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VOL. 34 NO. 20 www.presspubs.com $1.00
GOVERNOR: Working on water. PAGE 14
Businesses join curling boom
School budget cuts will increase class sizes
BY SARA MARIE MOORE STAFF WRITER
BLAINE — Curling is becoming the cool thing to do for corporate team-building events. The Four Seasons Curling Club at the Fogerty Arena hosts two or three curling clinics for corporate events every weekday from November to March. And they host them in the summer, too. A large portion of the attendees have never curled before. The groups spend two hours on the ice with volunteer coaches who teach them the game. But Regan Birr, communications manager, said the sport is great for all skill levels and ages. “We welcome everybody, and everyone can do the sport. We used to say it is for players age 8-80,” she said. “I say 5-95.” Her grandmother, who is 90 years old, still plays. Regan grew up curling in her hometown of Shellbrook in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. “I learned when I was 11,” she said. “It is basically
BY SARA MARIE MOORE STAFF WRITER
SARA MARIE MOORE | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
The Four Seasons Curling Club, an Olympic Training Site, hosts corporate team-building events for businesses of all sizes.
SEE BUSINESSES JOIN CURLING, PAGE 2
Minecraft meets real science BY JOLENE FRID CONTRIBUTING WRITER
CIRCLE PINES – Incorporating the science of caves with the creatures of Minecraft, a popular video game, was the concept of the workshop on Feb. 27 at the Centennial Public Library. Kids – some of them along with their parents – learned about how caves form, where we have them in Minnesota, and the animals that live in them, as well as what people have used caves for, said Mary Healy, branch manager.
After learning about the science of caves, the kids created luminaries out of electric tea lights and envelopes. They also made Minecraft cubes decorated with markers. Minecraft is a popular video game among many youth allowing them to “build” homes, plant vegetation, train dogs, raise animals, develop landscapes and more. Jamison Vryant, an 8-year-old homeschooler, said that one of his favorite things to build in Minecraft are mine SEE MINECRAFT MEETS SCIENCE, PAGE 11
CIRCLE PINES — A $2.1 million budget reduction for the 2016-2017 school year will cause class sizes to increase across the Centennial School District. There will be reductions in teachers and paraprofessionals in the elementary, middle and high schools. The reductions are a result of a portion of the November levy not being passed by voters, said Dan Huffman, executive director of business services. The second question of the levy, which asked for $3.2 million, would have maintained class sizes and staffing and also implemented science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculum. The levy was voted down by 58.4 percent, or 3,391, voters. About $1 million of that levy was going to go toward programs and staffing. But instead, Centennial will be cutting back on $1.2 million of programs it put in place this year. Huffman likened the cutbacks to what the district went through in the 20092010 school year. “It is going to rival what we went through in 2009 and 2010,” he said. “We have had expenditure reductions other years but we have been able to keep it away from staffi ng and programs. There was nothing left for us to cut but staffing.” The loss of staff will affect students through class choices and class size. “At the high school level there will be some offerings that will just not be available for students,” said Huffman. “It is going to impact class size across the district.” And of course, the hoped-for extension of STEM and a visual arts program in the elementary schools won't be happening. There will be a total $1.7 million reduction in staffi ng expenditures. At the elementary level there will be a reduction of six full-time elementary teachers, one gifted teacher and two media clerks.
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