BLOOMINGTON

Winstead will run again for mayor

Gene Winstead, Bloomington's mayor since 1999, says he'll run for a fifth term in November. He was appointed to the City Council in 1995 to fill a vacant seat and is the longest-tenured member by a wide margin. "There are a lot of things we want to accomplish in Bloomington," said Winstead, 64. He added jokingly, "Four terms so far? That makes me sound old!"

EDINA

City seeks input on Grandview plans

The city will hold a meeting to discuss preliminary redevelopment concepts for the former public works site at 5146 Eden Av. It will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, at the Edina Public Works and Park Maintenance Facility, 7450 Metro Blvd.

All community comments are being considered as the team begins to prepare three possible development scenarios that will be unveiled at an open house April 22. For more information, go to www.EdinaMN.gov/Grandview.

Poet Chmielarz to read in Edina

Poet Sharon Chmielarz, whose subjects include women's lives and the Dakotas, will read from her work at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 18 at the Edina Senior Center, 5280 Grandview Square, Edina.

Her ninth book of poetry, "Visibility: Ten Miles, a Prairie Memoir in Photography and Poetry," will be released soon.

All are welcome to the free program, sponsored by the senior center's Poetry Club.

Ebola will be topic of 2 league meetings

Dr. Kirk Allison of the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health will speak on the topic "Ebola: Global and Local Impacts' at two March gatherings of the Edina League of Women Voters.

The first will be held at 9:45 a.m. Thursday, March 12, at the Edina Senior Center. The second will be held at 9:45 a.m. Saturday, March 14, at Edina City Hall.

For more information, go to www.lwvedina.org.

EXCELSIOR

Excelsior Commons history in spotlight

The Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society's next "Tapping History" event will be held Monday, March 9.

The program, "A History of Excelsior Commons," will take place at 7 p.m. that day at Excelsior Brewing Co. with historian and author Scott D. McGinnis discussing the history of the Lake Minnetonka park that has hosted a number of structures, businesses and activities since 1853.

The event is free and open to the public. "Tapping History: Pints and Reflections on Lake Minnetonka's Past" is a series featuring a history expert, meeting the second Monday of each month at the Excelsior pub.

PLYMOUTH

IOCP kicks off food shelf fundraiser

The Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners started its "Prevent Hunger" campaign March 1, aiming to collect 100,000 pounds of food for its food shelf and $100,000 to address and prevent hunger in our community.

The campaign is part of the statewide MN FoodShare March Campaign that helps keep food shelves stocked throughout the year. IOCP, a Plymouth nonprofit that serves the west metro, will continue the campaign through the end of the month.

To donate money, go to iocp.org/donate or mail a check to IOCP. Donations can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Healthy Living Fair coming to Plymouth

Plymouth will hold a Healthy Living Fair from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.

It will take place at the Plymouth Creek Center, 14800 34th Av. N., and include free health screenings, massages, informational booths and health information sessions on everything from nutrition to relationships and training on hands-only CPR and AEDs. There will also be door prizes and other giveaway items. For more information on the fair, hosted by the City of Plymouth and Abbott Northwestern-WestHealth, go to plymouthmn.gov.

RICHFIELD

Forum set on youth mental illness

A forum on mental illness in youth will be held on Saturday, March 14, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Richfield Municipal Center, 6700 Portland Av. S. Its goal is to educate and inform people about mental illness and to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. The forum is free and open to the public.

A panel discussion will feature Sue Abderholden, executive director of NAMI-MN; Steve Lepinski, executive director of Washburn Center for Children; Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, and former state Rep. Mindy Greiling. For more information, go to www.namihelps.org or call 651-645-2948, x 118.

VICTORIA

Ribbon-cutting set at new Victoria Library

The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Carver County Library in Victory at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, March 7. The library is at 1670 Stieger Lake Lane.

The ceremony will include remarks by Carver County Commissioners Tom Workman and Gayle Degler, Victoria Mayor Tom O'Connor and Carver County Library Director Heidi Hoks.

The library has a series of events planned for the day. Ten Penny Tunes will play in the children's area at 10:30 a.m. Clifford the Big Red Dog will visit from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Author David Housewright will speak at 1:30 p.m. Technology demos will take place through the day.

Also, the city will provide tours of City Hall from 10 a.m. through 1 p.m. Parking is available in the municipal parking lot across the street from the City Hall and library.

WEST METRO

Citizens' Climate Lobby meetings set

The Citizens' Climate Lobby will hold meetings March 7 across the west metro.

The meetings will take place at 11:45 a.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie and at Linden Hills Park in Minneapolis, among meetings held across Minnesota. They will feature a presentation by national conference call with Dan Misleh, the executive director of the Catholic Climate Covenant. He will discuss Pope Francis' issue of an encyclical dealing with climate change later this year and what its impact will it have in the Catholic community in the United States.

For more information, go to citizensclimatelobby-mn.org.

STAFF REPORTS