South metro town briefs

SCOTT COUNTY

More than 60 volunteers, including a pair of county commissioners and a busload of college students from Iowa looking to do some community service, turned up at the land set aside for Spring Lake Regional Park in Prior Lake late last month to help rip out buckthorn.

Great River Greening, a local nonprofit, organized the event, describing the Big Woods ecology -- once stretching throughout what is now the western suburbs -- as a rare system that must not be degraded.

Similar projects are underway in the county's other regional park lands, including a 50-acre prairie and a five-acre drained wetland at the future Doyle-Kennefick Regional Park.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has announced a matching grant of $1 million to help support health care in Shakopee.

The money will go to the Saints Healthcare Foundation, which raises funds for St. Francis Regional Medical Center and St. Gertrude's Health and Rehabilitation Center in Shakopee. St. Gertrude's has to turn away 60 to 80 patients per month, officials said, including people who need to recover from surgery, strokes and vehicle accidents.

The foundation has commitments for more than $400,000 for rehabilitation services at St. Gertrude's. The tribe's donation will match additional grants, dollar for dollar. Tribal officials said a number of their own members have benefitted from the services.

SHAKOPEE

Shakopee is offering a new "E-News" service for residents wanting to know what's going on at City Hall.

You can choose to get any combination of general news, parks and recreation news, or transportation and transit news. Go to www.ci.shakopee.mn.us/enews.cfm to ask to have them e-mailed to you.

DAKOTA COUNTY

Residents have a chance to contribute their two cents to county government by joining a citizen advisory committee this fall.

The Dakota County Board is seeking applicants for specialized citizen committees on a variety of topics, from libraries and human services to community corrections and preservation of natural areas.

Most committees meet monthly or bimonthly, and citizens are appointed to the committees for one-year terms.

Information about the committees and qualifications for those who serve can be found at www.dakotacounty.us/CountyGovernment/CAC. Interested residents can call Dakota County administration at 651-438-4418 for an application. The deadline is Nov. 25.

A social worker from DARTS, the south-metro nonprofit that provides services for seniors and their families, will be offering three free caregiving seminars at Dakota County libraries this month.

The first session, "Family Caregiving Strategies," will be 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Pleasant Hill Library in Hastings. It will offer strategies for families who face the challenges of caring for aging parents.

A "Frustration, Guilt and Rewards" session from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Wentworth Library in West St. Paul will feature discussion of the emotional highs and lows of caring for older adults.

And a "Financial and Legal Issues" session from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 18 at the Galaxie Library in Apple Valley will cover issues including power of attorney, specialized insurance and health care directives.

For more information, visit www.dakotacounty.us/library.

ROSEMOUNT

Winter parking restrictions are now in effect in Rosemount.

City code prohibits parking on any public street, highway or alley every day between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., regardless of weather. Parking in those areas is also prohibited until the street has been plowed from curb to curb any time two or more inches of snow accumulates.

Residents who would like to mark their yard to guide plow drivers can pick up wooden stakes that are painted orange at the top at the Public Works Garage, 14425 Brazil Av., on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. through the end of November.

Residents with questions about snowplowing can call Rosemount Public Works at 651-322-2022 or check www.ci.rosemount.mn.us.

NORTHFIELD

A community service organization has enlisted more than 1,200 volunteers to package 250,000 meals for starving children during one weekend of work. The group also hopes to raise $42,000 to cover the cost of the meals.

5th Bridge, which promotes volunteerism and philanthropy in the Northfield area, is organizing the third annual event, in which it hosts a mobile meal-packing unit from the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children. The meals are sent to families in more than 50 countries.

The organization is still looking for volunteers and donors to help with the project. The event is Nov. 13-15 at the armory, 519 Division St., Northfield. For more information, call 507-581-3017 or see www.5thBridge.org/fmsc.

SAVAGE

Savage Art Studios and Gallery and the city of Savage are working together to present a photo and sculpture exhibition that honors America's military.

The exhibition opens today and runs through Nov. 28, and it features "Through the Eyes of a Soldier," a photography exhibit by David Noyes of Burnsville. A sculpture entitled "Hero," by former Marine Gene Piersa of Independence, will be on display outside the studio.

An artists' reception will be 5 to 8 p.m. next Wednesday, Veterans' Day, at the studio, 4735 W. 123rd St. suite 200. For more information, call 952-895-0375.

KATIE HUMPHREY, DAVID PETERSON AND DYLAN BELDEN