ state report almost three years late

by Tom EganSPECIAL TO SUN THISWEEKDAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

I seriously pondered whether I should respond to the letter written by Scott Johnson (“Commissioner Egan is cor-rect,” Dec. 19, 2013) in this newspaper. I decided it was important to the read-ing public to clarify misinformation. So I am writing my response. First, let me say that many com-ments have been received in various forms about the plan for Lebanon Hills Regional Park and many of those com-ments have been negative. That is why Dakota County extended the process time for consideration of park improve-ment plans from last summer to early 2014. That is why interested parties were invited in September to join the Dakota County staff and board of commission-ers on a tour of the park and workshop. That is why the Dakota County Board directed the Dakota County Planning Commission to hold a public hearing on Lebanon Hills this fall. That is why after receiving a unanimous recommendation by the Planning Commission to open the public comment period the Dakota

County Board on Nov. 19 unanimously voted to open that 60-day comment pe-riod on Lebanon Hills from Nov. 19 to Jan. 18. Also, two open houses were planned to make presentations to the public about tentative improvements at Leba-non Hills. One was held on Monday, Dec. 16 at the Dakota County Western Service Center in Apple Valley; the sec-ond is scheduled at the same location for Jan. 14. Dakota County staff did an incredible amount of work laying out clear and simple graphic information about the tentative plans. As a policy maker, I can’t possibly imagine relying on the opinion of the public concerning an issue such as this as much before they are presented with an opportunity to re-view information as before. None of the

comments Mr. Johnson mentions were made before even this first open house. Attendance at this open house was sig-nificant although a large number of at-tendees came with their own predispo-sition and weren’t very interested in the presentations. And then there is Mr. Johnson’s state-ment that “taxpayers [should] object to the $31,029,429 bill that [Egan] voted for at the November Dakota County Planning Committee meeting.” Well, for those of you who have recently read that this month the Dakota County Board of Commissioners voted to authorize a levy for 2014 that is 0.6 percent be-low the levy for 2013 keeping Dakota County with the lowest levy per capita of any county in the metropolitan area, you might be confused. You see, Mr. Johnson is wrong. The Dakota County Board has yet to authorized any amount for Lebanon Hills improvements. And if and when we do, it is anticipated that those improvements will occur and be paid for over 20 years. So again to summarize, we still have at least one more open house scheduled for Jan. 14 on tentative Lebanon Hills

improvements. It would be great if at-tendance at that open house was at least as good as we had at the first one. We may decide to hold further open houses. The intent is to collect, refine and con-dense all the information obtained from all sources – including these open houses – and to come back with plans that take into consideration all those comments. We are considering extending the period further to allow everyone to be engaged in all options. A number of people have contacted me … including several at the first open house … expressing a desire to work on a compromise solution for Lebanon Hills. Bearing in mind that the main responsibility the Dakota County Board has is to make Lebanon Hills – and all the parks in our regional park system -–as accessible to as many people as possible we will continue to work to-ward coming up with a plan that is as acceptable to as many people as pos-sible.

Tom Egan is a member of the Dakota County Board serving the Third District, which includes the city of Eagan. Columns reflect the opinion of the author.

by Joe NathanSUN THISWEEK


“I think it is vitally important to have the ‘Getting Prepared’ report up-dated in 2014, given the push we did this legislative session to advance early college opportunities for all second-ary students.” That’s what Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul and chair of the Minnesota House K-12 Education Policy Committee, told me this week. State law requires that this report be completed and shared annually with legislators. But despite this law, the re-port was last issued in January 2011, almost three years ago. It’s online at http://bit.ly/1bPf6uk. As with state and federal health care applications, it appears that, unantici-pated computer and data problems are causing big delays. “Getting Prepared” shows what number and percentage of gradu-ates from each Minnesota public high school had to take developmental, aka remedial or high-school level, courses when they entered a Minnesota public college or university. It’s valuable for legislators to know whether the state and individual schools are making progress. (A recent report on kinder-garten readiness shows progress in that field.) Because the report shows how many graduates at each high school took re-

medial courses in reading, writing and math, high school educators can use “Getting Prepared” to identify and then work on improving student prepa-ration in those subjects. “Getting Pre-pared” also helps students and families see how well prepared graduates are for public higher education. Finally, the report is important be-cause of 2013 changes in state law. High school students are no longer required to pass reading, writing or math tests in order to graduate. Instead, students will be encouraged to take various tests and assessments that help them under-stand where they are compared to ex-pectations of colleges and employers. Taking remedial courses costs fami-lies and taxpayers millions of dollars. Our goal should be to reduce the num-ber of students entering public colleges and universities who take these courses. Minnesota Statute 13.32, subdi-vision 6(b) is clear. It reads in part: “Public postsecondary systems annu-ally shall provide summary data to the Department of Education indicating

the extent and content of the reme-dial instruction received in each sys-tem during the prior academic year by, and the results of assessment testing and the academic performance of, stu-dents who graduated from a Minnesota school district within two years before receiving the remedial instruction. The department shall evaluate the data and annually report its findings to the edu-cation committees of the legislature.” I’ve been asking for this report since fall of 2012. In March 2013, I was told that the responsibility to produce the report had been shifted from the two public higher education systems, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State College and Univer-sity system to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. Since then, I’ve talked with Office of Higher Education officials a number of times. Initially the Office of Higher Education said data would be available in June. That later was changed to July and then “the fall.” I checked again with the Office of Higher Education and Department of Education officials this week. The re-port still is not done. State officials have held several meet-ings around Minnesota this month to encourage high school and college col-laboration, leading to better-prepared students. Having an updated “Get-ting Prepared” report would have been

helpful. Sandy Connolly, communications director at the Office of Higher Edu-cation, explained the office’s analysis of data has produced “some inconsis-tencies ... with regard to the percent-age of students taking developmental education at MnSCU.” So officials are “checking the individual records of thousands of students, a step OHE be-lieves is necessary for the integrity of the final product.” Perhaps it’s time to go back to the old system, where the University of Minnesota and MnSCU system com-plete the report, until the inconsisten-cies can be resolved. More people may also be needed to help finish the report. The Office of Higher Education says the new report will include more details and, for the first time, data from Min-nesota students attending private as well as public institutions. That could be valuable. But almost three years have elapsed since this report was produced. The law (wisely) says the “Getting Prepared” re-port is supposed to be done each year. It’s time to follow the law. 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

Guest

ColumnistTom Egan

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The Ettl Family would like to thank the whole community for the love and support that we have received over the past couple weeks as we mourn the loss of Alyssa. Although no words can bring her back or express our loss, we are com-forted in knowing what an impact she had while she was here on Earth. We would like to extend our deepest appreciation to the entire community along with a special thank you to: All Saints Catholic Church, Father Kelly, Deacon Marshall and all the staff; Lakeville North High School, stu-dents, teachers and staff; The Lakeville Police Department and all first responders for their service; Schmitty & Sons Bus Company for donating the buses on Saturday for the roadside memorial along with buses on Tuesday for our family, friends and stu-dents during the funeral; Nan Price Photography for volunteer-ing to be there for us at the service; All our family and friends that have provided meals and support since the tragic accident. We ask that you continue to keep us and all those who have experienced loss of a loved one in your thoughts and prayers. Again thank you to the entire com-

munity and may you all have a Safe and Blessed New Year. May everyone work together to bring happiness and joy to all in 2014.

MATT, JENNY and KORI ETTLLakeville

We have witnessed outstanding love, compassion, encouragement and support since the car accident in Kansas on July 11, which claimed the life of Taylor and seriously injured Shannon and Adam Ziebol. We are grateful for the healing of Shannon and Adam and miss the pres-ence of Taylor. We wish to express our gratitude to all who generously gave their time, talent, and financial resources to support our family during this difficult time. Friends, neighbors and complete strangers have stepped forward with many acts of kindness. We are grateful. We would not be where we are at this stage of recovery without the love we have received. A family neighbor flew us to Dodge City the day of the accident. We arrived there bewildered, shaken and anxious to see our loves ones. The com-munities of Dodge City and Bucklin, Kan., surrounded us with compassion as we tried to make sense of the tragedy. We will never forget their generosity and kindness. We needed and received all the expertise the medical staffs Dodge City and Wichita provided. We are grateful and indebted for their devotion and care. A medical flight in early August brought Adam back to Minnesota, where he received excellent care at Re-gions Hospital. Adam is now continuing his recovery at home. His medical jour-ney has been long and is still moving to-ward a complete recovery of his injuries. We are thankful for all the calls and visits which continue to lift our spirits. Words cannot express our apprecia-tion to the staff of Prince of Peace Lu-theran Church for their support and prayers as we gave tribute to Taylor’s life and in moving forward with Adam and Shannon’s recovery. Numerous expressions of kindness

from groups and businesses in the com-munity raised funds and offered services when our energies were devoted to the family care we needed to provide. A Fair-view Ridges Foundation Crisis Hospital-ity Program has been established by our family. The mission of the program is provide shelter, food and transportation to those who might experience a medical crisis event similar to our experience in Kansas. We appreciate the effort, commitment and dedication of the Burnsville area community. There is a lesson our family has learned from this tragedy. We know how important family, friends and com-munity are when an event like this affects your family. We are so grateful.

The ZIEBOL, HESS and FANCHER familiesBurnsville

Thank you, thank you, thank you We are grateful

Alyssa Ettl

Taylor Ziebol, right, with Shannon and Adam.


651 463 4545. .

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Obituaries

State DFL Senate Caucus handed $100,000 fine

by T.W. BudigSUN THISWEEK


The Minnesota Cam-paign Finance and Public Disclosure Board fined on Tuesday, Dec. 17, the Minnesota DFL Sen-ate Caucus $100,000 for wrongfully working with 13 of its candidates in the 2012 election. The $100,000 civil pen-alty is among the biggest in state history. The DFL state party and the candidates were not fined. “We continue to main-tain that our candidates and the caucus campaign committee complied with all campaign finance laws. Although we respectfully disagree with the board’s position, we believe it is better to put this matter behind us,” DFL Sen-ate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said in a statement about the settlement reached with the board. Senate Democrats ad-mit to no wrongdoing in the settlement.

The Republican Party of Minnesota began fil-ing complaints in October 2012, charging that DFL campaign materials were wrongfully listed as inde-pendent expenditures, but the materials were not be-cause the candidates were actively engaged in photo shoots in producing the print ads, thereby breach-ing the legal wall between candidates and indepen-dent expenditures. Republican leaders heralded the board’s deci-sion. “Senate Democrats were so intent on winning at any cost and throw-ing huge money into the 2012 campaign that they played fast and loose in a big way,” said Republi-can Party of Minnesota Chairman Keith Downey in a statement. “We will never know how this illegal coordina-tion would have impacted the results in these races and ultimately control of the Legislature. They cheated, they won, but at least they are being

held accountable now,” Downey said. Republican Senate Minority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, struck a similar tone. “The question really needs to be asked, ‘Would they have won the major-ity if they hadn’t cheat-ed?’” Hann said in a state-ment. Campaigns named in the investigation include those of Sen. Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan; Sen. Greg Clausen, DFL-Apple Val-ley; Sen. Melisa Franzen, DFL-Edina, and Sen. Al-ice Johnson, DFL-Spring Lake Park. The board noted in its findings that some of the candidates suspected the photo shoots were for the purpose of developing in-dependent expenditures but believed inquiring further could destroy the independence of those ex-penditures. The board recognized in assessing civil penal-ties that the candidates believed they could rely on the DFL Senate Cau-

cus’ decision to ask them to participate in the photo shoots. “While this reliance was misplaced and does not affect the conclusion regarding whether the conduct results in viola-tions of contribution and spending limits for the candidates, it is an appro-priate factor to consider in assessing civil penalties in this matter,” the board concluded. The board previously has issued other big fines. It investigated inde-pendent spending by the Republican Party of Min-nesota in 2002, which subsequently led to the re-classification of $500,000 in Republican indepen-dent expenditures as ap-proved expenditures. For-mer Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s gubernatorial campaign was fined $100,000 by the board in the matter, and the reclassified funds were counted against the cam-paign’s spending limit.

Email T.W. Budig at [email protected].

A new way to workout in FarmingtonCrossfit Calypso opens off Highway 50

by Andy RogersSUN THISWEEK


Farmington has a new option for those with se-rious fitness New Year’s resolutions; Crossfit Ca-lypso opened its doors last month in Farmington. It’s not a traditional gym with rows of ellipticals and televisions. “We don’t use machines, we build them. We do things that will help people with everyday health,” co-owner Thad Caron said. Crossfit Calypso fea-tures pull-up bars, weight lifting bars, kettle bells, weight balls, gymnastics rings, jump ropes and row machines. The owners say their business model, too, is different than a tradi-tional gym. “We don’t want a bunch of members who never come, like some gyms. We want a few members and we want them to come in every day to work their butts off,” Caron said. Crossfit isn’t easy to define. It’s not a weight loss program nor sports-specific training. It in-volves building functional strength, mobility and overall fitness by combin-ing gymnastics, Olympic weight lifting and high-in-tensity interval training. “Everything you can imagine in fitness,” Caron said. “We run, we jump,

we climb, and we lift. We have a few key workouts every year where we stop and measure our progress, but we rarely do the same workout twice.” Members are encour-aged to come to daily one-hour sessions where there’s a workout of the day, or WOD, where par-ticipants complete a series of movements that could include anything from pull-ups, snatches, rowing, running, squats and more. The workouts are timed, so next time they’re per-formed, participants can see how they’ve improved. “We always want to be increasing our intensity ei-ther with more weight or faster,” Caron said. The draw is the cama-raderie, since many of the same people are with you during the hourlong daily workouts. “Human nature is you’re going to push a little harder when someone is next to you,” Caron said. “If you see eight other people pushing themselves, you’re not going to let up.” The fact that there’s a personal trainer making sure participants are us-ing correct form and en-couraging members, while designing the workout, is another draw. Caron has been a per-sonal trainer for six years, owning his own personal

training business. Co-owner Max Dennis has a football background and works full time as an engineer in Minneapolis. As a college football player with the University of Ne-braska at Omaha, he spent time with coaches who went on to start one of the first Crossfit gyms in the Midwest. He’s been doing the Crossfit-style workouts long before most people heard of it. “My first stereotype is they’re just moving light weight, but after doing some research it’s actu-ally pretty beastly,” Dennis said. Crossfit gyms have been growing in popularity with the number of gyms al-most doubling in the past two years to about 10,000. “People who do Cross-fit are usually pretty fit,” Caron said. “So when they talk to friends and family, they say they do Crossfit. It’s all word of month. It’s an actual sport now too. They have the Crossfit games on ESPN.” There are also gyms in Lakeville and Apple Val-ley, but the Calypso owners saw an opening in Farm-ington. “There’s nothing down here really,” Caron said. “I knew there was something missing from Farming-ton.” Caron said that Crossfit

can be catered to anyone. They have members who are 13 years old up to se-niors. “Some people came to us completely out of shape, and some came in wanting to get in even better shape,” Caron said. “We say we create the workouts for the best and tailor the work-outs for the rest.” Business has been good. Their goal was to have 20 members by January, but they actually had 30 by mid-December after be-ing open about a month. Long-term, the goal is to have 100-200 members, hire more coaches and ex-pand the facilities. The cost to join ranges from $100 to $150, de-pending on the number of classes. Crossfit Calypso has two classes from 5-7 a.m. and two from 5:30-7:30 p.m. during the week-days, and from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Saturdays. They offer two free introductory workouts a week on Mon-day night and Saturday morning, and a four-week introductory course. The gym is located at 21210 Eaton Ave., off Highway 50. “I knew I needed an big, tall industrial place,” Caron said. “We’re going to make some noise.”

Email Andy Rogers at [email protected].

At the Capitol

Business

Crossfit Calypso owners Max Dennis and Thad Caron recently opened their specialized fitness gym off Highway 50 in Farmington. (Photo by Andy Rogers)

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Burnsville’s Heart of the City named one of six ‘Great Places’ by John Gessner


Burnsville’s Heart of the City, which started as a streetscape project and grew into a full “down-town” redevelopment, has been named one of six “Great Places” in the Twin Cities. It’s the only suburban location selected for the inaugural Great Places Award given by the Sen-sible Land Use Coali-

tion, a nonprofit group of public- and private-sector members involved in Twin Cities development. The six locations were chosen from among 32 nominees. The other win-ners are the Bruce Vento Nature Center in St. Paul, The Loppet cross country ski festival along Minne-apolis’ Chain of Lakes, Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, Piazza on the Mall in downtown Minneapolis and Rice

Park in downtown St. Paul. Judges praised the Heart of the City, located along Nicollet Avenue south of Highway 13, as “a true community gath-ering space” transformed from suburban strip devel-opment. “We are very proud of the Heart of the City de-velopment and the prog-ress it has made in the last 10 to 15 years,” Mayor Elizabeth Kautz said in a

city news release. “It is an honor to be recognized by professionals in all disci-plines of the development industry with an award like this.” The Heart of the City, which began to take shape in 2000, includes residen-tial, retail and public spac-es, including the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, which has a 1,000-seat main theater. Nicollet Commons Park, next to the arts

center, is one of the first “town square”-style parks developed in the Twin Cities suburbs, according to the city. It features a 250-seat amphitheater for concerts and events, open green spaces and a water feature. Before redevelopment, the area contained a cou-ple of strip malls, some of-fice buildings, a couple of gas stations, a few restau-rants and a Kmart store, according to a history of

the area on the city’s web-site. It was envisioned in the 1960s that “downtown Burnsville” would center around the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and Burnsville Parkway (then named the Crosstown). Burnsville Center opened in 1977, draw-ing retail and restaurants to County Road 42 and shifting the focus away

Finding a safe home for mistreated animals Burnsville resident leads Shih Tzu rescue group that saved puppy mill dogs

by Natalie ConradSUN THISWEEK


Imagine being trapped a situation with no space to call your own. This was the experience of 15 Shih Tzu dogs until a nonprofit pet rescue led by a Burnsville resident stepped in to transform their lives by providing safe homes. “We believe every dog should have a second chance and should be treated as a living creature with respect, dignity and compassion,” said Debbie Iverson, Shih Tzu Rescue’s president. “While our volunteers are located in Minnesota, we rescue Shih Tzus from other states as well. As long as we have available foster homes and the funding to do so, we will rescue and care for any Shih Tzu in need.” Eden Prairie-based group Shih Tzu Rescue of Minnesota received a $4,500 grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to provide vet-erinary care for 20 dogs seized from a North Da-kota puppy mill in July. Shih Tzu Rescue origi-nally took in 15 dogs from the puppy mill seizure, and one dog gave birth to five puppies shortly after intake. The grant helped cover the cost of vaccina-tions, medication, spay

and neutering surgeries, and microchips. The group has already found homes for nearly all the dogs after they received the necessary medical and behavioral at-tention. The organization that started at the hands of a group of Shih Tzu lovers became an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2007. Shih Tzu Rescue is an all-volunteer organi-zation with a mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home Shih Tzus and Shih Tzu mixes in need of lov-ing homes. All donations are tax deductible, and 100 percent of donations go toward the care and com-fort of rescued dogs. While this is the first time the organization has received a grant from ASPCA, this is not the first time it has rescued dogs from a puppy mill, according to Kathy Dia-mond, Shih Tzu Rescue board member and trea-surer. The 15 dogs seized from the puppy mill in North Dakota were among 174 dogs seized. According to Diamond, the dogs were confined inside a metal outbuilding in small, stacked crates. There was no ventilation or air conditioning. The dogs were housed five to a crate, and the crates were so small that the dogs had to lie down on top of each

other. “People say dogs live in the moment, but they have memories,” Diamond said. “The damaging effects of living in a puppy mill are hard to forget.” A key part of rescue is rehabilitation, especially in cases such as these, Diamond said. All dogs rescued by Shih Tzu Res-cue go through a thorough adoption process ensuring a safe home and good fit. Dogs stay in a foster home for at least three weeks as volunteers ob-serve their behavior and offer rehabilitation. Adop-tive families must fill out an application and pro-vide references, and agree to a home visit both prior to and after the adoption. Throughout the process, Shih Tzu Rescue volun-teers and a trainer are available to help. The process may be in-tense, but the rewards are plentiful and well worth it, according to Iverson. “Mill dogs spend years in a cage,” Iverson said. “We watched them go from shaky, shy dogs to very playful companions.” The organization has grown over the years, and now includes 60 members and 20 foster homes. But why Shih Tzus? “They have a more human-like temperament than other breeds,” Iver-son said. “They’re very

much a companion breed and want to be with you all the time. They’re very loyal to the family and playful.” Shih Tzus are also non-allergenic, making them a good fit for a family pet. Many of the Shih Tzu Rescue foster parents have their own dogs and choose to take more in. “Shih Tzus are like po-tato chips, you can’t just have one,” Iverson said. Shih Tzu Rescue mem-bers unite to celebrate their love of the breed each summer at the Rescue Re-union at Round Lake Park in Eden Prairie. The orga-nization also hosts a meet and greet from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the last Satur-day of each month at the Minnetonka Petco, 13691 Ridgedale Drive. For more information, visit shihtzurescuemn.org. In 2011, the ASPCA launched a national “No Pet Store Puppies” cam-paign, which seeks to raise awareness about the con-nection between puppy mills and pet stores and end the demand for puppy mill dogs. For more information about puppy mills and how to fight animal cru-elty, visit nopetstorepup-pies.com.

Contact Natalie Conrad at [email protected].

Rachel Wisser, daughter of James and Nancy Wisser, of Eagan, holds her dog Lilly at Shih Tzu Rescue of Minnesota annual Rescue Reunion last summer at Round Lake Park in Eden Prairie. (Photo submitted)

See HEART, 7A


from Nicollet Avenue and Burnsville Parkway. The concept of restor-ing a “downtown Burns-ville” emerged from a community planning process in the early 1990s called Partnerships for To-morrow. Partnerships for To-morrow, in which more than 700 residents and

business people met in dif-ferent groups to help chart the city’s future, was fol-lowed near the end of the decade by an effort called Vision for Tomorrow. From that came the plan to enhance Nicol-let and the Parkway with streetscape improvements. “Once the streetscape project had begun, the idea of re-creating the area as the ‘downtown of Burns-

ville’ re-emerged,” says the city history. “The various groups that worked on ideas for the streetscape project morphed into planning groups to rede-velop the area with an ur-ban downtown feel; thus the Heart of the City was created.” John Gessner can be reached at 952-846-2031 or email [email protected].

HEART, from 6A

E-cig store opens in Eagan by Jessica Harper


Cities across Minne-sota are seeing electronic cigarette business popping up in their communities and Eagan is no different. E-Cig Pigs, an e-ciga-rette retailer, opened last month at 4215 Nicols Road next to Diffley Bar-bers in Eagan. Former pack-a-day smokers, owners Dwight Soeffker and Travis Schwartz were inspired to open the store after e-cig-arettes helped them quit tobacco cigarettes. “It work so well for us, we decided to give people an affordable place to buy them,” Schwartz said. The two met while working as valets at Mys-tic Lake Casino. After struggling to quit smok-ing for years, Schwartz, a Plymouth resident, de-cided to try e-cigarettes and encouraged Soeffker to do the same to curb his smoking habit. Soeffker was skeptical at first, but soon discov-ered it was an easy switch. E-cigarettes are elec-tronic devices that simu-late tobacco smoking by releasing water vapor. The vapor typically con-tains a mixture of nico-tine and flavorings. There haven’t been any independent studies of e-cigarettes and their po-tential health effects are currently unknown. After learning more about the industry, Soef-fker and Schwartz decid-ed to invest their savings into creating E-Cig Pigs – a name they chose be-cause it rhymes.

They initially eyed a storefront in Shakopee but soon realized an e-cigarette business opened nearby. The two men ultimate-ly decided on the Eagan space due to the area’s high traffic volume. Though they had no prior experience as busi-ness owners, both said they had few reservations. “For a start up, our costs were minimal and the margins are decent,” Soeffker, a Jordan resi-dent, said. Devices sold at E-Cig Pigs are rechargeable and come with varying levels of nicotine and flavors. By making flavors on site, Soeffker and Schwartz said they are able to of-fer a wider variety and set themselves apart from the competition. Depending on refer-rals at this point, E-Cig Pigs has acquired a steady stream of regulars, Soef-fker said. E-Cig Pigs currently al-

lows customers to sample their products inside the store, which may prove difficult in the future. State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, D-Minneapolis, has said she plans to pro-pose legislation in Febru-ary that would ban e-cig-arettes in public places. Individual cities such as Duluth have banned the use of e-cigarettes in indoor public places. If a ban were to go into effect, Soeffker and Schwartz say they would consider creating an out-door area for sampling. “It’s only a mat-ter of time before they move new regulations,” Schwartz said. E-Cig Pigs is located off Diffley Road near Ce-dar Avenue and is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Satur-day and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

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

Dwight Soeffker and Travis Schwartz opened E-Cig Pigs, an electronic cigarette store, in Eagan after the devices helped them quit tobacco cigarettes. (Photo by Jessica Harper)


grocery store in downtown Lakeville and a clothing and dry goods store that later split into men’s and women’s stores. He was lauded as one of the key businessmen who helped build the city’s economic development and establish its successful annual Pan-O-Prog cel-ebration, Officials also grieved the loss of former City Council Member Nancy Enright who died in Janu-ary. Enright, remembered for her kindness, served on the Lakeville Park and Recreation Committee and Planning Commission before being appointed to the council in 1981, where she served through 1989. In office, Enright helped manage and plan city development in a time of unprecedented growth. She was described by former Mayor Duane Zaun as “one of the most

wonderful people ever to serve on the City Coun-cil.” One of Lakeville’s most lauded police officers also died in 2013. James Jensen was de-scribed as an old-fash-ioned patrolman who so impressed the community that the city’s first park, James Jensen Park, carries his name. He started his law en-forcement career in Lake-ville in 1956 and stayed three decades, patrolling downtown on foot, regu-larly dropping by local businesses and getting to know the owners. In a tragedy that is still reverberating throughout the community, Lakeville North High School junior Alyssa Ettl, 16, died Dec. 4 in a car crash while driv-ing to school on a slush-covered Dodd Boulevard. Ettl was active in school, her church and the community; she was described by church lead-ers, friends and teachers

as a friendly, outstanding student with a strong faith who reached out to oth-ers. Hundreds clung togeth-er in the bitter cold as her family placed a memorial along Dodd Boulevard on Dec. 7 near the accident site. Ettl’s visitation and funeral drew huge crowds, and the family was sur-rounded by an outpouring of care and sympathy from Ettl’s friends, coworkers, teachers and neighbors. Many told Sun Thisweek they were in-spired to follow Ettl’s ex-ample, re-examining their faith and vowing to carry on life as she would have lived it by helping others less fortunate. Ettl’s best friend Sammi Piekar-ski said Ettl changed the world. “People are changing, rethinking things. Our community has become a lot stronger in this.”

Laura Adelmann is at [email protected].

REVIEW, from 1A

Family and friends gathered off Dodd Boulevard for a memorial ceremony near where 16-year-old Alyssa Ettl was killed in a Dec. 4 car accident. The community drew together to get through the tragedy. (Photo by Rick Orndorf)

The 2013 Pan-O-Prog Parade was exciting for participants and pure entertainment to the crowds that gathered. (File photo by Rick Orndorf)


munity was another strength that Mielke said impressed him. In Edina, Long has a history of working closely with the school district, and said he would seek the same kind of relationship with the Lakeville Area School District. His department runs one of the largest police ex-plorer programs in the met-ro area, and has produced a distracted driving initiative, an underage drinking edu-cational program, and is involved in a “Connecting with Kids” program that invites youths to help make decisions regarding com-munity issues. “I’ve come to the con-clusion that adults have all these great ideas, but if they’re so great, how come so many of them don’t work?” Long said. “If we’re not making them work, let’s bring the kids in and ask them what’s going to work.” He said one of the is-sues the group tackled was students drinking alcohol before arriving to school dances. Youths involved in Con-necting with Kids suggest-ed the police offer students who submit to a Breatha-lyzer test a chance to win an iPad. “It turned out to be a great success,” Long said, adding the cost of the prize is covered by the Edina Crime Prevention Fund, a nonprofit organization. Long runs his own blog and Twitter accounts. One of his most recent tweets: “Very concerned about the Target credit breach. If 40 million trans-actions is accurate, this may overwhelm police dept’s

throughout America.” He said he plans to con-tinue his social media con-tact, a plan Mielke encour-aged, and will also establish with Lakeville citizens the same kind of access he established in Edina with regular “Chat with the Chief” and “Coffee with the Chief” get-togethers. “That partnership with the community is really where police work hap-pens,” Mielke said, “and that’s a huge goal to make sure those connections and partnerships occur. Jeff has established that in Edina and I’m confident he can do it here, too.” Lakeville Mayor Matt Little said the council is “really excited” to bring Long on as chief. “He’s a proven leader in Edina,” Little said. “He’s well-respected and active in the police department.” Some of Long’s activi-ties in Edina were high-lighted during Mielke’s interview process that in-cluded a drive with each finalist on their own turf. Mielke said he asked the candidates to show him what they were proud of and how the department contributed to it. During the drive, Mielke said Long never took credit for the various initiatives they discussed, but always used the word “we.” “To me that was very in-sightful as to how he looked at his department and how he looked at himself,” Miel-ke said. “He knew it took a team to do things, and he approached and answered things as if he was giving his whole department the credit, not just himself.” Mielke said while all the candidates were excellent, Long stood out because of his leadership experience,

community relationships and the way he runs the Edina Police Department. “When you talk to some of the inside personnel and you talk to the city admin-istrator, (Long) considers them family, but he also holds them to high stan-dards,” Mielke said. “I think that’s a personality that will reflect and play very well here.” Mielke said Lakeville City Council members, po-lice staff members and de-partment heads interviewed the top three finalists, and had positive comments that Mielke considered in mak-ing the hiring decision. “I just got the feeling he’d be the best fit for the position,” Mielke said. Long replaces Tom Von-hof, who retired last fall. In the interim, Sgt. John Kornmann has led the de-partment through some difficult circumstances, in-cluding the death of Alyssa Ettl, a 16 year-old Lakeville North junior. Lakeville police worked closely with school and city officials to manage traffic and close down Dodd Bou-levard during a roadside memorial service. “John has really stepped into the role,” Mielke said. “I think his ability to lead has been strengthened by this. He’s learned a lot about what it means to be chief during a time when there were stresses.” Other finalists for the position were Nathan R. Gove, commander with the Golden Valley Police Department, and Brian P. Peters, a commander with the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

Laura Adelmann is at [email protected].

CHIEF, from 1A

the side garage door but they were locked. Police say Danay stated that if the doors had been unlocked, he would have entered with the intent to steal items inside. He also allegedly admit-ted to carrying a window

punch, and described to of-ficers how to break out car windows using a punch. Kornmann said one of the officers tracking Danay was wearing a device that calculated officers tracked the prints for 5,300 steps, equal to 2.46 miles. “This becomes a one-man crime spree because

he could do numerous at-tempted burglaries,” Korn-mann said. “His intent was to enter vehicles and get items easily that carried big residual value.” Danay is charged with felony possession of bur-glary or theft tools and tampering with a motor ve-hicle, a misdemeanor.

CRIME, from 1A


Sports

by Mike ShaughnessySUN THISWEEK


Holding on to what they already had was a theme for some Lakev-ille South athletes in 2013. The girls track and field team came close to a second consecutive state title, while Tommy Petersen ended his high school wrestling career as a two-time champion. In this Year in Review, we take a look at those events and a few other highlights:

Back to back

in track? Lakeville South was second in the Class AA finals, 15.5 points behind Minnetonka and at least 37 points ahead of every-body else. Several South ath-letes starred individually, including sophomore Caraline Slattery, who cleared 5 feet, 8 inches to win the high jump. Her teammate, Morgan Pieri, jumped 5-6 to take third. Slattery also medaled in the 300-meter hurdles, while Shaina Burns earned medals in the 300 hurdles and shot put. Kaytlyn Larson also was a double medal winner in the 800- and 1,600-meter races. Earlier in the season, Lakeville South won the South Suburban Confer-ence and state Class 3A True Team champion-ships.

Winner and

still champion Lakeville South’s Tommy Petersen won his second consecutive state wrestling championship, edging Moorhead’s Chase Morlock 3-2 in the Class 3A title match at 195 pounds. Before Petersen won his consecutive titles, his older brother Zane won a state championship in 2011. The Petersens are the first two Lakeville South wrestlers to be state champions. “I had more to lose af-ter winning last year, but I didn’t focus on that,” said Tommy Petersen, who went to North Da-kota State University to wrestle. “It’s just a few minutes. In the end there’s thousands of people watching you. You just have to block it out. “Last year I didn’t have as much nerves on me. I had a lot of pressure on myself, with this my last match as a high school wrestler.” Petersen lost only once in 39 matches in his senior season.

Back to state State meet appearances are becoming common-place for the Lakeville South girls cross country team, and 2013 was no different. The Cougars finished third in the Class AA meet, up three spots from 2012. The Cougars also were South Suburban Conference and Section 1AA champions. Kaytlyn Larson led the Cougars at state, fin-ishing 28th individually. South’s top five finishers in the Class AA meet will return next year, meaning it might be a good idea to make room for the Cou-gars at state again.

Getting hot

at the right time Lakeville South had a mediocre regular-season record (7-9) in softball, but the Cougars were one victory from playing in the state tournament. They won their first four games in the Class 3A, Section 3 playoffs to move to the doorstep of state. Bloom-ington Jefferson needed two consecutive victories over South to win the sec-tion – and got them, win-ning 5-3 and 7-0. The Cougars will go into the 2014 season with a new coach after Col-leen Powers left to become head coach at St. Cath-erine University.

Worth noting • Junior Mitch Her-

rera finished fourth in two distance freestyle races and helped lead Lakeville South to fifth place at the state Class AA boys swim-ming meet. • In the state girls swimming meet, South sophomore Brianna Al-exander was second in the 200-yard individual med-ley and fourth in the 500 freestyle. • Senior Amanda Lar-son was eighth in the state girls Alpine skiing meet. • Lakeville South was among four South Sub-urban teams in the top 10 of the state Class 4A girls basketball preseason rankings. One of the Cou-gars’ top players is senior center Katie Quandt, who has signed with Boston College. • It also was a good year for some former Lakeville South athletes. Justin Kloos, the 2012 Mr. Hockey Award winner, was second in scoring in the United States Hockey League before moving on to the University of Min-nesota, where he has been an impact player with 16 points in the Gophers’ first 15 games. Grant Melhorn, J.D. Melhorn, Grant Mitchell and An-drew O’Reilly were mem-bers of the Bethel Uni-versity football team that reached the NCAA Divi-sion III quarterfinals.

Email Mike Shaughnessy at [email protected].

South athletes excel in 2013Cougars get their first two-time wrestling champion



Numerous triumphs – and a tragedy that shook the community – were part of the 2013 year in sports at Lakeville North High School. Following is a look back at some of those events:

Sense of loss Lakeville North had one of most successful girls soccer seasons in school history when the Panthers finished second at the state Class AA tournament. That was overshad-owed a few weeks later when one of the Panthers’ players, junior Alyssa Ettl, died in a traffic ac-cident Dec. 4 near the high school. Ettl had been named a captain of next year’s girls soccer team, although she was in-volved in much more than just sports. Her death had classmates vowing to try to live their lives as she had lived hers. Ettl helped North reach the state girls soc-cer championship game, where the Panthers lost 1-0 to Minnetonka. North, which had a mid-season slump, recovered in time to post six consec-utive shutouts before the state final.

Numbers

tell the story In November, approxi-mately 20 Lakeville North High School students signed National Letters of Intent for college ath-letics. One of them was basketball player J.P. Ma-cura, who signed with Xavier University. He is the first boys basketball player at North to sign with a Division I pro-gram. Although much of the local recruiting discussion centered on three other players – Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones, De La Salle’s Reid Travis and former Robbinsdale Cooper player Rashad Vaughn – Macura has done some amazing things as a ju-nior and senior. He was the leading scorer for a North team that reached the 2013 state Class 4A tournament. Although North coach John Oxton emphasizes that Macura is more than just a scorer, his offen-sive numbers are hard to ignore. He averaged 38.5 points through the Pan-thers’ first six games and scored a career-high 55 in an overtime victory over Farmington.

Skating

into history Lakeville North made history at the state Class AA girls hockey tourna-ment, although the Pan-thers would have preferred if it had been for winning the championship. Instead, they were part of the longest game in state tournament his-tory. Their semifinal game against Minnetonka start-ed shortly after 8 p.m. on a Friday and didn’t end until after 1 a.m. on a Sat-urday. Minnetonka scored at 4:29 of the sixth over-time to win 4-3. Perhaps surprisingly, the lengthy game didn’t keep either team from win-ning the next day. North defeated Eden Prairie 3-2 in the third-place game while Minnetonka beat Hill-Murray 3-1 to win its third consecutive Class AA championship. “I knew it was going to come down to a lucky bounce, a lucky hit,” said North goalie Cassie Alex-ander, whose 59 saves set a single-game state tourna-ment record. “Both teams were gassed.”

Every race

sets a record On Sept. 17, Zoya Wahlstrom had a day no swimmer at North – and probably few swimmers anywhere – could match. She was involved in break-ing four Kenwood Trail Middle School pool re-cords in a 100-85 victory over Rosemount. She set pool records in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly, anchored a 400 freestyle relay that set a pool record, and swam on a medley relay team that set school and pool re-cords. Rosemount also broke two pool records in the meet. It’s almost unheard of for that many pool re-

cords to be broken that early in the season, North coach Dan Schneider said. Lakeville North went on to tie for the South Suburban Conference championship and finish eighth at the state meet.

Worth noting • Lakeville North se-nior Ben Krynski won the shot put at the Class AA boys track and field meet with a throw of 57 feet. • One season after play-ing in the Prep Bowl, the Lakeville North football team returned to the state playoffs. The Panthers went 8-3, with their sea-son ending with a loss to eventual champion Eden Prairie in the Class 6A quarterfinals. • Longtime girls bas-ketball coach Andy Berk-vam resigned to become head boys basketball coach at Northfield, his alma mater. Shelly Soule, who played for Berkvam and later joined his staff as an assistant coach, was named the Panthers’ new head coach. • The girls lacrosse team upset heavily favored Eden Prairie 13-12 in overtime in the state semi-finals. That earned the Panthers a match against four-time defending state champion Blake. North gave the Bears a tough time before losing 14-12 in the championship game. • The baseball team de-feated Burnsville for the Class 3A, Section 3 cham-pionship. After losing to Rocori 3-2 in the state quarterfinals, North beat Rochester Mayo 6-3 and Forest Lake 9-1 to win the consolation champion-ship. • North junior Freddy Thomas tied for second at the state Class 3A boys golf tournament with a two-day total of 146 (2 over par).

A year of success, overshadowed by tragedy

Before her death, Alyssa Ettl helped North girls soccer team to 2nd place

2013YEAR IN REVIEW

Alyssa Ettl (2) helped Lakeville North finish second in the state Class AA girls soccer tournament. Barely a month after the tournament, the Lakeville community lost Ettl when she died in a traffic accident. (Photo by Rick Orndorf)

Lakeville North running back Jamiah Newell looks to turn upfield against Eden Prairie in the state Class 6A football quarterfinals at the Metrodome. (Photo by Rick Orndorf)

Shaina Burns (right) of Lakeville South runs the 300-meter hurdles preliminaries at the state girls track and field meet. Burns and teammate Caraline Slattery went on to top-five finishes in the event. (Photo by Rick Orndorf)

Tommy Petersen prepares to lock up with an opponent at the state Class 3A wrestling tournament. Petersen won the 195-pound weight class and earned his second consecutive state championship. (Photo by Rick Orndorf)


s o u t h m e t r o

BASKETBALL

FORWARD

JUNIOREASTVIEW HIGH SCHOOL

Notebook: AV wrestlers win tourneyEastview maintains No. 1 ranking in girls hoops



Apple Valley, ranked first in Class 3A wrestling and as high as fourth na-tionally, had three individ-ual champions and won the team title at the Min-nesota Christmas Tour-nament on Dec. 20-21 in Rochester. Farmington, wrestling in the event for the first time, finished 15th of 33 teams. Apple Valley’s Seth Gross pinned Luke Rowh of Hastings in 1 minute, 10 seconds in the champion-ship match at 138 pounds. Dayton Racer beat Sim-ley’s Mack Short 6-4 in overtime in the 152-pound final. Mark Hall won the 170-pound title, beating Luke Norland of Jackson County Central 11-2. Kyle Rathman (106), Gannon Volk (126), Bob-by Steveson (182) and Paul Cheney (220) were runners-up in their weight classes. Cheney lost 4-2 to Prior Lake’s Alex Hart in a rematch of an early December bout won by Cheney. Cheney and Hart are ranked first and sec-ond at 220 in Class 3A, and their only losses are to each other. Apple Valley scored 292.5 points to run away with the team title. West Fargo (N.D.) was second with 179, with Prior Lake third at 169. Farmington’s top fin-isher was Jamin LeDuc, who finished second at 106. His loss in the cham-pionship match is his only defeat of the season after starting with 10 consecu-tive victories. The Tigers’ Matt Rus-tad finished fifth at 132. Taylor Venz, a state cham-pion at 106 last season, placed sixth at 126 in the Christmas Tournament.

Lightning

moving up? Eastview is not ranked

in the top 12 in Class 3A wrestling – yet. That might change after the Light-ning defeated a couple of ranked teams last week. The Lightning edged No. 7 Shakopee 37-36 on Dec. 19, then beat Lakev-ille North 35-33 in its final match at the Richfield Du-als on Dec. 21. Eastview, 11-2 overall, went 3-0 at the Richfield tournament. Luke Dodd (170 pounds) had five victories on the week to improve his record to 10-1. Nick Pegelow remained unde-feated (11-0) at 195 after winning four matches. George Farmah, ranked sixth in Class 3A at 132 pounds, had a victory over Lakeville North’s Colin DeGrammont, who is No. 6 at 126.

Still No. 1 Eastview held the No. 1 ranking in Class 4A girls basketball into the holiday break after beating fourth-ranked Lakeville North 57-38 on Dec. 20. The Lightning is 6-0 despite having played only one home game. East-view’s next six games are on the road; the Lightning won’t play again on its home court until Jan. 16 against Bloomington Ken-nedy. The schedule balanc-

es out in the second half of the season, when the Lightning plays eight of its final 10 regular-season games at home. Eastview outscored North 35-20 in the second half of last week’s South Suburban Conference game. Kari Opatz had 14 points and Madison Gue-bert 12 to lead Eastview. Sarah Krynski scored 15 for Lakeville North. Eastview and Lakev-ille North will play in a holiday tournament at St. Olaf College starting Fri-day, although the South Suburban Conference ri-vals are not scheduled to play each other.

Bison power Athletes from local schools are playing key roles for the North Dakota State University team that will seek a third consecu-tive Football Champion-ship Subdivision title Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas. NDSU (14-0) will play Towson State of Mary-land for the champion-ship in what was formerly known as Division I-AA. Rosemount High School alumnus and 2009 Mr. Football award win-ner Zach Vraa leads the Bison in receptions (61) and receiving yardage (1,140). He caught a 50-yard touchdown pass in the Bison’s 52-14 victory over New Hampshire in a semifinal game Dec. 20. Burnsville High School graduate C.J. Smith has started all 14 games at cor-nerback this season and has 38 tackles and two in-terceptions. Sophomore offensive lineman and Eastview graduate Zack Johnson is a starter for the Bison and was named Missouri Val-ley Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week in November.

Email Mike Shaughnessy at [email protected].

MacKenzie Denk takes a jump shot during the Lakeville North girls bas-ketball team’s loss to East-view last week. (Photo by Mike Shaughnessy)


LEGAL NOTICES

CITY OF LAKEVILLEPUBLIC HEARING NOTICE REQUEST:1. The preliminary plat of 40 single fam-

ily residential lots to be known as KYLACROSSING.

2. A variance for buffer yard lot depth,lot width, and rear yard setback.

APPLICANT: CNC DevelopmentLOCATION AND LEGAL DESCRIP-

TIONrThe property is located north ofKenwood Trail (County Road 50) and west of Ipava Avenue in the City of Lakeville, Dakota County, Minnesota and is legallydescribed as follows:

Lots One (1), Two (2), Three (3), Four (4),Thirteen (13), Fourteen (14), Fifteen (15),and Sixteen (16), Block Four (4), Lenihan’sLots, Antlers Park, and the same descrip-tion Antlers Park, and all the part of Lotor Block G Lenihan’s Lots, Antlers Parklying northwesterly of the line betweenLots Twelve (12) and Thirteen (13) of saidBlock Four (4) as extended northeasterly, and South of a line parallel to and Three Hundred Fifty (350) feet south of the northline of said Lot G; all according to the plats thereof now on file and of record in the of-fice of the Register of Deeds, in and forDakota County, Minnesota.

ANDLots Eleven (11) and Twelve (12), Block

Five (5), Antler’s Park, according to theplat of record.

ANDLots Three (3), Five (5), Six (6), Seven

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

(7), Eight (8), Nine (9), Ten (10), Twenty-one(21), Twenty-two (22), Twenty-three (23),Twenty-four (24), Twenty-five (25), Twenty-six (26), Twenty-seven (27) and Twenty-eight (28), Block Five (5), Lenihan’s LotsAntlers Park and the same descriptionAntlers Park.

ANDLot Four (4), Block Five (5), Antlers Park.ANDLots Fourteen (14), Nineteen (19) and

Twenty (20), Block Five (5) in Lenihan’sLots Antlers Park, according to the re-corded plat thereof.

ANDLots Thirteen (13), Sixteen (16), Seven-

teen (17) and Eighteen (18), Block Five (5)in Antlers Park, according to the recordedplat thereof.

That part of Lot F in Antlers Park, ac-cording to the recorded plat thereof andthat part of Lot G in Lenihan’s Lots Ant-lers Park, according to the recorded platthereof, more particularly described asfollows: Beginning at the northeast cornerof said Lot F; thence West along the northline of said Lot F and along the north lineof said Lot G to the northwest corner of said Lot G; thence southeasterly alongthe southwesterly line of said Lot G, 552feet to a point which Is 350 feet south ofthe north line of said Lot G; thence eastand parallel to the said north line 460.9feet; thence southeasterly 648.97 feet to a point on the east line of said Lot F, said point being 761.5 feet south of the point

of beginning; thence north along the eastline of said Lot F 761.5 feet to the pointof beginning:

EXCEPTING THEREFROM, all that partlying easterly of the following describedline:

Commencing at the northeast corner of said Lot F; thence on an assumed bearing North 89 degrees 47 minutes 51 secondsWest, along the north line of said Lot Fand along the north line of said Lot G, adistance of 382.13 feet to the actual pointof beginning of the line to be described;thence South 23 degrees 18 minutes 37seconds East a distance 222.74 feet; thence southerly along a tangential curve,concave to the west, having a radius of 679.30 feet and a central angle of 56 de-grees 53 minutes 33 seconds a distanceof 674.52 feet to the south line of said Lot F and there terminating.

ANDLot Fifteen (15), Block Five (5) in Ant-

lers Park, according to the recorded platthereof.

ANDThe vacated Alley of Block 5 in Leni-

han’s Lots Antlers Park and the same de-scription Antlers Park

ANDThe vacated Taft Avenue lying north-

westerly the northeasterly extension ofthe line between of Lots 12 and 13, Block4, Lenihan’s Lots Antlers Park.

ANDThe proposed vacated Alley of Block 4

in Lenihan’s Lots Antlers Park lying north-easterly of the southwesterly extension ofthe line between of Lots 12 and 13, Block4, Lenihan’s Lots Antlers Park.

ANDThe proposed vacated 4TH STREET ly-

ing northeasterly of the northeasterly right of way line of Kenwood Trail per MNDOT Right of Way Plat No. 19-120.

WHEN: Thursday, January 9, 2014 be-ginning at 6:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the parties may be heard.

WHERE: Planning Commission Meet-ing. City Hall Council Chambers, 20195 Holyoke Avenue, Lakeville, Minnesota.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Attend the pub-lic hearing, call the Planning Departmentat (952) 985-4424 or e-mail comments or questions to [email protected].

DATED this 23rd day of December 2013CITY OF LAKEVILLECharlene Friedges City Clerk

Published in LakevilleDecember 27, 2013

155930

CITY OF LAKEVILLEPUBLIC HEARING NOTICE REQUEST: The preliminary plat of 62

single family residential lots to be known as SUMMERLYN NORTH.

APPLICANT: Shamrock Development.LOCATION AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION:

The property is located south of 190thStreet and west of Holyoke Avenue in theCity of Lakeville, Dakota County, Minne-

f

sota and is legally described as follows:That part of the West Half of the North-

east Quarter of Section 20, Township 114,Range 20, Dakota County, Minnesotathat lies north of the south 1510.95 feetthereof.

Together with: All that part of Outlot G,SUMMERLYN 1 ST ADDITION, accord-ing to the recorded plat thereof, DakotaCounty, Minnesota, lying north of the fol-lowing described line:

Commencing at the northwest corner ofOutlot H, said SUMMERLYN 1 ST ADDI-TION; thence on an assumed bearing ofSouth 89 degrees 57 minutes 36 secondsEast along the north line of said OutlotsG and H, a distance of 154.78 feet tothe point of beginning of the line to bedescribed line; thence South 75 degrees51 minutes 28 seconds East, a distanceof 92.21 feet; thence northeasterly, a dis-tance of 24.53 feet along a non-tangentialcurve concave to the southeast, havinga chord bearing of North 23 degrees 40minutes 25 seconds East, a radius of559.00 feet, and a central angle of 02 de-grees 30 minutes 50 seconds to the northline of said Outlot G; thence South 89 de-grees 57 minutes 36 seconds East alongsaid north line, a distance of 66.06 feet;thence southwesterly, a distance of 0.81feet along a non-tangential curve concaveto the northwest, having a chord bearingof South 23 degrees 23 minutes 20 sec-onds West, a radius of 480.00 feet, and a central angle of 00 degrees 05 minutes

S

47 seconds; thence South 79 degrees 53minutes 42 seconds East, not tangentto said curve, a distance of 141.03 feet;thence South 11 degrees 13 minutes 18seconds West, a distance of 33.03 feet;thence South 59 degrees 57 minutes 36seconds East, a distance of 147.69 feet;thence North 00 degrees 02 minutes 24 seconds East, a distance of 17.79 feet;thence northerly a distance of 40.12 feetalong a tangential curve concave to theeast having a radius of 300.00 feet and acentral angle of 07 degrees 39 minutes 44seconds to the north line of said Oultot Gand there terminating.

WHEN: Thursday, January 9,2014 be-ginning at 6:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the parties may be heard.

WHERE: Planning Commission Meet-ing. City Hall Council Chambers, 20195 Holyoke Avenue, Lakeville, Minnesota.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Attend the pub-lic hearing, call the Planning Departmentat {952) 985-4423 or e-mail comments orquestions to: [email protected]

DATED this 23rd day of December 2013CITY OF LAKEVILLEBy: /s/ Charlene Friedges, City Clerk

Published in LakevilleDecember 27, 2013

155919

Lakeville Parks and Rec-reation will offer the follow-ing activities. Register at www.lakeville-rapconnect.com or in person at 20195 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville. Nickelodeon Universe Mall of America, Bloom-ington: Purchase all-day discount wristbands for $24 online at www.lakeville-rap-connect.com or at the Lakev-ille Parks & Recreation office in City Hall, 20195 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville. Pick up tick-

ets at City Hall. Discount tickets avail-able for Sesame Street Live. For more information, go to lakeville-rapconnect.com or call 952-985-4600. Learn to Skate program – Indoor skating lessons for ages 3 to adult at Hasse Are-na, 8525 215th St., Lakeville. One-hour lessons are held Tuesday mornings and after-noons, Jan. 7 to Feb. 25, and Saturday mornings, Jan. 4 to Feb. 22. Several skating level

times are offered. Cost: $89/session and $125/P.A.L.S. level. Registration begins Dec. 14. Adult dance classes – East Coast Swing and Coun-try Two-Step, ages 17 and older, Mondays, Jan. 6 to Feb. 10 (no classes Jan. 20), at the Lakeville Heritage Center, 20110 Holyoke Ave. East Coast Swing: 7-8 p.m. Country Two-Step: 8:15-9:15 p.m. Cost: $60 per couple per session.

Winter Wonders – Ages 6-12 (no school ISD 194). Explore the outdoors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, at Ritter Farm Park, 19300 Ritter Trail. Build quinzee winter shelters, track animals, snowshoe, build bird feeders and more. Dress for the weather. Cost: $50. Public skating schedule: 4-9 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Holi-day schedule: 10 a.m. to 9

p.m. Dec. 27, 30, Jan. 1, 2, 3, 17, 20 and Feb. 17; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 31. Map of outdoor rinks – A map of outdoor rinks is at www.lakevillemn.gov, or call 952-985-4600 to have a map mailed. Rental of outdoor rink – McGuire Middle School hockey rink 2 is available for rental. Dates and times are limited. Email Patty at [email protected] if inter-ested.

Snowshoe rental – Snow-shoes are available for rent. Call 952-985-4600 to reserve a pair or for more informa-tion and availability. Cost: $3 per pair per day, three-day minimum on weekends. De-posit: $75 per pair. Three siz-es to choose from (up to 150, 200 and 275 pounds). Pick up and return snowshoes 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at Lakeville City Hall, 20195 Holyoke Ave.

Lakeville Parks and Recreation activities

2014 Tax Guide


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The Burnsville Performing Arts Center will be ringing in the new year with laughter when it hosts legendary Minnesota funnyman Louie Anderson on New Year’s Eve. The St. Paul native known for his TV and film roles (“Coming to America,” “Life with Louie”) has two stand-up shows scheduled – at 7 and 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31 – in the Burnsville venue’s 1,000-seat main hall. Tickets are $33-$73 and are available through Ticketmaster online or by calling 800-982-2787. (Photo submitted)

theater and arts briefs

theater and arts calendar

family calendar

‘A Christmas Carol Scrooged’ Heartbeat Perform-ing Arts Center in Ap-ple Valley will present “A Christmas Carol Scrooged” at 1 and 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at Eastview High School. Dancers, singers and actors from age 3 to adult star in this humor-ous tale that takes the audience from Christ-mas past and present to future, with a few notori-ous characters as passen-gers. Tickets are available at Heartbeat Studios or at the box office 30 min-utes prior to the start of each show time. To pur-

chase a ticket by phone, call 952-432-7833 by Jan. 8.

‘Best of Bonnie’ at BPAC “The Best of Bonnie and Friends” art exhibit, featuring 31 artists un-der the direction of Bon-nie Featherstone, is on display through Feb. 1 in the gallery at the Burns-ville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. The exhibit showcases various media by local award-winning artists. It is on display during gallery hours (9 a.m.

to 5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m. Sundays and during arts center events). More information on the show is at www.face-book.com/bonnieand-friends.

Yearwood at Mystic Grammy Award-win-ning country singer Trisha Yearwood will take the Mystic Showroom stage at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 1. Tickets are $55 and $69. Contact the box office at 952-445-9000 or visit mys-ticlake.com for more de-tails.

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

[email protected].

Auditions “Snow White and the Seven or Eight Dwarfs” au-ditions for youths in grade one and above, Friday, Jan. 3, and Saturday, Jan. 4, by Giant Step Theatre. To sign up for an audition or for more information, email [email protected] with the child’s name, grade level and preference for a Friday evening or Saturday after-noon audition time. Registra-tion fee is $98. Information: LakevilleAreaCommunityEd.net, 952-232-2170.

Comedy Chris Franjola featuring Brent Terhune Dec. 27-29 at Mystic Lake Comedy Club. Tickets: $19. Information: mysticlake.com, 952-445-9000. Louie Anderson, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, at the Burnsville Perform-ing Arts Center, 12600 Nicol-let Ave. Tickets range from $32.95 to $102.95 at the box office, by phone at 800-982-2787 or Ticketmaster.com. SNL Legends: Rob Sch-neider, Tim Meadows and Chris Kattan, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, Mystic Comedy Club in Prior Lake. Tickets: $45. Informa-tion: mysticlake.com, 952-445-9000.

Exhibits Best of Bonnie Feather-stone & Friends exhibit will be on display Dec. 19 through Feb. 1 in the art gallery at Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Information: 952-895-4685, facebook.com/bonnieand-friends. Wildlife paintings by Rosemount artist Lynda Dyk-house are on display through December at the Robert Trail Library, 14395 S. Robert Trail, Rosemount. Winter Art Experience, an exhibit sponsored by the Eagan Art Festival and Ea-gan Art House, is on display through February at the Ea-gan Byerly’s, 1299 Prome-nade Place. Information: 651-675-5521. Savage Arts Council’s December exhibit features digital works by illustrator Franklin Haws. It can be

seen during business hours through Dec. 30 at Savage City Hall, 6000 McColl Drive, Savage.

Music The BoDeans, 8 p.m. Sat-urday, Dec. 28, at the Burns-ville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Tickets are $40-$45 at the box office, by phone at 800-982-2787 or Ticketmaster.com. Cedar, “Human/Nature” CD release show, Saturday, Jan. 11, Amsterdam Bar and Hall, 6 W. Sixth St., St. Paul. Doors open at 6 p.m., mu-sic at 7 p.m. Admission: $7, $10 with pre-order of CD. Ticket link: ticketfly.com/event/447515. “Hope is Alive” benefit concert for St. Jude Chil-dren’s Research Hospital, 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Silent auction and activities begin at 5 p.m. Elvis tribute artists Steve and Tommy Mar-cio perform at 7 p.m. Tick-ets: $25 at the box office, by phone at 800-982-2787 or at Ticketmaster.com.

Theater “Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells” Dec. 13-30 at Lakeville Area Arts Cen-ter, 20965 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville. Tickets: $13, www.lakevilleareaartscenter.com, 952-985-4640. The Church Basement La-dies in “A Mighty Fortress is our Basement,” 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Tickets: $30 and $40 at the box office, by phone at 800-982-2787 or at Ticketmaster.com.

Workshops/classes/other Winter art classes are open for registration at the Eagan Art House. A class list is at http://www.cityofeagan.com/images/recreation/Ea-ganArtHouse/Fall_2013.pdf. Information: Eagan Parks and Recreation at 651-675-5500 or the Eagan Art House at 651-675-5521. Teen Poetry Jam/Rap Battle, 4-5 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at Ap-ple 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 Chris-tine Tierney, 9 a.m. to noon Wednesdays, River Ridge Arts Building, Burnsville. In-formation: www.christinetier-ney.com, 612-210-3377. Teens Express Yourself with Paint, 5-7 p.m. Mon-days at Brushworks School of Art in Burnsville, www.BrushworksSchoolofArt.com, 651-214-4732. Drama/theater classes for ages 4 and up at River Ridge Arts Building, Burns-ville, 952-736-3644. Show Biz Kids Theater Class for children with spe-cial needs (ASD/DCD pro-grams), 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 (Co-lonial Shopping Center), 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 classes held weekly in Eagan near 55 and Yankee Doodle. Call Jamie at 651-315-4849 for dates and times. $10 per person. Presented by Making Scents in Minnesota. Country line dance classes held for intermedi-ates Mondays 1:30-4 p.m. at Rambling River Center, 325 Oak St., Farmington, $5/class. Call Marilyn 651-463-7833. Country line dance classes on Wednesdays at the Lakeville Senior Center, 20110 Holyoke Ave. Begin-ners, 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 Rob-ert Trail Library. Information: John Loch, 952-255-8545 or [email protected].

To submit items for the Family Calendar, email:

[email protected].

Friday, Dec. 27 “The Princess Bride,” 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Gal-axie Library, 14955 Galaxie Ave., Apple Valley. Enjoy this bent fairy tale, complete with fencing, fighting, chases and escapes in a time when men were men and swamps were fire swamps, full of quicksand and rodents of unusual size, and the most beautiful wom-an in the world was named Buttercup. For all ages. Free. Information: 952-891-7045. “Despicable Me 2,” 2:30-5 p.m., Burnhaven Library, 1101 County Road 42 W., Burnsville. Comedy adven-ture featuring the return of super-villain Gru, the girls, the unpredictably hilarious Min-ions, and a host of new char-acters. Popcorn and cocoa provided. Ages: 6-15. Free. Information: 952-891-0300.

Saturday, Dec. 28 Free children’s concert led by Colorado-based duo Jeff and Paige, 10:30-11:15 a.m., Presbyterian Church of the Apostles, 701 E. 130th St., Burnsville. Information: 952-890-7877.

Monday, Dec. 30 Board Games, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Burnhaven Library, 1101 County Road 42 W., Burnsville. For all ages. Free. Information: 952-891-0300.

Tuesday, Dec. 31. Dakota County New Year’s Eve party, 5-8 p.m., Visitor Center, Lebanon Hills Regional Park, 860 Cliff

Road, Eagan. Cost is $8 per person if pre-registered by Dec. 30 and $10 per person at the door. Children age 5 and younger are free. Infor-mation: dakotacounty.us/parks or 651-554-6530.

Friday, Jan. 3 Forever Wild Family Fri-day: Fun on the Ice, 7-8:30 p.m., Lebanon Hills Visi-tor Center, 860 Cliff Road, Eagan. Bring your own ice skates or try out the Visitor Center’s kicksleds. All ages. Free. Registration requested at www.co.dakota.mn.us/parks.

Saturday, Jan. 4 Ross Sutter – Animal Folklore, 11 a.m. to noon, Schaar’s Bluff Gathering Center, Spring Lake Park Reserve, 8395 127th St. E., Hastings. Have fun dancing, singing and learning about animals. A Minnesota Legacy Program. All ages. Free. Reg-istration requested at www.co.dakota.mn.us/parks.

Tuesday, Jan. 7 Community Night – A Lunchbox & Snowshoe of Healthy Habits, 5-7 p.m., Valley Natural Foods, 13750 County Road 11, Burnsville. Free family event that en-courages healthy habits in the new year. Includes free tastings and activities. Infor-mation: valleynaturalfoods.com/community/lunchbox-snowshoe-healthy-habits-community-night-january-7/.

Ongoing Alpha, 6-8:15 p.m. Mon-days, Jan. 13 to March 24 (no class Feb. 17), Hosanna

Church, 9600 163rd St. W., Lakeville. Explore the mean-ing of life through the Chris-tian faith in a relaxed and friendly environment. No cost. Register online: www.hosannalc.org.

Blood drives The American Red Cross will hold the following blood drives. Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. • Dec. 28, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Culver’s, 3445 O’Leary Lane, Eagan. • Dec. 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wescott Library, 1340 Wescott Road, Eagan. • Dec. 31, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sam’s Club, 14940 Flor-ence Trail, Apple Valley. • Jan. 7, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Messiah Lutheran Church, 16725 Highview Ave., Lake-ville. • Jan. 7, 2-7 p.m., Ameri-can Legion, 12375 Princeton Ave., Savage. • Jan. 8, 1-7 p.m., Wal-greens, 2200 Highway 13 E., Burnsville. • Jan. 9, 1-6 p.m., Hope Church, 7477 145th St., Ap-ple Valley. Memorial Blood Centers will hold the following blood drives. Call 888-GIVE-BLD or visit MBC.org to make an ap-pointment or for more infor-mation. • Dec. 31, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Lifetime Fitness, 1565 Thomas Center Drive, Eagan. • Jan. 8, 8-11:45 a.m., US Federal Credit Union, 1400 Riverwood Drive, Burnsville.

That’s entertainment 2013A selection of A&E head-lines from 2013 | Concerts offer solace from the snow | An evening with the Man in Black | Hobbits are afoot | Oboe with your cup of Joe | Classical mu-sic – and an oenophile’s bounty | Bluegrass bash | ‘Hollywood’ comes to Burnsville | Controversy came with bestseller sta-tus for young-adult author | Another dimension of sight and sound | Take a stroll down musical lane | Piano prowess times two | Teens experience Myracle | Spinning a web of won-der | Comic is ‘Too Big to Ignore’ | Who killed Edwin Drood? You make the call | Last call for bluegrass | Local author returns with time-travel tale | Lakeville North grad to be Bon Jovi roadie | Slapstick beside the water cooler | Percus-sion ensemble Crash is crazy creative | Fairy tale on Bourbon Street | Indie film puts local actor on the big screen | Adventures in banjo land | Get your kilt ready for Minnesota Scot-tish Fair | Fairy tale love,

against a backdrop of war | ‘Voice’ appearance is latest milestone for local singer | War comes to Farm-ington | ‘What Did You Say?’ author speaks up | Jazzed up at the Galaxie Library | Poetry prowess | Heartbeat: A dream that became reality | For lat-est role, local performer’s lips are sealed | The case of the ambitious young actor | Music at the mar-ket | For festival’s featured artist, photography is an adventure | The Immortal Bard, abridged | An un-likely muse | Exploring the magic of sound | Pixie dust aplenty | Bluegrass brings brothers together | Exploring a post-human future | Young actors head ‘under the sea’ | Sounds of summer | Fiesta in the woods | Peculiar percus-sion | Whole lotta shakin’ in Lakeville | Ramble Jam brings country to city | In Eagan, Beethoven with a modern twist | Shutterbug splendor | Ballet blossoms in south metro | Autumn brings ‘Harvest of Art’ | Farm family with a knack

for the arts | Middle Ages come alive in Eagan | Lakeville actor has Hol-lywood on her resumé | Family reunion for Ole & Lena | Heart songs | 50 miles of fine art | Expert advice on visual wonders | Guitar virtuoso’s jour-ney continues | One-man band on the mend | Rat Pack is back | Family ar-tifact launched Civil War book project | Probing the hidden world of paranor-mal activity | Your own personal Santa | Artwork paints joyful noise | Stars align for bluegrass | Novel draws from dark chapter of family’s history | Tech-nicolor dreams | Holiday hijinks | Author probes reptile mysteries | Animal art | Buffalo dreams and maps of spiritual territory | Windows into women’s worlds | Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll come to North Dakota | A blast of Christ-mas facts | Calling for an ‘Encore’ | Holiday show features ‘world’s funniest first grader’ | It’s a ’50s Christmas | Compiled by Andrew Miller

New Year’s with Louie

Happy Holidays from SunThisweek!


ThisweekendThisweekend

Children’s theater group launches in Rosemount Backyard Bunch classes begin in January

It’s curtain call for children’s theater in Rosemount. Based at the city’s Steeple Center, Back-yard Bunch Children’s Theater will begin offer-ing classes for students in grades K-8 in January. Among the ini-tial class offerings are Speech Wars, focusing on monologues; Steal the Scene Without Say-ing a Word, touching on stage presence, mim-ing and slapstick com-edy; and Performance Puzzle, a general acting and stage management

course. Backyard Bunch di-

rector Amy Kamarainen, who previously operated the Young Actors The-ater Company in Eagan, said the new children’s theater group will have three or four instructors (in addition to her), with a maximum class ratio of 10 students for every one instructor. Classes will be offered evenings and weekends, with a summer camp schedule in the works. “It is a great new op-portunity for the Rose-mount area – one that is greatly needed for the south metro,” Kamara-

inen said of the launch of Backyard Bunch. “The skills kids learn are lifelong, whether they stay in drama or not.” The children’s theater group is a Rosemount Area Arts Council pro-gram, and is a sister or-ganization to The Front Porch Players, the com-munity theater group the arts council established last summer. More about Backyard Bunch, including class registration information, is at www.bbctmn.com.

—Andrew Miller

Amy Kamarainen

Post-‘Cougar Town,’ Cedar returns with new album

‘Human/Nature’ CD release show set Jan. 11 by Andrew Miller


Rock band Cedar has scored some major coups since the 2009 release of its debut album “Someday Soon.” They’ve opened for Hanson (of “MMMBop” fame), were featured on a Cities 97 sampler CD, and saw two of their songs aired on primetime TV – on ABC’s “Rookie Blue” and “Cougar Town.” “That was a pretty weird situation,” drum-mer Shawn Burtis said of the band’s song “Some-day Soon” appearing as background music on the Courtney Cox sitcom “Cougar Town.” “I’ve been told that (Cedar frontman Jesse Mathews’s) aunt is a hair stylist for Courtney Cox or something. Our tape was passed around at the stu-dio – it was kind of passed around the makeup room and made its way into the hands of the right people.” The band with roots in the Apple Valley-Eagan area – three members are Eastview High School graduates – is set to release its new album, “Human/Nature,” next month, with a CD release show set Jan. 11 at the Amsterdam Bar in St. Paul. Cedar has under-gone some changes since the release of “Someday Soon” four years ago, the most conspicuous being the name change. They were for-merly known as

Cedar Avenue – an hom-age to the north-south thoroughfare running

through their hometown of Apple Valley. “The name ‘Cedar Av-enue’ was kind of just an

o f f - t h e -cuff thing when we made the band in 2005,” said Burtis. “We decided that d r o p p i n g the ‘avenue’ s o u n d e d cooler, and it didn’t dis-tance us too far from the old name.” The band has also seen some lineup

changes. Mathews’ wife and Cedar’s keyboard-ist, Derrin, left the group about a year ago after the birth of the couple’s first child. Joining original mem-bers Burtis, Mathews and bassist Kyle Wachter are two new additions – gui-tarist Justin Lansdowne and keyboardist Nathana-el Raway. “We really didn’t know what the band would do after the last disc came out,” said Burtis. “It sounds kind of cli-che and corny, but we all just like hanging out with each other. A lot of the guys have one or two kids, but we still rehearse every

The members of Cedar are, from left, Kyle Wachter, Nathanael Raway, Jesse Mathews, Shawn Burtis and Justin Lansdowne. (Submitted photo by Jonker Portrait Gallery)

Thursday in Jesse’s base-ment – he has a neat little man cave where we have a glass of whiskey and play some tunes.” More about Cedar and the release of “Human/

Nature” is on the band’s website, www.cedarave-nuemusic.com.

Email Andrew Miller at [email protected].

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