Student ďŹ lms will be projected onto the massive screen of the IMAX Theatre at the ďŹ rst-ever District 196 Film Festival. See Thisweekend Page 14A
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Thisweek Farmington-Lakeville FEBRUARY 25, 2011 VOLUME 31, NO. 52
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Local cereal maker’s eventual expansion moves forward Malt-O-Meal employs more than 200 people in Lakeville and wants to hire more by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Photo submitted
Malt-O-Meal employs 200 people at its Lakeville campus, which it plans to expand over the next several years. Because of a recent Planning Commission decision, it will be allowed to develop into a conservation easement provided the company makes certain compromises to its design.
After a discussion that lasted until nearly midnight, the Lakeville Planning Commission voted Feb. 17 to recommend the City Council allow Malt-O-Meal to eventually expand its campus within a conservation easement to the north side of its property at 20802 Kensington Drive. The recommendation centers on future construction of an office building,
parking areas and stormwater treatment basins within the conservation easement. The plan calls for compromise. Malt-O-Meal would have to maintain a 50-foot setback for parking, and a 100foot setback for buildings, on the north end. Malt-OMeal must plant 25 white pines (or similar species) at a minimum height of 20 feet, in addition to engineering lighting that would not spill See Expansion, 12A
Teens: Cigarettes more harmful Farmington man turns than marijuana, alcohol reggae band promoter Survey of Lakeville students reveals some progress, but the battle with popular media to get students off cannabis persists by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
First the good news: Lakeville teens are overwhelmingly averse to smoking cigarettes. Now for the bad: The teens’ preferred alternatives are marijuana and alcoholic beverages. This is according to a survey conducted by Judy Johnson, school community prevention specialist, and Elaine Korsch, ALC social worker/district chemical intervention specialist. The two women presented the findings to the Lakeville School Board at its Feb. 22 meeting. The 2010 Minnesota Student Survey, conducted annually since the late
1980s every three years, shows that 75 percent of all sixth-, ninth-, and 12thgrade students who took the survey feel that a person who smokes cigarettes (one or more packs a day) causes one a great deal of harm. However, only 59 percent feel that drinking alcohol (five or more drinks once or twice a week) causes one a great deal of harm and 58 percent feel that smoking marijuana (once or twice a week) causes one a great deal of harm. Johnson attributes the lopsided findings to a combination of successful anti-smoking efforts and national efforts to legalize marijuana, both in the me-
dicinal sense and all-out, such as California’s failed Proposition 19.
Marijuana
After the construction industry dried up, Jim Dupont found refuge in the music he’s always loved by Laura Adelmann
Johnson finds the acceptance of marijuana disturbing for many reasons, but she said that adolescence is “a scary time to introduce chemicals into the developing brain.� “There is a connection between marijuana use and mental illness,� she said. “Kids tend to use (it) to self-medicate.� According to the survey, more than 30 percent of 12th-graders admitted to any marijuana use in the past year (this includes smoking bongs, joints and pipes, and eating brownSee Cigarettes, 13A
Senior housing plans advance in Lakeville by Aaron Vehling
THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
A laid-off Farmington painter has reinvented himself as a reggae band promoter. Just a few years ago, Jim Dupont, 41, worked in the thriving painting business. At one time, he even employed three crews, but as the housing market declined, so did the work. Dupont witnessed former suppliers taking financial hits, material costs rising, friends losing jobs and the industry turning upside down. Like that of many others, Dupont’s job hunt has so far yielded little fruit, although he continues to put effort into the search. The process is exhausting, but the situation was made worse with that sometimes depressing chore as his only focus. “When I was laid off, I was going crazy. The boredom was enough to kill me,� Dupont said. The husband and father of two found a
Photo by Laura Adelmann
Nate Reimnitz (left) and Jim Dupont, both of Farmington, have developed a website to promote reggae music. bright spot in reggae music, a genre he’s always loved, but one that he said has always been overlooked and under-appreciated. As a longtime reggae fan, he had many See Reggae, 12A
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A rite of passage in St. Paul Roy Wilkins Auditorium will host the District 194 graduation this year by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
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Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville plans to connect a 93-unit senior life cycle complex to its existing property on County Road 46. It is one of two senior housing complexes that will go before the City Council for approval in March. and memory care. This is Hayes, a longtime Hosancalled “life cycle housing� na member and key memin development parlance. ber of the church’s site planning team. Hosanna The 93 total units conOriginal designs called sist of 22 independent-livfor this 93-unit complex to ing apartments, 47 assistsit adjacent to but separate ed-living and guest suites from the current Hosanna and 24 memory-care units. buildings. The new design There would be undercalls for a connection to ground parking. facilitate programming On top of that, future and travel between the plans for the facility intwo sites without exposure to the elements, said Jim See Housing, 13A
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TICKETS Distribution: Lakeville North 419 students x 2 = 838 complimentary tickets 2762 tickets for purchase at $4.00 per ticket = $11,048.00 200 handicap tickets Lakeville South 441 students x 2 = 882 complimentary tickets 2718 tickets for purchase at $4.00 per ticket = $10,872.00 200 handicap tickets nessing the rite of passage. Last year, the Board directed Lakeville North principal Marne Berkvam and Lakeville South principal Scott Douglas to bring the celebration home after years at the Target Center.
Process: May 2 – Conduct a senior mailing with complimentary tickets. Process to purchase up to eight additional tickets will be explained. May 9-20 – Family members may purchase up to 8 additional tickets in the Dean’s Office. May 23-27 – Family members may purchase tickets beyond total of 10 allotted To hold it at home would have cost more than half the $33,000 price tag for the den of the Timberwolves. That savings came with a steep cost: space. At Lakeville South, stuSee Passage, 12A
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There’s no need to worry about the extended family’s absence at graduation this year. After hearing from hundreds of students either in public comments or in a written petition, the Lakeville School Board voted to hold this year’s celebrations at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in downtown St. Paul. The choice was instigated by a local family that researched the cost and availability of the venue. Since the fall, students have spoken up at board meetings, indicating the futility of holding the ceremony at the high schools. One student said that it would have negative effects on blended families and others have said it would prevent important extended family members from wit-
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Two proposed senior housing developments in Lakeville are a step closer to reality owing to the Planning Commission’s Feb. 17 vote to send approval recommendations for both to the City Council. One of the housing units, Kingsley Shores Senior Living Facility, would be located – as its name suggests – on the shores of Lake Kingsley near the Chart House restaurant. The other is a facility connected to Hosanna Lutheran Church on County Road 46. Lakeville has a relatively young population, but as it ages the need arises for housing services to complement the different steps of aging. About 5 percent of the city’s population is 65 years old or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and that will only increase. Both facilities accommodate this with a variety of levels of care, from independent-living apartments to assisted living