WEB of support
The crunch is on
Eighth-graders give sixth-graders a hand
Chaska opens season Friday against Rochester
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011
CHASKA
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HERALD
Traffic through downtown plummets Shakopee crossing Area Minnesota River crossings CHANHASSEN may be best option d. 61 Cty. R for flood proofing
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BY MARK W. OLSON & SHANNON FIECKE editor@chaskaherald.com
E
arlier this year, the Minnesot a D epa r t ment of T ra nspor t ation bega n searching for the cheapest way to get commuters across an overf lowing Minnesota River. A couple options included raising the Highway 41 river crossing in Chaska or the Highway 101 river crossing in Shakopee. The study determining where the crossing will be improved isn’t expected to be released until October. However, officials may have already
CHASKA
169 River crossing
esot Minniver R
a 101 River crossing
SHAKOPEE
41 River crossing
Graphic by Traci Zellmann/Lorris Thornton/Brian Sorenson
received their biggest surprise – traffic through downtown Chaska has dropped – down, down, down. “I was shocked by how much of a decrease it’s been,” said City Engineer Bill Monk. In a 2007 MnDOT traffic study, 18,500 vehicles traveled along High-
way 41 through downtown Chaska every day. However, the numbers in a 2009 study, which MnDOT is using to decide which river crossing to floodproof, 12,500 vehicles headed through Chaska – a 6,000 vehicle drop. “It’s a
Bridge to page 11 ®
PHOTO BY MARK W. OLSON
The Highway 41 bridge over the Minnesota River has gotten a lot less busy over the last few years. It was pictured on Monday – about 24 feet lower than the late March crest that closed the road.
VOLKSFEST WAS ROLLING Spectators hustle out of the path of Team Salon Spatoria as it muscles its way to the finish line in the Victoria Volksfest Bed Race, at the sixth annual Volksfest and Art Fair. The bed races attracted 12 teams this year, including youngsters and teens representing District 112 and Holy Family Catholic High School. For more photos of the downtown Victoria event, see page 9.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Chaska’s Joyce Sutphen, pictured in Woodside, Calif., will be Minnesota’s second official poet laureate. She was named to the position by Gov. Mark Dayton early last week.
The poet turned poet laureate
PHOTO BY UNSIE ZUEGE
Governor names Chaskan chief poetry advocate BY MOLLEE FRANCISCO mfrancisco@swpub.com
Give Joyce Sutphen a handful of zucchini and a basket of apples and you can be sure she won’t let them go to waste. She’ll bake up an apple pie or a loaf of zucchini bread to make the best of the produce she was gifted. “I feel a responsibility to do something with them,” she explained. It’s not so different with words. As a poet, Sutphen knows not to let moments of inspiration pass by.
Poet to page 10 ®
More students at most area high schools BY RICHARD CRAWFORD editor@chanvillager.com
As the school doors fly open for the start of the school year, how many students will enter? The economy, open enrollment, demographics all factor in to the student bodies at local public and private schools. O ne dy n a mic t h at h a s b e en closely tracked is the balance be-
tween Chanhassen and Chaska high schools. When Chanhassen High School opened in 2009, there were no seniors, which tilted enrollment numbers to Chaska High School. Last school year saw the first graduating class from Chanhassen High School, and also saw total enrollment at Chanhassen eclipse Chaska High School. The District 112 school board has stated a desire to keep the schools
relatively balanced. Although the gap is widening slightly this year, part of the reason for that is a shift of 50 students from the district’s Alternative Learning Program, which will be based at Chanhassen High School. The program assists students in the completion of required and elective classes on an as needed basis.
Enrollment to page 11 ®
INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 VICTORIA/8-9 CALENDAR/13 SPORTS/17-18 CLASSIFIEDS/26-29 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6683 EDITOR: (952) 345-6574 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@CHASKAHERALD.COM.
2009-’10
’10-’11
’11-‘12
Chanhassen
1,059
1,462
1,584
Chaska
1,553
1,205
1,227
Holy Family
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603
550
Minnetonka
2,828
2,789
2,850
162
175
S.W. Christian 156
Source: Area school districts; ’11-’12 figures are preliminary
OUR 150TH YEAR, NO. 1 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS
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Area high school enrollments
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