Sun Thisweek Burnsville-Eagan 2-1-19

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Sports Eagan girls win conference title Page 17A

Burnsville • Eagan SunThisweek.com

Feb. 1, 2019 • Volume 39 • Number 48

Established 1975

Amoroso: Proposed cuts preserve 191’s core mission But loss of sports, activities raises board concerns by John Gessner SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Eliminating middle school and ninth-grade sports is among more than 100 cuts administrators are proposing to balance School District 191’s budget next year. Reduced classroom allocations would claim 11 elementary teaching positions, seven middle school positions and 5.5 high school positions. Proposed cuts also include three central administration

positions, two grounds crew positions, two maintenance positions and 3.5 clerical positions. Elementary band, offered in fifth grade, would be eliminated. Also targeted is the elementary strings program available at Harriet Bishop and Rahn schools and middle school orchestra. Enrollment in the music programs doesn’t represent the district’s demographic diversity, according to the proposal. Middle school clubs would lose their extracurricular status, but abbreviated versions could be offered during the school day’s Blaze Time period. Proposed cuts totaling

$6.46 million were unveiled at a Jan. 24 workshop of the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School Board. A formal recommendation will come to the board on Feb. 7, followed by a public hearing on Feb. 13. “We’re going to get pressure on that athletics program, a lot of pressure,” said DeeDee Currier, the board’s senior member and a budget-cutting veteran. Sports and clubs may seem “relatively minor” in the larger budget context, but for many they’re key connections to school, said Board Member Eric Miller, calling for policy changes allowing citizens See Cuts, 15A

Photo by Tad Johnson

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Eagan, talks with a local resident Saturday after her town hall at Burnsville High School.

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig’s first town hall a civil discussion Health care, environment, shutdowns were topics at Burnsville High by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Twenty-three days after being sworn in as the 2nd District U.S. representative, Angie Craig, a Democrat from Eagan, held a town hall at Burnsville High School where an estimated 300 people

Cold weather puts focus on homeless by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

gathered in the school’s commons. Craig, who said she plans to hold monthly such gatherings in the district, fielded questions for more than the planned hourlong Q-and-A on topics such as health care, the environment and the 35-day partial government shutdown that ended one day before the town hall. Such open invitation gatherings have been a rarity in the 2nd District as former Republican U.S. Rep. John Kline held only a few of them over 14 years, and former U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis, RSee Meeting, 21A

When it’s minus 32 degrees outside and wind is blowing, being inside becomes extremely important. But not everyone in Dakota County has a safe, warm place to stay. “Homelessness doesn’t really know what the weather is going to be,” said Christina Woodlee, associate director at Bridge for Youth. “There are people who will be sleeping outside (Tuesday

night) for sure. We’re talking life or death.” The Bridge for Youth (www.bridgeforyouth.org) operates in Minneapolis, but serves youths from Dakota County, They provide shelters services for unaccompanied people under the age of 18. Woodlee said the fastest growing population of those without homes are pregnant young women and people under the age of 18 with a child. “There’s a community gap right now,” Woodlee

said. “I don’t think anyone wants to think about homeless babies sleeping outside right now, but there probably are.” Bridge for Youth is planning on launching a service for pregnant and homeless teens in Minnesota this spring, but for now they’re focused on the increasing number of calls. Woodlee said there’s about 6,000 people under the age of 18 who are homeless in Minnesota on any given night and there’s only about 300 beds availSee Homeless, 16A n to e

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Mayor Elizabeth Kautz discusses current affairs in Burnsville. ville.

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Burnsville’s State of the City Addresss

Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. | Ames Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. FREE to attend | Complimentary appetizers and cash bar to follow More information is available at burnsvillemn.gov Can’t make it in-person? Watch LIVE online at burnsville.tv or follow #bvillesotc on Facebook or Twitter.

Index Opinion Announcements Sports

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Public Notices

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Classifieds

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Calendars

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15322 Galaxie Ave., Suite 219, Apple Valley, MN 55124 952-894-1111 News | 952-846-2033 Public Notices | 763-691-6001 Classified Advertising | 952-392-6888 Delivery | 763-712-3544

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