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‘Coffee Concerts’ return to the Lakeville Area Arts Center. See Thisweekend Page 10A
Thisweek Apple Valley-Rosemount JANUARY 7, 2011
VOLUME 31, NO. 45
NEWS OPINION SPORTS
www.thisweeklive.com
Opinion/4A
Announcements/5A
Sports/6A
Rosemount City Council plans three days of candidate interviews
Classifieds/7A
Real Estate/11A
Legal Notices/12A
Back to business for local legislators
18 residents apply to serve remainder of Bills’ term by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Kurle and Judy were defeated by incumbents Kim Shoe-Corrigan and Mark DeBettignies in the election. Council members set interviews for Jan. 11 and 12 from 6 to 9 p.m., and on Jan. 15 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All interviews will be conducted by the full council and open to the public. The council designated Jan. 19 for a second round of interviews, if they are needed. On Jan. 15, after the first interviews have been completed, the council will announce either the candidate selected or name the candidates who will be asked back for second interviews. Rep. Bills will be honored at a reception on Tuesday, Jan. 18, from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. in the council chambers at Rosemount City Hall. The public is invited to the event, which will take place between that night’s Port Authority and council meetings.
It will take at least 10 hours over three days for Rosemount City Council members to interview all 18 residents who have applied to fulfill the remaining two years of Kurt Bills’ council term. The vacancy, created when Bills was elected to the Minnesota House on Nov. 2, is expected to be filled by February. Applicants include several residents who ran in the November election and some who were eliminated in the August primary. Residents who applied by the Dec. 30 deadline are: Amal Abdulahi, Gloria Jorgenson, Joseph K. Kurle, Dennis Winsor, Robert Leuth, Patrick Staley, Maila C. Ellefson, Matthew J. Kearney, David J. Ganfield, Denise Lyn Bednar, Pamela L. VanderWiel, Sharon E. Peterson, Tim Judy, William Olson, Paul Ness, Ryan Johnson, Jeanne Schwartz and Shawn Mulhern. Ellefson and Winsor lost their bids for a seat on the Laura Adelmann is at laura. council in the primary, and adelmann@ecm-inc.com.
Photos by Rick Orndorf
Legislators from Apple Valley and Rosemount were at the state Capitol in St. Paul on Jan. 4 for the opening of the 2011 legislative session. Top right: Kurt Bills, R-Rosemount, took his new seat as representative of House District 37B, the seat previously held by DFLer Phil Sterner. At right: Rep. Tara Mack, R-Apple Valley, began her second term as House District 37A representative; she’s pictured with Rep. Patrick Garofalo, R-Farmington. Above: District 37 Sen. Chris Gerlach, R-Apple Valley, was joined by his son Garrett at the opening of the session.
2010 sees controversy, change, achievement in District 196 by Jessica Harper THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Rosemount-Apple ValleyEagan School District 196 faced many hills and valleys in 2010.
Comic-book controversy Dissension ensued in April when an Apple Valley mother demanded a popular comic series be banned from school district libraries. The “Bone� series by Jeff Smith is comprised of nine volumes about the adventures of the Bone fam-
Year in Review ily – bald, bald white, white big-nosed cartoon characters – whose epic journey begins when they’re exiled from their hometown of Boneville. It has won multiple awards, including 10 Eisner and 11 Harvey awards for comic books. Twelve of the district’s 18 elementary schools currently have at least one of the “Bone� books in
their libraries. Ramona DeLay, an educational assistant with the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District, discovered them when her fifth-grade son checked one out from the Southview Elementary library. DeLay objected to the fact that one of the main settings of the books is a pub and that some characters smoke cigarettes and pipes, fix races and take bets. DeLay told the district the books were too mature for children in elementary school and insisted the dis-
trict remove them from its libraries. Library advocates claimed that she was taking her objections too far. They insisted that the library must contain a variety of books to suit the needs of varying ages and interests. In a 10-1 vote, a committee of teachers, parents, a principal and two school media specialists decided to keep the books on library shelves. The committee concluded after reading a letter from the book’s author that the series sends a valuable
message: Bad behavior and stupid choices result in bad things happening.
New boundaries, building In addition to controversy, the district saw several new developments. The School Board approved a proposal in February to change some school boundaries in hopes of opening space at its two magnet schools, Diamond Path and Glacier Hills. See District 196, 4A
Bluegrass, gun molls and more January jam-packed with arts events in Rosemount by Andrew Miller THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
File photo
Above: Rosemount’s own Sawtooth bluegrass band is set to perform Jan. 27 as part of the Bluegrass Americana Family Night concert series at Celt’s Pub. At left: The Rosemount Area Arts Council’s third annual mystery-theater dinner on Jan. 29 at the Steeple Center will have guests attempting to help solve a ganglandstyle murder that occurs during dinner. Attendees are encouraged to dress as their favorite gangster or gun moll. General 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000
The Rosemount Area Arts Council is wasting no time in 2011. A bluegrass concert series, an author talk, a mystery-theater dinner and a poetry slam for high school students are among the activities the local nonprofit arts group has planned this month. The arts council has partnered with Celt’s Irish Pub and Grill to offer Bluegrass Americana Family Night, eight nights of free bluegrass music from January through April. Each band will play from 7 to 9 p.m. at Celt’s, located at 14506 South Robert Trail in Rosemount, beginning Jan. 13 when the Ditch Lilies will take the stage. On Jan. 27, Rosemount’s own Sawtooth bluegrass band will perform, and Feb. 13 features Singleton Street. Other performers in the series
include Switched at Birth, the Eelpout Stringers, Chris Coole and Ivan Rosenberg, Bluegrass Pals, and the Middle Spunk Creek Boys. The all-ages, Thursday-night events are supp o r t e d by a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and there’s no cover charge. Celt’s will run food specials during the performances.
Baseball buff to speak Stew Thornley, author of “Baseball in Minnesota: The Definitive History,� will speak at the Robert Trail Library at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, as part of the Rosemount arts council’s “Meet the
Author� series. The winner of the National Baseball Research Award, Thornley has also authored a compendium of grave sites of famous Minnesotans titled “Six Feet Under: A G r av e y a r d Guide to Minnesota.� Thornley is the fifth speaker in the arts council’s Meet the Author series, which is free and open to the public. Past speakers in the series have been Craig Macintosh, author of the World War II suspense novel “The Fortunate Orphans�; longtime Golden Gophers sports announcer Ray Christensen, author of “Gopher Tales�; former Star Tribune reporter Betty Wilson, author of “Rudy! the People’s GovSee Events, 12A
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