www.SunThisweek.com Special Section
Apple Valley | Rosemount August 3, 2012 | Volume 33 | Number 23
Police: Man beaten, robbed in sex scam
They’ve got the music in them Photos by Rick Orndorf
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Education Today Area school districts are exploring the use of iPad technology in varying degrees this school year.
The Rosemount High School Irish Marching Band pumped out the school song in front of hundreds of parade spectators along 145th Street during the 2012 Rosemount Leprechaun Days Grand Parade on Saturday, July 28. With over 100 parade units, the community parade enjoyed blue skies and a large number of people along the mile-long parade route. Rosemount Leprechaun Days mascot Nick Kressman brought his son, Landon, to the parade. More photos are inside this edition and online at SunThisweek.com along with a video from the festival.
by Andrew Miller Sun Thisweek
sports
Baseball wins keep coming The Eastview area’s baseball success has continued this summer. Page 14A
thisweekend
‘Wrong’ feels so right After a decade-long hiatus, Savage singersongwriter Mindy Miller returns to country music with her third studio album, “Wrong.” Page 12A
Night to Unite helps good cause Rosemount collects food shelf donations; Apple Valley to have daytime picnic over half of them are children. “Every little bit helps out a family that is in need,” Richtsmeier said. Many neighborhoods throughout the two cities will host special events such as cookouts, contests, youth activities and visits from police, fire, and government officials. “It’s the perfect way to get to know your neighbors and build a safer community,” Richtsmeier said. Sponsored by the Minnesota Crime Prevention Association, AAA of Minnesota/Iowa, and local police departments, Night to Unite is designed to allow neighbors to get to know one another, build neighborhood involvement and bring awareness to crime prevention and law enforcement efforts.
by Tad Johnson Sun Thisweek
The cities of Apple Valley and Rosemount will have fun while fighting crime during Night To Unite block parties Tuesday, Aug. 7. In addition to neighborhood gatherings from 6:30-9:30 p.m., Apple Valley is hosting a Business Watch Picnic and Rosemount is collecting nonperishable food items to donate to local food shelves. “The connections that are made and strengthened through Night to Unite carry far beyond this evening,” Rosemount Police officer Beth Richtsmeier said. “Close-knit neighborhoods are safe neighborhoods because neighbors look out for each other and know when something suspicious is occurring in the neighborhood.” The Apple Valley picnic, which is open to the public, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Fire Station 1 located at the corner of Hayes Avenue and County Road 42. The event will feature food, networking, prizes
and goodie bags. For the seventh year in a row, the city of Rosemount and block-party organizers are collecting donations of nonperishable food items, cash or household items such as diapers, wipes and toilet paper at the dozens of gatherings. The donations will go to Burnsville-based nonprofit 360 Communities’ food shelf at the Rosemount ReTad Johnson can be reached at tad. source Center. It is estimated that the food shelf johnson@ecm-inc.com or facebook. serves 4,500 individuals a month – com/sunthisweek.
A new twist on Italian Rosemount restaurant is third for Awada family in Dakota County
Six candidates to be on Aug. 14 ballot
by Joseph Palmersheim Sun Thisweek
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Index Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Announcements . . . . . . . 8A ThisWeekend. . . . . . . . . 12A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14A Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . 15A
General Information 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000
A new pasta restaurant in Rosemount is the third installment in what has become a culinary family affair in Dakota County. Giuseppe’s Pasta Alforno opened near County Road 42 and Chippendale Avenue in Rosemount this past April, and so far, according to part owner Alex Awada, the reception has been “more than we’ve asked for, like five times.” Alex, an Eagan resident, owns the restaurant with his brothers, Rafic, of Burnsville, and Adnan, also of Eagan. Alex owns part of Giuseppe’s Restaurant on County Road 42 and County Road 11 in Burnsville, and moved over to the Rosemount location to work with his brothers. The three came to the United States from Lebanon more than a decade ago, and were aided in their latest endeavor by another
Rosemount voters to pare council field to four
by Tad Johnson Sun Thisweek
Photo by Joseph Palmersheim
Adnan Awada prepares to serve two entrees at Giuseppe’s Pasta Alforno in Rosemount. He is one of three brothers who opened the establishment this past April. brother, Stephano, who has owned Stephano’s Bistro in Burnsville for the past 22 years. See Giuseppe’s, 5A
Six Rosemount City Council candidates are vying for the support of voters in the Tuesday, Aug. 14, primary election, which will reduce the field to four. The top four vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 6 general election when they will vie for two four-year terms. The candidates are Joseph P. Zanmiller, Jeff Weisensel, Wade Miller, Joe Kurle, Maila C. Ellefson and Vanessa Olson Demuth. The terms of current council members Matt Kearney and Weisensel expire at the end of the year. Kearney, who was selected to fill former Council Member Kurt Bills’ term two years ago, did not file. Voters will be able to se-
lect two candidates on both their primary and general election ballot. This edition includes the candidates’ responses to three questions posed by this newspaper. The candidates responded to five questions in all. Readers can find the responses to the additional two questions at www.SunThisweek.com. Those who are unable to vote from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 14 because of their absence from the precinct, illness, disability or religious discipline may apply to cast an absentee ballot and to vote during normal working hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until Monday, Aug. 13. Extended hours are Saturday, Aug. 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Monday, Aug. 13, until 5 p.m. Voters who are not preregistered can still register or update a registration at the polls by fulfilling one See Council, 10A
A man seeking sex with a prostitute got something else entirely when he arrived at the Apple Valley apartment where they had arranged to meet. The man contacted Apple Valley police June 27 to report that once inside the apartment, he was beaten, forced to remove his clothes and robbed of his money and cellphone by three men. According to criminal complaints filed against two of the alleged assailants, the man told police he had contacted the purported prostitute through an ad for sexual services on Backpages.com. At the specified time, she met him at the front door and led him through the darkened apartment to the bedroom. He told her he was willing to give her a $100 bill, plus some $1 bills, for sex, but she simply walked out of the room. It was then that three men entered the bedroom and started reaching in his pockets. They pushed him up against the wall and began viciously pummeling him with a barrage of punches and kicks, after which they ordered him to remove his shirt and shorts. One of the three men had a knife, he reported to police. After they took his money and phone, the trio departed, telling him they would kill him if he left. The man waited about 15 minutes, then escaped through a bedroom window. Through an investigation, police located and arrested two of the men allegedly involved in the robbery – Kris L. Ewing, 22, and Abdoul S. Kone, 22, both of Apple Valley – as well as the female who’d arranged the bogus sex-for-hire encounter. The apartment used for the alleged robberies is currently unoccupied, police learned from the apartment complex’s manager, though one of the unit’s past tenants is a known associate of Ewing. The female, who is a juvenile, provided a statement to investigators that indicated the June 27 robbery wasn’t an isolated incident. She told police that when men would contact her through the Backpages.com ad, she would tip off two of her male friends, who would go to the apartment and rob them. Ewing and Kone have each been charged with one felony count of simple robbery. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Court records for the female implicated in the robbery are not publicly available because she’s a juvenile. Andrew Miller can be reached at andrew.miller@ ecm-inc.com or facebook. com/sunthisweek.