Art Fete at the Burnsville PAC shines the spotlight on local visual artists. See Thisweekend Page 10A.
Thisweek Burnsville-Eagan MARCH 11, 2011
VOLUME 32, NO. 2
www.thisweeklive.com
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Eagan crash victim meets ‘heroes’ who rescued her Eagan woman was hit by wrong-way drunken driver on Highway 13 last November by Erin Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
It was a violent crash, a headon collision that folded the dashboard of Kelli Moberg’s car “like a piece of paper” and trapped her beneath it. She saw the other car only a moment before it hit her, just in time to brace herself for impact. The driver, who was legally drunk, had been traveling the wrong way on Highway 13 in Eagan, just north of Yankee Doodle Road. It was around 1 a.m. Nov. 14, and Moberg’s life was changed forever. Immediately after the impact she began assessing herself: She could wiggle her fingers and toes, so she wasn’t paralyzed. Her right eye wasn’t blind, just filled with blood that had trickled down from her forehead. Then she touched her head and realized that a third of her scalp had been ripped off. Her jaw was broken, her body riddled with fractures, and she was trapped inside her car. But she was alive. Moberg, an occupational therapist who works with children with traumatic injuries, was able to keep calm as rescuers arrived. When the first firefighters showed up to the scene, she said she felt instantly comforted. “I was so happy to see them,” the Eagan resident said. “I knew I was in the best hands possible and
Photo by Jessica Harper
Residents and officials from the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District gathered at Rosemount Middle School on March 8 to discuss potential cuts to the district’s budget.
Focus groups implore district to cut with care Photo by Erin Johnson
Kelli Moberg, of Eagan, talks with Eagan firefighters Sean Solberg, left, and Chris Hall, two of the first responders who rescued her after a serious car crash last November. I would be OK.” In all, 28 first responders worked on the crash – 18 firefighters, eight police officers, and two paramedics. By all accounts, it did not look good, Eagan Police Chief Jim McDonald said. He said one of the first responding police officers told him, “We were really worried about her.” It took about an hour to extricate her from her car, he said. “They had to cut the car in half,” he said. Moberg said she is eternally
grateful for the tireless work of rescuers that night. “(Firefighters) flawlessly removed me from my mangled car in a short amount of time, which I believe is a miracle, and they talked to me the entire time, which certainly helped me to remain calm,” she said. “The Eagan Fire Department and Police Department and Healtheast paramedic departments had excellent collaboration, and each was a vital link in saving my life.” Moberg, 32, was ultimately hospitalized for two months to repair See Heroes, 2A
Parents of students in District 196 want to see equitable reductions in athletics and activities by Jessica Harper THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
As the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District faces looming budget cuts, residents say they worry about whether the district will treat extra-curricular activities equally and preserve core studies as they impose cuts. Residents who met in focus groups at Rosemount Middle School on March 8 said they favor the district’s proposed $3.5 million in budget cuts for next school year as long as cuts to sports and fine arts are examined equally. “We need to ensure there is more consistency in the funding to programs,” said Elaine Ste-
vens, a parent of a sixth-grader at Dakota Hills Middle School and a sophomore at Eagan High School. District officials are considering eliminating approximately 48 full-time equivalent positions, removing high school figure skating and increasing fees by $10 for all high school sports and fine arts. Several residents, including Stevens, said they were concerned some activities, such as band and ice skating, would be unfairly hit harder than others. “I will not be a happy camper if no one else has to make sacrifices,” said Cheryl Anderson, a parSee Cuts, 2A
Burnsville figure skater finishes first in France High school senior Kristin Kraimer competes on U.S. synchronized skating team that finishes first at French Cup by Jessica Harper THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
What do Nancy Kerrigan, Kristi Yamaguchi and Burnsville High School senior Kristin Kraimer have in common? They all represented the United States in world figure skating competitions. Kraimer had the rare opportunity last month to compete on the U.S. synchronized figure skating team which won the 2011 French Cup in Rouen, France. “It was a great accomplishment,” she said. “It’s
really cool to represent the whole country.” Kraimer said she swelled with pride as the U.S. flag was raised and the band began to play the national anthem. The team of 20, which is a member of the Braemar City of Lakes Figure Skating Club in Edina, competed against 11 other teams from eight countries. Kraimer has competed on the team since she was a second-grader. Over the years, Kraimer fell in love with the sport. “The added aspect of
synchronized skating makes it even more fun,” she said. “It’s a good way to build friendships.” Although she has competed several times in national competitions, this is her first time competing overseas. Kraimer’s team was able to compete in the French Cup by finishing among the top 10 teams last year at the national competition. In addition to the French Cup, Kraimer will compete from March 10-12 in the Synchronized Skating JuSee Skater, 11A
Cornerstone of the community Copy center finds success by participating and investing in local groups and events by Kevin Stirtz
the present, commitment to community seems to be a deWebster’s Dictionary de- fining trait of this local sucfines the word “cornerstone” cess story. as something that is essential, The past: ‘You’re indispensable and basic. By this standard, the print- doing what?’ ing company Ron and Joyce Back in 1981 some people Lund started 30 years ago has certainly lived up to its name. wondered why a successful Since 1981, Cornerstone guy would quit a perfectly Copy Center has become an good job to start a business essential and often indispens- making copies. As the company notes on able supplier for many people and businesses south of the its website: “People in the industry were skeptical. ‘Who river. On the other hand, if they would want to buy copies?’ ever decided to change their they said. ‘It will never work!’ name, there’s another one that ” But in the 30 years since, it might be even more fitting: has worked very well. Community. Ron and Joyce Lund From its early days to started this family business on Burnsville’s main General 952-894-1111 street, Nicollet Avenue, in a Distribution 952-846-2070 500-square-foot space. By Display Advertising 952-846-2011 way of comparison, that’s Classified Advertising 952-846-2000 about the size of an average Minnesota living room. Eventually that space expanded to 3,700 square feet and many more copiers, printers and other tools of the trade. As the company grew, it & !""'! ! $ needed more hands than the THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
family could provide. One of those sets of hands would eventually buy the company from the Lunds. Daniel Mahowald, a current co-owner, began his career at Cornerstone as a copier assistant in 1987. What began as a family business has grown into an enterprise that employs 17 people in two locations and serves a local, regional and even national customer base. The present facilities boast more than 10,000 square feet of space and are filled with industry-leading equipment.
Commitment to community Cornerstone Copy Center has always been a community-focused business. Ron Lund was an active member of the Burnsville business community. Besides being involved in many community activities, Ron served as chairman of the board for the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce and was named Burnsville’s Business Person of the Year. See Cornerstone, 11A
Photo submitted
Burnsville High School senior Kristin Kraimer (front row second from the right) competed last month on the U.S. synchronized figure skating team, which won the 2011 French Cup in Rouen, France. Kraimer also will compete on a U.S. team from March 10-12 in the Synchronized Skating Junior World Challenge Cup in Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Telling the president how it is Burnsville CEO talks directly to Obama about challenges facing her business by Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
In less than three months, Burnsville business owner Darlene Miller will be able to say she had a hand in developing a plan that will guide the country to economic recovery. At least that is what she and other members of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness hope to accomplish. Miller, the owner and CEO of Permac Industries, was one of a handful of people to speak directly to the president during an hour-long meeting Feb. 24 at the White House. During her time speaking to the group, which included the CEOs of General Electric, Southwest Airlines and Kodak, among others, Miller recounted her precision parts manufacturing firm’s “terrible” journey through the Great Recession. She told the president that her company, which makes parts used in space, medical and military industries, had to reduce its work force from 47 to 21, but she was pleased to report that number has re-
bounded to 38. “Probably the good news and the sad news is that we have become a lot leaner, and we can do a lot more with less people,” Miller told the council. She said the company would like to hire more people, but several barriers are in the way. Costs to operate the company are rising, including spending on equipment, raw materials, energy and medical care. “It is difficult to justify adding more people,” Miller said. Another barrier is that Permac Industries needs skilled employees to operate its complex and specialized machines. She said the business doesn’t have the time or funding to develop training like it did before. “We want to add business,” she said. “We have to add more skilled people. We do not find skilled labor to hire. They are not out there.” The president asked Miller if the company had sought to develop a training program with local technical colleges,
Photo by Rick Orndorf
Permac Industries Inc. owner and CEO Darlene Miller told President Obama about the challenges facing her Burnsville company during the first meeting of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in Washington, D.C. She is pictured here during a campaign event last year for Tom Emmer, who was the Republican candidate for governor. to which Miller responded that she had worked with colleges to identify programs. The challenge is that the equipment is very expensive and colleges don’t have the funding available to buy the machines. Miller said one option being explored is to host classes right at Permac. See Miller, 11A