sun thisweek burnsville and eagan

Burnsville | Eaganwww.SunThisweek.com

June 22, 2012 | Volume 33 | Number 17

General Information 952-894-1111

Distribution 952-846-2070Display Advertising

952-846-2011Classified Advertising

952-846-2000

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

Announcements . . . . . . 7A

Mature Lifestyles . . . . . 8A

Thisweekend . . . . . . . . 12A

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14A

Public Notices . . . . . . . 16A

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . 17A

Index

OnlIne

OpInIOnCyber bullying can be stoppedThe locker room video and photo incident in Lakeville can bring awareness to stop cyber-bullying .

Page 4A

Shakespeare in the woodsEagans Caponi Art Park is playing host to a staging of the Shakespeare comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor this Sunday .

Page 12A

lightning strikes at stateThe Eastview baseball team won its first state championship on Monday at Target Field .

Page 14A

Chat with your friends, neighbors and reporters at www .facebook .com/sunthisweek .

Tweet with us at twitter .com/sunthisweek .

Find more storm photos at sunthisweek .com .

ThISweekend

SpOrTS

by Jessica HarperSuN ThISWEEk

Eagan City Council members received a chilling message this week that dark-ened the debate over a golf course redevelopment plan . A handwritten note sent to city hall stated, Any council members voting for developing Parkview will die . You are in on it with the developer . It was signed FOV, which city officials interpreted to mean Friends of Parkview, a vocal group opposed to plans to turn Parkview Golf Course into housing . Members of a group, which doesnt call itself Friends of Parkview, but is often referred to as such, deny being associated with the letter and said they dont condone threats . Im sorry to see this kind of correspondence, said Patrick Campbell, a member of the group . This doesnt represent us . We pre-fer a more civil discussion .

Mayor Mike Maguire read the letter aloud June 19 during a public hearing on a proposal to amend the citys guide plan, which would change Parkviews guided land use from private recre-

ation to low-density residen-tial . Eagan Police are inves-tigating the threat, but de-clined to speak about it in detail since it is an ongoing investigation .

Anyone with informa-tion about the letter or letter writer is urged to call Det . Desiree Schoepfer at (651) 675-5889 . Maguire said the council wont be swayed by intimi-

dation and urged residents to discuss the matter civilly . The council unanimous-ly approved submitting a comprehensive guide plan amendment to the Metro-politan Council for review . If approved, the amend-ment would return to the City Council for a final vote . Eden Prairie-based real estate developer hunter Emerson notified city of-ficials in May it hopes to build 173 homes on the 80-acre site . The developers plans for the site at 1310 and 1290 Cliff Road also call for a clubhouse, community gathering space, neighbor-hood parks and a bike path that would connect the new development to the Fairway hills neighborhood and Lebanon hills Regional Park . home prices would range from $200,000 to $650,000 . hunter Emerson entered

by John GessnerSuN ThISWEEk

Burnsville residents and business owners are pretty happy campers who share an opinion on city taxes: Dont raise em . New city-commissioned surveys, one of residents and one of business own-ers and managers, gave Burnsville high marks for quality of life, government and city services . But when the 400 ran-domly selected residents

were asked if theyd favor a tax increase to maintain city services, 63 percent said no and only 17 per-cent said yes . When the 300 randomly selected business people were asked, 43 percent said no to 19 percent yes . No, said Bill Morris of polling firm Decision Resources Ltd ., summing up the mood . Morris pre-sented results of the sur-


It took little coax-ing to make the Dalai Lama his usual beatif-ic self before Doug knut-sons medi-um-format camera . With the Dalai Lama, I did three frames, said knutson, who photo-graphed his holiness backstage at Northrup Auditorium during a Carl-son Lecture Series appear-ance in 2001 . I snuck in a tiny bit closer and said, Come on, you can give me a bigger smile than that . So he gives me this little grin . I took that, and I knew that was it . The Tibetan spiritual leader is one of 21 No-bel Peace Prize laureates knutson has portraitized

in a sideline to his success-ful commercial photogra-phy career . Raised in Burnsville,

knutson is displaying his Nobel Peace Portraits col-


The flood- and damage-prone Black Dog Road will be turned over to Xcel Energy under a new agree-ment between Burnsville and the company . A set of agreements, ap-proved by the City Council June 19, clears up a num-ber of tensions over access, safety and building codes that have mounted since Xcels Black Dog power plant began operating more than 50 years ago . The city will eventu-

ally relinquish ownership of the road which runs along the Minnesota River between Burnsville and Eagan and was originally built to provide plant ac-cess while gaining ease-ments on Xcel property for a regional trail and park facilities . Agreements also ad-dress the citys emergency response functions at the coal- and gas-fired plant, as well as its oversight of building and fire codes .

Despite receiving a threatening letter, Eagan council unanimouslyapproves sending guide plan amendment to Met Council

Drinking water raises hackles

Gallery show features Knutsons Nobel portfolio

Agreements clear up issues surrounding Black Dog plant

death threats darken golf course debate

Surveys: Burnsville great, but no new taxes

portraits of laureates

xcel would reclaim road under agreement

Photo by Jessica harper

The Eagan City Council unanimously approved submitting an amendment to the city comprehensive guide plan, that if approved, would change Parkview Golf Courses guided land use from private recreation to low-density residential.

This is Doug Knutsons portrait of the Dalai Lama.

File photo

New agreements between Burnsville and Xcel Energy address unresolved issues at the Black Dog power plant, the first portion of which was built in 1956.

Doug Knutson

Photo by Rick Orndorf

Circus Manduhai, billed as a Mongolian family show, was one of the multicultural attractions at the International Festival of Burnsville on Saturday, June 16. Performing on hula hoops was Chimgee Haltarhuu. The festival continued despite being forced from its original location, Nicollet Commons Park, inside the adjacent Performing Arts Center.

International Fest entertains

See parkvIew, 3A

See knuTSOn, 15A

See BlaCk dOg, 15A

See BurnSvIlle, 10A

2A June 22, 2012 Sun ThiSweek - Burnsville / eagan

Sun ThiSweek - Burnsville / eagan June 22, 2012 3A

into a purchase agreement last month with the prop-ertys owner, Parkview Golf Associates. The agreement is contingent upon a guide plan change, rezoning and plat approvals that would allow a project to move for-ward. Shortly after Parkview Golf Associates purchased the course in 2001, it saw a steady decline in custom-ers and revenue, Parkview co-owner Robert Zaviheim said. Parkview is no longer a viable operation, he said. Parkviews annual rounds of golf dropped 25 percent from 50,000 at its peak in 2007 to 37,000 in 2011. Parkviews revenue has fallen 17.5 percent in the last four years. The course incurred a loss of $142,211 in 2011. Zaviheim said he has in-vested $1 million in the golf course since 2011 with no return. Parkview isnt alone in its struggle, said Michael Abee of Paradigm Golf Group, a national golf industry ex-pert. We have an oversup-ply and decline in demand in the industry right now ... and Minneapolis is one of the most saturated markets in the nation, Abee said. Last year marked the first time more golf cours-es closed nationwide than opened, with 157 closures, he said. Parkview Golf Associ-ates looked at other options but felt selling the property to developers was the only viable one, Zaviheim said. Zaviheims comments didnt sway many of the residents who crowded the Eagan council chambers.

Preserving green space Several residents urged the city to consider the

benefits of an 18-hole golf course. Mark Wanous, a coach for Eastview High School boys golf, noted that Parkview provides a place for youth camps. Theres a niche for Parkview, Wanous said. Its not just about a game of golf, its about what it teaches kids. Zaviheim noted that demand for youth golf at Parkview has dropped 40 percent, from 500 partici-pants in 2007 to 300 in 2011. Maguire added that the council doesnt have the authority to preserve the property as a golf course. Under the existing zon-ing, Parkviews owner has the right to change it into a number of things, from a gun range to a campground or nursery, he said. Some residents suggested the city should purchase the property for a municipal golf course. Julie Sydell Johnson, di-rector of Eagan Parks and Recreation, said the depart-ment has studied the issue and has determined a mu-nicipal golf course would not be viable. Sydell Johnson also not-ed that a 2008 referendum that would have enabled the city to purchase Carriage Hills golf course for $10.5 million failed. Others urged Parkview Golf Associates to consider other options or further market the course to poten-tial buyers. Council members agreed with Zaviheim, who said the association has struggled to find other private buyers in the current market. Its clear that there might be slim opportunity for a white knight to come through and buy the prop-erty to preserve it as a golf course, Council Member Gary Hansen said. Several residents claimed the agreement between Hunter Emerson and

Parkview raised the price, making it difficult for any-one else to bid on. Other residents, such as Mark Skweres, said they worry Eagan will lose more green space. I believe open space is the highest and best use of land. It serves as a buf-fer between neighborhoods and should be preserved, Skweres said. Friends of Eagan Core Greenway also sent the council a letter opposing the guide plan amendment, say-ing, We would like to work with the (city of Eagan) and the landowners to explore alternative solutions. City Administrator Tom Hedges noted that efforts are being made in the city to preserve green space, in-cluding preserving Patrick Eagan Park 11 years ago. Hedges added that Parkview is not a part of the recognized Eagan Core Gre-enway.

Kurt Manley, spokes-man for Hunter Emerson, promised the developer will preserve some green spaces as parks within the develop-ment. Pointing to the Fairview neighborhoods history of flooding, Skweres expressed concerns about water qual-ity and flooding. Eagan Public Works Di-rector Russ Matthys assured the council and residents that water quality issues would be examined prior to a project being approved. He added that phospho-rous levels would likely be lower with a residential de-velopment than with a golf course, which is permitted to use higher levels of phos-phorous in its fertilizers. Other residents expressed

concern that the developer would walk away from a project as some have in oth-er suburbs. Eagan, unlike some out-er-ring suburbs, has not en-countered developers who have walked away from a project, said Jon Hohen-stein, Eagans economic de-velopment director. This is in large part due to the citys strict rules per-taining to financing, he said. Hunter Emerson admit-ted it recently abandoned a project in Prior Lake after its finance company went belly up. We had to turn it over to the receiver, Manley said. We had no choice in the matter. This issue would be avoided in Eagan, which only allows secured banks, not finance companies, to back development projects. Eagan real estate agent Keith Hittner was the only resident to vocally support the proposal, saying he be-lieves a housing develop-ment would boost home prices in the surrounding neighborhoods. The council concluded redevelopment seems to be the most viable option. Council members also said they fear if they left the property owner without a viable option, the city could face litigation as it did in the Carriage Hills development. We cant favor a public benefit that disproportion-ately falls on a private prop-erty owner, Maguire said. In 2004, the coun-cil declined to change its guide plan to allow Wens-mann Homes to develop the property. The city was subsequently sued by the developer, who claimed it incurred losses as a result of the councils decision.

The case eventually went to Minnesota Supreme Court in 2007, and the city settled with the developer before a ruling could be made. Though Wensmann in-tended to redevelop the property, its plans were stalled in 2008 by the reces-sion. Another developer has since started construction on the property. Maguire urged residents to continue to participate in the discussion with the city and developers as the pro-cess moves along. Skweres said he is dis-heartened by the councils decision to send the guide plan amendment proposal to the Met Council. This amendment says they dont value open space as they say, he said. Campbell, too, is disap-pointed in the councils deci-sion but said he understands it is trying to protect tax-payer funds from potential litigation. If the Met Council ap-proves the amendment, it will go back to the council for approval. An approval of the guide plan amend-ment doesnt guarantee a development can move for-ward. Several steps will need to be taken before the de-veloper can break ground. Among other things, the City Council would need to rezone the site as residential and approve detailed plans before the project can move forward. The Planning Commis-sion voted May 22 to rec-ommend against changing the guide plan for housing.

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

Parkview, from 1A

This threatening letter was sent to Eagan City Council members this week. Mayor Mike Maguire read it aloud during a June 19 public hearing on a proposed guide plan amendment for Parkview Golf Course. If approved, the amendment will change Parkviews guided use from private recreation to low-density residential.


Daley will keep state on the right trackTo the editor: The calm in St. Paul and the warmth of sum-mer should not lull us into complacency regarding the state of affairs in Minne-sota, since the election of a new Legislature is just a few months away. It is important that the presidential race doesnt to-tally overshadow the state House and Senate contests, because the outcome will determine whether Min-nesota can stay on a sound financial course. There will be many calling for new spending in hopes of eas-ing unemployment, but the money spent will come from the pockets of taxpayers, who have already suffered

enough. Sen. Ted Daley, R-Ea-gan, has worked to improve government efficiency dur-ing his first term and will continue his efforts, while opposing increases in state taxes. Improving education and promoting greater in-teraction between the state and local government can bring big benefits without big price tags.

GERRY CHAPDELAINEEagan

Investing wiselyTo the editor: A recent opinion piece about rising enrollment in charter schools was thought provoking. Yet the vast ma-jority of our young people at-tend our K-12 public schools. Prominent stories about

school district budget cuts highlight the fact that our state legislators have been ap-propriating less and less each year after inflation for one of the greatest legacies we can leave our next generation. Opponents of levy ref-erendums to permit level spending on our students, cry the mantra of accountabil-ity, yet I can think of noth-ing more irresponsible than stinting on the education of our young people. Ongoing growth in class sizes is a symptom of this irresponsibility. Another is the rate of pay for starting teachers, which can discour-age juniors in college from borrowing hefty amounts to study education. Graduates of local two-year colleges are not being given any incentive to pursue teaching degrees and certificates. This is hap-

pening at a time when econo-mists say we are investing less in our educational system than what is needed to create growth in our economy. What we need is a change of heart and mind. We need this for the ability to com-pete on a world stage where foreign countries, and other states, are investing more in their future than we in Amer-ica and Minnesota. It may seem like an old-fashioned value, working on a Minne-sota Miracle again, but it is a future-oriented, forward-thinking belief that will repay us all in years to come.

LARRY KOENCKEagan

Save the U.S. Postal Service To the editor: There have been news re-ports the past several years about the U.S. Postal Ser-vices severe financial condi-tion. It has reached a crisis this year as revenue has de-clined along with a 20 per-cent decline in mail volume. The Postal Service is on the verge of going bankrupt and closing. If that happens, it would be a disaster of catastrophic proportions. It would put a large number of postal em-ployees out of work and re-ally hurt the economy. The Postal Service is 7 percent of the gross na-tional product and millions of Americans use the Postal Service to mail money, goods and communications. The problem is caused by emails and texting replacing postal mail, especially first class mail. To save the Postal Service, I urge Americans to stop sending so many emails and go back to postal mail. Write letters and pay your bills by postal mail. It is fast, inex-pensive and unlike email, it is

reliable and dependable. I use postal mail all the time. With computers, infor-mation is sometimes lost. Screens freeze up, viruses invade, servers crash and other problems occur. None of these things happen with postal mail. As a result of comput-ers, we have a generation of very fat teens and adults who spend endless hours sitting at computers. They are losing the ability to read, write and speak. There have been divorces over computer use. One man told me his wife was on the computer day and night and he couldnt get her off of it. She neglected the children. He finally divorced her. It is an addiction. Write or call your U.S. sen-ators and U.S. representative and ask them to co-sponsor and vote for legislation that will end the financial crisis for the Postal Service and put it back on sound financial footing. About one-fourth to one-third of the American people do not have computers or email. If the Postal Service closes, 25 to 33 percent of the population will be left with no way to communicate, other than by telephone.

RALPH A. GILBERTSENBurnsville

Is telling the truth important in elections?To the editor: Should honesty and integ-rity be trivial matters in an election? Is it OK to lie in a cam-paign? Have voters come to expect it? Have we become so used to such lies that we dont care anymore? Is it fair to try to justify a big lie with the ex-cuse: The other side does it or Its just politics? Some would have us be-

lieve that. Call me nave, but Id like to think the people in the south suburbs deserve better. Some of our incumbent Republican legislators and their PAC supporters have chosen to make a big fat lie the heart of their campaigns, and the lie has appeared in this papers pages. The big lie is the claim that our IR friends were re-sponsible for an $8 billion, nine-month turnaround in the states budget. Lets be clear. No self-respecting economist would stand behind this claim. Whether you support the state budget compromise of July 2011 or not, it had noth-ing to do with the improve-ment in Minnesotas econo-my that changed the budget outlook. In fact, it may have hurt it in the long run by bor-rowing from our schools. It would be truthful to in-stead acknowledge the effects of billions of dollars in fed-eral aid Minnesota received from President Obamas stimulus package, as well as the Federal Reserves actions to stimulate the economy. But how should south metro citizens take the claims their Republican legislators are making? Do the lies mat-ter? I, for one, think they do. If our candidates lie because they cant justify their votes based on an honest assess-ment of the implications, then we all lose something unbelievably important: the integrity of our democratic process. We might blame the system or the media or one political party or another for the state of our lives, our communities, our state or our country, but in the end, we have only ourselves to blame, and our votes come Novem-ber, if we accept such lies as business as usual.

JOHN WELLSEagan

Opinion

Letters

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

Publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julian.AndersenPresident. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marge.WinkelmanGeneral ManaGer/editor. . . . . . . Jeffrey.Coolmanburnsville/district 191 editor . . . . John.GessnereaGan/district 196 editor. . . . . . . Jessica.Harperthisweekend editor. . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew.Miller

Photo editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rick.OrndorfsPorts editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy.Rogers .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..Mike.Shaughnessysales ManaGer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mike.Jetchickoffice ManaGer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellen.Reierson

John.Gessner..|..burnsville news..|..952-846-2031..|..john .gessner@ecm-inc .comJessica.Harper..|..eaGan news..|..952-846-2028..|..jessica .harper@ecm-inc .com

Andy.Rogers..|..sPorts..|..952-846-2027..|..andy .rogers@ecm-inc .comMike.Shaughnessy..|..sPorts..|..952-846-2030..|..mike .shaughnessy@ecm-inc .com

Mike.Jetchick..|..ad sales..|..952-846-2019..|..mike .jetchick@ecm-inc .comKeith.Anderson..|..director of news..|..952-392-6847..|..keith .anderson@ecm-inc .com

ManaGinG editors..|..Tad.Johnson..|..John.Gessner

15322 Galaxie ave., suite 219, aPPle valley, Mn 55124952-894-1111 fax: 952-846-2010

www .SunThisweek .com..|..Office.Hours:.9.a .m ..-.5.p .m ..Monday-Thursday,.9.a .m ..-.3.p .m ..Friday

Lessons from Lakeville about cyber-bullyingby Joe Nathan

SUN THISWEEK

Will you take five minutes to help pro-tect your children? Please consider several steps that come from an incident in Lakev-ille where some middle school students took photos inside a girls locker room. First, read the following with (not to, but with) your children. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said Four students at Century Middle School in Lakeville were charged last week with crimes involving the taking and distribu-tion of inappropriate photos and a video in May 2012. The following charges were filed: Two boys, ages 13 and 14, were charged with conspiracy to commit interference with privacy and criminal defamation, both gross misdemeanors); A 14-year-old girl was charged with interference with privacy and criminal defamation, both gross misdemeanors; and another 14-year-old girl has been charged with gross misdemeanor interference with privacy. These charges stem from a May 2012 incident that was reported to the Lakeville Police Department on May 21 by a school administrator, in which two girls allegedly took photos and a video of two other girls

undressing in the schools locker room. The first girl charged is alleged to have taken four photos of one victim and a video of another victim. The second girl charged is alleged to have taken one photo of one of the same victims. The photos and video showed the backs of the victims partially undressed from the waist down, accord-ing to the Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom. None of the images showed the victims naked. The two boys apparently had created a game in which they took photos of the but-tocks of girls in the hallway and forwarded these photos to other students. It is believed that each boy paid one of the girls $5, and one of the boys gave her a can of soda to take the inappropriate images in the locker room. The second girl charged is believed to have taken one inappropriate photo as a result of the urging of the first girl. These inappropriate photos/images may have been seen by more than 40 students from

the school. Stunning, right? Now please consider having your young-sters watch a 45 second video, Pause be-fore you Post, produced by Jostens. Jeff McGonigal, an Anoka-Hennepin School District administrator, reports students were extremely attentive when teachers showed this. He recommends that parents watch and discuss it with their children. The video is at www.jostens.com/students/students_cp_pause_before_you_post.html After reading this and watching the video, its time for a short family writing assignment. Ask: Please write down five rules that you will follow about the use of cell phones and forwarding pictures, based on what youve read and seen. My list would include: No taking pictures of people who are not fully dressed. No forwarding of embarrassing pic-tures to others, that someone sends you. Tell me if someone does this to you. Compare lists, and create a final copy.Now, what happens if these rules are not followed? As one teacher reminded me: There need to be consequences like los-ing a cell phone for a while, if youngsters dont follow these rules. You and your child or children should sign this.

Marco Voce, Zimmerman High School principal, told me: Usually the biggest problem is that the school doesnt get no-tified until it (bullying) has been going on beyond a reasonable time frame. I would suggest reporting as soon as possible. Julie OMara-Meyer, a family sup-port worker at the Caledonia Elementary School suggests that families listen to your kids when they come home. Encour-age them to tell you if someone is bully-ing them. Give them some strategies to help.For example, tell the bully strongly, I dont like it.Stop! If that doesnt solve the problem, contact school officials imme-diately. Backstrom praised the Lakeville Police and school district for their prompt ac-tions. Hes right. We cant prevent every young person from sometimes doing silly, even stupid things.But we can help children and teens learn how to deal. The Lakeville incident can help bring awareness that we need to protect your young people.Joe Nathan, a parent of three and formerly a public school teacher and administrator, di-rects the Center for School Change. He can be reached at [email protected]. Columns reflect the opinion of the au-thor.

Sun ThisweekColumnistJoe Nathan

Four-day school week has some hidden costsby Zack Avre

SPECIAL TO SUN THISWEEK

With schools across Minnesota feeling an increasing budget pinch, several districts have opted for or considered moving to a four-day school week to save money. The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District made the right choice in declining to pursue this option. While its debatable whether or not schools see a significant savings going to four-day weeks, we know this move winds up costing most parents more in child care costs. Over time, a significant economic and education equity narrative also emerges. As part of a plan to save $5 million next school year, the district entertained the idea of instating a four-day week model by slashing 17 days from the academic calen-dar. However, the school district has since dropped the proposal after widespread par-ent objection. A map posted with this story at Sun-Thisweek.com highlights that moving to a four-day school week would have cost dis-trict families an additional $518.50 to $595

per student annually, with average daily child care costs varying across the district, based on Census and state department of education data. These figures do not take into account existing days off of school for parent-teacher conferences, teacher in-ser-vice days, and holidays; in total, the average child care costs for days off exceed $1,200 annually across the district. These additional costs do not appear unbearable considering the five cities that comprise the district Burnsville, Eagan and Savage are all above Minnesotas me-dian household income for 25- to 44-year-olds, according to estimates from the 2010

American Community Survey. In fact, ACS places Savages median household income for 25- to 44-year-olds just shy of $100,000. With such relative prosperity, an additional $500 to $600 doesnt seem too problematic. Numbers can be deceiving, though, and when juxtaposed with the percentage of students on free or reduced lunch in 2011, a different picture materializes. Although a suburban school district, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage retains a relatively high level of so-cioeconomic diversity. As the map online shows, six of the 10 elementary schools in the district had rates of free or reduced lunch above the 37.3 percent state average, with four schools over 50 percent free or reduced lunch. A majority of the districts elementary schools are Title 1 schools, which receive fed-eral aid to support low-income students. Considering these factors, the costs of moving to a four-day school week for fami-lies become more glaring. Creating the need for additional child care will undoubtedly place extra financial burden on families that are already in a crunch.

Whats more, many households in the school district are still facing uncertain eco-nomic conditions. As late as April 2012, 1 in 1,116 households in Dakota County and 1 in 491 households in Scott County faced fore-closure, according to RealtyTrac. With these underlying economic condi-tions, the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District was wise to put its proposal to rest. However, budget crises remain a real issue, and school districts across the state need help. Instead of cutting education funding and forcing school districts to flirt with four-day weeks, policymakers should be investing in schools and their respective communities. When both are healthy, our kids can get back to learning and Minnesota can move for-ward.

Zack Avre is a Minnesota 2020 undergradu-ate research fellow. MN2020 is a nonparti-san, progressive think tank focusing on the is-sues of education, health care, transportation and economic development. Columns reflect the opinion of the author.

GuestColumnist

Zack Avre


An estimated 75 treeswere downed in Burnsvilleduring violent storms earlyTuesday thatheavily affect-ed the Twin Cities easternandsouthernsuburbs. Crewscontinuedtoclearsome streets late Tuesdaymorning, while Xcel Ener-gy repaired downed powerlines,thecityannounced. Asof11a.m.powerwasstill out at the citys watertreatment plant, which wasoperating on its emergencygenerator. The power outage hasnot affected water qual-ityordelivery, and the citywill work with neighbor-ingLakevilleandSavagetomeet demands in the eventof peak water usage priortopowerbeingrestored,thecitysaidonitswebsite. Asithasforpaststorms,the city will provide a sitefordisposalofhomeownerstree debris. Residents maydropoff stormdebrisatthecity compost site, locateddirectly behind Dodge ofBurnsville on Pleasant Av-enue. Residents should notput debris in plastic bags

fordisposalat thecompostsite. If treedebris hasbeenplaced in plastic bags forhauling purposes, residentsareaskedtoopenbagsandemptythematthecompostsite. The plastic bags canthen be reused or disposedof properly. Hours of op-erationforthecompostsitewillbe7a.m.to8p.m.seven

daysaweekthroughJuly1. Private contractors arealso available for tree re-moval and disposal. A listof tree contractors licensedinthecity isatwww.burns-ville.org/forestry. Formoreinformationontreedisposal,calltheBurns-villeMaintenanceFacilityat(952)895-4550.

Storm fells trees, power lines in Burnsville

PhotobyRickOrndorf

Burnsvilles compost site, located directly behind Dodge of Burnsville on Pleasant Avenue, is accepting tree debris from the storm early Tuesday.

by Jessica HarperSunTHISwEEk

Memphis-based Pin-nacleAirlinesisconsideringmoving its headquarters toEaganaspartofamoney-savingstrategy. Joewilliams,spokesmanforPinnacle,confirmedthattheairline is exploring thatoption but has not madeanydecisions. wedont haveplans tomove, but every opportu-nity to reduce costswillbeexplored,williamssaid. If Pinnacleweretomoveits operations to Eagan, itcould restore hundreds ofjobs that were lost whenMesaba Airlines closed itsheadquarters. The headquarters, lo-catedat1000BlueGentianRoad, was purchased by

PinnaclefromDeltafor$62millioninJuly2010. Pinnaclehasstruggledfi-nancially since then. It lost$8.8millioninthefirstninemonthsof 2011,which theairline credits to difficultyintegrating the two airlinesandtheeconomy. Pinnacle is still on thehookfor theMesabaspaceand continues to operate aflight-training facility anddata center there. Bymov-ingitsoperationstoEagan,Pinnacle could save onrent. Pinnacle began lookingatEaganasapossiblerelo-cation site after the optionwassuggestedbythedirec-tor of the Minneapolis-St.PaulInternationalAirport. In its bankruptcy filing,Pinnacle claimed assets of

$1.5 billion and debts of$1.4billion. Pinnacle,whichprovidesregional flights, continuesto have obligations towardnationalcarriers. whenitfiledChapter11bankruptcy in April, Pin-naclereacheda$74milliondebtor-in possession creditagreement with Delta onethatcarries12.5percentannualinterest. Once Pinnacles bank-ruptcy is complete, it willconsiderDeltaamajorcus-tomerandstopregionalser-viceforunitedandAmeri-canairlines.Jessica Harper is at [email protected] or face-book.com/sunthisweek.

Pinnacle considers move to Eagan, among cost-saving options

Blood drive scheduledJuly 2 LearningRx,2874High-way55,Eagan,willhostanAmericanRedCrossblooddrivefrom9a.m.to2p.m.Monday,July2.Donorsorafamilymemberareeligi-bletoreceiveafreecogni-tiveskillsassessment fromLearningRx. Toscheduleanappoint-ment, call LearningRxat (651) 686-1066 or visitwww.redcrossblood.organdenterkeywordLearn-ingRxEagan.

Camp Invention at Thomas Lake Camp Invention, aweek-long science, tech-nology, engineering andmathematics enrichmentprogram for children en-tering grades one throughsix,willbeheldJune25-28at Thomas Lake Elemen-tary School in Eagan. Toregisterachildorformoreinformation, visit www.campinvention.org or call1-800-968-4332.

Eagan Briefs


by Andrew MillerSun ThiSweek

expect to see plenty of polished chrome outside Bogarts Place nightclub next Friday. hot rods, dune buggies and other vintage vehicles will be on display June 29 for Dancin & Cruisin, the annual classic car show and concert that serves as the kickoff to Apple Valleys Freedom Days festival. The event, which runs from 6 p.m. to midnight in the Bogarts parking area, includes a concert by the Johnny holm Band, food concessions, a business ven-dor fair and music through-out the night provided by DJ Sounds. now in its 13th year, Dancin & Cruisin has seen some big-time growth since its inception. Origi-nally held outside Rascals Bar & Grill across town, it featured a meager 25 or so cars its first year, according to Freedom Days chair Pat Schesso. But the event grew to the point that a few years back organizers began searching out a bigger venue. Bogarts, with its expansive park-ing area, fit the bill, and in recent years the event has drawn an estimated 3,000 people and has featured 200-some classic cars each year.

The car show will have some additional visual siz-zle this year, as organizers are opening it up to classic trucks and motorcycles for the first time. were trying to give it a whole new look, said Schesso. its not just clas-sic cars this year. Admission to the car show is free, though theres a $10 cover for the 8:30 p.m. Johnny holm concert. As in past years, vehicles will be judged and plaques will be awarded to win-ners in various categories. There is a $20 entry fee for entrants in the car show

which includes a T-shirt and goodie bag for the first 150 registered participants. A 10- to 15-mile car cruise will be assembling in the Apple Valley Ford park-ing lot and will begin be-tween 4 and 4:30 p.m. and end at Bogarts. Registra-tion will begin at 3 p.m. More information about Dancin & Cruisin, includ-ing registration forms for the car show and the busi-ness vendor fair, is at www.avfreedomdays.com. Andrew Miller can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

Dancin & Cruisin classic car show/concertkicks off Apple Valleys Freedom Days

Hot rods, Johnny Holm and more

File photo

In addition to its usual array of classic cars, Dancin & Cruisin will have some additional visual sizzle this year, as organizers are opening the show up to classic trucks and motorcycles for the first time.

Dan Hall sets in-district office hours Sen. Dan hall, R-Burns-ville, will hold in-district of-fice hours to hear from con-stituents in Senate District 40 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 25, at Jo Jos Rise & wine, 12501 nicollet Ave., no. 100, Burnsville. To make an appointment, contact his office at (651) 296-0415.

BHS dance team holds car wash The Burnsville Blazette dance team will hold a car wash from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 30, at the holiday Stationstore locat-ed at nicols and Cliff roads in eagan.

Roers named to advisory panel Craig Roers of Burns-ville has been named to

the Own Your Future Min-nesota campaign advisory group by Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon. The 26 members of the advisory panel are charged with guiding a statewide public awareness campaign to encourage Minnesotans to plan for the care they will need as they grow old. Roers is currently direc-tor of marketing for Rich-field-based newman Long Term Care.

Burnsville Briefs


Leighton - RiesKristin Leighton, daughter of

Pau l and Jeanne Leighton ofApple Valley, and Jim Ries, sonof Jim and Sue Ries of Plymouth,announce their engagement.Kristin is a 2004 graduate of

Eastview High School and a 2009graduate of Creighton University.She is employed as an occupa-t i ona l the rap i s t a t G i l l e t teChildren's Specialty Hospital.J im i s a 2003 g radua t e o f

Wayzata High School and a 2007graduate of Concordia Univer-sity and is employed as a finan-c ia l adv i so r a t No r th S ta rResource Group.An August 10th wedding is

planned.

Honl - NelsonDeeRae Honl andMatt Nelson,

Fa rgo , ND announ c e the i rengagement. Parents are Ray-mond and Connie Heley, and thelate Harris Honl, Lidgerwood,ND, and Maureen and Dan Nel-son, Burnsville,MN.Dee Rae graduated in 2005

from Lidgerwood Public Schooland in 2011 graduated fromMin-nesota State University, Moor-head with a Masters degree inspeech language pathology. She isa speech language pathologist atAegis Therapies in Fergus Falls,MN.Matt graduated in 2004 from

Burnsville High School and in2009 graduated from MSUMw i th a bache lo r s deg ree inaccounting. He is the assistantwrestling coach at MoorheadHigh School and is an accoun-tan t for W i l l iam C . McCaw ,CPA.A n A u g u s t 4 w e d d i n g i s

planned at Tr inity LutheranChurch, Moorhead, followed bya reception at the El Zagel Shrine,Fargo.

Vanessa KaySzyman(Paulsen)E n t e r e d i n t o r e s t a t h e r

Lakeville, MN home on Friday,June 15, 2012, at 55 years of age.She leaves her husband of 33years, Thomas Szyman, two chil-d r en - son R i cha rd S zyman(Laura) and daughter Kim Szy-man (friend Adam), her parentsRichard and Barbara Paulsen, 3sisters: Pat VanHoecke (Morey),Pam Pau lsen, Carr ie H iniker(Mark), brother Steve Paulsen,brothers-in-law: Robert J. Szy-man (Marie Towey), Charles R.,James D., Lawrence M. (CarolEr ickson), Mark H . (Va ler ieBlack), Peter A., (CatherineWil-liams), sister-in-law: Marijo T.Bjorlin (Dean) Nieces: ChrissyDeBates (Jeff), Emma Paulsen,Chelsey and Brooklyn Hiniker,Elizabeth A., Rachel A., MaliaP., Megan C., Jessica B. Kasper(Isaac), Anna E Graves (Peter),Christina M. Hershberger (Jason)and Jessica Huston; Nephews:Bill VanHoecke (Emily), AidenH in iker , Robert M . Szyman(Tamala Hoftiezer), Stephan S.,S S G . D a n i e l P . ( E m i l yWeidhaas), Douglas S., ZacharyA., Nathanael E., Joshua L., SGTMa rk T . , SPC N i cho la s G .(Rachel Limas), SPC Travis A.(Amanda Garza), Patr ick T . ,L iam J . , M ikel Herb (Br ian) ;David D., and Stephen D. Bjor-lin and great nieces and nephews:Will and Matt DeBates, CarsonVanHoecke, Bella, Cecelia, andTrinity Szyman andMalachy andAnthony Herb.Vanessa was born on January 7,

1957 in her hometown of Pip-estone,MN. She graduated fromPipestone High School in 1975and furthered her education at Uof M in Waseca for animal vetscience. Upon completing herdegree she moved to Sioux Falls,SD, where she worked with Dr.Christensen.Van was united in marriage on

December 28, 1979 to ThomasSzyman. Together they resided inPipestone, MN where she wasemployed at the ASCS office.They later moved to Slayton,MNwhere they began raising theirfamily. They briefly resided inCloquet, MN before reachingt h e i r p e rm a n e n t h om e i nLakeville, MN in 1983. In 1985,Vanessa established a daycare inher home up until July 2011.Vanessa will always be remem-

bered for her strength, beauty,contagious laugh, her constantrocking in her rocking cha ir ,snacking on Cheer ios , homeshopping (especially QVC) andher love for children and her pets.She was the family leader onkeeping tradit ions and lovedChristmas. Her many interestsincluded: decorating her beauti-ful home and garden, reading,music, watching movies, travel-ing, decorative birds, sewing,baking, puzzles, cake decorating,planning parties, and playinggames with family.She was preceded in death by

her grandparents- Kathryn andBernard H jermstad ; B i l l andEmma Paulsen, her in-laws- Boband Pat Szyman, nephews PatrickK. Szyman and Sam Huston and3 uncles- Robert Paulsen, DonaldHjermstad and Timothy Hjerms-tad.V is i ta t ion was held 5-8pm

Monday, June 18, 2012 at AllS a i n t s C a t h o l i c C h u r c h ,Lakeville, MN. Mass of Chris-tian Burial in Pipestone,MN wasFriday, June 22, 2012.

James L.McLaughlin

Age 79, of Burns-ville, passed awayon Saturday June9th peacefully athome after a cou-rageous twelve yr.

battle with cancer. Preceded indeath by parents, Leon & Mar-tha; sister, Jean Ann Jensen; andnieces, Debbie & Cheri. Sur-vived by wife, Diane; sons, David(Wendy), Steven, Kevin, Mark(Stephanie); sister, Marcia Chal-gren (B i l l ) ; bro thers - in- law ,Lama r and Robe r t Wa l te r s(Harold); and granddaughter,Donna Meyer. He was born inMankato M innesota in 1932 ,graduated High School in 1950,and graduated from the Univer-sity of Minnesota in 1954. Hejoined the U.S. Navy's AviationO f f icer Candida te program,entering flight training in Pensa-cola, FL before being commis-sioned in Corpus Christi, TX.After receiv ing his w ings , hejoined the VA-125 "Rough Raid-ers" in 1956 where he flew theDouglas A-1 Skyraider ("Spads")aboard the USS LEXINGTON(CV-16). He served a total of 12years between active duty and thereserves and left the Navy as aLieutenant Commander. In 1958he joined Northwest Airlines,where he flew for 34 years untilhis retirement as a 747 Captain in1992 . A f te r re t i remen t , heenjoyed nearly 20 more years ofsummers spent at the cabin onRoosevelt Lake, where he liked tofish and play golf. We would liketo thank the nurses and Dr. Dienat MOPHA and Curt and Cindyat Hospice Advantage for all thecare they have given to Jim. Inlieu of flowers donations can bemade to the American CancerSociety (towards Lymphoma &Leukemia Research) or HospiceAdvantage at 18472 Kenyon Ave,Lakev i l le , MN 55044. "AndGod's Finger Touched Him andHe Slept". Funeral service 12noon, Tues., June 26th, 2012, atMt. Olivet Lutheran Church 5025Knox Ave S, Minneapolis, MN55419; visitation one hour priorto service and reception to follow.

Mabel MeyerMabel was born September 1,

1926 in Madelia, MN to Edwardand Louise Jahnz. She was bap-tized and confirmed at FieldonLutheran Church in WatonwanCounty . She graduated fromTruman high School in 1944.Mabel married Alvin Meyer ofLewisville,MN on September 22,1946. They became parents offour children. She res ided inRosemount and worked at theLegion Club, Warner Hardware,and ret ired from the DakotaCounty Technica l College in1988. For many yearsMabel wasactive in Home Extension, and ina number of committees, andCircles at Shepherd of the ValleyLuthe ran Church . She a l soenjoyed var ious hobb ies andcrafts with stamping and quiltingbeing her favorites.Mable is sur-vived by her husband of 65 years,Alvin; sisters, Lillian Bode, ArlisBlack; sister-in-law,Mary Jahnz;children Nancy (Ron) Wiborg,V icky (La r ry ) Wol le , Da ry l(Patt i ) Meyer , Sherry Huber(Denny Cegla); grandchildren,Sheila Baker, Lonnie Wiborg,Dana Alvarado, Nicole Geiger,J amie B e rg eman , ShannonBrekke, Cami Jo Krueger, Alli-son Meyer, Nate Meyer, SethMeyer, Joe Huber; also elevengreat grandchildren. Mabel waspreceded in death by her parents;three brothers and two sisters.Funeral Service was held 11AMFriday, June 15, 2012 at Shep-herd of the Va l ley Lutheranchurch 12650 Johnny Cake RidgeRoad, Apple Valley,MN. Visita-tion was 6:30 8:30PM and alsowas one hour prior to service atChurch. In termen t LebanonCemetery.

White Funeral HomeApple Valley 952-432-2001 www.whitefuneralhomes.com

Jeffrey DonaldAndersonBorn October 2, 1964 passed

away peace fu l ly a t home inFarmington on June 15, 2012. Hewas a loving son, friend and part-ner. He will be greatly missed byfriends and family. He is survivedby his Mother, Kathy Storlie,S tep Fa ther Gera ld S tor l i e ,Fa ther C l in t Anderson, twodaughters, three brothers, threes isters and companion, Sher iCosta. Memorial to be held byfamily at a later date.Memorialscan be sent to Kathy and GeraldStorlie.

To submit anannouncement

Forms for birth, en-gagement, wedding, an-niversary and obituar-ies announcements are available at our office and online at www.thisweek-live.com (click on An-nouncements and then Send Announce-ment). Com pleted forms may be e-mailed to [email protected] or mailed to Sun Thisweek, 15322 Galaxie Ave., Suite 219, Apple Valley, MN 55124. If you are submitting a photograph along with your announcement, please only submit pho-tographs for which you have the right to permit Sun Thisweek to use and publish. Deadline for announcements is 4 p.m. Tuesday. A fee of $50 will be charged for the first 5 inches and $10 per inch thereafter. They will run in all editions of Sun Thisweek. Pho-tos may be picked up at the office within 60 days or returned by mail if a self-addressed, stamped envelope is provided.

Two men are charged in connection with a her-oin sale this month from a Burnsville hotel room. Rolando Ruiz, 21, of Burnsville, is charged with two third-degree controlled substance crimes (sale and posses-sion). Zachary Hirsch, 21, of Savage, is charged with a fifth-degree controlled substance crime (posses-sion). Dakota County Drug Task Force officers heard from three informants that Ruiz was selling heroin out of the hotel room, according to the criminal complaint. All three had bought the drug from him before. Officers had one of

the informants arrange a June 11 buy from Ruiz, who came out of the ho-tel and said his friend, Hirsch, would be com-ing with the heroin. The informant was wearing a wire, the complaint said. Hirsch exited the hotel and brought the infor-mant .8 grams of heroin, for which the informant paid $100. Ruiz and Hirsch then returned to the hotel together. Executing a search warrant for Ruiz and the hotel room, which was in Hirschs name, officers arrived the next day to find the room vacant. But officers spotted Ruizs vehicle at Burns-ville Center, where they arrested both men as they

left the mall together. Ruiz was carrying two plastic bags with 4.8 grams of heroin and $807 in cash, the com-plaint said. Items Hirsch was carrying included a cut-straw with heroin on it. Ruiz denied selling heroin but admitted to using it. Hirsch said he bought heroin from Ruiz, who had paid him to rent the hotel room in his name when they checked in about two weeks ear-lier. Hirsch said that some girls who work at the ho-tel told them the Drug Task Force was looking for them, the complaint said.

John Gessner

Two charged in heroin sale from hotel room


Mature Lifestyles

by Emily HedgesContributing Writer

When boyd Phelps, 88, married his wife, Shirley, on Sept. 11, 1948, he knew he had found the love of his life. For almost 60 years the couple lived together, raised two children, and faced whatever challenges came their way. but after Shirley died, for the first time since Harry truman was in office, Phelps experienced what it was like to be alone. i was just watching tV, nothing but watching tV, he said. i could tell you ev-ery program on every night of the week. i started think-ing theres got to be more to life than this. Phelps decided to start getting out. He began by contacting old friends. one of the first people he called was Carol, a friend he had known for more than 40 years. She used to call up every few months to see how i was getting along, he said. We started going out together. it was fun to meet once a week. then it became twice a week. boyds wife Shirley had gone to high school with Carol. He played golf with Carols husband for de-cades. the two couples were in a dance club for almost 20 years. We always saw each other socially. We went to dinner at each others hous-es as couples, he said. now boyd and Carol take vacations together. they particularly love cruis-es. As of last month, Carol is living in the same inde-

pendent living center. under the same roof but not in the same apart-ment, boyd was quick to add. relationships like the one boyd and Carol share are important to many se-niors, according to Sandra grace of Healing Works in Chaska. but sometimes they can be tricky. As they age, people want someone to be there, grace said. they wonder if they will find compassion and patience from someone. they worry how health is-sues will limit them. She also points out that for many surviving spouses, guilt can hinder their ability to move on. if you had a loving re-lationship with a deep con-nection, it can be really hard to move on and let go of that, grace said. theres guilt about how the children are going to perceive it. Will they think theyre not honoring the spirit of their mother or father? one of the first things boyd did was talk to his daughter. At first she thought i wanted to talk to her to tell her i had cancer, boyd said. it took her a few days to get used to the idea, but she responded in the affir-mative to the relationship. grace says that what grown children think about their parents entering a new relationship can be one of the biggest obstacles. Kids can be very threat-ened, especially if there is any kind of wealth, grace

said. they suspect their motivations. but grace encourages the children to see their par-ents new relationships as a blessing. Many times their kids are busy, she said. if they are able to find someone, their kids should be thank-ful. So part of her job is to help older clients move past those feelings of guilt and other barriers that can stand in the way of a successful and healthy new relation-ship. Sometimes as people become older, they get rigid in their beliefs, rou-tines, family rituals, in their physical surroundings, she said. the challenge comes in figuring out how to com-promise. Another concern is at-tractiveness. grace finds many clients worry about whether or not they will be attractive to anyone, espe-cially if there are health is-sues. Hopefully we are more spiritually attractive, in-stead of all the materialist trappings, grace said. its this focus on the op-portunities rather than the limitations of dating later in life that grace stresses to her clients. if we age gracefully, we have more compassion, wis-dom. We feel lighter, grace said. there is no biologi-cal clock ticking or career building. During this time, its not about becoming; its about being.

Age, health, family can hinder personal relationships

Restarting love in the golden years

Photo submitted

There are many new considerations to take into account when people in the golden years enter into new relationships after a lifelong spouse has died.


veys, conducted between March and May, to the City Council June 19.

Residents were more anti-tax increase than businesses. Over three surveys since 2007, no responses have risen from

47 percent in 2007, while yes responses have fallen from 31 percent in 2007. Thats exactly what were seeing in other sub-

urban communities, said Morris, whose firm polls widely for a number of lo-cal governments. Businesses, however,

are less anti-tax than they were in 2008, when the last business survey was done. A total of 69 percent opposed tax hikes to main-tain services four years ago, and only 14 percent were in favor. Property tax hostility by this measure has de-creased among business owners, Morris said.

Residential survey Residents satisfaction with Burnsville is on the upswing compared with previous surveys. Morris said. There is a greater amount of goodwill out there than we have seen in previous surveys, he said. The 89 percent of re-spondents saying quality of life is good (61 percent) or excellent (28 percent) is well above the suburban norm of about 75 per-cent, Morris said. Seventy-five percent said the city is on the right track, a 4 percent increase over 2010 and well above the metro-area norm of 66 percent, Morris said. The Burnsville number has fluctuated between 70 per-cent and 85 percent over six surveys since 2001. Twenty-one percent said the city is on the wrong track, a 4 percent decrease from 2010. Asked about the most serious issue facing the city, school funding led the pack chosen by 13 percent of respondents, who were given a host of choices, including crime, taxes, the economy and the Performing Arts Center. Concerns among those respondents focused on whether theres too much money over there, Mor-ris said a direct result of the controversial $255,000 buyout of ex-School Dis-trict 191 administrator Ta-nia Chance. But responses to the se-rious issue question were all over the map, with traf-fic congestion and crime showing marked decreases from past surveys. Asked their perceptions of city services, residents singled out drinking wa-ter as a concern, with 51 percent giving negative re-sponses. Drinking water was a bit of a problem it was

a showstopper as far as our interviewers were con-cerned, with respondents describing the agony and the ecstasy of Burnsvilles drinking water, Morris said. Burnsville began cap-turing and treating surface water from a riverfront mining quarry in July 2009 and blending it with the city water supply. The city has worked to control taste and odor problems that were the subject of many complaints. Police did exception-ally well, with a 5 percent disapproval rating that Morris said is very low in comparison to other com-munities. The mayor and City Council received a 65 per-cent approval rating, their highest since 2005 and a 14 percent increase since 2010. City staff received a 77 percent approval rating, compared with 66 percent in 2010 and 75 percent in 2007 and 2005.

Business survey Ninety-two percent of respondents to the busi-ness survey rated Burns-villes business climate good (75 percent) or excel-lent (17 percent). Thats the highest we have on business climate anywhere. ... Ninety-two percent is setting the pace for the rest of the metro area, Morris said. The survey shows an amazingly robust busi-ness sector ... in terms of the number and types of businesses, he said. Retail led the way, with 29 percent of respondents reporting theyre in retail. Consumer services was next at 23 percent. However, both have fallen since the last busi-ness survey in 2008, when 35 percent of respondents were in retail and 25 per-cent were in consumer ser-vices. This would be con-sistent with the economic times, Morris said. Seventy-three percent of respondents say they plan to stay in Burnsville for 10 or more years. Busi-nesses are very loyal to the city, Morris said. Asked what they like most about the city, 34 percent picked location, followed by 27 percent who picked a reliable client base. What do they like least? Forty-three percent said nothing, comparatively high among metro cities, although the rating is 18 points lower than in 2008, Morris said. Whats popped up? City restrictions are chaf-ing a little bit, he said. Seventeen percent of respondents picked city restrictions, which led the list of gripes respondents could pick from. Only 3 percent picked city restric-tions in 2008. Sign restrictions are among the gripes a pe-rennial issue for some business owners, Morris said. Its ironic, given that the City Council recently lib-eralized Burnsvilles sign ordinance, Council Mem-ber Mary Sherry said. The ordinance is now so liberal, Mayor Eliza-beth Kautz added. Weve pushed the boundaries on our sign ordinance.

John Gessner can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

BuRnsville, from 1A


ThisweekendShakespeare embraces the great outdoors

Caponi Art Park plays host June 24 to a staging of The Merry Wives of Windsorby Andrew Miller

Sun ThiSweek

The wooded beauty of Caponi Art Park in eagan will serve as the back-drop this weekend to The Merry wives of windsor. Cromulent Shakespeare Company, the Minneapolis-based theater group behind the production, describes Merry wives as a bawdy farce with colorful characters, silly comedy and audience participation. Though its set in elizabethan eng-land, director erin Caswell says audi-ences will have no trouble relating to the material. it centers on courtship suitors vying for the affections of a lovely, eligible maiden and its hu-mor is derived in part from the busy-body matchmaking involved. Think of it as an elizabethan Real housewives of windsor, Cas-well said. The family-friendly performance will be at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 24, in Caponis outdoor amphitheater, and guests are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs, and a picnic dinner. The Shakespeare comedy is the lat-est in Caponis annual Summer Per-formance Series featuring regional theater, music and dance groups. The

series continues July 8 with a concert by the Dakota Valley Summer Pops Orchestra. A concert by the Minnesota Sinfo-nia, originally scheduled for Fathers Day but canceled because of rain, has been rescheduled for July 15. OShea irish Dance and Music plays the Caponi amphitheater on July 22, followed by the Japanese taiko drum-ming of Mu Daiko on Aug. 5. Admission to all the performances is free with a $5 suggested donation to support programs at the 60-acre nonprofit art park. For families with younger kids, the art park also offers Family Fun Tues-days, events held each week at 10 a.m. in Caponis sculpture garden. upcoming Family Fun Tuesdays programs include a puppet show by Open eye Figure Theater (June 26), a raptor presentation by the Dodge nature Center (July 3) and Mexican folk dance (July 10). The full schedule for Caponis Summer Performance Series and Family Fun Tuesdays is at www.ca-poniartpark.org.

Andrew Miller can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

Art fest in Eagan The 18th annual eagan Art Festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat-urday, June 23, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 24, in eagans Central Park.

The festival will include global cuisine and tradi-tional fare in a family-friendly venue. For a list of this years artists, go to www.eagan-artfestival.org.

Concert rescheduled The Minnesota Sinfo-nias annual Summer Pops

concert at Caponi Art Park, eagan, has been resched-uled for Sunday, July 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the parks The-ater in the woods outdoor amphitheater. The perfor-mance, originally sched-uled for Sunday, June 17, was moved to a later date due to inclement weather.

Country sound in Burnsville The Devon worley Band, a seven-piece country band, will perform at 7 p.m. June 27 as part of the wednes-day in the Park series at Civic Center Park in Burns-ville. People who bring a canned or nonperishable food item will receive a free Pepsi beverage. in the event of rain, the concert will be held at nicollet Junior high School. For informa-tion, visit www.communi-tyed191.org or call (952) 707-4150.

Theater group celebrates 40th anniversary The Prior Lake Players will hold its 40th anniver-sary celebration and fund-raiser from 6 to 10 p.m. Sat-urday, Sept. 8, at the McColl Pond environmental Learn-ing Center in Savage. The event will feature a dinner buffet from CRAVe restau-rant, live music from the Red Rock Swing Band, and a va-riety of activities celebrating PLPs 40 years of commu-nity theater. A silent auction and raffle will also be held to raise funds for PLPs future theatrical productions. event tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at www.plplayers.org/plp40th.

theater and arts briefs

Photo submitted

Tim Jopek of Cromulent Shakespeare Company plays Sir John Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor. The Shakespeare comedy will be staged at Eagans Caponi Art Park this Sunday.


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

[email protected].

Comedy Dwight York with specialguestEarl Nitch at8:30p.m.Friday, June 22, and Satur-day,June23,atMinneHAHAComedy Club, 1583 E. FirstAve., Shakopee (lower levelof Dangerfields), (612) 860-9388, www.minnehahacom-edyclub.com.Tickets:$13.

Concerts Music in Kelley Parkfea-turingMnageNeuffrom6to9p.m.Friday, June22,atKelleyPark,6855FortinoSt.,AppleValley.Free.Foodandbeverages available for pur-chase. The Pines with Lucy Mi-chelle and The Velvet La-pelles, 7:30 p.m. Saturday,June23,SubwayMusicintheZoo, Minnesota Zoo amphi-theater, Apple Valley. Cost:$24.Ticketsavailableattick-etmaster.com. Tedeschi Trucks Band with Ryan Shaw, 7:30 p.m.Sunday, June 24, and Mon-day, June25,SubwayMusicin the Zoo, Minnesota Zooamphitheater, Apple Valley.Cost: $58 and $66. Ticketsavailableatticketmaster.com. Gavin DeGraw and Col-bie Caillat with Joey De-Graw, 7 p.m. Wednesday,June27,SubwayMusicintheZoo, Minnesota Zoo amphi-theater, Apple Valley. Cost:$56.Ticketsavailableattick-etmaster.com. Wednesday in the Park Concert Series with TheDevon Worley Band, 7 p.m.June27atCivicCenterPark,75 Civic Center Parkway,Burnsville. Rain location:Nicollet Junior High, 400 E.134thSt.,Burnsville. Emmylou Harris with Field Report, 7:30 p.m.Thursday, June 28, SubwayMusic in the Zoo,MinnesotaZooamphitheater,AppleVal-ley. Cost: $58. Tickets avail-ableatticketmaster.com.

John Prine with Willie Watson, 7:30 p.m. Friday,June29,SubwayMusicintheZoo, Minnesota Zoo amphi-theater, Apple Valley. Cost:$67.Ticketsavailableattick-etmaster.com.

Exhibits World Travel Photogra-phy exhibit by artist BecqiShermanattheLakevilleAreaArts Center, 20965 HolyokeAve. Information: (952) 985-4640.

Festivals Apple Valley Freedom Days runs June 29-July 4.Information:www.avfreedom-days.com. Lakeville Pan-O-Progruns July 1-8. Information:www.panoprog.org. Eagan July 4th Funfestruns July 3-4. Information:www.eaganfunfest.org.

Theater Cromulent Shakespeare Companys The Merry Wives of Windsor will bepresented at 6:30 p.m. June24 in the Theater in theWoodsoutdooramphitheateratCaponiArtPark inEagan.Free,buta$5donationisre-quested. Information: www.caponiartpark.org.

Workshops/classes Music Together in the Valley offers classes forparents and their infant, tod-dler and preschool childrenin Rosemount, Farmington,Lakeville and Apple Valley.Information: www.musicto-getherclasses.com or (651)439-4219. The Eagan Art House of-fersclasses forallages.Foracompletelistinggotowww.eaganarthouse.org or call(651)675-5521. Dan Petrov Art Studioin Burnsville offers oil paint-ing classes for beginners,intermediate and advancedskill level painters, www.danpetrovart.com,(763)843-2734.

Teens Express Yourself with Paint,5 to7p.m.Mon-daysatBrushworksSchoolofArt inBurnsville,www.Brush-worksSchoolofArt.com, (651)214-4732. Drama/theater classes for ages 4 and up at RiverRidge Arts Building, Burns-ville,(952)736-3644. Special needs theater program(autism-DCD),ages5andolder,Burnsville,(952)736-3644. Join other 55-plus adults at the Eagan Art House tocreate beaded jewelry. The Jewelry Club meets on thethird Friday of each monthfrom1to3p.m.Feeis$3andincludes all supplies. Bringanyoldjewelryyouwouldliketo re-make. 3981 LexingtonAve.S.,(651)675-5500. Savage Art Studios,4735W.123rdSt.,Suite200,Sav-age, offers classes/work-shops for all ages. Informa-tion: www.savageartstudios.comor(952)895-0375. Soy candle making classesheldweeklyinEagannear55andYankeeDoodle.CallJamieat(651)315-4849for datesand times. $10perperson.PresentedbyMakingScentsinMinnesota. Country line dance classes held for intermedi-ates Mondays 1:30 to 3:30p.m.atRamblingRiverCen-ter,325OakSt.,Farmington,$5/class. Call Marilyn (651)463-7833. Beginner country line dance classes on Wednes-days, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at theLakeville VFW, 8790 Upper208thSt.$5/class.CallMari-lyn(651)463-7833. Country line dance classes on Wednesdays atthe Lakeville Senior Center,20732 Holt Ave. Beginners,9-10 a.m.; Intermediate, 10a.m.-noon. $5/class. CallMarilyn(651)463-7833. The Lakeville Area ArtsCenter offers arts classesforallages,www.lakevillemn.gov,(952)985-4640.

theater and arts calendarfamily calendarTo submit items for the Fam-

ily Calendar, email: [email protected].

Friday, June 22 Inaugural Louie Schmitz Memorial Golf Tournamentat noon at Fountain ValleyGolf Course, 2830 220th St.W., Farmington. Cost: $100;includes golf, free beer andfood on the course, prizesand music, and a steak din-nerattheFarmingtonLegion.Proceeds will go towardsmemorial scholarships andafund for financial assistanceforstudentathletes.Formoreinformation or to register,contactJohnBargerat (952)240-6793 or [email protected]. Outdoor movie, SoulSurfer, 7:30 p.m. seating,duskshowtime,partofBurns-villes Flicks on the Bricksseries at Nicollet CommonsParkintheHeartoftheCity.

Saturday, June 23 Family open house forRocky Point Lighthouse Va-cation Bible School from 9a.m. to noon at Good Shep-herd Lutheran Church &School, 151E.CountyRoad42, Burnsville. Activities in-clude music, games, crafts,skits, bounce house, and acommunity service project.Free.Information:www.good-shep.comor(952)432-5527. Benefit for the Gagnon family at noon at HopeChurch, 7477 145th St. W.,Apple Valley. Bill Gagnon iscurrently receiving hospicecare for stage 4 colon can-cer. His wife Leanne is inremission from breast can-cer. Benefit includes lunch,silentauction,bakesale,andfamily-friendly games. Dona-tionscanbemadetotheGa-gnonfamilyandmailedtothechurch. Field Day An emergen-cy communications public demonstration, starting at1p.m.and running24hoursatNeill Park, Burnsville (Up-tonentrance).Seehow localham radio operators withtheTwinCitiesRepeaterClubserve the community duringan emergency. Information:www.tcrc.org. Movies in the Park,Dol-phinTale,atduskattheCen-tral Park Amphitheater nearCity Hall, Rosemount. Bringblankets and lawn chairs.Weather-related updates:(952)985-1790,optionNo.6.

Tuesday, June 26 Family Fun Tuesday Open Eye Figure Theaters

TheAmazingCowBoatpup-petshow,10to11a.m.intheSculpture Garden at CaponiArtPark,Eagan.$4perper-son donation is suggested.Information: (651) 454-9412orwww.caponiartpark.org. Tuesday Evenings in the Garden Taming Gar-den Godzillas with ElizabethSpedaliere,6:30 to8p.m. inthe garden at UMore Park,1605 160th St. W. (CountyRoad46),Rosemount.Learnstrategies to help manageJapanesebeetleandemeraldash borer in the home land-scape. Fee: $10. Questionsor to register by phone, callUniversity of Minnesota Ex-tension:(651)480-7700.

Wednesday, June 27 Little Chefs Cooking Class for ages 3-11 from 1to 2 p.m. at Valley NaturalFoods,Burnsville.Free.Reg-ister32hours inadvancebycalling (952) 891-1212, ext.221. Eagan Market Fest, 4to 8 p.m., Eagan FestivalGrounds. Farmers market,Radio Disney with music,prizesandcontests, theTed-dyBearBand(6p.m.),inflat-ables (weather permitting),Eaganpuppetwagonshows,kids art, family games andextra family funactivities. In-formation: www.cityofeagan.com/marketfestor(651)675-5500.

Thursday, June 28 Music in the Parks Wig-gle Jiggle and Jam, 10 a.m.atCentralParkAmphitheater,Rosemount. Free. Weatherline:Call (952)985-1780op-tion 6 to find out if a perfor-mancehasbeencancelled. Thursday Rockin Read-ers Rahn Principal ElaineMehdizadeh, 11:15 a.m.,Nicollet Commons Park,12600 Nicollet Ave., Burns-ville.Free. Thursday Rockin Lunch Hour Sticks and Tones,noon, Nicollet CommonsPark, 12600 Nicollet Ave.,Burnsville.Free. Music in the Parks SouthoftheRiverCommunityBand,7p.m.atCentralParkAmphitheater, Rosemount.Free.Weatherline:Call(952)985-1780option6tofindoutif a performance has beencancelled.

Friday, June 29 Open housebytheAppleValley MOMS Club-South(Moms Offering Moms Sup-port) from9:30 to11:30a.m.at Lac Lavon Park in Burns-

ville. Information: [email protected]. Summer Fresh Friday Film, Locavore: Local Diet,HealthyPlanet,6to8p.m.atValley Natural Foods, 13750County Road 11, Burnsville.Information: (952) 891-1212,ext.221.

Blood drives TheAmerican Red Crosswill hold the following blooddrives. Call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767)or visit redcrossblood.org tomake an appointment or formoreinformation. June 23, 10:15 a.m. to3:15p.m.,BurnhavenLibrary,1101 W. County Road 42,Burnsville. June 26, 2 to 7 p.m.,St. John theBaptistCatholicChurch, 4625 W. 125th St.,Savage. June28,8a.m.to2p.m.,Eastview High School, 6200140thSt.W.,AppleValley. June28,8a.m.to1p.m.,Quello Clinic Ltd., 14000NicolletAve.S.,Burnsville. June 30, 10 a.m. to 3p.m.,Culvers, 3445OLearyLane,Eagan.

Reunions Lakeville High School Class of 1972willholdits40threunion at 3 p.m. Saturday,July28,atthehomeofBruceand Pat Zweber, 387 MapleIsland Road, Burnsville. In-formation: Mary BoegemanJohnson at [email protected]@visi.com. Burnsville High School Class of 1992 will hold its20threunionfrom7to11p.m.Saturday,Aug.4,attheHyattRegency, downtown Minne-apolis.Ticketsare$50inad-vanceor $65at thedoor.Toregisterandpurchasetickets,visit https://reunionmanager.net/class_members/registra-tion.php?class_id=124786 orcontact Kelly Bruce Reganat [email protected] orBobHayes at [email protected].


Sports

by Mike ShaughnessySun ThiSweek

A.J. Stockwell met evan DeCovich in front of the dugout during east-views state baseball championship cel-ebration and hugged the senior pitcher. Youre a hoss, bro, Stockwell said. he didnt need to say anything else. The Lightnings first state high school title almost certainly wouldnt have been possible without DeCovich, who pitched 14 2/3 innings over three Class AAA tournament games, allowing just one run. At the same time, DeCovich said his success wouldnt have been possible without his team. At the start of the season, i felt like i needed to do it all, DeCovich said. we struggled a little bit defensively at the beginning. Later in the season, i realized the defense had my back and i didnt have to try to strike everybody out. eastviews 1-0 victory over Bemidji in the Class AAA championship game Monday at Target Field might have been the ultimate example of pitcher and defense working together. DeCo-vich was working on two days rest after throwing 98 pitches in two state tournament games Friday. if he could make the Lumberjacks put the ball in play and avoid deep counts, all the bet-ter. DeCovich threw a two-hitter and needed just 88 pitches in a game that took 1 hour, 17 minutes to play. he got nine outs on fly balls, six on ground-ers and struck out five hitters. eastview catcher Ryan Reger threw out one Bemidji runner attempting to steal. Only one of Bemidjis three baser-unners advanced past first. The Light-ning did not commit an error (neither did the Lumberjacks). we always have confidence in our

pitching, and evan has pitched great all year, senior outfielder Chris na-rum said. By the end of the season, we were hitting better and playing good defense. it all came together for us. eastview center fielder Brennan espindaBanick raced into the gap to rob Bemidjis Mitch hendricks of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning, a play DeCovich referred to as a game-changer. Bemidji got a runner to third base with two outs in the sixth inning, but DeCovich got the next hitter to fly out to center. DeCovich helped supply the only run he needed by leading off the sec-ond inning with a double. e.J. Stevens went in as a courtesy runner and ad-vanced to third on Patrick Streys sacri-fice bunt. narum then drew a walk and stole second. Stevens scored on Stock-wells grounder to shortstop. eastview (22-5) was the third team from Dakota County to play in a state high school championship game at Target Field, which opened in 2010. Burnsville advanced to the Class AAA final the previous two years. The Lightnings victory also means the South Suburban Conference has had the state large-school baseball champion each season of its two-year existence. Burnsville won Class AAA in 2011. But that doesnt mean eastview went into its first state baseball tour-nament appearance as a favorite. eastview was 16th among Class AAA teams in the final Minnesota-Scores.net computer ranking. The other seven state tourney qualifiers all were ranked higher. if that wasnt enough motivation, it kind of fired us up to see the Star Tribune pick Bemidji to beat us 6-2 in the championship game, narum said.

Another oddity: no eastview play-ers were selected for this weekends Li-ons All-Star Series in Chaska. But the Lightning believes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The teams motto, Ohana, is a hawaiian word meaning family. The seniors have been on the same teams for almost a decade and won a couple of state championships in youth base-ball. its unreal. ive never been a part of something like this, said senior shortstop Scott nelson. it really is like a family, and i think it helped settle our nerves today. we were excited to be here, but we were able to do our thing and play our game. The baseball championship is eastview high Schools second in a boys sport; the first was in lacrosse ear-lier this month. Although the school has been open only 15 years, the base-ball championship isnt an overnight success story. it feels like its been a long time coming, said Tom Strey, who became eastviews head coach in 2001 after 10 seasons as an assistant at Apple Valley. There are a lot of good people in the community, and a lot of effort went into this, said Strey, who also coached the current seniors in youth baseball. A lot of the players dads have served as coaches. we developed our own (American) Legion team, which gave more of our kids an opportunity to play at that level. it really was a com-munity effort. it fostered a belief that every player, from the ace pitcher to the last man on the bench, had something to contrib-ute. Thats why they called it Ohana.

Mike Shaughnessy is at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

Lightning wins as onePlayers credit family atmosphere for baseball championship


Cameron Hall of Eastview tries to slide past Bemidji catcher Collin Leif in the fourth inning of the state Class AAA baseball championship game at Target Field in Minneapolis. Hall was called out after tagging up and trying to score from third base on a fly out.

Brothers finish in a tieEagan fifth in state boys golf


Derick and nick kuchera have done a lot of things together, so perhaps its fitting that the broth-ers finished their final high school golf tournament with the same score. By tying for 20th place individually, they helped eagan finish fifth at the Class AAA boys tourna-ment last week at Bunker hills in Coon Rapids. nick kuchera, the wild-cats no. 1 player and Sec-tion 3AAA medalist, shot 80 in the first round but closed with 74 for a 154 total. Derick kuchera had rounds of 78 and 76 to also finish at 154. Ben welle of Moorhead and Jon DuToit of Chaska were co-medalists after each finished with a 142 to-tal (2 under par). The kuchera brothers also helped eagan place third in the Class AA boys hockey tournament in March and plan to play ju-nior hockey in the fall. eagan was sixth in the team standings after shoot-ing 319 on the first day of the state tournament. The wildcats improved by 11 strokes the next day and jumped past Forest Lake to place fifth with a 627 total. eagan was the only team to count four scores below 80 on the second day and finished one stroke behind Rogers for fourth place. Class AAA team cham-

pion Moorhead had a 599 total, including a 297 in the second round that was 10 strokes lower than anybody else. The Spuds won the team title by 14 strokes. eagan senior Christian Butler tied for 42nd place after shooting 79-79158. Ryan Punch, also a senior, had 82-79161 to tie for 57th. Reed Becker, a ju-nior, shot 88-81169 to tie for 80th and senior Drew Bauer tied for 83rd with 85-87172.

eagan finished sixth in the South Suburban Con-ference, although nick kuchera was the leagues third-ranked player. The wildcats were second af-ter the first day of the Sec-tion 3AAA tournament but passed east Ridge in the final round to qualify for state for the second time in three years.



One golf axiom states that you cant win a tour-nament on the first day, but you can shoot yourself out of it. unfortunately for east-views girls, thats what hap-pened at last weeks state Class AAA meet. eastview couldnt completely recov-er from a rough first round and finished fifth in the 36-hole event. The Lightning did make significant improvement in the second round of the tournament June 13 at Bunker hills in Coon Rap-ids. its second-round team score of 333 was 27 strokes better than its opening day score of 360. The second-day score also was the best an eastview girls team has shot at Bunker hills. eastview, tied for sixth after the first round, jumped over Alexandria to finish in fifth place but was too far behind the top four teams to move up farther. new Prague won the Class AAA championship with a two-day total of 661; eastviews total was 693. Lightning senior Sara Detlefsen tied for seventh place to earn her third state individual medal in four years. Detlefsen, who will play at Florida Gulf Coast university, opened with an 82 but shot a 3-over par 76 in the second round for a 158 total. Cretin-Derham hall

sophomore Celia kuenster, who was Class AAA co-medalist in 2011, finished first by herself this year af-ter shooting 72-69141. Most of eastviews lineup improved from the first day to the second. Sophomore kari Opatz (88-82170) tied for 24th place, and senior Maddy Paulsen (95-82175) tied for 37th. Junior Madi Roe (97-93190) tied for 69th. Lydia Jorgenson, a se-nior, shot 99 in both rounds

for a 198 total and 80th place. eighth-grader Tylor Christensen (105-94199) tied for 81st. The state tournament wrapped up a strong sea-son for the eastview girls, who were second in the final Minnesota Golf As-sociation state team rank-ings and third in the state coaches association Class AAA rankings. Detlefsen and Opatz also received All-State recognition. The Lightning rolled to the South Suburban Confer-ence championship, winning three of the four regular-season conference tourna-ments and finishing fourth in the other. eastview also won four regular-season invi-tational tournaments as well as the Section 3AAA cham-pionship. Others from the Sun Thisweek coverage area competing in the state tour-nament were Rosemount junior Molly Flynn (tied for 42nd, 88-88176), Lakev-ille north eighth-grader Brianna Vetter (tied for 45th, 90-87177), Lakeville north junior Laura Larson (tied for 53rd, 92-89181), Apple Valley sophomore Lauren kerr (tied for 53rd, 90-91181) and eagan ju-nior Shelby Braun (tied for 63rd, 95-89184).

Mike Shaughnessy is at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.

Megan Linder already keeping fast companyCDH sprinter and Eagan resident is

state 400-meter championby Mike Shaughnessy

Sun ThiSweek

A Twin Cities-area high school without a track had a state track and field champion this spring. Come again? Cretin-Derham hall, for all its success in other sports, hasnt had an on-campus outdoor track for de-cades. That didnt prevent sophomore Megan Linder, an eagan resident, from walking away from the state Class AA meet earlier this month with three medals, in-cluding one for first place in the 400-meter dash. She also had top-five finishes in the 100 and 200 and was responsible for all of Cretin-Derham halls 25 team points, which put the Raiders 10th in the Class AA standings. But where does she practice? were at Macalester College, which is a mile or mile and a half away from school, Linder said. i think its a really nice facility and its not hard to get to unless you dont have a car. Linder won the Class AA 400 final in 56.53 seconds, a personal record and more than two seconds faster than her eighth-place time at the 2011 state meet. She would have to drop another couple of seconds over the next two years to threaten the all-time state meet record of 54.36, set by Vanessa Clarida of Bloomington kennedy in 2001. Linder said that thought has already crossed her mind. i think thats a goal for my senior year, she said. (The state record) is a really fast time, but my coach says its a possibility. if i stay healthy, train hard and peak at the right time, i think i have a chance. when she qualified for state a year ago, Linder said she was caught off-guard by the surroundings and the pressure of the state meet. This year, she said she was far more comfortable and better prepared. She was the no. 2 seed in the 400 going into state and had the fast-est time in preliminaries. Linder won the state final by about half a second ahead of irondale senior kianna Carter. Linder, who attended Dakota hills Middle School before enrolling at Cretin-Derham hall in ninth grade, said she ramped up her training after the 2011 season. She did additional weight training some of it under the direction of her father, Michael and it paid im-mediate benefits. She set personal records in all three of her events at the state meet. She finished fifth in the 100, an event where the all-time state meet record was broken in the preliminaries and finals by different sprinters. hopkins junior Taylor Anderson won the event in 11.71 seconds. Linder was third in the 200 in 25.35, behind Alex-andria eighth-grader wensia Johnson (24.65) and An-derson (24.75). She was the only girl to qualify for the Class AA meet in all three sprints. The 400 was the race i had the best chance to win, she said. i knew there were some fast girls in the 100 and 200, and i was shooting for top five in those races. Linder, an Academic All-State athlete with a 4.2 grade-point average, used to play basketball but now will focus her athletic energy on track and field. She has done the long jump in the past and could return to that event. if the Raiders develop more sprinters, they might put Linder on a relay or two. And, i hope to run for a Division i college, she said. This weekend, its back to the track for Linder, who is scheduled to compete in an AAu regional qualifier at Brooklyn Center high School.


slow start hinders eastviewGirls golf team fifth at state


Eastview junior Madi Roe putts during the state Class AAA girls golf tournament. The Lightning was fifth in the team competition.


Nick Kuchera of Eagan hits a pitch shot during the state Class AAA boys golf tournament.


lection through July 21 at the citys Performing Arts Center gallery. An opening reception was held June 14. Knutson has gained ac-cess to the laureates mostly through the Carlson lec-tures and the Westminster Town Hall Forum in Min-neapolis (he is the portrait photographer for both), and Nobel Peace Prize Forums, which have been hosted by five Lutheran Norwegian colleges in the Upper Midwest, including Knutsons alma mater, Lu-ther College in Decorah, Iowa. A 1979 graduate of Burnsville High School, Knutson is one of five children of Howard and Jerry Knutson of Burns-ville. Howard was an elder statesman here, serving as a state representative and senator from 1967 to 1990 and running a local law practice that once in-cluded his son, David. Da-vid followed in his fathers footsteps as a state senator from Burnsville before be-coming a Dakota County district judge. Howard died in 2006 at age 77. I think a lot of why I can deal with these people (Nobel laureates) the way I do is my upbringing, said Doug, who lives in Minne-apolis. My first campaign I participated in, I was 5 years old. We were meet-ing congressmen and gov-ernors then. And my dad always emphasized, You treat these people with re-spect, but you treat every-body else with the same level of respect. I really think with this series of portraits I do, its a perfect combination be-tween my philosophy de-gree, my photography and the political family I grew up in. Knutson majored in philosophy at Luther, where he worked as a staff photographer for the news-paper and college publica-tions. The shutter bug bit in his sophomore year at BHS, when he took a pho-tography class because the woodshop class he wanted was full. After college he marked time working at Mr. Bs convenience store in Burnsville while assisting established photographers in Minneapolis. A job as-sisting Milwaukee free-

lancer James Schnepf on a Money magazine cover shoot at a Hennepin Coun-ty park proved to be a big break, Knutson said. More jobs with Schnepf followed. One day he said to me, When are you going to go to New York and show your portfolio? Knutson recalled. I said, Wow, I can do that? Knutson mailed out samples and by 1990 was visiting the offices of New York photo editors. Maga-zine assignments followed, from Sports Illustrated and Newsweek to Business Week and Forbes. Over the years I think Ive worked for just about all of them, said Knutson, who now finds most of his work in advertising. He launched his No-bel portfolio in 1991 at his alma mater, which was hosting the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. His first por-trait was of laureate Betty Williams, a peace activist in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. And five minutes after that, I shot Oscar Arias Sanchez from Costa Rica,

said Knutson, who shoots in black and white to give the portraits a timeless quality. He shot about half his portraits at Nobel forums. His best, Knutson said, are of Elie Wiesel, the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, the anti-apartheid arch-bishop from South Africa. With Desmond Tutu, I was all set up in one room and at the last minute the organizers of the lecture series made me move to a different room because they wanted

sun thisweek burnsville and eagan

Documents

city hall

city taxes

city officials

council wont

council unanimous

friends of parkview

new citycommissioned

metropolitan council