The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will have special buses running between the south metro and the Minnesota State Fair from Aug. 27 to Sept. 7.

The fair buses will operate on weekdays (except Labor Day) from the Burnsville and Eagan transit stations and on weekends and Labor Day from the Burnsville, Eagan and Marschall Road (Shakopee) transit stations.

The round-trip fare is $5 for riders age 5 and older. There are no one-way fares. Payments must be made in bills or coins; passes are not valid for the State Fair buses.

On weekdays, buses will leave hourly starting at 8 a.m. from Burnsville and starting at 10 a.m. from Eagan and will run to the fair until 7 p.m.

On weekends, buses will run every 30 minutes from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Burnsville and Eagan and every hour from Shakopee.

Buses will return from the fair to Burnsville, Eagan and Shakopee on the same schedule from noon to midnight.

For more information, call 952-882-7500.

DAKOTA COUNTY

MN Mosaic offers authors, history, more

The Dakota County Library's Minnesota Mosaic will bring a variety of artists, authors and programs to its branch libraries this fall. The programs in September include:

• Rosemount Engineering during WWII. 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sept. 10. Robert Trail Library in Rosemount. The city's Historical Society will talk about the beginnings of Rosemount Engineering during World War II and its link to German rocket scientist Rudolph Herman.

• Author Renee Wendinger. 1 to 2 p.m. Sept. 12 at Pleasant Hill Library in Hastings. Wendinger, the author of "Extra! Extra! The Orphan Trains and Newsboys of New York," will talk about the mass migration of children in America.

• Honey Harvest. 11 to 11:45 a.m. Sept. 17 at Wentworth Library in West St. Paul. An expert from the Dodge Natural Center will talk about the honeybee disappearance, how beekeepers harvest honey and the uses of honey and other bee products.

ROSEMOUNT

Magazine says city is a nice place to live

Money magazine has listed the city of Rosemount at 12th in its "Best Places to Live in 2015" in communities with between 10,000 and 50,000 residents.

The ranking involved 3,625 cities.

The magazine said that "Rosemount boasts affordable homes in a small-town vibe," and lists community gardens, local shops and the Leprechaun Days festival among its amenities. The story said jobs are expected to grow 6 percent over the next five years.

Chanhassen was ranked seventh on the list, Edina was 15th.

Rosemount also ranked fourth in the magazine's "Best Places to be a Kid," with an explanation that it is served by "a nationally recognized public school district of choice."

Open house looks at construction project

A public open house on the Hwy. 52 and County Road 42 interchange reconstruction project will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Rosemount City Hall, 2875 145 St. W.

The plan calls for County Road 42 to be expanded from two lanes to four to improve the sight lines from the Hwy. 52 offramps. The Hwy. 52 bridges over County Road 42 will be replaced. The interchange ramps will be reconstructed with dedicated turn lanes added to the offramps.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2017.

Representatives from Dakota County, Rosemount and SRF Consulting will be at the open house to show residents the current layout of the project and to answer questions.

If you can't attend but want to comment, e-mail Jacob Rezac at jacob.rezac@co.dakota.mn.us or call 952-891-7981.

LAKEVILLE

Bake sale to raise money for walk

A team from the Walker Highview Hills senior living home in Lakeville plans to walk in the 2015 Walk to End Alzheimer's in Minneapolis.

The team's goal is to raise $1,200 and, toward that end, it's holding a bake sale from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Highview Hills, 20150 Highview Av. in Lakeville.

The two- to three-mile walk is Sept. 26 at Target Field. For more information, call Candace Rovang at 952-985-9005 or go to www.alz.org.

BURNSVILLE

Sign up now for Birnamwood golfing

There are only 12 days left to register for the 13th annual "Two-Person Scramble" at Birnamwood Golf Course in Burnsville.

The $23 cost covers lunch and prizes. The golf scramble will be held Sept. 12 at the course at 12424 Parkwood Dr. Check-in is at 8:40 a.m. with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.

Registration is also open for junior, adult and senior leagues at Birnamwood, a nine-hole, par-27 public golf course owned and operated by the city of Burnsville.

For tee times or to register, call 952-641-1370.

Award nominations deadline is Sept. 4

Do you know a person, community group or business that helps "build a brighter future for Burnsville"?

If so, you can nominate them for the Burnsville City Council's Community Builder Award.

Nominees' "community building" can include helping the environment, volunteering, working with children, coaching or other work that helps build community pride. There is no age limit and the nominee does not have to be a Burnsville resident.

The deadline for nominations if Sept. 4. Awards will be presented at the Oct. 20 council meeting. For more information, call 952-895-4490 or e-mail machael.collins@burnsvillemn.gov.

SOUTH ST. PAUL

Event helps kids get set for kindergarten

Children ages 3 to 6 can learn how to get ready for kindergarten through stories, songs and rhymes and even how to walk in a line at an event Tuesday at the South St. Paul Library, 106 3rd Av. N.

The event will be held from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.

Check out library's learning resources

A program next week at the South St. Paul Library will introduce learners of all ages — from elementary schoolchildren to adults — to a variety of free online resources available at the library. Help ranges from world languages to one-to-one online tutoring.

The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 31.

Pat Pheifer