Dakota County
Tribune
Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas
www.dakotacountytribune.com
NEWS Start cooking some chili Halfway to Leprechaun Days Chili Cook-off to benefit the all-volunteer Rosemount Leprechaun Days Committee. Page 3A
OPINION End domestic violence 360 Communities will hold its annual Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Luncheon in Lakeville this month. Page 4A
THISWEEKEND
February 4, 2016 • Volume 130 • Number 48
City may seek park bond OK Vote in Rosemount may be slated as early as April; ice sheet on the slate of possible projects by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
The city of Rosemount will possibly ask voters this spring to approve the issuance of bonds to help fund a variety of parks and recreation improvements. Though the amount of the bond request and the election date have not been set, the park bond was listed among the City Council’s goals released during Monday’s regular
meeting. City Administrator Dwight Johnson said the bond referendum could be held in May or June, if possible. The items tentatively slated to be part of the bond package are construction work related to adding an indoor ice rink, ball fields, soccer fields and completion of Central Park improvements. As participation in youth sports has grown for the Rosemount Area Ath-
letic Association, Rosemount Area Hockey Association and Rosemount Parks and Recreation programs, the project list was identified over the course of several public meetings in the past year with user groups of the proposed facilities. From 2013 to 2015, participation in RAAA in-house baseball has increased from 557 to 638, in-house soccer from 824 to 1,052, and summer lacrosse from 198 to 386.
The increase in such numbers has put a squeeze on field availability even as new sites have been added at the Dakota County Technical College Ames Soccer Complex and the Flint Hills Athletic Complex in recent years. Scheduling ice time at the Rosemount Community Center Ice Arena has resulted in its use that extends from early morning to late at night on many days. Rosemount voters de-
nied approval of an $8 million bond referendum in April 2008 that would have provided funds to create an outdoor recreation complex and update the former St. Joseph Church. The city’s intention was to use $6.8 million to create the complex and $1.8 million to upgrade the former church to allow it to be used as an arts center. Email Tad Johnson at tad.johnson@ecm-inc.com.
RHS students face ethical dilemmas Workshop turns teens into corporate executives for a day by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Dakota County on foot An upcoming exhibit chronicles artist Andy Sturdevant’s 40-mile walk from Minneapolis to Northfield in September 2015. Page 15A
Several Rosemount High School students learned what it is like to be near the summit of Mount Everest last week. During the Eagan Rotary’s Ethics Workshop on Thursday, former principal at Eagan and Rosemount high schools Thomas Wilson and former Lockheed Martin executive James Overocker used the true life example of two mountain-climbing teams that made vastly different decisions upon finding a lone man “left for dead” but still alive near the highest mountaintop in the world. One team left the hiker behind as the temptation of reaching their Everest goal blinded them from saving his life, while another team upon finding Lincoln Hall went right to work to rescue him with no discussion at all. The example emphasized one of the workshop’s main points that teleopathy – literally meaning goaldisease – can hinder one’s ability to make ethical decisions as one fixates on a goal, uses the goal to rationalize ignoring what should be more important and detaching oneself from the outcome of ignoring the ethical choice. After a morning of ethics foundation-building, the students undertook a training exercise when they formed six different leadership teams for a mock clothSee ETHICS, 6A
Rosemount High School student Abby Linnett delivers her address as the CEO of a mock corporation to shareholders during a Rotary Ethics Workshop last Thursday at the Steeple Center. (Photo by Tad Johnson)
Parents worried about marijuana use Law enforcement officers talk trends during a town hall meeting by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK
SPORTS
DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
National signing day arrives Many area seniors signed National Letters of Intent during the first day of the signing period. Page 10A
PUBLIC NOTICE The Dakota County Tribune is an official newspaper of the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District. Page 14A
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Several parents expressed concern about marijuana use during a town hall meeting with area law enforcement officials during Farmington High School last week. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states about 35 percent of 12th-graders have used marijuana in the past year on average, although several parents in the crowd said it’s likely higher based on their own experience and comments they’ve heard from their children. Marijuana is widely used in the county, said Chris Lutz, an investigator with the Farmington Police Department. One big problem with marijuana is many people feel like it’s OK to drive while high, but it’s a crime, just like driving while drunk. “The most common thing out on the road is marijuana,” said Cassie Redmond, Farmington patrol offi-
cer and drug recognition evaluator. “And we can always smell it.” They’ve also seen an increase in marijuana wax, which has a higher potency and it’s dangerous to make. “We’re seeing a lot of burns from people making it,” Lutz said. The potency of marijuana has also risen in the past two decades, he said. Joshua Fahey, a deputy school resource officer in Rosemount, agreed that marijuana continues to be the most popular drug among teens. He said societal attitudes and the increased legality of the drug have made it more acceptable. “There seems to be the impression that it doesn’t really do any harm,” Fahey said. He said one reason young people may use drugs is they’re in the exploratory phase of the their life and there’s a perception that it’s not harmful and they do not know the See DRUGS, 8A
Pertussis spreads in Farmington by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Members from the Dakota County Sheriff ’s Office, Farmington Police Department, Farmington School District, Dakota County Drug Task Force and AAA sponsored a town hall meeting last week to educate community members on local drug use, abuse and trends. (Photo by Andy Rogers)
Pertussis, aka whooping cough, has spread to an abnormally high level in Dakota County and specifically Farmington, according to health officials. Dakota County had 133 confirmed cases in 2015 compared to seven in Rice County, but Farmington has been especially hit hard, according to doctors with Northfield Hospital & Clinics and the Farmington School District. According to Gail Setterstrom, the school district’s health services coordinator, there have been a 41 confirmed cases since September 2015, including See COUGH, 6A
Zip Rail project planning suspended Private company studying possible route The Minnesota Department of Transportation has chosen the no-build option for a high speed rail project that would have gone through Dakota
County. MnDOT announced last week it has suspended plans for a Zip Rail between the Twin Cities and Rochester. Potential routes followed Highway 52 or Highway 55, or both, with a possible stop in Rosemount. While the MnDOT may
have suspended plans for a high-speed rail line, a private company is exploring the possibility of proceeding with a similar project. The same day MnDOT announced its plan to drop to the project, it announced that it issued permits to the North American High Speed Rail.
The company plans to do its own feasibility study in the near future for establishing a high speed rail line, using private funds, in southeastern Minnesota. Winona Post reported that the plans include a rail line situated on a platform above the ground using the highway right
of way, traveling 260-280 mph, . MnDOT released an alternatives analysis report last week, which cut possible routes down to eight, but more public money would be required for MnDOT to continue studying the plans. — Andy Rogers