Two area high school grads’ musical journey brings them back home for Burnsville’s Art & All That Jazz fest. See Thisweekend Page 7A
Thisweek Apple Valley-Rosemount AUGUST 12, 2011
VOLUME 32, NO. 24
A NEWS OPINION SPORTS
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Wetland project turns into Dakota County Fair major park improvement kicks off SKB Environmental helps city not only add wetland, but also fishing pier, trails, rain garden to Schwarz Pond by Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Improving access and the natural beauty of one of the city of Rosemount’s hidden gems is the result of a business’ expansion several miles away. SKB Environmental is enhancing the city’s 62acre Schwarz Pond Park by adding several features all because it added more landfill space at its commercial location near the junction of Highways 55 and 52. The business expansion was built upon a wetland, so SKB was required to find a wetland restoration project in another part of the city. The city and SKB identified Schwarz Pond
Park to create a wetland but the partners went many steps further to add a fishing pier, rain garden, trails and other land improvements. “The goal was to end up with a nice addition to the park,� said Dan Schultz, Rosemount parks and recreation department director. The only requirement for SKB was wetland mitigation, but the business wanted to give more back to the community. As ideas were discussed, more park amenities were added. “It is representing them,� Schultz said. “They want this to be very positive and a good project that they can stand behind, too.�
“We wanted to do something to directly help the citizens of Rosemount and of Dakota County,� said John Domke, SKB vice president. “We wanted to use (our in-kind work) in a way that they can enjoy it.� Domke said the project is more special to him because he lives not far from the site. “I have had a lot of folks who have said that they can’t wait until it is complete,� Domke said. It is the kind of project that SKB and its parent company, Bolander and Sons, has done in other communities in which it is located, such as Inver Grove Heights and Austin, Minn. See Wetland, 14A
Local charter schools dealing with successive funding delays Apple Valley’s Paideia has avoided borrowing, unlike Sobriety High in Burnsville by John Gessner THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Two local charter schools are making do with yet another state funding “shift� for K-12 education. Paideia Academy, an Apple Valley school of nearly 400 students, says it hasn’t needed to borrow money to cover perpupil funding delays state policy-makers have used to help balance successive budgets. Sobriety High Charter School’s Alliance Academy in Burnsville, a much smaller school with high student turnover, is borrowing against a $135,000 line of credit, according
to Paul McGlynn, executive director of Sobriety High, which has campuses in Burnsville and Coon Rapids. Looking at an even larger shift for the coming school year, Sobriety High has secured a backup line of credit, McGlynn said. “All schools are going through hard times, so it’s not that we’re unique,� he said. “It’s just that the smaller you are, the harder the blow.� And charter schools borrow at a far higher cost than Minnesota’s public school districts, which have taxing authority and a state guarantee
on their loans. Public school districts typically pay interest of 1 percent or less, while charters pay anywhere from 6 to 23 percent in interest and expenses, according to the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools. McGlynn said Sobriety High’s new line of credit, with Charter School Capital of Oregon, is at about 8 or 9 percent. To help balance state budgets, the Legislature has held back payments to K-12 schools over several budget cycles. A 10 percent “holdback� was increased to 27 percent in 2009-10 and 30 percent See Funding, 14A
Photos by Rick Orndorf
Aria Stiles plays her violin in the 4-H Share the Fun, Performing Arts, Clowning and Communication Contest at the 4-H Arts Stage on Tuesday at the Dakota C o u n t y Fair. Laura PHOTOS Stiles (at ONLINE more photos right) from For from the Dakota Chub Lake County Fair, go to B e a v e r s thisweeklive.com receives her ribbon at the 4-H Dairy Cows jjudging g g at the fair on Tuesday. y
Irish eyes are sailing
IN BRIEF
Rosemount resident wins essay contest, chance to sail in Tall Ships Races 2011 on the Irish Sea by Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Photo submitted
Connor Carroll, a 2009 graduate of Rosemount High School, takes the helm of Prolific during the Tall Ships Races 2011 on the Irish Sea in June.
Connor Carroll knows the power of words. Because of his ability to use them, the Rosemount resident was able to walk in the footsteps of his Irish ancestors, sail on the Irish Sea and fill a lifetime with memories. Carroll won the Irish Fair and Celtic Journey’s essay contest last November and recently returned from the grand prize trip to Ireland, which included his weeklong participation in the Tall Ships Races 2011. “The most exciting part of the
race, and of the trip for that matter, was the fact that I was sailing on the Irish Sea,� Carroll said. “At one point I remember thinking ‘I’m just some kid from Minnesota, halfway around the world sailing on the Irish Sea. How did I even get here?!’ � The Indiana University junior got there after submitting a 1,000word essay on the topic: “The Influence of Irish Culture in Minnesota Today� in November 2010. As a member of Irish dance troupes from the past 10 years and with a family that has long participated in Irish heritage events, Carroll impressed the judges by
Connor Carroll will relate his Tall Ships experiences during a presentation at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12 in the Cultural Tent at the Irish Fair on Harriet Island in St. Paul. The free admission Irish Fair of Minnesota runs Aug. 12-14 and includes a full slate of Irish musical acts and hundreds of Irish dancers. More information is at www.irishfair.com. drawing on his personal experiences and knowledge of Rosemount’s historical ties to Ireland. “I think the judges liked that Irish culture has always been a big part of my life,� Carroll said. “I’ve always felt very strongly See Sailing, 13A
Grace Lutheran hosts film event, speaker on Rwandan genocide by Andrew Miller THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
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Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley is inviting the public to a screening of “Ghosts of Rwanda,� the PBS Frontline documentary about the 1994 Rwandan genocide, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15. Through interviews with government officials, diplomats, survivors and even some of the
perpetrators, the film exwill include guest speakamines the 100-day stateer Carl Wilkens, a husponsored massacre of manitarian aid worker 800,000-some Rwandans who witnessed the genoduring which the United cide and was featured in States and international “Ghosts of Rwanda.� community did not interWilkens, who refused vene. to evacuate even when The film screening is Wilkens urged to do so by the a lead-up to Grace LuU.S. government, was theran’s 7 p.m. worship service the only American to remain in on Wednesday, Aug. 17, which Rwanda throughout the geno-
cide. “By the time the genocide was over, I was so angry,� Wilkens said of his experience. “I was angry with our government. I was angry with people who could do something, even the simplest things, and didn’t.� Wilkens, with his wife Teresa, founded the Spokane, Wash.based educational nonprofit World Outside My Shoes to
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share his experiences in Rwanda and inspire others to stand up to injustices. The events next week are part of ongoing programming about genocide hosted by the church, whose senior pastor, Rev. John Matthews, is a board member of the nonprofit World Without Genocide and did post-graduate work in Holocaust studies in See Film, 13A
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