Dakota County
Tribune
Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas
www.dakotacountytribune.com
NEWS
December 24, 2015 • Volume 130 • Number 42
Local efforts help replace No Child Left Behind
City position preserved
Farmington superintendent encouraged by changes
The city of Farmington preserved a Rambling River Center coordinator position after its budget deliberations. Page 3A
OPINION Dual-credit courses at risk Many educators, legislators and students believe that a new accreditation rule is putting students at risk of losing access to dual-credit courses. Page 4A
by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Few people were as happy as Farmington School District Superintendent Jay Haugen earlier this month after President Barack Obama signed a heavily revised plan to replace the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The Every Student Succeeds Act essentially gives more control to the states and individual school districts, something Haugen has been passionate about
for decades. bill written and Many people passed. south of the river In a statement, have been workKline said this ing on the plan for turns the page on some time. a “flawed law and U.S. Rep. John failed approach to Kline, R-Burns- Jay education.� ville, who is chair- Haugen Haugen said he’s man of the House met with Kline on Education and Workforce several occasions along Committee, was instru- with other superintenmental in making the bill dents south of the river possible. He attended the over the years to share his signing ceremony at the thoughts about education, White House, and Obama NCLB and why it doesn’t said Kline was one of the work for Minnesota. key figures in getting the “We really became
ground zero when Kline became head of the education committee,� Haugen said. “In the early days, we would met a few times. His understanding of all this really grew during that time. He had a heart for that. He was willing to find out what is right.� In the early years of Haugen’s career, he said, Minnesota was on the cutting edge of education, where there was an understanding that every child was unique. There was a basic set of information all
students should know, but beyond that, they should be allowed to explore their strengths. “There was no set score or something for students because the sky was the limit,� Haugen said. “With No Child Left Behind, it was one size fits all again. It was old stuff. Things we would have done 50 years ago. We had a much better method of education.� He said everything went back to standardized See LAW, 6A
2015
Year in Review
THISWEEKEND
Classical music and coffee The Lakeville Area Arts Center’s popular Coffee Concerts series returns in 2016 with four performances between January and May. Page 13A
Hockey action continues
Clockwise from top, left: Dew Days drew thousands to downtown Farmington for the Bed Races, a fun run, parade, car show and more. Riverview Elementary students planted trees on Arbor Day at Tamarack Park in Farmington. Dakota County Technical College students donated more than $4,000 worth of artwork to the Rambling River Center. The Holi festival, signifying the coming of spring and the victory of good over evil, was at the Minnesota Hindu Milan Mandir. Heavy rains flooded the Vermillion River during the spring. One of the major roads in Farmington was under construction in 2015. (Photos by Andy Rogers, except for center, right)
Farmington and Rosemount boys and girls hockey teams continued their ice action this week. Page 7A
Roadwork, Ramble Jam Future built in bricks, and a rare homicide envisioned on paper
SPORTS
by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
PUBLIC NOTICE The Dakota County Tribune is an official newspaper of the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District. Page 8A
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A Public Notices . . . . . . . 8A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . 9A Announcements . . . . 12A
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Many Farmington residents are relieved 2015 is over – or more specifically, road construction season. Drivers who frequent 195th Street breathed a sigh of relief once road construction was complete in November. Dakota County and Farmington combined efforts to reconstruct 195th Street (County Road 64) from Flagstaff Avenue to Pilot Knob Road (County Road 31) and built roundabouts at Pilot Knob, Flagstaff and Akin Road. Every day about 7,000 vehicles travel on 195th, so it was disruptive to many residents. It was closed in three different phases during construction. Everything opened up in November. Before it was reconstructed, Mayor Todd Larson called it a dangerous road, one that had to be redone. The city also had to pay for its share. In December, the city ap-
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by Tad Johnson
Farmington proved a 4.9 percent increase to its portion of property taxes for 2016. The vote was delayed two weeks after members of the Rambling River Center asked the City Council to reconsider the elimination of a part-time assistant, something that was saved after discussion during a work session in mid-December. The city has tried to keep tax increases as low as possible while still maintaining a healthy general fund balance. Following a recent review with the Standard & Poors Rating Services, the city of Farmington’s debt rating was recently upgraded from AA- to AA. The immediate result was an approximate $200,000 savings for the 195th Street bonds. One of those money-saving opportunities came in the form of potentially demolishing Farmington Municipal Pool in 2016. But after public outcry, Larson said he felt the city should let the See REVIEW, 8A
Rosemount
SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
The past year in the city of Rosemount saw the completion of long-awaited projects and the start of new ones that remain as sketches on paper. City leaders have cause to be optimistic about the future. There are new housing and business developments in the works. There is great momentum in community efforts to add to recreational opportunities. And the city earned distinction from Money Magazine as one the Best Places to Live in the United States. Following is a look back at what the newspaper feels were the most important stories of the year related to city affairs. A future edition will review some news events in the areas of education, politics and prominent people who died in the past year. Best place When Rosemount was ranked 12th on the Money “Best Places to Live 2015� list in August, it was a confirmation of its positive
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Clockwise from top, left: Children and their parents had some musical fun during ArtBlast 2015. Rosemount High School honored its 2015 graduates in June. Rosemount Mayor Bill Droste talks with another attendee at the May 2015 Resilient Communities Project ceremony at the University of Minnesota. The Dec. 4 Tree Lighting at the Steeple Center was the first time that the site’s new gathering space was used for an event. The 33rd annual Haunted Woods Trail was held Oct. 24 as the sun went down in Rosemount’s Central Park. A group of area residents are working to develop a plan that would place a projected 60,000-square-foot sports facility in Rosemount. (Graphic submitted)
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economic and social fabric. There were 3,625 U.S. towns with populations of 10,000 to 50,000 that were judged using statistics, a site visit and interviews with residents. It wasn’t the highest mark the magazine gave to Rosemount, which ranked fourth on the “Best Places to be a Kid� list. “Two important elements of growing communities are schools and public safety,� Mayor Bill Droste said. “We are fortunate to live in an area with great schools both public and private. “When considering communities to raise children, public safety is primary concern for young families,� he added. “Building connected neighborhoods with great parks and youth facilities are areas we have focused on for many years. We also have wonderful police, fire, parks and public works employees, who are engaged every day in providing See ROSEMOUNT, 14A
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