Chanhassen_102011

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CHANHASSEN

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2011

$1

www.chanvillager.com

Villager chanhassenfirst.org Mission: “Our organization is motivated by supporting families and businesses in Chanhassen, Minnesota. We realize that we all come from differing socio-economic backgrounds but one thing that unites us is our goal is to provide a safe place for our families to live, grow and enjoy life. “Please join us in working with the Chanhassen City Council to find a viable solution.” Facebook — Chanhassen First

‘Chanhassen1st’ Grassroots activism springs up around Walmart proposal BY UNSIE ZUEGE uzuege@swpub.com

When Chanhassen neighbors Wendy O’Connor and Elizabeth Kressler recently learned that the city of Chanhassen would be reviewing a proposal to bring Walmart to town, they were concerned. Kessler knew what was ahead. Back in 1994, when she was living in Westford, Mass., WalSHARE YOUR mart wanted to build COMMENTS a store in that comwww.chanvillager.com munity. Citizens organized, and in the end kept Walmart out. O’Connor and Kressler decided something had to be done. “The information about the rezoning fi rst appeared on (the Chanhassen Villager’s) Facebook on Oct. 5,” O’Connor said in a phone interview, “and we kind of ran with it. We defi nitely measured the interest level by comments on Facebook.” The fi rst thing O’Connor did was create a website, using GoDaddy, an Internet domain registrar and website hosting company. She named it Chanhassenfi rst.org, and also set up a Twitter account. And then, created the content for the website, wrote a mission statement, and explained the reasons why the city should reject the Walmart proposal, and how concerned citizens could help. Creating “Chanhassenfi rst.org” was relatively quick and efficient.

JOIN THE CHAT

PHOTO COURTESY OF DARYL JAMES AND JOHN BISHOP

Chaska resident Tim Meyer’s Screamtown character is “Karl Blood” who was “recently terminated from my position as a janitor from the Circus Asylum due to ‘unacceptable behavior.’”

Recipe for the spook-tacular Screamtown puts the ‘EE!’ in Halloween BY MOLLEE FRANCISCO mfrancisco@swpub.com

One could say that Matt Dunn has a thing for Halloween. At just the tender age of 9, Dunn began constructing elaborate Halloween attractions at his parents’ home in Plymouth. He drew visitors from all around the neighborhood and then some. “Each year it got a little bigger until news crews were showing up in the front yard,” recalled Dunn. These days, Dunn’s parents can breathe a little easier come fall. That’s because

Dunn has graduated to his own place – more than 362,000 “scare” feet in a cornfield just west of Chaska. It’s a little place he calls Screamtown. Now in its fourth year of operation, Screamtown is an ever-evolving outdoor attraction built to thrill. In the last year alone, Dunn noted, they’ve expanded to be 25 percent bigger than 2010. “There are a lot more visuals,” he said. “A ton of change.” With attractions like “Terror in the Corn,” “Oak Blood Forest,” and “Rabid Alley,” Screamtown is not for the faint of heart. “People are coming here to be scared,” said Dunn. And scare them, he does. “I like to think of it as old pranks we used to play on people ramped up,” said

Dunn. “We ramp up the old classics and make them wild.”

RECIPE So what does it take to scare the general public? Dunn said the most basic level of fright starts with lighting and music. “You want to create your atmosphere,” he said. “Lighting is always huge and music is an important element. “We have 40 different soundtracks going at Screamtown,” he continued. “Everything from organ music to bats.” Dunn also likes fog to set the scene. “Fog is always great.” At Screamtown, they take advantage of their natural surroundings – a deserted

SOCIAL MEDIA “I feel like I’m pretty social media savvy for a 46-yearold,” O’Connor wrote. “I love having new gadgets and I try to keep up with what’s going on. I don’t know how to turn on my TV but I follow a lot of people on Twitter, read a number of blogs and spend a lot of time reading the news, checking Facebook, etc. I think this is going

Screamtown to page 2 ®

Chanhassen1st to page 2 ®

County service centers could fill void if Eden Prairie location closes BY RICHARD CRAWFORD editor@chanvillager.com

Even with a temporary state government shutdown this year, use of the Chanhassen Service Center has continued to grow and Chaska’s Service Center numbers have remained relatively stable, according to Carver County figures. The service centers, which provide driver’s license renewals and tabs, DNR licenses and other documentation, could also get a boost in customer traffic in the coming year if Hennepin County shuts down its Eden Prairie license location. Hennepin County is considering closing its Eden Prairie Center site next year as part of a cost-cutting

Carver County Service Center transactions

The Chanhassen Service Center has seen a steady rise in transactions since opening in March 2009. plan. Hennepin County is expected to make a decision in December when it

Centers to page 2 ®

Year Month

Transaction Counts Chaska Chan

Year Month

Transaction Counts Chaska Chan

Year Month

Transaction Counts Chaska Chan

2009 January February March April May June July August September October November December Total

3686 3915 5265 5004 4577 5133 5275 4574 4269 4199 3622 4436 53955

2010 January February March April May June July August September October November December Total

4148 4181 5542 5053 4398 5601 5165 4693 3929 4062 3444 3130 53346

2011 January February March April May June July August September October November December Total

3760 3845 4719 4507 4717 5792 3179 5496 3600

2542 2267 2441 2616 2664 3288 1929 3094 2748

39615

23589

Grand Total

146916 60844

413 1180 1168 1551 1557 1573 1449 1351 1502 1903 13647

Source: Carver County

INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 VICTORIA TOWN SQUARE /7 SPORTS/9 CALENDAR/14 CLASSIFIEDS/20 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6682 EDITOR: (952) 345-6471 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@CHANVILLAGER.COM.

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