Dakota County
Tribune
Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas
www.dakotacountytribune.com
SPECIAL SECTION
February 9, 2017 • Volume 131 • Number 50
Longtime U radio voice, Rosemount resident dies In retirement, Ray Christensen volunteered in Rosemount, beyond by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Sun Family Living pages Dakota County families can find a wealth of information about activities in the Twin Cities geared toward them. Inside this edition
NEWS Mid-Winter Festival delights Check out some photos from the Apple Valley Mid-Winter Festival, which was a hit for those seeking cool family fun. Page 2A
OPINION Trains in the south metro Columnist advocates for the city of Burnsville and state leaders to bring rail service to the south metro. Page 4A
THISWEEKEND
Comedy and conspiracy Chameleon Theatre Circle presents “The 39 Steps” this month at the Ames Center in Burnsville. Page 15A
PUBLIC NOTICE The Dakota County Tribune is an official newspaper of the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District. 3A
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 10A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 11A Public Notices . . . . . . 13A Announcements . . . . 14A
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Longtime University of Minnesota athletics radio announcer and Rosemount resident for the past 14 years, Ray Christensen died on Saturday at Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville. He was 92. Christensen, who in retirement frequently visited classrooms at St. Joseph Catholic School and volunteered in other ca-
pacities in Rosemount and beyond, was remembered by family and friends as a gentle, kind man dedicated to his craft. “You just couldn’t find a nicer man,” said John Loch, who knew Ray and Ramona Christensen through their membership at St. Joseph Church. “I remember listening to him as a teenager at night while working at my father’s drug store. He used to cohost a quiz type show — a
good neighbor show. He was such a soft spoken, gentle man but knowledgeable and passionate Gopher supporter.” He served as the Rosemount Leprechaun Days parade announcer in 2006 and 2007 and spoke at one of the first Meet the Author events organized the Rosemount Area Arts Council. Christensen was WCCO-radio’s play-by-play broadcaster of Golden
Gopher football for 50 years. He said during a 2006 interview with the newspaper that he was more than happy to lend his voice to Rosemount’s annual community celebration as parade announcer. The longtime New Brighton resident made the move to Rosemount in 2003 to be closer to his children — Sue, who lives in Eagan, and Jim, who lives in Woodbury. Ray
District 192 to build off a busy 2016 Teachers contract, construction work completed by Tad Johnson
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Haugen hopes to lead Farmington district
by Maren Bauer SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
process. “We’ll talk about what went well and what do we want to clarify before going into that next round,” Thomas said. One of the biggest conflicts was which school districts to compare to
The future of education looks far different than a few decades ago and Jay Haugen, superintendent of Farmington Area School District 192, hopes to lead the change. With Farmington’s Innovation Zone designation and digital learning platforms, Haugen’s goal is to create accessible learning so that it can happen anywhere, anytime. As an Innovation Zone, Farmington schools incorporate an all-digital learning platform coupled with flexible learning days. In addition, the district has a teacher-driven curriculum, project-based learning, and a school atmosphere that hundreds of schools come to visit.
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The Farmington High School graduation ceremony was held indoors at the high school in 2016 after a construction project rendered the outdoor stadium not fit for use. years. “We really appreciate the School Board and the members of both bargaining teams for all the work and time they’ve put in to come up with this settlement,” MaryAnne Thomas, director of human resources, said at the time. The contract clarified
teacher responsibilities during flexible-learning days and professional development days as well as substitute teacher policy. With negotiations scheduled to begin again within a year, Thomas said they’re working on clarifying a few sticking points that held up the
Robots reveal metal mettle District 196 sends 12 teams to FIRST Tech state
by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Smart students, dedicated mentors and a nurturing curriculum has led the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District to having 25 percent of the FIRST Tech Challenge teams at the state tournament this weekend in St. Paul. Twelve District 196 teams are among the 48 that qualified for the competition for sevenththrough 12th-grade students across the state. The participants include three each from Eastview and Eagan high schools, two each from Apple Valley High and Dakota Hills Middle, one from Valley Middle and a team combined from different District 196 schools. “They were just as shocked to hear they had won an award as they were when they realized they were going to state,” said Melissa Schwartz, coach of the first-year team
CrushBots at Dakota Hills Middle School in Eagan. “Their hands were shaking and there were tears in their eyes.” Similar reactions were shared by other students throughout the district as teams advanced by either having a high-scoring robot or earning a special award at a qualifying event for the state’s 169 teams. The other qualifying teams are: Eastview High — Blue Lightning, Short Circuits and Storm Warning Eagan High — The Green Girls, The Q is Silqent and Sunburst Apple Valley High — Iron Maidens and Attack on Robot Dakota Hills Middle — CrushBots and SOLID Valley Middle — Metal Melters Combined — The Fourth Dimension District 196 has been focused in recent years on its STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum. The
district has a K-12 STEM magnet school pathway, in addition to having other STEM-focused curriculum in other schools. The district has also embraced the extracurricular programs offered by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), which includes FIRST Lego Challenge, FIRST Tech and FIRST Robotics. Dean Kamen, FIRST founder, said he created the program because he saw sports figures celebrated and recognized by nearly all, but people couldn’t name notable science and technology pioneers. Anne Marie DeBoard, who helps coach two Apple Valley teams, calls FIRST Tech a sport of the mind. She said some students who are new to FIRST Tech don’t know how to turn a screwdriver the corSee ROBOTS, 6A
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The Dakota Hills Middle School FIRST Tech team CrushBots named its robot “Crushy.”
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Superintendent’s vision for 2017 articulated
SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
A protracted teachers contract negotiation, repairs at some school buildings and the departure and welcome of new staff highlighted 2016 in the Farmington Area School District. As Superintendent Jay Haugen looks ahead in this edition to 2017 and beyond, following are some of the actions that made headlines in the district from the past year. Contract Much attention was paid during the first half of the year to the District 192’s negotiation of a new teachers contract for Farmington Education Association. The 2015-17 contract, approved in mid-June, added 2.15 percent increases to the salary matrix each year of the contract. In addition to lanes and steps, it amounts to a 7.6 percent increase in the total package over two
and Ramona’s other son, Tom, lives in Colorado Springs. “It is a good community to live in,” Christensen said of Rosemount. He said one of his favorite things to do since hanging up his headset after the 2000 football season and the 2001 basketball season was reading books. Not only did he read
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