Austin rec center deal collapses

A deal for Austin's $35 million recreation center has fallen apart.

At a June meeting, the board of the Austin YMCA tabled a lease agreement with the city for a new recreation center where the old Austin Municipal Plant now stands.

"We need more negotiation with the city," Tedd Maxfield, the YMCA's executive director, said then.

But later that week, the city announced that talks had ended.

"We wish them well," the mayor's office said in a statement, "and terribly regret that the promise of a Community Recreation Center has come to an apparent conclusion given the YMCA's board actions."

The City Council had approved a 30-year lease agreement in June, with the idea that the YMCA would follow suit. Under the plan, the YMCA would have managed the facility and the city would have put $200,000 a year toward operating its public portions. Maxfield declined to say what problems the board had with the deal.

The city wrote: "To unravel an agreement that had over 25 specific drafts, years of work and over five months of specific work … is wholly unanticipated, unprecedented and quite frankly shocking."

A new television program is looking for Minnesota cabins to renovate. Produced for DIY network and called "Rustic Reno," the show is hosted by two brothers from Minnesota who renovate cabins and make them more functional for their owners, all while keeping the rustic cabin feel.

The show is looking for cabins within 1½ to 2 hours of Minneapolis. Owners must be willing to appear on camera and must be willing to contribute $15,000 to $20,000 for the remodeling. The show will kick in an additional $15,000.

To apply, send an e-mail to casting@bigtablemedia.com with your name, e-mail address, telephone number and mailing address. Include a short description of your cabin and why you want to renovate it, a picture of you and your family and a photo of the rooms you hope to renovate.

The production company will be selecting cabins within the month and will likely start production in August.

Mark Brunswick @markabrunswick

Dixie Bar & Grill, on Hwy. 2, burned to the ground while an attached bottle shop sustained heavy damage, owner Scott Larson said. It had been a popular stop for cabin-goers in the summer and snowmobilers in the winter.

Larson and his wife Deanna took ownership in the mid-2000s. They hope to rebuild, Scott Larson said. The couple had added a liquor store, installed a different bar and added a deck in their years of ownership.

Investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the blaze, Larson said.