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DNR FOLLOWS ORDERS: While cities worry about water PAGE 13
Centerville council considers further renovations to City Hall BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
CONTRIBUTED
Kharkiv, Ukraine residents use the subway system for protection from missiles and rockets.
Ukraine: ‘They are not backing down’ BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
Since the early 2000s, Jeff Karlson has made 10 trips to Ukraine to volunteer through a ministry. So, when he heard the news that Russia was invading the country, he felt helpless.
“It has driven me to my knees to pray for them, to pray for their protection,” he said. Karlson, a resident of St. Michael, Minnesota, is the former city administrator of Lino Lakes. He had always thought he would go on a mission trip to Africa, but then had the opportunity to go to
Ukraine through his church in 2005. It was there that Karlson met Max Fetisov, who was only 17 at the time,. Fetisov was visiting Ukrainian orphanages and sharing hope through Bible lessons. Over the years, the two
CENTERVILLE — The City Council is considering whether it should put another $475,000 into its City Hall/fi re station. “We have been talking for a while now about use of our American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and what we intend to do with those,” said City Administrator Mark Statz. “At this point, we need to make a decision on whether or not we are going to do these things in 2022.” After several council conversations, Statz compiled a list of top priorities, all of which include improvements at City Hall. If the council so chooses, the improvements would constitute the third phase of renovations at the city campus. The fi rst phase of the project, which renovated the Council Chambers, was planned prior to the pandemic and cost approximately $300,000. The second phase of the project, which utilized approximately $200,000 of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds, remodeled the office area with individual offices, touchfree fi xtures, etc. The city of Centerville will receive approximately $430,000 in ARPA funds, and the remaining $45,000 for the project would come from the city’s street fund.
SEE INVASION OF UKRAINE, PAGE 9
SEE ARPA DOLLARS, PAGE 7
District Achievement & Integration Plan will set district up for future BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
The Centennial School District is one of two districts in the north metro that does not have an Achievement and Integration (A&I) plan in place. That will not, however, be the case for long. According to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), there are 171 districts that are participating in the A&I program for the 2021-22 school year. For several months now, Centennial
Schools has been working on developing an A&I plan that will help the district pursue racial and economic integration, increase student achievement, create equitable educational opportunities and reduce academic disparities. “We are not required to do this, we are volunteering to do this,” Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Mark Grossklaus explained. The plan requires that the district form a partnership with a neighboring district. In this case, Centennial will partner with Spring
Lake Park Schools (ISD 16). The district then needs to develop a list of goals and come up with strategies that support those goals. Districts that qualify and participate in the program have access to special funding. (A&I revenue is 70% state aid and 30% local levy; for more information, visit https://education. mn.gov/mde/dse/acint.) Currently, Centennial already has a partnership with Spring Lake Park through its Opportunities in SEE ACHIEVEMENT & INTEGRATION PLAN, PAGE 9
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The Centennial School District is one of two districts in the north metro that does not have an Achievement and Integration (A&I) plan in place.
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