Family Night at Eagan Market Fest offers music and more. See Thisweekend Page 7A
Thisweek Apple Valley-Rosemount JULY 1, 2011
VOLUME 32, NO. 18
A NEWS OPINION SPORTS
www.thisweeklive.com
Opinion/4A
Sports/5A
Announcements/6A
Public Notices/6A
Automotive eye candy
Thisweekend/7A
District retools budget amid financial woes by Jessica Harper THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Photos by Andrew Miller
Vintage vehicles offered plenty of eye candy at Dancin’ & Cruisin’, the annual classic car show and rock concert held June 24 outside Bogart’s Place nightclub. The car show was the opening event to Apple Valley’s 11-day Freedom Days festival, which continues this weekend. The full schedule is at www.avfreedomdays. com. At left: Classic car enthusiast David Miller peeks under the hood of a ’60s-era Corvette convertible at Dancin’ & Cruisin’.
Two face felony charges after alcohol-fueled golf cart caper THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
A wild joyride in a stolen golf cart ended in a crash at Apple Valley’s annual Dancin’ & Cruisin’ classic car show. Two men are facing felony charges in connection with the June 24 incident outside Bogart’s Place nightclub. One of the men – Tyler Joseph Mudd, 22, of Maple Grove – sustained a forehead laceration in the crash and was taken by ambulance to Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville where he received 12 stitches. Police say the driver of the stolen golf cart – Benjamin Daniel Anderson, 20, of Bloomington
– fled the scene after colliding with a light pole. He turned himself in to authorities two days later, June 26, at the Dakota County Jail. A criminal complaint gives the following account of the incident: Apple Valley police responded to a report of an accident involving a golf cart at about 5:45 p.m. outside Bogart’s Place, 14917 Garrett Ave. Upon arrival, officers spoke with a man who said he’d borrowed a golf cart from Apple Valley Ford for the event. He’d parked the cart so his children could use the bathroom and when they returned, it was gone. Witnesses reported see-
As the RosemountApple Valley-Eagan School District awaits state funding, the district will draw from its general fund to balance the budget. The School Board unanimously approved June 27 drawing $6.8 million from its general fund – money that is not reserved for specific programs and services such as special education – to balance its $334.6 million budget. This plan will leave the general fund balance at $25.2 million, which is 8 percent of the school district’s general budget. This is in accordance with the district’s fund balance policy. “It’s not a balanced budget, but it is a planned budget,� District 196 Finance Director Jeff Solomon has previously said. District officials say
the state is largely to blame for the school district’s financial woes. When state aid – which accounts for 72 percent of the school district’s budget – is cut or withheld, it greatly affects the district’s finances, Solomon said. Over the past two years, the state has withheld $68 million in funding, according to district officials. As a result, the district had to impose $10 million in budget adjustments for the 2008-09 school year and $15.3 million for the 2010-11 school year. District 196 will once again face budget adjustments for the 2011-12 school year as legislators battle over the state budget. The School Board approved $8.5 million in budget adjustments, which includes $3.4 million in cuts. See Budget, 12A
Man wanted on bomb threat charge arrested by Rosemount Police by Tad Johnson
Police: Joyride during Dancin’ & Cruisin’ car show ended in collision with light pole by Andrew Miller
Classifieds/8A
While traveling to the jail, Medansky told officers his name An Illinois man and that he thought who had a warhe had a warrant for rant out for his arhis arrest in Illinois. rest for making a It was not reported bomb threat was what crime the warapprehended in rant was related to Rosemount while Medansky and additional inquiattempting door-todoor sales without a permit. ries did not yield more inforLucas Forester Medan- mation. According to news resky, 20, of Fox River Grove, was charged last week in Da- ports, Medansky received a kota County District Court six-month jail sentence on with a felony count of fugi- Aug. 2, 2010, after pleading tive from justice. Authori- guilty to a felony conspiracy ties reported that Medansky charge stemming from an would be extradited to Illi- Oct. 1, 2008, bomb threat that forced the evacuation nois. After a report of solici- of more than 2,000 students tors was called to police on and faculty from CaryJune 22, officers spoke with Grove High School. Along with the jail term, the individuals and several of them did not have photo Medansky was placed on identification. Since they did probation for two years. not have IDs and a permit to solicit, they were taken to the Tad Johnson is at editor. thisweek@ecm-inc.com. Dakota County Jail. THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Photo courtesy of Apple Valley Police Department
Police say this golf cart, valued at $4,000, was stolen during the Dancin’ & Cruisin’ classic car show June 24 and taken for an out-of-control ride that ended in a collision with a light pole in the parking lot of Merchants Bank. ing two young adult males drive the golf cart out of the south entrance of the Bogart’s Place lot and
head west down Glazier Avenue, the complaint said. The golf cart was See Golf Cart, 12A
Woodland preserve comes to life Property donated by Rosemount resident has been transformed from hay field to flourishing prairie by Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
It’s not unusual to find someone with an idea that might take many years to realize. The rarity is when a private donor, three government entities and a nonprofit organization share the same vision and work hard to make it happen. Ten years ago, Rosemount resident Aina Wicklund began seeking ways to preserve her 26-acre property in the northcentral part of the city. She sold the property as a conservation easement in 2005 to the city of Rosemount, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the Dakota County Farmland and Natural Areas Program. Wicklund then donated 16 acres of it to the city in 2006. Dubbed the Rosemount Wildlife Preserve, the property has undergone a noticeable change from hay field to prairie since that time. But the work isn’t done. Friends of the Mississippi River is orGeneral 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000
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Before restoration
Red clover infestation
Native plants
Buckthorn removal
otic shrub that displaces native woodland plants – were removed from the site on six acres one year and 10 acres the next. “They did a great job with that,� Schultz said. “It is amazing to see that space
from what it looks like now to what it used to look like.� Trees and flowers have been planted, too. See Woodland, 11A
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ganizing another in a long string of work efforts next week (see box) in which local residents can become involved. The Worknight in the Woodland Preserve is an opportunity for local residents to learn and contribute to a preservation in their own “back yard.� “(The Friends of the Mississippi River) go out and promote stewardship,� said Dan Schultz, Rosemount Parks and Recreation director. He said when people participate in such projects, “they have a better understanding of the value of open space.� The site is located within the natural greenway corridor known as the Northern Dakota County Greenway. Although it has good natural features, it needed some help. It took three years and three different methods to remove red clover that dominated the site. The other major project on the site has been woodland restoration. Massive amounts of buckthorn – an invasive, ex-