APPLE VALLEY

The dolphin population at the Minnesota Zoo just grew by three. But the new arrivals are only visiting until next spring.

The zoo's four dolphins, ranging in age from 45 (Semo) to 7 (Spree), will be joined for the next few months by Bears fans Tapeko, 27, Noelani, 5, and Allison, 3, from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, which is remodeling its Seven Seas dolphin area.

At first the newcomers will be segregated from the local group, zoo officials say, though they may eventually be allowed to swim in the same pools.

Six trainers from the Chicago Zoological Society are here to assist.

ROSEMOUNT

Rosemount commuters will soon have a new transportation option.

On Sept. 14, the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will add a new express bus service -- Route 478 -- between the Rosemount Community Center and downtown Minneapolis. The bus will start its route at 145th and Diamond Path and stop at the Rosemount Community Center before heading straight downtown.

The Rosemount City Council has long said it would like to see improved bus service to the city, especially with buses that don't jog south to other stops before going to Minneapolis and a park-and-ride in town.

Mayor Bill Droste, who serves on the MVTA board, said, "The new express routes begin to meet our first element of improved service."

Route 478 will have two northbound trips, departing the community center at 6:35 a.m. and 7:04 a.m. and arriving in Minneapolis at 7:20 a.m. and 7:49 a.m. Return trips will depart Minneapolis at 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. and arrive at the community center at 5:26 p.m. and 5:56 p.m.

As part of the upgraded service, the transit authority is also adding stops at the Rosemount Community Center for the Route 476 bus in the morning and evening. Route 479, which serves the 157th Street Transit Station in Apple Valley, will no longer serve Rosemount.

For more information about the MVTA bus routes and schedules visit www.mvta.com or call 952-882-7500.

The Rosemount City Council has approved a preliminary budget and tax levy for 2010 that reduces overall city spending and will decrease the tax bill for the average homeowner.

The average homeowner, whose value dropped 9 percent to $230,900, will see the city tax bill decrease $77.

The $17 million city budget preserves all the current staff provisions, although exact wages and benefit costs won't be known until the city renegotiates contracts with its four unions at the end of 2009. City Administrator Dwight Johnson said levels of service will be maintained.

The biggest reason the budget dropped without cutting staff or services was because the city was able to use surplus funds from 2008 to pay off debt levies, saving the city $527,000 in 2010.

A public hearing on the proposed budget and levy will be held Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Rosemount City Hall.

Dakota County Technical College's Septemberfest is set for Saturday, with sports tournaments, an outdoors showing of the family favorite "Babe," a silent auction, a petting zoo and other kids' activities, an arts fair, a medallion hunt, and something called "goat dookie," described as "a betting game that combines live goats, poop berries and bingo."

The festival, open to all, runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Rosemount campus, located at 1300 E. 145th St. For more information, call 651-423-8407 or see www.dctc.edu/go/fest.

DAKOTA COUNTY

In the event of an emergency, public safety personnel now have the ability to call and alert residents.

The Dakota Communications Center, the 911 dispatch hub for public safety agencies in Dakota County, launched reverse 911 system CodeRed on Sept. 1.

The system will be used to warn residents about safety threats and enlist their help in public safety missions. For example, it could send phone messages to residents in a specific area if toxic chemicals are spilled nearby or if a child is reported missing.

The CodeRed system already has a database of phones and addresses, but residents who rely on mobile phones or e-mail are being asked to register that contact information.

To register or learn more, visit the communications center's website, www.mn-dcc.org, and click on the "CodeRed" link. People without Internet access can also call the Dakota Communications Center at 651-322-8660 between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

LAKEVILLE

The seventh annual Lakeville Art Festival will be held Sept. 19 and Sept. 20, beginning at 10 a.m., at the Lakeville Area Arts Center.

The theme of this year's festival is "Experience Art-ucation" and focuses on the creative process. There will be artist demonstrations, hands-on community art projects and chances to chat with local artists. And for the first time this year, the festival will also include literary arts, featuring readings and book signings by several authors whose varied works include children's books, travel writing and crime fiction.

For more information about the festival visit www.lakeville artfestival.org or call the Lakeville Area Arts Center at 952-985-4640.

LAKEVILLE

Auditions for Expressions Lakeville Community Theater's fall production, "Southern Hospitality," will be 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Lakeville Area Arts Center.

Actors will be reading from the script and should bring a current photo to the auditions. Expressions is looking for the following cast members: one man 40 to 60 years old, one woman 45 to 65 years old and one woman 60 to 70 years old.

The play is based in a small Texas town that is in danger of going under unless the Futrelle sisters pull off a huge festival to impress a wealthy visitor. Performances will be the first three weekends in November, with Friday and Saturday night shows at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday shows at 2 p.m.

For more information about auditions, visit www.lakevillemn.gov or contact Tom Barnard at 952-985-4641. To buy tickets to the show, $12 each, call 952-985-4640.

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS

Mayor George Tourville and the Parks and Recreation Department along with the American Cancer Society are hosting a fundraiser at the Community Center for the American Cancer Society.

The event, dubbed "Fighting Cancer With Fun," will be from 6 p.m. to midnight Oct. 2 at the Community Center, 8055 Barbara Av. For a fee of $5 per person or $20 for a family of five, attendees can swim in the water park, skate in the ice arena, work out in the fitness center, shoot hoops in the gym or participate in clinics put on by some of the Simley High School sports teams, city officials said.

During the opening ceremony at 6:30, the public will hear from the mayor, a representative of the Cancer Society and perhaps survivors. Guests will also be able to decorate a lunch bag that will be placed along the hallways and lit in honor of others they know whose lives have been touched by cancer.

SOUTH METRO AREA

Second Harvest Food Bank is working with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to collect food and household items to restock food shelves in the Twin Cities.

Through Sept. 15, youth and adult members representing 41 congregations will canvass neighborhoods requesting donations and leaving bags for later pickup where no one is home. Afterward, Second Harvest will distribute collected items to food shelves throughout the metro area. Items collected in outlying areas will be donated to food shelves in applicable communities, including New Prague and Northfield.

KATIE HUMPHREY, DAVID PETERSON, JOY POWELL AND Dylan Belden