Dakota County
Tribune
Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas
www.dakotacountytribune.com
September 15, 2016 • Volume 131 • Number 29
Pipeline to proceed through wetlands
NEWS The Ramble Jam experience Frequent attendees of the Ramble Jam country music festival in Farmington know how to live it up. Page 2A
Northern Natural Gas project gains approval in Dakota County
OPINION Addressing families’ needs
by Jessica Harper SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
360 Communities aims to ensure that families can move to self-sufficiency by addressing multiple needs. Page 4A
THISWEEKEND
Duluth author Margi Preus talks with Norwegian Erling Storrusten, whose experiences in Norway during World War II were the inspiration for the book “Shadow on the Mountain.� (Photo submitted)
Bad break leads to big break One Book One Rosemount author to take readers back to WWII by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Medieval Fair in Eagan Caponi Art Park is offering guests a slice of life from the Middle Ages at its annual Medieval Fair on Sunday, Sept. 25. Page 17A
For Margi Preus, her bad break led to her big break in the literary world. Preus, an outdoors enthusiast and longtime writer and director for the Omni Theater in Duluth, broke her leg skiing six years ago and she told herself she was going to get something out of it. What followed was an extensive research and writing project that resulted in the completion and publication of the young readers novel “Heart of a Samurai.� “I honestly expected that to be it,� Preus said of her bookwriting career. But the tale, one of hundreds submitted in 2011 to be considered for the Newbery Award, earned one of four Newbery Honor awards that year for the best in children’s literature. Taken rather by surprise, Preus ended up signing a contract to produce another book.
“I hadn’t written Titled “The Potato anything,� Preus said. Spy,� the story related “I was petrified. I told Erling Storrusten’s my editor I was somematuration from a rewhere between ecstasy sistance newspaper deand extreme abject terlivery boy to a spy who ror.� was nearly captured Unsure of where to Margi Preus by the Gestapo several turn next, Preus did times. what many 21st cenPreus wondered if tury folks do when they have Storrusten was still alive and a question, she turned to the would be able to talk more Internet. about his experiences. She said she had been thinkIt was about this time that ing a long time about what oc- the Preuses’ foreign exchange curred in Norway during the student from 15 years ago Nazi occupation of World War called to check in with the famII. She had heard many stories ily as Arnie did once or twice about that time from her fa- year. ther, other relatives and their Preus told Arnie about Storfriends who lived in Norway rusten, and Arnie volunteered and witnessed the build up to to give him a call. About 15 the war. minutes later, Arnie called PrePreus said these anecdotes us back to say that Storrusten didn’t have enough for a novel, was indeed alive, talks perfect but her Internet search turned English and was waiting for up a place that did — www. Preus’ call. WWIINorge.com. After Preus got off the The website is filled with phone with Storrusten, she personal stories of the Norwe- told her husband: “Guess gian experience during the war, See PREUS, 12A but one of them stood out.
A proposed natural gas pipeline in Dakota County has received the green light to cross several wetlands in Eagan and Rosemount. The 8-mile long, 20-inch diameter pipeline is part of Xcel Energy’s efforts to convert its Black Dog plant in Burnsville from coal to natural gas. The new line — a project of Northern Natural Gas — will follow an existing pipeline. The pipeline may cut through up to 11 wetlands in Eagan and Rosemount. Most of the line will be installed underground using a boring method that is less invasive than digging trenches. It’s unlikely that the project will affect the wetlands long-term, said Brian Watson, district manager for the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District. “Based on what they’re proposing, there will be few impacts,� Watson said. “There is no replacements required, but (Northern Natural Gas) will need to restore what they disturb.� Rosemount and Eagan approved on Sept. 6 a request by Northern Natural Gas to temporarily affect the wetlands, following approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “I think the cities have done a good job of reviewing this and taking an extra step to provide necessary oversight to ensure this is done properly,� Watson said. Installation of the pipeline — which will also cross portions of Lebanon Hills Regional Park — is expected to begin in spring 2017. The $48 million project has been a controversial topic for many residents and environmental groups who worry about possible tree clearing and soil erosion that could contaminate nearby bodies of water once the pipe is installed. Jessica Harper is at jessica.harper@ecminc.com or facebook.com/sunthisweek.
SPORTS Rosemount rolls to victory The Rosemount High School football team started rolling in the second half on its way to a win over Apple Valley last week. Page 10A
PUBLIC NOTICE The Dakota County Tribune is an official newspaper of the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District. Page A
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 10A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 13A Announcements . . . . 16A Calendars . . . . . . . . . 16A
News 952-846-2033 Display Advertising 952-846-2019 Classified Advertising 952-392-6862 Delivery 763-712-3544
Average class size declines District 192 officials pleased with the news by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
The average class size in the Farmington School District is lower than it was last year, according to district officials. During a presentation to the Farmington School Board on Monday, Superintendent Jay Haugen said last school year there were 16 elementary classrooms with more than 30 students. “This year we have zero,� Haugen said. Every class has at least one full-time employee per 30 students. There are a fewer “hot spots� where class sizes are near recommended maximums this year compared to last year. Akin Road fourth grade See CLASS, 5A
Robots with personality Farmington resident Bill Lillibridge’s creations to descend on Lakeville Art Festival by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
When someone is described as robotic, it typically means they are cold and calculated. Not so in Farmington resident Bill Lillibridge’s world. His robot creations are adventurous, zany and full of character. If one were compared to a Lillibridge robot, it would be a compliment. Lillibridge, who is this year’s featured artist at the Lakeville Art Festival, entered the local show as an emerging artist four years ago not long after making his first robot for his grandchildren. The New Mexico State University art master’s program graduate and former high school teacher painted a wall mural using a robot theme on the wall of a playroom, and he said he thought it needed a robot sculpture to complete it. The grandchildren loved the robot so much (though his granddaughter insisted he put a heart in it), Lillibridge made a few more. His own children were impressed enough that they urged Lillibridge to see if he could sell them. He entered the Lakeville Art
Festival’s Emerging Artist show, and he said: “People started coming to my booth and people started buying things,â€? Lillibridge told KYMN radio of Northfield during its Sept. 9 ArtZany show. Last year, Lillibridge won the festival’s Best in Show honor in large part because of the unique and whimsical nature of his art, but also because of his own personality. Lillibridge said he likes to talk to people who come to his booth. “People tell me: ‘You must drink a lot ‌ or you must be weird,’ â€? Lillibridge said. “But weird is good.â€? Lillibridge doesn’t take himself or his art too seriously, the latter of which he said he learned as an undergraduate art student at North Dakota State University. There he said teachers would assign painting and clay sculpture projects, grade them and then have the works either “whited outâ€? or twisted back up into a material that
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Photo by Lisa Zampogna, Poppy Seed Photography, PoppySeedPhoto.com
could become a new work. “Nothing is too precious,� Lillibridge told KYMN. “It’s a process more than the end result. I am not afraid to make mistakes.� Lillibridge’s process is also about See ROBOTS, 9A