thisweek newspapers farmington and lakeville

by Laura AdelmannSun ThiSweek

Two First District judges have thrown out two criminal cases tried by Dakota County As-sistant Attorney kevin Golden, finding he twice created a mistrial so he could retry de-fendants, according to court orders. Among the find-ings in the rulings is that Golden held back evidence, dismissed wit-nesses early and made statements to provoke mistrials in criminal cases so he could retry them.

hamline university law professor and for-mer prosecuting attor-ney Joseph Olson called the cases astonishing and said based on the rulings, the findings of prosecutorial miscon-duct against Golden are so egregious that the cases should be re-

viewed by the Lawyers Professional Responsi-bility Board. its certainly wor-thy of investigating and worthy of some kind of professional sanc-tion, Olson said. im amazed the county at-torney didnt fire him after the first case be-

cause he deliberately misused the process. Dakota Coun-ty Attorney James Backstrom said he is disappointed the trial courts did not allow the county to continue with the prosecutions, stat-ing Golden made mis-takes, but did not in-tentionally try to cause mistrials. i strongly disagree with the labeling of anything kevin Gold-en did as being pros-ecutorial misconduct, Backstrom said. These

Farmington | Lakevillewww.SunThisweek.com

May 4, 2012 | Volume 33 | Number 10

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Index

OnlIne

OpInIOn

Road closed this weekinterlachen Boulevard will be closed for construction May 7-11 from CR 46 to Crystal hills Lane. The county is fixing drainage problems.

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ThISweekend

SpORTS

newS Rare mistrials declared due to prosecutor conduct

Kevin Goldens actions resulted in dismissal of two criminal cases

Photo by John Gessner

Signe Harriday, an actress, writer and performance artist from Lakeville, led a training session at the Dakota County Votes No kickoff event Sunday, April 29.

Foes of marriage amendment uniteCampaign launched in Dakota County

by John GessnerSun ThiSweek

The debate over constitutional banning of same-sex marriage in Minnesota came home Sunday, April 29, as nearly 200 packed a Burnsville church vowing to fight the so-called marriage amend-ment. By turns solemn and boisterous, the afternoon crowd gathered at Presbyterian Church of the Apos-tles for the kickoff of the Dakota County Votes no campaign.

After a round of speeches that often invoked religious teachings, participants stayed for training on ways to bring their message to Dakota County voters before the november election. There will be phone-banking, there will be door-knocking, said kate Brickman, press secretary for Minnesotans united for All Fami-lies. All of those things will be happening in Dakota County. Minnesotans united for All Families is a statewide coalition

urging no votes on the amend-ment, which asks voters whether the state constitution should be changed to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The organization is opening an office at 1964 Rahncliff Court in eagan, Brickman said. A grass-roots group of Dakota County residents asked Minnesotans unit-ed for All Families to help with the

Race finallyset in housedistrict 56B

Peterson gainsRepublican nodon second try

by John GessnerSun ThiSweek

After four rounds of balloting April 26, Roz Peterson of Lakeville emerged as the Republican candi-date for the Min-nesota house of Representatives in the new District 56B. Petersons op-ponent, Terry Mc-Call of Burnsville, conceded after the fourth round in an endorse-ment convention at Diamondhead education Center in Burnsville, ac-cording to Ayr-lahn Johnson, chairman of Sen-ate District 56 Republicans. Peterson, who had the backing of several area Republican legisla-tors, will face former DFL Rep. will Morgan in november. The district, newly drawn after the lat-est census, covers south Burnsville and extends north into east cen-tral Burnsville. it includes a small portion of Lakeville, the Orchard Lake area. The April 26 convention was the second for the two candidates, who battled to a draw at the Sen-ate district convention on March 17. in razor-close balloting, nei-ther could reach the 60 percent needed for endorsement. The two opened the April 26 balloting nearly deadlocked, but later votes swung Petersons way. She won the third ballot 64-49, with 68 votes needed to secure en-dorsement. McCall conceded and en-dorsed Peterson before results of the fourth ballot were announced, Johnson said. According to Johnson, Peter-son backers included state Reps. Pam Myhra of Burnsville, Mary Liz holberg of Lakeville and Pat Garofalo of Farmington; state Sen. Dan hall of Burnsville; and Dan Mcelroy, a former state rep-resentative and Burnsville mayor and former cabinet official under Gov. Tim Pawlenty. McCall, 63, current chair of the Republican organization for the 2nd Congressional District, had stressed his close ties with grass-roots conservative activists. hes a supporter of libertarian presiden-tial candidate Ron Paul, whose adherents are a growing force in Minnesota Republican politics. Ron Paul is not going to be

Roz Peterson

Will Morgan

by Aaron M. VehlingSun ThiSweek

At Lakevilles high schools, there are scores of classrooms and offices in addition to cafeterias, gym-nasiums, auditoriums and athletic fields that hundreds of people use daily. Chances are in any of these places a person will encounter a number of gar-bage cans and recycling bins. The district processes more than a ton of waste and, according to Direc-tor of Business Services Mark klett, spends between $90,000 and $100,000 a

year on waste management services, contracted out to Dicks Sanitation. Dakota County recently awarded the Lakeville school district a grant designed to increase recycling rates and cut the districts overall waste management costs. neighboring districts such as Farmington, Rose-mount-Apple Valley-eagan and Burnsville-eagan-Sav-age have received similar grants. The countys environ-mental Management depart-

lakeville district to recycle more

Move could also cut costs

principal empowered innovation After nearly four decades, Farmingtons Jon Reid to retireby Laura Adelmann

Sun ThiSweek

After working for 37 years in Farmington schools, Meadowview elementary Principal Jon Reid will retire July 31. he describes leav-ing colleagues as dif-ficult and said he will greatly miss the ex-citement of Septem-ber. i love the tra-dition of opening school, Reid said. its a great time of year. Reid, who turns 65 this fall, said it has been a privi-lege to serve youths for so long, calling Farmington and the district a wonderful place to work.

Reid was hired as assistant principal in 1974 at Farming-ton high School after four years of working in the Rob-binsdale School District.

he transferred to the middle school in 1977, working as as-sistant principal for about a decade before becoming principal at Farmington elemen-tary School and the kindergarten Center

in 1988. under Reids leadership, teachers were supported and encouraged to try new things in the classroom, said FeS fourth-grade teacher Tom Murphy. he was tremendous in taking opinions and ideas,

Murphy said. he basically almost would never say flat-out no. he gave you free-dom to try things. Murphy said Reid always puts students best interests first and has maintained a steady path by avoiding left-or-right pitfalls of the latest educational trends. hes been like a light-house in a sea of educational bureaucracy, Murphy said. Reid was one of many principals relocated under a district-wide school leader-ship strategy directed by then-Superintendent Brad Meeks in 2007. he was transferred to Meadowview elementary,

Jon Reid

See mISTRIalS, 21A

See maRRIage, 5A

See ReId, 20A See Recycle, 6A

See Race, 6A

Ballet wizardry in Burnsville Twin Cities Ballet presents its original adaptation of wizard of Oz at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center this month.

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panther softball takes chargeYoung Lakeville north softball squad in the hunt for a South Suburban Conference title.

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more space on the shelvesLarry werner, general manager and editor of Sun Thisweek, writes about how the newspaper has more shelf space for the news people want.

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i strongly disagree with the labeling of anything kevin Golden did as being prosecutorial misconduct.

Jim BackstromDAkOTA COunTY ATTORneY

2A May 4, 2012 Sun ThiSweek

Photo from the city of Lakeville

Lakeville motorists might need to consult their GPS units next week. Interlachen Boulevard will be closed for construction May 7-11 from Isleton Trail (County Road 46) to Crystal Hills Lane. The county is fixing drainage problems along the road. The city suggests Ipava Avenue (above) as a detour.

by T.W. BudigSun thiSweek

Former state representa-tive Mike Obermueller of eagan won the 2nd Dis-trict DFL e n d o r s e -ment for u.S. house. he will now chal-lenge five-term Re-p u b l i c a n u.S. Rep. John kline of Lakeville. Obermueller, defeated in his second bid for the Minnesota house in 2010, bested Dakota County Commissioner and for-mer South St. Paul mayor kathleen Gaylord and northfield City Council member Patrick Ganey after three ballots at Rose-mount high School on

April 28. its a tough seat, Rep. Rick hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, who attended the convention. hansen views this years redistricting as somewhat improving the 2nd District for Democrats as it the now includes South St. Paul and west St. Paul, both tradi-tional DFL areas. Obermueller is a good, organized campaigner, hansen said. Anyway the Republi-can u.S. house isnt that popular with voters, he ex-plained. According to a Min-nesota house biography, Obermueller was adopted and raised on a dairy farm. he is an attorney by profession. Obermueller was de-feated by Republican Doug wardlow in the 2010 elec-

tion, taking about 48 per-cent of the vote to ward-lows 52 percent. Congratulations to Mike Obermueller on win-ning the DFL endorsement today, said DFL State Party Chairman ken Mar-tin in a statement. John klines time in washington has expired as he has proven just how out of touch he is with his con-stituents and the values of Minnesotans, he said. Mike has been a strong, progressive leader who has the experience and the mes-sage to win in november, and we will be working side by side with him to make sure he succeeds, Martin said.

T.W. Budig can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.

Obermueller gets DFL nod in the 2nd District

Mike Obermueller

Interlachen closed for a week

Sun ThiSweek May 4, 2012 3A

by Laura AdelmannSun ThiSweek

Farmington City Council members agreed at an April 30 retreat to meet with Farm-ington-area Veterans Memo-rial organizers to discuss a $10,000 donation from the city. The memorial is to be located in Rambling River Park, and the city has agreed to provide electricity and maintenance for the monu-ment. while council members indicated support to provide another $10,000 for the me-morial, they also want as-surance the project is not left half-built on city park prop-erty without funds to com-plete it. in an interview with Sun Thisweek, Leon Orr, chair of the Farmington-area Veter-ans Memorial organization, said it has about $90,000 to $100,000 pledged for the me-morial. The project is estimated to cost about $150,000 to $190,000 and will rely on do-nated materials and labor. Orr said he anticipates be-ginning construction in June and opening the memorial on Memorial Day in 2013, noting that he wants it to get going quickly so interest in the project does not wane. Council members wanted assurance that financing is solid before donating city funds. if it takes another year of fundraising, so be it, Farmington Mayor Todd Larson said.

City Administrator Dave Mcknight told Sun Thisweek that the council will likely meet with project organizers in a workshop later this month. Another issue project pro-moters face is how to pay for insurance that could cost about $5,000 to cover volun-teer workers. The memorial is planned to include a granite wall en-graved with the names of fallen service men and wom-en from Farmington and the surrounding townships beneath the words, All gave some, some gave all. A blue granite sculpture of a folded American flag is planned at the top of the wall, and facing it is planned a full-size statue of a salut-ing solder wearing a helmet and backpack. An American flag is to flank one side of the monu-

ment and a POw/MiA flag is to fly on the other. Orr said the display will also include a bulletin board featuring historical stories from the Dakota County Tri-bune about local soldiers. Mcknight said the city would obtain funds for the donation from $141,000 it has in budget reserves. Orr is also asking the townships of eureka, em-pire and Castle Rock to do-nate $2,000 for benches. The townships earlier de-clined the organizations re-quest to each donate $10,000. were not trying to be pushy about it, Orr said. were just trying to give them the opportunity to be a part of it. Laura Adelmann is at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

Photo by Laura Adelmann

Farmington Area Veterans Memorial Committee members Leon Orr, an Air Force veteran, and Bev Ersfeld, head of the VFW Auxiliary, shared information about the war memorial project during the Community Expo in January.

Council might donate $10,000 for memorial

Organizers hope to begin construction in June at Rambling River Park


Opinion

Letters to the editor policySun Thisweek welcomes letters to the editor. Submitted letters must be no more than 350 words. All letters must have the authors phone number and address for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will not be accepted. Letters reflect the opinion of the author only. Sun Thisweek reserves the right to edit all letters. Submission of a letter does not guarantee publication.

Sun Thisweek intends to be a place for all news big and small by Larry Werner

Sun ThiSweek

we received an email last week from a local publicist who was upset that we didnt carry a news item about the semi-annual book sale at the wescott Library in eagan. The emailer asked: isnt the new Sun Thisweek touted as an improvement, or at least the equivalent, to the former Thisweek in local news? Ouch! Tad Johnson, our managing editor, re-sponded by admitting we should have car-ried a news release about the book sale and said that as a result of that complaint, we are coming up with a new way of setting pri-orities for the small, but important, news of events in the communities we serve. in fact, we do think Sun Thisweek is an improvement over Thisweek and the Sun Current, the two papers we merged on March 30. One impor-tant way the new paper is better than the old ones is we have more space for all the news, big and small. For regular readers of the local newspa-pers, it was no secret we had stopped publish-ing some of the news our readers used to get from Thisweek. The recession and increased competition for the advertising dollars that fund free newspapers meant we had to make some tough choices. when i talk about the

economics of our business, i explain that our biggest expenses are paper and people, and in recent years weve cut back on both. we and other news organizations have laid off journalists who gather and report the news and have reduced the number of pages we print and deliver. After eCM Publishers, parent company of Thisweek and the Dako-ta County Tribune, bought the Sun papers in December, we were in position to add what we call news hole the space we devote to local news. we have been able to nearly dou-ble the number of pages we print because we have more advertising in the combined paper than we had in either of the old competing papers. And weve added a second sports editor, Mike Shaughnessy, to our news staff. in ad-dition, weve added to our sales staff Sharon Buechner, who used to sell against us with the Sun Current. So the combined newspa-

pers were publishing for Burnsville, eagan, Apple Valley, Rosemount, Farmington and Lakeville are, indeed, bigger. And theyre better, even if we do drop the ball occasionally when we get releases we should have published but didnt. Managing editor Johnson, who has spent his career in weekly newspapers, ex-plained that the wescott Library news item was pushed out of the paper by some of the bigger, byline stories that appeared in our Burnsville-eagan editions. Among those kind of byline stories was a special report on the peaceful coexistence of the Burnsville Performing Arts Center and the Lakeville Area Arts Center. That story appeared at the top of our front page with four photos. That special report is an example of the big news that has been, like much small news, pushed out of the paper in recent years. when i joined Thisweek as general man-ager more than four years ago, the newspaper was publishing in-depth reports on major is-sues once a month. Those reports would typ-ically consist of two or three stories devoted to a topic of high interest. That commitment was dropped when space got tight. when we launched Sun Thisweek on March 30, we resurrected our commitment to big-picture reports on such issues as re-

gional arts centers, unemployment among veterans and teen drug use to mention three of the issues weve examined in-depth in our new paper. Like a growing family that has been able to move from that crowded, starter house into one with more bedrooms and a family room, we are enjoying the additional space we have for longer stories and bigger photos. And that space has allowed us to add news briefs and calendars that were also casualties of the space crunch over the past few years. we like to describe the newspaper as a su-permarket that serves the varied needs and wants of information consumers. Some of those consumers rely on the paper for cover-age of their local governments, their schools or sports teams. Others like stories that ex-amine issues in depth. And others want us to inform readers about library sales and blood drives. it feels good to have more shelf space. we appreciate your comments on what youd like to see on the shelves.

Larry Werner is editor and general manager of Sun Thisweek and the Dakota County Tri-bune. He can be reached at [email protected]. Columns reflect the opinion of the author.

by Susan HaighSPeCiAL TO Sun ThiSweek

if youve recently visited one of the re-gions elementary schools, youve seen our future in more ways than one. in 2010, peo-ple of color comprised 24 percent of the re-gional population. By 2040, projections suggest that 43 per-cent of the residents in the region will be persons of color. Our region will soon look more like the diversity visible in almost any of our second-grade classrooms. The rapid increase in diversity as well as our anticipated population gain of nearly 900,000 people by 2040, are very positive signs for our region. immigrants want to put down roots here because substantial economic opportunity exists in our region. The Metropolitan Council included these predictions in our preliminary 2040 forecast. This forecast is one of the first steps in our work to draft the regions 2040 metropolitan development guide. The guide, which is mandated by state statute, is the regions long-range strategic plan. it ensures that the council and local govern-

ments are taking proactive measures to accommodate growth in the population, housing and jobs, as well as demographic changes within the population. weve named the 2040 guide Thrive MSP 2040 with good reason. we believe based on the historical evidence and the projections of our forecast that planning together as one region will ensure we con-tinue to grow and thrive over the next 30 years. The seven-county Twin Cities region currently boasts and will maintain during the next 30 years more than its proportional share of the national economy. Our region, which is home to 19 Fortune 500 compa-nies, will produce a Gross Metro Product equal to 1.5 percent of our Gross Domestic Product, or national economy. with only about 1 percent of the na-tions population, the region will stay ahead of the game as long as we continue to be

creative and intentional about adapting to change. Beyond increasing diversity, well need to adapt to the gray-boom, which will also change the face of our region. Our 65 and over population will more than double by 2040. not only will this require that govern-ment agencies adapt the services we provide to residents, but it will necessitate a change in our housing stock. Seniors have different housing needs than younger populations, and also small-er household sizes. Because of a rapid in-crease in one- and two-person households, the number of households will increase at a more rapid pace than population or job growth. This means that the private sector as well as the public sector will need to prepare for the aging of our residents, amongst other anticipated changes. Preparations to maximize the benefits of our growth and demographic shifts are under way. This preliminary forecast is one of the first major steps in addressing these

changes and developing Thrive MSP 2040. Another essential step is engagement of in-dividuals and communities in developing the guide. in the coming months, the Met Council will be looking for input from residents, of-ficials and experts alike about how our re-gion should look and feel and the ways in which we can prepare for the changes we expect in our population and economy. The seven-county Twin Cities metropoli-tan area is one region, with one economy. Today, were successfully competing against other regions like Portland, Dallas and Denver. Our ability to continue to attract the people we need to replace the retiring baby boomers, as well as the jobs we need to grow our economy and compete globally depends on our ability to work together and plan for our long-term prosperity. working together, our whole region can thrive.

Susan Haigh is chair of the Metropolitan Council. Columns reflect the opinion of the author.

Letters

Publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julian.AndersenPresident. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marge.WinkelmanGeneral ManaGer/editor. . . . . . . . . Larry.WernerFarMinGton/district 192 editor. .Laura.Adelmannlakeville/district 194 editor. . . . . Aaron.Vehling

thisweekend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew.MillerPhoto editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rick.OrndorfsPorts editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy.Rogerssales ManaGer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mike.JetchickoFFice ManaGer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellen.Reierson

Laura.Adelmann..|..FarMinGton news..|..952-894-1111..|..laura .adelmann@ecm-inc .comAaron.Vehling..|..lakeville news..|..952-846-2056..|..aaron .vehling@ecm-inc .com

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ManaGinG editors..|..Tad.Johnson..|..John.Gessner

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Sun ThisweekColumnistLarry Werner

Guest Columnist

The changing demographics of our region

Correction An April 27 story, Cedar transitway opening likely to be delayed until 2013, ref-erenced walkways regarding an Apple Valley City Council resolution about design elements for the 140th and 147th street transit stations. The council resolution of April 12 calls for construction of an integrated skyway only at the 147th Street station. Sun Thisweek regrets the error.

Enchanted by The Wizard To the editor: if you missed one of the six productions of The wizard of Oz at Lakeville South high School, unques-tionably you missed one of the best high school musi-cals in recent years. The cast members, from Dorothy to the Flying Mon-keys, were truly phenom-enal. Special thanks to the production staff including director Jayme Casperson, music director Julie Brott and orchestra director Paul wigley for their contribu-tions. The chorus, dancers, orchestra and technical crew each made the audience ex-perience so memorable. Special thanks to the stu-dents, parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors for their support. i would be remiss if i didnt acknowledge the Munchkins and Toto how fun.

Support for iPads in schools To the editor: The Farmington School District is working on a plan to provide customized learn-ing for every one of its stu-dents. A key part of that plan is putting a personal learn-ing device is every students hands. Those learning devices will be iPads. we fully back this initia-tive. From our discussions, it appears that all of the other Farmington School Board members do as well. Theres almost no ques-tion that iPad will start show-ing up in students hands this fall. But some board members,

both of us included, have questions about how fast we go. For instance, will every student have an iPad by the end of the next school year, or is it a better idea to phase in the iPads over two or three school years. we have questions about finances and whether we are really ready to go all in the first year with curricula adapted to the iPads. The districts leadership has promised a financing plan that can stay within budget guidelines that were set before the iPads were be-ing considered. That means no new taxes to pay for the iPads and no teachers layoffs to balance the budget to buy iPads. Similarly, the districts ac-ademic leadership says that our teachers want the iPads as soon as possible and that they will be ready to use them productively from the start. The iPads are an exciting and necessary step forward

for our schools. Sharp ques-tioning of our staff by school board members about how we do this is an important part of making sure that the board and our community can move ahead with confi-dence.

TiM BuRke and JuLie MckniGhTFarmington School Board members

Go and sin no more To the editor: i am compelled to offer this response to letter writer Steve koestner. The word of God says that all have sinned (Psalms 53:3). Though Jesus loves and died for sinners, nowhere does he condone their sins. God, who ordained marriage between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:23, 24) abhors all kinds of sexual immorality, be it heterosexual or homo-sexual (Romans 1:24-28). what Jesus would do and does do today is to say to all of us including me, whose sins are abhorrent to him what he said to the woman caught in adultery (John 8:11): Go and sin no more. ROBeRT T. BRAnTLyLakeville

Cause for concern To the editor: This morning at about 8 a.m. a man walked up into the side yard of my home. he was wearing work type cloth-ing, and a tattered lime-green safety vest with no visible logo, and no visible iD tag.

Definitely Over the Rainbow.

BOB and SheLLey eRiCkSOnLakeville

There was no work truck or service vehicle in the street or down the street. i asked him what he was doing. he pointed to a faded logo on his vest, and said he was reading meters for Da-kota electric. he wore no vis-ible iD tag, nor did he offer any iD. i ask the mayor and coun-cil to pass an ordinance requiring clear and visible photo iD for utility/service workers entering yards in Lakeville. i also ask that the council immediately draft a letter to Dakota electric requesting their meter readers wear vis-ible photo iD, and clearly marked clothing. if the council is aware of any other utility/service companies who are entering homeowners yards regularly without scheduled appoint-ments, i ask they be sent similar letters. This seems a simple solution to help ensure the safety, security, and peace of mind of our citizens. Thank you for your consideration.

JOhn nORThRuPLakeville

Problem with iPad initiativeTo the editor: i continue to read with interest about the Lakeville Public Schools technology initiatives and Superinten-dent Lisa Snyders agenda for using iPad technology in classrooms. have the citizens of Lakeville forgotten that the school district has failed three levy referendums in

the past eight years? have people forgotten the impact even one failed levy can have on staffing, budget and teaching and learning issues let alone three failed lev-ies? The district is facing a huge deficit in the general fund budget while dealing with continuing cutbacks of staff, rising class sizes and all the subsequent pressures these factors have on teach-ing and learning. what is being done to address those issues by the new superintendent, her ad-ministration and board? when excellent teachers with seven years experience and more are being cut, realigned to other grade levels and departments in which they have never taught, learning is going to suffer. Class size in some fifth-grade classrooms in the district is at 38 students, and the district leadership is thinking iPads? Sorry, something is wrong with that picture. effective leaders step up to the plate when there is a problem, be it budgetary, employee related or other-wise. The most significant challenge facing the Lakev-ille Public Schools at the present time is not technol-ogy. it is a fiscal problem and at some point will have to be addressed by the new superintendent and her board.

BiLL MACkRetired District 194 principalBigfork, Minn.


launch and training, and Presbyterian Church of the Apostles offered the venue, she said. Similar launches are oc-curring across the state, but Brickman said this was the first county-based effort. This is something that I really want to do, said Nick Kor, a paid commu-nity organizer for Minne-sotans United for All Fam-ilies. The 2007 Eastview High School graduate grew up in Eagan and lives in St. Paul. Im gay myself, so it af-fects me personally. Its an issue I care deeply about. Lori Wilfahrt of Rose-mount told the crowd about her oldest son An-drew, an Army corporal who was killed in action in Afghanistan in February 2010. He was gay, Wilfahrt said. But as his sister said, being gay was the least in-teresting thing about him. Andrew, a Rosemount High School graduate, was an aspiring classical-music composer with a degree who got tired of low-pay-ing jobs and enlisted at age 29, his mother said. It was before the repeal of dont ask, dont tell. Andrew developed a lower voice and a tough-guy walk and invented a girlfriend to try to fit in. After his first year he be-gan to reveal his homosex-

uality to fellow soldiers young people who werent fazed by the revelation, his mother said. Even the conservative and evangelical soldiers did not care, said Lori, whose husband, Jeff, is a Demo-crat running for the state House seat in District 57B. Andrew was 31 when he was killed. Americans love to say our soldiers die for our freedoms, Lori said. Yet we are so willing to deny freedom to some citizens here at home. Activists on both sides of the marriage debate have been mobilizing since the Republican-controlled Legislature voted last year to put the amendment on the 2012 ballot. Veda Kanitz of Lakev-ille said her church, Open Circle Church in Burns-ville, began organizing about a year ago. The Rose-mount High School science teacher is an organizer of Dakota County Votes No. We cannot tell our LGBT students that they are second-class citizens or limit their opportuni-ties, said Kanitz, who will soon mark her 30th wed-ding anniversary with her husband, Allan. Gay and lesbian cou-ples want to get married for the same reason we got married for love, commit-ment and the responsibili-ties you have to one anoth-er, said Kanitz, the team

leader for social outreach ministries at Open Circle. Love makes a family, said the Rev. Deb Stehlin of Light of the World Lu-theran Church in Lakeville, and each addition to the family, no matter how they come to you, is a blessing from God. A constitutional ban on same-sex marriage rubs against the Lutheran tradi-tion of listening and open discourse, Stehlin said. If the Minnesota con-stitution is amended to permanently define mar-riage as between one man and one woman, the con-versation stops, and that would be unholy. Unholy, indeed, she said. The Rev. Joy Smith of Presbyterian Church of the Apostles said defeating the marriage amendment is a social justice issue for her congregation. In addition to the tra-ditional election fare, the campaign will focus on in-dividual conversations peo-ple have in their everyday lives, organizers say. Were giving them tips on how to have that conver-sation, Kor said. Family, friends the conversation will have more impact when it comes from someone you care about.

John Gessner can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.

marriage, from 1A


around forever, Johnson said. But his ideas and ide-als will be. Theres a move-ment to just embrace the ideals minus the man, if you will. Peterson, 46, said the time between the endorsing con-ventions gave her a chance to reach out to delegates. Obviously, smaller gov-ernment, less spending and lower taxes was sort of a common theme, Peterson said. I was grateful and humbled by the support I re-ceived on April 26. Peterson has twice won election to the Lakeville Area School Board and is a commercial real estate agent for Cerron Commercial Properties. Her family owns shopping centers in Lakev-

ille, Inver Grove Heights and Hopkins. I think the thing I bring to the table is Im a small-business owner, a commer-cial realtor, Ive been in this community for over 25 years, and I know where jobs come from, Peterson said.Morgan Morgan represented the current House District 40A from 2006 to 2010, when he was unseated by Pam Myhra. I think it suits me fine, Morgan said of the new dis-trict, which takes effect next year. Im excited to get a chance to meet some new voters in parts of Burns-ville and parts of Lakeville I havent had a chance to meet before. Education, health care and the environment will be

big issues in the campaign, said Morgan, 45, a Burns-ville High School science teacher. You wrap all that up in a jobs and the economy con-text, and thats what were going to be talking about at the doors with folks, he said. Education funding must be improved, in light of the lengths to which some school districts are going to balance their budgets, Morgan said. His district, Burnsville-Ea-gan-Savage, is considering a shorter school calendar. I think its just awful that we even have to think about these things, Morgan said. John Gessner can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.

ment will provide Lakeville with recycling containers, la-bels and technical support at no cost to the district, Super-intendent Lisa Snyder said at a recent school board meet-ing. The county will offer ser-vices such as waste sorts and environmental curriculum materials. We should see some long-term benefits from this, she said. Five schools have volun-teered as part of this falls pi-lot program Century, Ken-wood and McGuire middle schools, and Eastview and Lakeview elementary schools. The initiative is the result of interest from the city of Lakeville, Dakota County and Snyder at District 194, Board Member Jim Skelly said. Snyder met with city and county officials to discuss the program, was impressed and asked school principals for support. The five schools are a trial run, with the idea that if it worked within those build-ings, it could be expanded to other buildings, Skelly said. A 2010 Minnesota Pollu-tion Control Agency study found that about 78 percent of school waste materials

could be diverted from trash to compost and recycling programs. The study used six schools from Minneapo-lis and Hopkins school dis-tricts. Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan public schools has been involved in similar mea-sures for at least the last five years. It started out its pro-gram with help from a grant similar to Lakevilles. District 196 has about three times the students of Lakeville, tackling more than 2,000 tons of waste. According to a previous Sun Thisweek report, about half of that was trash, nearly an-other half was recycling and about 6 percent was com-post. In 2010, District 196 saw a doubling of recycling rates compared to the previous year by commingling all recyclables in one container, as opposed to separate cans for each. The 140 tons of compost the district processed in 2010 contributed to reducing the presence of organic mate-rial such as food in the trash, but it also served a curricular role. Kindergarten teachers at Cedar Park STEM school in Apple Valley, just north of Lakeville, used compost bins to teach about the collabora-tion of living and nonliving

systems. Cost was a factor in Dis-trict 196 once the four-year county grant concluded, but it used the savings from recy-cling to help fund the com-post program. Skelly said that in the Burnsville and Farmington school districts students were involved in a day-long trash audit, which allowed them to learn about what they are actually throwing away. Its not just a lip service thing for students, Skelly said. They really get in-volved. As much as it is about cost savings Lakeville could save 17 percent on landfill taxes and tipping fees by compost-ing organic materials, Skelly said it is also about instill-ing in students a sense of en-vironmental stewardship. They learn what it means to recycle and what impact it has, he said. An added benefit of the program is the coming to-gether of various entities for a common cause. Its best if the city, the school district and the coun-ty work together for the ben-efit of kids, Skelly said. Aaron Vehling can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.

Race, from 1A

Recycle, from 1A


Morgan ThelenDaughter of Cindi & Peter

Thelen of LakevilleMn.WillGraduate with Deans List recog-nition from U.W.R.F. onMay12th 2012 with a B.S. in SocialWork.Morgan is planning to bea Licensed SocialWorker.

Gordon R.Docken

Age 78, of Rose-moun t , p a s s e daway peacefu l lyon April 30, 2012surrounded by hisl o v i n g f am i l y .

Gordy served his country in theUS Air Force, he retired fromFAA as air traffic controller after30+ years, and he enjoyed woodworking and especially biking.Gordy is preceded in death by hisson, Glen; parents, Harry andFrances Docken. He is survivedby his loving wife of 53 years,Milly; daughters, Michele (Tim)Hoaglund, Carla (Doug) Maileand Paula (Ron) Docken Blair;grandchi ldren , Andrew andOlivia Hoaglund, Makayla andDanica Maile; siblings, Doug(Judy),Mary Jo (David) Prekker,Lyle (Linda) and Mark (Jane)Docken also by nieces, nephews,other relatives and many friends.A memorial service will take place3 PM Sunday,May 6, 2012 at theL ighthouse Church, 3285 W .144th St . Rosemount , w ith agathering of family and friends 1hr prior to service. Private inter-ment will be at the RosemountCemetery . In L ieu of flowersmemorials will be donated toMSsociety. Online condolences at

www.whitefuneral home.com

Ruth L. HareidHareid, Ruth L . age 90 , of

Burnsville, passed away peace-fully at her home on April 25,2012, preceded in death by herhusband of 66 years, Lloyd; sib-lings, Cybil, Thelmer, Orville andSanford Olson; survived by herlov ing chi ld ren , Kay (Don)Thielen and Karel Jel inek, 5grandchi ldren, Bren t (June)Thielen, Tiffany (Bryce) Cox,Amy (Jake) Rath and Jennifer(Tom) Jelinek, Lindsay Jelinek;and 9 great grandchildren; sib-lings, Sylvia (Verle) Taylor andBeatrice (Charles) Lee; sister inlaw Shirley Olson; many nieces,nephews , other relat ives andfriends. Memorial service tookplace onMonday, April 30, 2012at 11 AM at Messiah LutheranChurch, 16725 Highview Ave.,Lakeville, MN a gathering offamily and friends was 1 hr priorto the service at church. Inter-ment, Fort Snelling NationalCemetery.

White Funeral HomeBurnsville 952-894-5080

www.whitefuneralhomes.com

LaMonteMonte SquiresLaMonte Monte Squires, 62,

passed away April 23, 2012 inBurnsville, MN. He was bornApril 1, 1950 in Eau Claire, WI.He worked for Unisys in Eagan,MN for 30 years, before retiring.He was preceded in death by son,Logan and father, Lawrence. Hewill be deeply missed by wife of40 yea r s Ma ry Ann (Mac s ) ,mother, Lorraine, 6 siblings andall who knew him. A celebrationof LaMontes life will be held onWednesday, May 9th at 7:00 pmat the Burnsville Performing ArtsCenter, 12600 Nicollet Ave S,Burnsville, MN. In lieu of flow-ers , memor ia ls are preferred,which will be donated towardscancer research.

50TH WeddingAnniversary

The family of Rick and GerrySchmidt, of Lakeville, are proudto announce their 50th Anniver-sary on May 5th. Their childrenand grandchidren will be cel-ebrating with them this weekend.Please join us in wishing themcongratulations on their GoldenAnniversary.

To submit an announcementForms for birth, engagement, wedding, anniversary and obituaries announcements are available at our office and online at www.thisweeklive.com (click on Announcements and then Send Announcement). Com pleted forms may be e-mailed to [email protected] or mailed to Sun Thisweek, 15322 Galaxie Ave., Suite 219, Apple Valley, MN 55124. If you are submitting a photograph along with your announcement, please only submit photographs for which you have the right to permit Sun Thisweek to use and publish. Deadline for announcements is 4 p.m. Tuesday. A fee of $50 will be charged for the first 5 inches and $10 per inch thereafter. They will run in all editions of Sun Thisweek. Photos may be picked up at the office within 60 days or returned by mail if a self-addressed, stamped envelope is provided.

PUBLIC NOTICEADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

MULTI-SITE MECHANICAL REPAIRSLakeville, Minnesota 55044

Lakeville Area Public Schools (ISD #194)will receive single prime sealed bids for theMulti-Site Mechanical Repairs project until2:00 p.m. local time on May 17, 2012 at theDistrict Office, 8670 210th Street West,Lakeville Minnesota 55044, at which timeand place all bids will be publicly openedand read aloud.Bidding documents, including the Pro-

posal Form, Drawings and Specifications,will be on file at the Offices of the Architect,Wold Architects and Engineers, 305 St.Peter Street, St. Paul, Minnesota 55102.(651) 227-7773; at the Minneapolis Build-ers Exchange; Builders Exchange at St.Paul; McGraw Hill Construction /DodgePlan Center; Reed Construction; iSqFt PlanRoom (St. Paul, MN); and from PlanWell atwww.e-arc.com.This project inc ludes : Remova l and

replacement of deficient mechanical com-ponents at multiple facilities throughout theSchool District (including patching of exist-i ng roo f sys tem and a l l assoc ia tedmechanical and electrical connections).American Reprographic Company, 2007

E. 24th Street, M inneapolis, MN 55404(612) 722-2303, facsimile (612) 722-2958,will provide complete sets of the BiddingDocuments to prospective bidders andsubcontractors. The copies will be avail-able about April 30, 2012. Both a depositcheck i n the amoun t o f $70 and anon-refundable check in the amount of $30made out to Lakeville Area Public Schools( ISD #194) fo r each se t o rde red a rerequired or Bidding Documents may beordered via the internet at www.e-arc.comand clicking on the PlanWell icon, then thePublic Plan Room icon, select Multi-SiteMechanical Repairs. The following informa-tion must accompany the deposit: Com-pany name, ma i l i ng add ress , st ree taddress, phone and facsimile numbers andtype of bidder (i.e. General, Mechanical orElectrical Subcontractor to General, orother). A refund of $70 will be sent to primecontractors who submit a bid to the Ownerand subcontractors for each set (includingaddenda) returned to Amer ican Repro-graphic Company Imaging in good condi-tion within ten (10) calendar days of theaward date, subject to the conditions of AIADocument A701. Refunds will not be givenif the plans are returned to the ArchitectsOffice.Make proposals on the bid forms sup-

plied in the Project Manual. No oral, tele-graphic or telephonic proposals or modifi-cations will be considered. Submit witheach bid, a certified check or acceptablebidders bond payable to Lakeville AreaPublic Schools (ISD #194) in an amountequal to five percent (5%) of the total bid.The successful bidder will be required tofurnish satisfactory Labor and MaterialPayment Bond, and Performance Bond.Bids may not be withdrawn within thirty

(30) days after the scheduled time of open-ing bids, without the consent of the Owner.The Owner reserves the right to accept anybid or to reject any or all bids, or parts ofsuch b ids , and wa ive informa l i t ies orirregularities in bidding.The Owner requires Substantial Comple-

tion of the project on or before August 17,2012.Independent School District No. 1948670 210th St. W.Lakeville, MN 55044Kathy Lewis, ClerkPublish: May 4 and May 11, 20122997030 5/4-5/11/12

District 194School BoardProceedingsThis is a summary of the Independent

School D istr ict No.194 Regu lar SchoolBoard Meeting on Tues, April 10, 2012 withfull text available for public inspection ont h e d i s t r i c t w e b s i t e a twww.isd194.k12.mn.us or District Office at8670 210th Street W., Lakeville, MN 55044The meeting was called to order at 7:02

p.m. followed by pledge of allegiance. Allboard members and administrators werepresent.Consent agenda items approved: min-

utes of the meetings on March 23 & 27;employment recommendat ions , leaverequests and resignations; payment of billsand claims subject to annual audit; dona-tions; and fieldtrips.Reports presented: Social Studies cur-

riculum update.Adjournment at 7:47 p.m.

___________________________________This is a summary of the Independent

School District No. 194 Special Board ofEducation Meeting on Tuesday, April 17,2012 w ith fu l l text ava i lab le for pub l icinspec t ion on the distr ic t webs i te a twww.isd194.k12.mn.us or 8670 210thStreet W., Lakeville, MN 55044The meeting was called to order at 5:34

p.m. All board members and cabinet mem-bers were present.Discussions: Proposed strategic priori-

ties and board position; EML/Board of Edu-cation/Admin collaborative project; partici-pation in district-written surveys; summaryof staffing changes.Meeting adjourned at 7:29 p.m.

___________________________________This is a summary of the Independent

School District No. 194 Special Board ofEducation Meeting on Wednesday, April 18,2012 w ith fu l l text ava i lab le for pub l icinspec t ion on the distr ic t webs i te a twww.isd194.k12.mn.us or 8670 210thStreet W., Lakeville, MN 55044The meeting was called to order at 8:02

a.m. All board members and cabinet mem-bers were present.Discussions: The board received a pre-

sentat ion from Spr ingsted regarding along-term community engagement plan.Meeting adjourned at 9:38 a.m.

2991777 5/4/12

PUBLIC NOTICENOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ONPROPOSED PLAN UPDATE FOR THE

BLACK DOG WATERSHEDMANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, the BlackDog Watershed Management Board willmeet at the Burnsville Maintenance Center,13713 Frontier Lane, Burnsville, Minnesotaat 5:00 P.M. on May 16, 2012 or as soonthereafter as possible. The purpose of themeeting will be to hold a public hearing ona proposed updated and amended water-shed management plan. All persons whodesire to be heard shall be heard at thistime and place.DATED this 26th day of April, 2012.BLACK DOG WATERSHEDMANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONBY: /s/ Roger N. Knutson, Its Attorney

2995521 5/4-5/11/12

PUBLIC NOTICECredit River Township Board Meeting

Monday, May 7, 2012, 6pmAgenda

6 PM: Call Meeting to Order, Pledge ofAllegiance1) Approve or Amend Agenda2) Consent Agenda3) Open Forum4) Old Business

1) County Road 8 Corridor Update2) Liberty Creek Update3) C reekwood Pa rk P layg roundEquipment

5) New Business1) Charitable gambling permit for the

Dakota Ringnecks/ PheasantsForever Foundation to be held atthe Minneapolis Horse & Hunt ClubJune 6, 2012.

2) Eller's Bonding6) Road Report7) Engineer's Report

1) Large Scale TMDL's.2) 195th Street E3) Lynn, Monterey, and 207th

8) Treasurer's Report1) Transfer Funds2) S& P Rating3) Budget 2013 Schedule4) Treasurer 1 Year Review5) Developer's Escrow Updates

9) Clerk's Report1) Charitable gambling permit for the

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, to beheld at the Legends Club. June16, 2012.

2) Couri & Ruppe Township LegalSeminar, June 7, 2012.

10) Review and Pay Bills11) Adjourn2997343 5/4/12


Golf Guide

Mothers Day is Sunday, May 13th

Senate District 57 Republicans endorse candidates Pat Hall, Anna Wills selected to run for Senate, House

by Tad JohnsonSun ThiSweek

The Senate District 57 Republicans endorsed Pat hall for Senate and Anna wills for house District 57B on Saturday. hall was endorsed on the first ballot over Tim Gould, and wills was en-dorsed by acclamation on the first ballot during the convention that was a con-tinuation of the Republi-cans March 17 gathering when they postponed en-dorsement for the two of-fices. not long before the con-vention, Rep. kurt Bills and Sen. Chris Gerlach an-nounced they wouldnt seek re-election to their seats.

i am excited for the vot-ers in Senate District 57 to get to know Pat, Senate District 57 chair Pat Staley said in a release. he is dy-namic and engaging. he has extensive and diverse experience as a business-man, pastor, and commu-nity leader. he has a terrific understanding of the peo-ple of this community and the challenges and issues they face. he will prove a worthy successor to Sena-

tor Chris Gerlach. Gerlach announced he would not seek a fourth term in the Senate in March. he had previously served three terms in the house. The convention also passed a resolution thank-ing, congratulating, and commending retiring Gerlach. Anna has proven her-self to our delegates, and is eager to do the same to

the voters of District 57B, Staley said. her work as a legislative aide has given her a deep understanding of all the issues most im-portant to people in Rose-mount and Apple Valley. The Senate District 57A Republicans endorsed in-cumbent Rep. Tara Mack, R-Apple Valley, on March 17. During the March 17 DFL Senate District 57 convention in Rosemount,

the party endorsed former Rosemount high School principal Greg Clausen for Senate, former DFL Senate District 37 chair Roberta Gibbons in 57A and Jeff wilfahrt, the father of a u.S. Army soldier who was

killed in action, in 57B.

Tad Johnson can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.


Crystal Lake facility on track to debut this fall Building will house early childhood, several other District 194 programs

by Aaron M. VehlingSun ThiSweek

Counter to what F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, second acts in America are possible. Lakevilles Crystal Lake elementary, shuttered dur-ing a round of $15.8 million worth of budget adjust-ments in 2011, is an example of this. it will return this fall re-modeled and repurposed as the Crystal Lake education Center (CLeC). The new facility will house much of the districts early childhood programs, as well as some community education and special educa-tion offerings. The closure of the school and subsequent repurpose will save the district more than $1 million with a huge chunk coming from the dis-tricts vacation of the ken-wood Center, which it has leased for early childhood programs. in addition to saving money, the repurposed space has other benefits. The venue is desperately needed so we can compete with neighboring districts who have had newer sites, School Board Member Bob erickson said. The revamped site also comes at a time of increased recognition of the impor-tance of early childhood education, Director of Spe-cial Services Renae Ouillette said. we can look at how early childhood ties into the district, she said. how to start becoming a more early childhood to (grade) 12 sys-tem. A steering committee and additional volunteer groups have logged countless hours planning the transition from a neighborhood elementary school with one of the high-est percentage of students on free or reduced-price lunch to a facility that will house the early Childhood Family

education and Special edu-cation programs, early child-hood screening, Small won-ders preschool and wonder Zone, the districts all-day educational child care. Director of Community education Steve Porter and Ouillette presented to the board a timeline of all the work that has been complet-ed or will lead up to the fall premiere. Security and wi-Fi im-provements were recently made to the building, pro-viding, in part, the ability for teachers to train on the new iPads used for the iLearn program. Porter and Ouillette said administrators and commit-tees have been working with wold Architects on final bids and specifications for the remodeling work. By July 27, there will be a significant completion of this work, Porter estimated. This will be followed by a move from kenwood to the CLeC. Parent open houses will take place Sept. 4, around which time programming will debut. in October, there will be a grand opening celebration.

in the meantime, the pe-rimeter of the building needs a reassessment. The playground at Crys-tal Lake is nicer, newer, but its rated for ages 5 to 12, he said. however, most stu-dents in the programming at CLeC are aged 3 to 5. its not only a matter of what is appropriate, it is also a liabil-ity issue. Superintendent Lisa Sny-der said at the recent school board meeting that some staff members offices could be relocated to the CLeC, including those part of the new iLearn digital education initiative. Given the increased em-phasis nationally on the im-portance of early childhood education, Ouillette said, CLeC will put the district in a positive position. There have been a lot of developments in early child-hood that we need to be in front of to provide the best programming and services as possible, she said. Aaron Vehling can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.

Photo submitted

Crystal Lake Educational Center (CLEC) will debut this fall, as a result of a repurposing of the former Crystal Lake Elementary. That school was shuttered last year as part of School District 194s $15.8 million budget adjustment plan. Above is a model of what the typical CLEC classroom will look like. The CLEC will house the districts special education and early childhood programs, in addition to offices and some community education offerings.


by Mike ShaughnessySun ThiSweek

in 1995, Jim Jackson took over a wrestling program that might already have been the states best. in the years that followed, he helped take it to national prominence. And now, with Apple Val-ley synonymous with wres-tling excellence in Minnesota, Jackson is stepping away. he announced Tuesday he will retire from coaching after 32 seasons with the eagles, the last 17 as head coach. he will continue to teach physical ed-ucation at Falcon Ridge Mid-dle School in Apple Valley. Jackson, who has a 12-year-old daughter who plays com-petitive tennis, cited a desire to spend more time with his fam-ily. his mom is still living in iowa, and now he will have more time to see her, Apple Valley high School athletic director Pete Buesgens said. his daughter is entering ju-nior high next year, and shes big in the tennis world. i think hes at a point where wrestling is still a pas-sion, but there are other things in his life. Jacksons teams won 14 state championships, includ-ing the last seven Class AAA titles. he has a career record of 619-26-3, and his winning percentage of 95.8 is by far the highest in state history. he had 56 individual state champi-ons during his tenure as head coach. hes only the second head wrestling coach Apple Valley high School has had. Bill De-maray was head coach from the schools opening in 1976 until 1995. Demaray took one year off before Jackson asked him to return as an assistant coach, and hes been on the staff ever since. At the time, i felt it was

important for Jim to have his own space, go his own direc-tion and do what he wanted to do, Demaray said wednes-day. when he asked me to come back, it didnt take much persuasion. i was still very in-terested in coaching wrestling, just not as a head coach. Jackson had been an assis-tant on Demarays staff for 15 years, during which time the eagles won six state champi-onships. Coach Jackson was an integral part of the staff even before he became head coach, said Chad erikson, a four-time individual state champion for Apple Valley in the 1990s who remains with the program as a part-time assistant coach. But during his time as head coach, the program went to a completely different level. when i wrestled in high school, to win a state cham-pionship, that was it. now theyre contending for nation-al championships. Apple Valley topped na-tional high school rankings done by two wrestling web-sites in 2010 and 2011. The eagles were third in the na-tional rankings in 2012. erikson said Jacksons re-tirement took him by surprise, but he could understand the reasoning. its a full-time job for coach Jackson and coach De-maray, erikson said. Theres no off-season. in the summer, theyre trying to get kids to train, go to camps and wrestle in tournaments. To have a suc-cessful high school program, the coaches have to be all in. whatever their stipend is for coaching, theyve earned it and then some. The eagles greatest suc-cess came at a time when other high schools were drop-ping the sport or consolidat-

ing their programs because of lack of participation. Yet Apple Valley always had large numbers on its teams. One of the key things is we had Jim teaching at Fal-con Ridge and we used to have (assistant coach) Chad Clendening at Valley Middle School, said Buesgens, who was an assistant wrestling coach before being named AVhS athletic director three years ago. They were always talking to kids, telling them if they werent in another winter sport that they might want to give wrestling a try. Another big thing is, im not aware of the wrestling team ever cutting a kid. in wrestling, you can keep 100 kids, but you cant do that in basketball and hockey. in wrestling, a kid knows if he works hard enough hell have a chance to be part of a team. Buesgens said Jacksons preparation was legendary. he said the coach has a yel-low notepad with projected lineups for 2015, even 2016, and if there was a gap in the lineup, Jackson would start talking to middle-school boys who might fill that spot in a few years. wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after Jackson announced his retirement, Buesgens said he had received two applications from Califor-nia and one from South Da-kota. The school will accept applications for the coaching position until May 25. Demaray said he expects the position will draw plenty of qualified applicants. Jim left the program in great shape, he said. Theres a great youth program, and the high school coaches are very involved in it. And the administration has always been very supportive.

Coach ends legendary career


Thisweekend

VocalEssence concert The 7 p.m. Tuesday,May 22, VocalEssenceCantar! Concert at theBurnsvillePerformingArtsCenter will feature worldpremiere compositions byMexicancomposersRodri-goCadetandJorgeCzatl,sung by elementary, highschool and communitychoralsingers. Singers fromBurnsvilleHighSchoolwillbeamongthegroupsperforming. Admissionisfree.Tick-etsmaybepickedupatthebox office, 12600 NicolletAve., or go to www.voca-lessence.org/2012_cantare_concertfordetails.

Homecoming concert The Dakota ValleySymphony Chorus willperform a homecomingconcert featuring folk en-sembleDragonflyat7p.m.Tuesday, May 8, at theBurnsvillePerformingArtsCenter,12600NicolletAve. Tickets are $15 foradults,$12forseniors,and$5forstudents.Ticketsareavailable at the box officeand via Ticketmaster at(800) 982-2787 or ticket-master.com.

Photo program expands Caponi Art Park andLearning Center, Eagan,will expand its photogra-phyprogramtoincludetwophotoworkshopsforbegin-ner and intermediate pho-tographersanda fallcolorFamilyPortraitureDay. Sponsored by Lega-cy Creative Images, theprogram will continueits annual photo contestculminating with a gal-lery exhibition.Up to fivephotos taken at the artparkmay be submitted inyouthandadultcategoriesthroughOct.31. The new photo work-shopswillbefree,witha$5perpersonsuggesteddona-tion. Introduction to Digi-talPhotography,10a.m.tonoonSaturday,June9. Intermediate DigitalPhotography, 10 a.m. tonoonSaturday,Aug.18. Family PortraitureDaywill be Sept. 22. LegacyCreative Imageswill be atthe park to take outdoorphotosoffamilies,couplesorindividualsfora$20sit-ting fee. Reservations arerequired. MoreinformationaboutCaponiArtParksphotog-raphyprogram is availableatwww.caponiartpark.org/programs/photoprogram.

theater and arts briefsDorothy dons dance shoes

Twin Cities Ballet presents Wizard of Oz at the Burnsville PAC

by Andrew MillerSUNTHISwEEk

Fans of the filmversion of The wiz-ard of Oz starringJudyGarlandwillno-tice some conspicu-ous differences inwizard of Oz TheBallet. The Twin Cit-ies Ballet production,whichplaystheBurns-ville Performing ArtsCenters main stageMay 11-13, featuresa storyline adaptedfrom the classic L.Frank Baum fantasytale, but has no dia-logue or music fromthe iconic 1939mov-ie. Its a compila-tion of classicalmusic, editedtogether withsound effects,and the storystold throughdance andmusic ratherthan words andsong, Twin Cit-ies Ballet boardmemberRickVogtsaid. Its a varietyof dance styles,not just ballet the cyclonedance andthe wingedm o n k e y suse moderndance. The s c a r e c r owdance is jazz,withthescare-crows danc-ing like theyre withoutbones, and it has almostahoedownfeeltoit. with a cast of about100, the show featuresdancers drawn mainlyfrom Ballet RoyaleMin-nesota, the LakevilledancestudiorunbyVogtandhiswifeDenise. For the dancers in-volved,theshowoffersa

unique performance op-portunity. Most people clas-sifyballetasreallygentleandsweet, said16-year-old Nicole Brown ofLakeville, whos cast asthewickedwitch. Thewitch is different youtwist yourmovements tomakethemseemdramat-icandevil. Plus Ihavemonkeys.

The five flying monkeysare really fun to workwith. The Vogts tend to gobig with their produc-tions.Forwizard theybrought in professionalsfor the sets, lighting andother production ele-ments. we describe TwinCities Ballet as a semi-professional company,and the performancesthemselves are profes-sional productions,Rick Vogt said. Its aunique opportunity forthe students to be partof somethingof thiscal-iber. Thisisthesecondyear

wizard isbeing stagedbyTwinCitiesBallet,for-merlyLakevilleCityBal-let, which is known forits annual south-metroproductionof TheNut-cracker. DeniseVogtwroteandchoreographed wizardin the manner of classi-cal story ballets such asSwanLakeandSleep-ing Beauty. Her goal isto build a repertoire oforiginalstoryballetsthatwill rotate throughouttheyear;priortothede-butof wizardin2011,Twin Cities Ballets soleperformance each yearwasTheNutcracker. Her next story ballet,

co-written with Rick, isset to premiere in spring2013,andisalreadyinthepre-productionphase. TicketsforwizardofOz The Ballet rangefrom $12 to $26 and areavailableattheBurnsvillePerformingArtsCentersbox office, and throughTicketmaster, 800-982-2787 or Ticketmaster.com. Show times are 7p.m.May11,2and7p.m.May12,and2p.m.May13.

Andrew Miller can be reached at [email protected] or face-book.com/sunthisweek.

PhotocourtesyofFlintImages

With a cast of about 100, Twin Cities Ballets original production of Wizard of Oz The Ballet features dancers drawn mainly from Ballet Royale Minnesota, the Lakeville dance studio run by Rick and Denise Vogt.


To submit items for the Arts Calendar, email: darcy.

[email protected].

Art Open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at Caponi Art Park, 1220 Diffley Road, Eagan. Information: www.caponiartpark.org.

Camps The Allegro Choral Acad-emy is now accepting regis-trations for its Pitch Perfect Summer Singing Camp June 18-21 at St. Johns in Lakeville for children ages 6 to 11. Find information and registration materials at www.allegroca.org or (952) 846-8585, [email protected].

Comedy Jamie Blanchard with spe-cial guest David Rose at 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 4, and Sat-urday, May 5, at MinneHAHA Comedy Club, 1583 E. First Ave., Shakopee (lower level of Dangerfields), (612) 860-9388, www.minnehahacomedyclub.com. Tickets: $13.

Dance Twin Cities Ballet will per-form Wizard of Oz The Bal-let May 11-13 at Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. S. Tickets range from $12 to $26 and are avail-able at the box office, via Tick-etmaster at (800) 982-2787 or ticketmaster.com. Group dis-counts are also available. Visit www.TwinCitiesBallet.org or call (952) 452-3163 for more information. DAdance will present The Three Bonnies at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 8, at Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Tickets are $26 for adults, $19 for seniors and $16 for students and can be pur-chased at the box office or via Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787 or ticketmaster.com.

Exhibits Childrens Art Festival exhibit is on display through June 2 at Burnsville Perform-ing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. Free. Information: (952) 895-4685.

Music Musician Dan Newton will perform swing, Latin, French

musette and European folk mu-sic at a Silver Tea for ages 55-plus at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, at Heritage Library, 20085 Heritage Drive, Lakeville. Free. Lorie Lines Live In The Sunshine performance, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, at Lakev-ille Area Arts Center, 20965 Holyoke Ave. Tickets are $39 and are available at the arts center or by calling (952) 985-4640. Ross McLeod will perform his Best of the 30s and 40s Show from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at the Burnsville Senior Center, 200 W. Burnsville Parkway, Suite 102, (952) 707-4120.

Poetry Poets in the Park Teen Poetry Slam with slam master Cynthia French at 2 p.m. Sun-day, May 13, in the outdoor am-phitheater at Caponi Art Park, Eagan. Teens ages 12-19 are invited to perform up to three pieces of original poetry; those interested in competing should arrive at 1:30 p.m. to sign up. Information: www.caponiart-park.org.

Theater Ole & Lenas 50th Wed-ding Anniversary and Vow Renewal performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 11, and Saturday, May 12, at the Lakeville Area Arts Center, 20965 Holyoke Ave. Tickets are $15. Call (952) 985-4640 for in-formation. The Christian Life School Drama Club will present Fairy Tale Salad Friday, May 11, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 12, at 2 and 7 p.m. at Christian Life School, 6300 212th St. W., Farmington. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets are available at the door or at the school office. More in-formation at www.christianlife-school.org or (651) 463-4545.

Workshops/classes Music Together in the Val-ley offers classes for parents and their infant, toddler and preschool children in Rose-mount, Farmington, Lakeville and Apple Valley. Information: www.musictogetherclasses.com or (651) 439-4219. The Eagan Art House of-fers classes for all ages. For a complete listing go to www.

eaganarthouse.org or call (651) 675-5521. Dan Petrov Art Studio in Burnsville offers oil painting classes for beginners, interme-diate and advanced skill level painters, www.danpetrovart.com, (763) 843-2734. Teens Express Yourself with Paint, 5 to 7 p.m. Mon-days at Brushworks School of Art in Burnsville, www.Brush-worksSchoolofArt.com, (651) 214-4732. Drama/theater classes for ages 4 and up at River Ridge Arts Building, Burnsville, (952) 736-3644. Special needs theater program (autism-DCD), ages 5 and older, Burnsville, (952) 736-3644. Join other 55-plus adults at the Eagan Art House to create beaded jewelry. The Jewelry Club meets on the third Friday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m. Fee is $3 and includes all sup-plies. Bring any old jewelry you would like to re-make. 3981 Lexington Ave. S., (651) 675-5500. Savage Art Studios, 4735 W. 123rd St., Suite 200, Sav-age, offers classes/workshops for all ages. Information: www.savageartstudios.com or (952) 895-0375. Soy candle making class-es held weekly in Eagan near 55 and Yankee Doodle. Call Ja-mie at (651) 315-4849 for dates and times. $10 per person. Presented by Making Scents in Minnesota. Country line dance class-es held for intermediates Mon-days 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Ram-bling River Center, 325 Oak St., Farmington, $5/class. Call Marilyn (651) 463-7833. Beginner country line dance classes on Wednes-days, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the Lakeville VFW, 8790 Upper 208th St. $5/class. Call Marilyn (651) 463-7833. Country line dance class-es on Wednesdays at the Lakeville Senior Center, 20732 Holt Ave. Beginners, 9-10 a.m.; Intermediate, 10 a.m.-noon. $5/class. Call Marilyn (651) 463-7833. The Lakeville Area Arts Center offers arts classes for all ages, www.lakevillemn.gov, (952) 985-4640.

To submit items for the Fam-ily Calendar, email: darcy.

[email protected].

Saturday, May 5 Kids and More Sale from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Ames Arena, 19900 Ipava Ave., Lakeville. Childrens clothing, toys, home decor, sports equipment, mens and womens clothing and more. Free parking and admission. In-formation: www.TreasureHunt-Sales.com. Spring Fling family fund-raiser from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Primrose School of Lakev-ille North, 9711 163rd St. W., Lakeville. Food, bouncers, pony rides, petting zoo, face painting, crafts, silent auction, and carni-val games. Proceeds will support local charities. Information: www.primroselakeville.com or (952) 435-8885.

Sunday, May 6 Kids and More Sale from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Ames Arena, 19900 Ipava Ave., Lakeville. Childrens clothing, toys, home decor, sports equipment, mens and womens clothing and more. Free parking and admission. In-formation: www.TreasureHunt-Sales.com.

Monday, May 7 Pregnancy & Postpartum Support Minnesota anniver-sary and fundraiser from 6 to 8 p.m. at Buca de Beppo, 14300 Burnhaven Drive, Burnsville. Tickets are $35 and include ap-petizers and a beverage. Silent auction, too. For more informa-tion, visit www.facebook.com/

pregnancypostpartumsupport/events.

Thursday, May 10 Plant sale by the DCTC Landscape Horticulture Club from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Dakota County Technical College, 1300 E. 145th St., Rosemount. Bed-ding plants and vegetables for sale. Information: [email protected]. Alzheimers seminar on un-derstanding communication and challenging behaviors from 4 to 6 p.m. at Trinity Evangelical Free Church, 10658 210th St. W., Lakeville. For information or to register go to www.trinityefc.net. Cost: $5.

Friday, May 11 Plant sale by the DCTC Landscape Horticulture Club from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Dakota County Technical College, 1300 E. 145th St., Rosemount. Bed-ding plants and vegetables for sale. Information: [email protected].

Saturday, May 12 Plant sale by the Lakeville Area Garden Club from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 9975 W. 194th St., Lakeville (across from Kenwood Trail Middle School). Perennials, annuals, and hanging baskets will be on sale. Plant sale by the Eagan Garden Club from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Holz Farm Park, 4669 Manor Drive, Eagan. Perennials, annuals, and hanging baskets will be on sale. Proceeds benefit gardens at Trapp Farm Park, Ce-dar Pond Park, Wescott Library,

and Holz Farm. Child car seat recycling from 9 a.m. to noon at AAA, 600 W. Travelers Trail, Burnsville. Fee: $10 per seat. Information: http://recycleminnesota.org/.

Blood drives The American Red Cross will hold the following blood drives. Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit red-crossblood.org to make an ap-pointment or for more informa-tion. May 5, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Lakeville Fire Department, 20190 Holyoke, Lakeville. May 7, 1 to 7 p.m., Apple Valley Fire Department, 15000 Hayes Road, Apple Valley. May 8, 1:30 to 6:30 p.m., School District 191 - Community Education Center, 200 W. Burns-ville Parkway, Suite 102, Burns-ville. May 9, 3 to 8 p.m., Rasmus-sen College, 3500 Federal Drive, Eagan. May 10, 1 to 6 p.m., Hope Church, 7477 145th St., Apple Valley. May 11, 12:30 to 5:30 p.m., Easter Lutheran Church - By The Lake, 4545 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan. May 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Dakota County Wescott Library, 1340 Wescott Road, Eagan. May 12, 10:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Burnhaven Library, 1101 W. County Road 42, Burnsville. Memorial Blood Centers blood drive: May 4, 9 to 11:30 a.m., Fan-tastic Sams, 270 E. Travelers Trail, Burnsville, (952) 890-7267.

family calendar theater and arts calendar


SportsYouthful Panther softball team starts season 10-1

Lakeville North is off to best start in yearsby Andy Rogers

Sun ThiSweek

The Lakeville north soft-ball team has the makings of the best sophomore-laden team in the state. Armed with a roster of underclassmen, the Panthers have showed varsity teams across the metro that age doesnt matter if the players can throw strikes and aver-age about seven runs per game. with sophomores erika Rozell, Michaela Zins, Jes-sica Meidl, Tera Mckenney and katherine Parker, the teams potential is off the chart. im excited because i think we can be even better, pitcher Zins said. im not really surprised by our suc-cess. it could have gone both ways. i was excited for the season to start. i had confi-dence in myself, but winning has certainly helped build ev-eryones confidence. its been a trifecta of posi-tives for the Panthers. Zins has been throwing strikes

and the defense cleans up behind her. At the plate, the Panthers usually take an ear-ly lead and never look back. Michaela has been pitch-ing great and the defense has done well behind her, head coach Sean hall said. we usually score a few runs ear-ly, so thats a good recipe for success. The girls have defeated senior-laden teams from Chaska, Rosemount, Lakev-ille South, edina, eagan, Apple Valley and Burns-ville last years conference champion. One of the most satisfy-ing victories came on April 26 against Prior Lake, one of the South Suburban Confer-ence leaders. The whole week was leading up to this game, Rozell said. it was a big win for us. The victory put the Pan-thers in a two-way tie for first in the conference with Bloomington Jefferson, the top ranked program in Class AAA.

But the trophies havent been handed out yet. i knew with what we had we had the potential to be good, hall said. Theres still a lot of areas we need to improve. we are not focused on how great were doing. i would say the tougher part of the schedule is coming up, so we get a chance to see how good we can do. we need to get better at hitting, especially later in our lineup. were not getting a lot of bunt downs. Michaela is pitching great, but even she can get better, and thats exciting. Against another top con-ference rival, eastview, the Panthers were again victori-ous, 10-2, on Monday. The Lightning, led by university of Minnesota recruit Paige Palkovich, started the sea-son 6-1. The eight-run loss margin was the largest for eastview this season. The Lightning had losses of one run to Bloomington Jeffer-son and two runs to Prior Lake.

The win put the Panthers record at 10-1. The last time Lakeville north reached double digit victories was in 2010, but it wasnt until play-off time. The Panthers will welcome teams from Bloomington Jefferson, Lakeville South, Prior Lake, eden Prairie, Farmington, Mankato west, wayzata and Chaska this weekend for their home tournament at Aronson Park. The girls may not reach all of their goals in one sea-son, but that doesnt mean they never will. with the program be-ing young, i think they can only benefit from playing a lot now, Rozell said. well only get better.

Andy Rogers can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.

Photo by Rick Orndorf

Lakeville Norths Michaela Zins throws a pitch against Eastview on Monday.

by Andy RogersSun ThiSweek

The Farmington boys la-crosse team is in the midst of easily its best season ever. After lacrosse was added as a varsity sport, the boys team won just one game dur-ing its first two years. Although the Tigers lost to holy Angels on Monday by a score of 10-4, the Tigers have gone 5-2 this season. The Tigers were com-ing off a four-game win-ning streak that featured victories against east Ridge (11-8), Rochester Century (8-7), Lakeville South (10-9 in overtime) and Chaska/Chanhassen (7-4) as well as a season-opening victory against Simley (15-3). every team we beat we hadnt beaten before, head coach Paul Sorensen said. The hardest win is the first win. After they started to learn how to win, they got that swagger about them and got some confidence and it can go a long way. The Tigers were tied 4-4 at one point against holy Angels in the second quarter with a man advantage, but it was the Stars that took ad-

vantage of penalties. we were pretty good there until halftime, So-rensen said. Penalties killed us. A man down, thats where they got us in the sec-ond half. up 5-4 at halftime, the holy Angels team took ad-vantage of two Tiger penal-ties to go up 7-4. it deterio-rated from there. we had our lapses, So-rensen said. no matter how much youre down you still have to go out there and play hard. Brendon Berg got a few good looks at the Stars goal, but they all rang off the crossbar or bounced off the net. in high school athletes, once it starts to go away, it goes downhill and you cant get it back, Sorensen said. Last year we lost to those guys by like 15 goals. Theres no such thing as moral vic-tories, but it shows were getting there. we were right there with them in the first half. Farmington is getting there without one of its top players, co-captain Mitch Collier, who is out for the

season with a broken leg. Leading scorer Trevor how-ard is banged up too, with a rib injury, although he played against holy Angels,

well persevere, So-rensen said. were a lot deeper then we used to be. But you couldnt strap Trev-or down. hes going to play

no matter what happens.

Girls lacrosse The girls lacrosse team is on a three-game winning streak and it could have been more after losing a few early games by one goal. i will take the three-game win streak, especially since we had only one win last season and two the sea-son before total, head coach Dan Pickens said. its been a challeng-ing road bringing varsity lacrosse to prominence in Farmington. You have no idea how good it feels to win some games, and some tight ones, Pickens said. we lost five games by two goals or less last year. The girls deserve to win some games, they have worked hard and continue to push on even after being a door mat for a couple of years in the win column. The girls team has been virtually the same team for three years now, so they have the experience. The senior leaders have really stepped up and be-came leaders this year rather than just lacrosse players,

Pickens said. it also doesnt hurt that we can throw and catch much better and more consistently now. we were forced to rely on our speed only in past years, but now we can pass and catch with a nice change of pace for our runners. Captains Adrienne Joli-coeur, Ally Midboe, and haley Bradshaw along with hockey goalie Jess erchul have accounted for 56 of the teams 74 goals this year. Really our entire roster has their own role and they know they need to do what is best for the team and they dont need to be the ones scoring the goals, Pickens said. it is a good team con-cept here. it also has helped to get our goaltender, Mad-die kohlbeck, back this year after tearing her ACL last season. kohlbeck had 12 saves on 16 shots against Chaska, who averages double digits. Andy Rogers can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.

Photo by Andy Rogers

Farmingtons Kevin Clifton, No. 15, puts a hit on Holy Angels on Tuesday. The teams were tied 4-4 at one point in the second quarter, but Farmington was shut out from there.

Tiger lacrosse off to best start yet Farmington team getting some revenge in 2012

Struggling Cougars focused on improvingSouth softball looking for more pop in its bats


The Lakeville South softball team has been working on a list of things to improve so its ready for the playoffs in two weeks. After a 9-1 loss to Burnsville on Monday, the list got a little longer. were having a cou-ple growing pains at this point and its not always going in our favor, head coach Colleen Powers said. we just have to go back to the drawing board and work a little harder. The Cougars were held to two hits Monday, and one of them was a home run by Lindsey ka-mleiter. Burnsville had 14 hits and Lakeville South helped out the Blaze by committing three errors. The Cougars fell to 1-5 in the South Suburban Conference. when youre not put-ting runs on the board, it makes it a lot tougher, Powers said. You need more than two hits to win a ballgame like this. Scoring is perhaps Souths biggest obsta-cle. The Cougars aver-

age about three runs per game, making them one of the lowest-scoring teams in the South Sub-urban Conference. were finding ways to put the ball in play. One of the things weve done is decrease our strike-outs, Powers said. we just have to get some ground balls and get on base. Powers is also starting several newcomers this season who have yet to settle into their roles. we had people in different spots and they werent necessarily com-

fortable today, Powers said. But i believe in them. Theyll figure it out after a few more games. Theyre getting their feet wet at the varsity level. we have some work to do, but if anyone will do it, its these girls. Lakeville South start-ed the season by los-ing three of its first four games. The three losses were by a combined 26 runs. Since then the girls have defeated hopkins 5-2 and lost to Rose-mount by one run. South also played competitively

against Lakeville north, losing 3-0 to a team that averages almost seven runs a game. Theyre looking for lit-tle victories in each game. The kids are staying positive and confident, Powers said. kamleiters home run and pitcher kylie Sto-bers performance were highlights for South in the Burnsville game. Sto-ber came in for Madeline Bianchi in the second in-ning and held the Blaze scoreless for four of the remaining six innings. She was hitting her spots, thats for sure, Powers said of Stober. Shes getting more con-fident. Powers also praised the play of catcher Allie kent, who was brought up from junior varsity. The Cougars will play at a hometown tourna-ment at Aronson Park on Saturday against teams from Farmington, Bloomington and be-yond.

Andy Rogers can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.


The Lakeville north girls lacrosse team is on a run like no other team in the state. The girls are averaging almost 18 goals per game while giving up around sev-en after seven games. But coach kate Leavell isnt satisfied just yet. we are hoping to keep improving as the season goes along, Leavell said. By sections, we would real-ly like to decrease our goals allowed and clean up some of our plays. The girls are playing great but we know that there is much to work on to reach our potential. Leavell feels this team has the potential to be one of the best teams in Lakeville history. Two years ago she coached a combined pro-gram with Lakeville South that went to state. This north team is ahead of where our com-bined team was at this point into the season, but we are lacking senior leadership, Leavell said. The under-classmen have really stepped up and they are hoping to lead the team through the playoffs. Theres a lot of tal-

ent here and its exciting to watch them play. The top players are all underclassmen. Point lead-ers are sophomore kacie waagbo, freshman Logan Dobratz, and juniors han-nah koloski and Lauren Storhoff. And the teams top defensive player is freshman Lexie witte, who shut down eden Prairies Christine easton and eagans Simone haugen. The girls have a sched-uled game at Blake at 5 p.m. on Saturday, which will go a long way toward seeing where they stack up. Blake is ranked no. 1 in the state and has won the state title the past two seasons. if the Panthers can keep up the high scoring machine that got it 20 goals against Prior Lake Monday, 20 goals against wayzata on Saturday, 19 against eagan on April 26, 18 against Ap-ple Valley on April 24, and 20 against Bloomington kennedy on April 19, the Panthers could dethrone the defending champions. All of our midfield-ers and attackers are pretty driven to hit the net, Leavell

Panther girls lacrosse on a tear Girls averaging nearly 20 goals per game lately


Lakeville Souths Baylee Meier, No. 4, relays a ground ball in the infield during a game against Burnsville on Monday.

See laCroSSe, 15A



Farmingtons Ryan Schoening attempts to tag a Holy Angels runner in an 11-2 loss on Tuesday. It was a tough loss for the Tigers as the team managed four hits while the defense gave up 12 walks and three errors. John Stibal hit in Ty Vincent for one Farmington run, and Jake Baskerville scored the other off an error.

said. Our focus is always on total points rather than goals. Assists in the stat book mean that our offense is working together. The only loss this season came against Eden Prairie, the No. 2 ranked team in the state, on April 11. Still, the Panthers managed 11 goals against a team that allows on average around four. We are hoping to get

another chance to face them after having more time to develop our defense and transitions, Leavell said.

Boys lacrosse The Panther boys la-crosse team broke a two-game losing streak on Mon-day by defeating Prior Lake 10-9 in double overtime. With a 2-2 score at half-time, the Panthers were down by four goals midway through the second half, but

Tiger baseball actionstarted to score in bunches. In the second overtime, Sean Mitchell scored the winning goal to break a two-game losing streak. The Panthers had victo-ries over Owatonna, Farm-ington and Bloomington Kennedy to start this sea-son. The only losses came against Apple Valley and Eagan, two of the top ranked programs in the state.

Head coach Jeff Wright feels the best is yet to come. We have yet to play a compete four-quarter game of lacrosse, Wright said. We must come together and play an entire game. We also must play as a team and have a little more pa-tience, but at the same time we also need to play with a little more urgency as well. This is an extremely talented team and I cannot wait until we really start to click. Its been a team effort lead by Charlie Hayes and Jack Hughes with eight players with at least one goal. The boys will head to Chanhassen for a 12:30 p.m. game on Saturday. The play-offs are scheduled to begin May 23. Andy Rogers can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

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