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Dakota County

Tribune

Farmington | Rosemount www.dakotacountytribune.com

NEWS Area man to ride 500 miles Randy Oppelt is riding his bicycle 500 miles around Minnesota for the 15th time in the Habitat 500 Ride. Page 2A

and the surrounding areas July 6, 2017 • Volume 132 • Number 19

Rotary gears up for Ramble Jam The country music festival raises scholarship funds by Maren Bauer

Brett Young is headlining the first night of Ramble Jam.

SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

To students, September probably feels far away as they soak up the summer sunshine. For Farmington Rotary members, though, they’ve been preparing for their September event all year. Ramble Jam, the country music festival hosted by the Rotary, along with K102 and Jeff Belzer’s car

Photo submitted

OPINION Standing up for the police Residents in the city of Forest Lake made the right choice in advocating to keep their local police department. Page 4A

THISWEEKEND

dealership, happens this year Sept. 15-16. Last year the event raised somewhere between $60,000-70,000, with funds going toward donations to the police and fire department, as well as scholarships to Farmington High School, both for the general student population and through the STRIVE program. STRIVE, Students Taking Renewed Interest

Focus on fitness, intellect, teamwork FIT Academy aims to bring it all together at new charter school by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Caponi gets interactive Caponi Art Park in Eagan is giving local resident the chance to get in on the action to make some really “hot� art. Page 15A

SPORTS

Tigers have a banner day The Farmington High School girls cross country program made its presence known at the Apple Valley Freedom Days Run. Page 9A

PUBLIC NOTICE The Dakota County Tribune is an official newspaper of the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District. Page 12A

INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9A Public Notices . . . . . . 10A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 11A Calendars . . . . . . . . . 14A

News 952-846-2033 Display Advertising 952-846-2019 Classified Advertising 952-392-6862 Delivery 763-712-3544

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At a new kindergarten through eighth-grade charter school slated to open in fall 2017 in Apple Valley, “fit� has two meanings. At FIT Academy, it not only means the goal of staying fit, it is also an acronym for fitness, intellect and teamwork. The new school, which is located on the former site of Paideia Academy charter school at 7200 147th St. W., aims to inPhoto by Tad Johnson tegrate all three into its educational experience as itFIT Academy charter school executive director Claud Allaire meets with the new imparts the value of healthschool’s administrators during a recent session at the Apple Valley site. there’s still some finer points to the and fitness throughout life. “I see it as an ideal location,� ex- building remodel yet to go. The major work to transform ecutive director Claud Allaire said. “It is in the hub of everything. It is the school started in March as all new paint and floor coverings were a diverse community.� The school will open its first installed. Most of the major work year with two sections of kinder- was completed by May. The results are bright open garten and one class each for first spaces, large kindergarten classthrough eighth grades. Class size limits are 23 in kin- rooms, a fitness area and other feadergarten, 25 in first grade, 26 in tures. Allaire said communication second and third, and 28 in fourth through eighth, with the goal to with new families with regard to have 200 students by the time school operations will be the bulk of work done until Sept. 5. classes start this fall. He said most families who have The school has the capacity to Photo by Tad Johnson chosen to enroll their children at Running in the hallways is encourgrow by another five classrooms. When the newspaper visited the FIT say they were drawn to it for aged at FIT Academy charter school in June, Allaire said it could school in Apple Valley, where a See FIT, 6A have opened July 1 if it had to, but track motif is part of the landscape.

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See RAMBLE, 8A

Man found dead near fairgrounds A man who had been visiting Dakota County from out of state was found dead in a remote and heavily wooded area near the Dakota County Fairgrounds on Wednesday morning. Bruce Peterson, 61, was reported missing about 10 p.m. July 2 when he reportedly left the camper without his wallet and cellphone to have a cigar, according to the media reBruce ports. Peterson After Peterson was reported missing, a search by the Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the public, commenced. The sheriff’s office reported about 50 volunteers assisted with the search around noon on July 4. That day’s search went until about 6 p.m. before it was called off. As the search resumed Wednesday, a searcher found Peterson’s body around 9:30 a.m. Deputies notified Peterson’s family of the discovery prior to releasing the news to the media. Sheriff Tim Leslie thanked members of the public who willingly stepped in to assist with this search, especially because it occurred over a holiday, and asked that people keep the Peterson family in their thoughts and prayers.

Two artists on exhibit at Steeple Center The artists exhibiting at the Rosemount Steeple Center for the months of July, August, and September are Juliet Parisi, a painter of organic surrealistic images, and painter Carolina Tana, who lives by the motto: “Life is art. Paint it.� There will be an artist reception Wednesday, July 12, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. with refreshments and artist talks, at the Steeple Center. The event is open to the public. Parisi is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. She creates organic surrealistic images inspired by natural beauty. She graduated from Humboldt State University and has been painting for over 15 years. Growing up in California exposed her to a wide range of cultures and she said she was

constantly surrounded by all different wonders of nature. “These early experiences help influence my body of work and propel my art into further realms,� she said. She describes it at beauty through chaos. Her paintings are done with water-soluble oil paints with either paint pen or permanent ink overlay. All work is coated with a UV protectant varnish and comes ready to hang on gallery wrapped canvas. Drawings are done in permanent ink layered atop paintings or paper. More is at julietmparisi. wix.com/creations Art has been a part of Tana’s life but her passion for painting started when she was introduced to watercolor. Her paintings are inspired by her love of trav-

els, “being blown away by new sights, local scenes, places, and people,� she said. Tana started showing her works publicly in the Twin Cities area in 2008. She has shown her works at public and private establishments and local art shows. She regularly shows her works at the annual NorthStar Watermedia Artists’ Market show at the Fine Arts building at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. Tana has a bachelor’s degree in the field of mathematics. She said she finds it fascinating that the rigors of science actually enhance her works. Carolina paints in her studio in Eagan and sells her work in local art shows and online at her website. More is at http://carolinatana.com.

Juliet Parisi’s Flow

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and Value in Education, has as its purpose to motivate high school seniors to discover their own strengths and talents to increase their personal and academic achievements. Further incentives are offered through scholarships for secondary education at a college chosen by the student. Locally, the Rotary en-


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