Eagan Summer Community Theatre presents the classic stage musical ‘The Music Man’ this month. SEE STORY IN THISWEEKEND ON PAGE 7A
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Thisweek Apple Valley-Rosemount JULY 9, 2010
VOLUME 31, NO. 19
NEWS OPINION SPORTS
www.thisweeklive.com
Opinion/4A
Announcements/6A
Puzzle Page/8A
Real Estate/9A
Classifieds/11A
Tower plan topples
Freedom Days
Wildwood Park proposal withdrawn
takes to the streets
by Andrew Miller THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
The battle is over in Wildwood Park. Neighbors who opposed construction of a 125-foot wireless Internet tower in the Apple Valley park learned last week that the company had withdrawn its application. “We were delighted and humbled and blown away by the surprise,� said Wildwood Park Alliance leader John Hessburg. “This was an unexpected happy ending.� More than 500 neighbors signed a petition opposing the proposal by Clearwire Wireless, which is seeking to launch a wireless Internet service in the Twin Cities. The Wildwood Park Alliance opposed the tower on grounds it would be an eyesore, hurt property values and possibly have harmful health effects. Alliance members packed the council chambers during Planning Commission meetings in recent months to voice opposition to the Wildwood Park plan. “We weren’t going to stand for the desecration of the most beautiful park in Apple Valley,� Hessburg said. Though the Wildwood Park tower is off the table, Clearwire still plans to move ahead with its wireless network in Apple Valley. Initially, the telecommunications company had 11 sites planned in Apple Valley as part of its network. Nine of those sites have already received city approval, including construction of towers in Hayes Park and in the parking lot of Christ Church. Only one site (other
See More Pictures on 10A
Photos by Rick Orndorf
Top: Members of the Apple Valley High School performance dance team were all smiles as they marched in the Freedom Days parade Sunday, July 4. The parade, one of the state’s largest and most admired, was among the closing events of Apple Valley’s 10day Freedom Days summer festival. Right: American independence was acknowledged in old-time fashion with an appearance by the American Legion Post 1776 Revolutionary Color Guard.
Apple Valley man accused of threatening wife with gun An Apple Valley man has been charged with a felony after an argument with his wife in which he allegedly pointed a gun at her chest. Michael Leon Geis, 45, was charged July 2 with one count of terroristic threats. A criminal complaint filed in Dakota County District Court gives the following account: Apple Valley police officers were dispatched to the home just before 7 p.m. July 1 on a report of a man having pointed a gun at his wife. Officers met with the wife, who reported that Geis had been consuming alcohol and they had been arguing. She further reported that Geis had pointed one of his long guns at her, told her to leave the house and began counting backward. She ran from the house, believing he may kill her.
Rosemount book reading planned to help bring community together Flurry of activities planned in October by Laura Adelmann
ROSEMOUNT
THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
October in Rosemount is stacking up to be something special. During October, a new event, “One Read, One Rosemount,� will be celebrated. Residents will be encouraged to read “A Long Way From Chicago� by Richard Peck and attend a month-long slate of free events related to the book. “A Long Way From Chicago� is written at a fourth-grade level and includes
enough material to make it interesting to all generations. The story involves a 9-year-old boy who grows to better respect and love his grandmother as it reveals what small-town life was like during the Depression. As part of the initiative, Rosemount’s Parks and Recreation Department is planning activities including a big band and swing dancers, time capsule, and National See Rosemount Read, 3A
Tad Johnson contributed to this report. Andrew Miller is at andrew.miller@ecm-inc.com.
Denis Thompson spent two weeks in ‘the last uncivilized place on Earth’ as a volunteer with the MIA Hunters by Andrew Miller THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Trekking through uncharted jungle, sidestepping giant pythons, rubbing elbows with cannibals and headhunters – this spring Denis Thompson undertook the adventure of a lifetime. Thompson, a Vietnam veteran who co-owns the Apple Valley-based medical company ARPwave, was Denis among 32 vol- Thompson unteers with the nonprofit MIA Hunters who searched the jungles of Papua New Guinea for crash sites of World War II airmen missing in action. “It was an awe-inspiring adventure,� said the 63-yearold Lakeville resident, who was joined on the two-week trip in May by his sons Colt, 27, and Trent, 21. “It’s the last uncivilized place on Earth and we lived in it. Every day was a story.� Using information from natives who worked as paid scouts, Thompson’s MIA
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APPLE VALLEY than Wildwood Park) has yet to receive city approval – Galaxie Park, where construction of a tower using a hockey-rink light pole is proposed. The Planning Commission in June recommended that the City Council deny Clearwire’s permit applications for both Wildwood and Galaxie parks. In voting against the Wildwood Park plan, the commission cited compatibility issues with the surrounding area, noting that at 125 feet the tower would be almost twice the height of the park’s tree canopy. The commission voted against the Galaxie Park plan because the application did not meet ordinance requirements regarding the tower’s “fall zone.� The commission will hold a public hearing July 14 on whether to change the ordinance. City officials have indicated that Clearwire will now begin looking for another site to provide wireless Internet coverage to parts of the city that would have been served by the Wildwood Park tower. But for members of the Wildwood Park Alliance, the battle has been won. Hessburg said he wanted to thank the four Planning Commission members who voted against the permit application and the City Council members who listened to the neighbors’ pleas. “This is proof that democracy works in Apple Valley,� Hessburg said.
Local man’s jungle adventure yields info on missing airmen
APPLE VALLEY Geis surrendered to police around 9 p.m. with the Dakota County SWAT team set up outside the home. Interviewed by police after his arrest, Geis said he had picked up one of his pellet guns and told his wife to leave the house, but denied pointing the gun at her, according to the complaint. Police executed a search warrant and removed nine guns from the home, including two pellet guns, the complaint said. If convicted of the one felony count, Geis faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Geis’ next court appearance has been set for 1:30 p.m. July 26 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings. —Andrew Miller
Sports/15A
Photo submitted
Close contact with the Papua New Guinea natives was part of Denis Thompson’s adventure with the MIA Hunters, a nonprofit which searches for crash sites of World War II airmen missing in action. Department of Defense. The APPLE VALLEY idea is to help bring closure to Hunters group found nine missing soldiers’ families. “We did it for the families American planes that had that were missing their loved crashed in the jungle. “The first day alone we ones. We’re just an adjunct to found four airplanes that had what the DOD does – they never seen the light of day have the hard work because they have to go in and excasince fallen,� he said. The volunteers look for vate,� Thompson said. For MIA Hunters group serial numbers on the planes, get the GPS coordinates of members, 25 of whom were the crash sites and then call from Minnesota, conditions in the coordinates to the U.S. See Hunters, 10A
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