New high school taking shape
Working hard to get back on field
Southwest Christian High expected to open in August
After knee surgey, McBeain will play at St. Cloud State
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012
SHAKOPEE
$1
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VALLEY Catholics wonder what future holds As Shakopee parishes plan July 1 merger, can they retain their identity? BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com
As Thursday afternoon passes, 80-year-old well-worn hands sand the pews of St. Mary of the Purification, south of Shakopee. Their owner, retired farmer Ken Wolf, has prayed here since the second grade. Elsewhere in the sanctuary, Monte Theis reinstalls trim and repairs pew supports, trailed by his 4-year-old daughter Opal. He has volunteered his labor for weeks at the rural church in the hamlet of Marystown. As workmen gleam the altar’s wooden floor, formerly hidden by carpet, in walks in Don Breeggemann, an older parishioner whose last name — like Theis — dominates the church directory. “It looks beautiful,� Breeggemann says with pride to church trustee Julie Welch, showing a reporter the approximately $250,000 renovation. “ T he Wol fs, t he T heises, t he Breeggemanns. We call it a generational church,� Welch remarks to the reporter. “Their families really built this church. This is their second
PHOTOS BY SHANNON FIECKE
Left — With construction dust in the balcony, Ken Wolf, a St. Mary of the Purification parishioner since 1937, sands the pews of the sanctuary, which is supposed to reopen for Saturday Mass. Above — St. Mark’s is the largest Shakopee Catholic church.
Parishes to page 16 ÂŽ
Second new business on its way Clothing distributor plans warehouse here BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com
Shakopee is on a roll. A couple weeks after the public learned a cable manufacturer was moving to town, the city has announced a Seattle-based clothing company plans to build a distribution warehouse here. SanMar, which supplies apparel and accessories to promotional companies, has a purchase agreement to buy 44 acres of vacant land along County Road 83 and Fourth Avenue in the Opus MVW additions. The family-owned company plans to build a single-story, 580,000-squarefoot warehouse, which will include approximately 10,000 square feet of office space, plus 160,000 square feet of mezzanine space for assembling orders. A $17.7 million building is planned on property that’s located next to ConAgra Foods and across Fourth Avenue from CertainTeed and Temple-Island. Land acquisition is estimated to be $5.3 million. Within two years, SanMar expects to hire 150 full-time workers, with around 300 when the warehouse is fully operational. Elsewhere in the
John Schmitt not done serving Ex-mayor reflects on 8 years in office BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com
SUBMITTED PHOTO
SanMar distributes 14 retail, private label and mill brands, including Columbia, Sport-Tek, New Era, Hanes and NikeGolf. report it mentions an immediate 75 to 100 jobs. Wages are anticipated to be $9 to $15 per hour, plus benefits and production bonuses, according to a company application for tax-increment fi nancing. SanMar supplies apparel, bags and caps from 14 brands — including Columbia, Hanes and NikeGolf — for promotional products. The company has six national distribution centers — the closest in Cincinnati — and employs 2,000 people, 700 of which report to the corporate office. It sells 1,000 products to screen printers, embroiders, promotional product distributors and athletic dealers. “The addition of this facility will provide significant economic impact within the community as businesses may look to relocate to the Shakopee community to be closer to SanMar’s facility,� the company said in its business subsidy application.
Firm to page 14 ÂŽ
He might now be absent from the City Council chambers, but former Shakopee Mayor John Schmitt is not done working on behalf of Shakopee residents. Schmitt has been asked to stay involved in coalitions working for improvements along the Highway 169 and County Road 101 corridors, two projects near to his heart. He is hopeful the river crossing from Shakopee to Chanhassen will be upgraded to a four (nearly) floodproof lanes.
S ch m it t i s f amiliar with many of the players involved in transport ation pla n ni ng, and has testified before on behalf of area highway projects. “I k now how it’s done and what John buttons you try to Schmitt push and how to approach people in the process,� he said. It’s especially important to him due to the number of flooding and construction closures that have impacted businesses along the County Road 101/downtown stretch the last few years.
Schmitt, a former longtime city Planning Commission member who recently fi nished eight years as mayor, was asked to reflect on his tenure as mayor. What is your favorite memory as mayor? “I don’t know if there’s any just one. I think the best part of being mayor is the people that you meet and the fact that you can never go into the community and not be recognized. We’ve had people walk up to us as we’re shopping at venues all across the city and even out of the city. And people greet us by name. “And it was the people that we met outside of town [he cites various
Schmitt to page 14 ÂŽ
Collaborating for success Symposium goal: Help students with behavior, learning disorders BY KRISTIN HOLTZ kholtz@swpub.com
They say it takes a village to raise a child. Getting the village on board isn’t the problem. Sometimes the real challenge is speaking the same language. Two local pediatricians are spearheading an effort to ensure schools, doctors and parents are using the same information when making
decisions for a struggling student. Last summer, a consortium of doctors and local special-education directors began looking for ways to improve communication for the three main stakeholders of kids with potential learning and behavior disabilities. Dr. Tim Johanson of Metropolitan Pediatrics Specialists and Dr. Cynthia Harvath from Park Nicollet Clinic organized the consortium, which includes special-education
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directors from the Belle Plaine, Eastern Carver County, Jordan, Prior Lake-Savage and Shakopee school districts. The pur pose is simple : open dialogue among schools and medical professionals so that they can better work with parents together. “I think this allows us to have a more consistent, collaborative relationship when we’re working with
Symposium to page 8 ÂŽ
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