West metro town briefs

ST. LOUIS PARK

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will speak at Beth El Synagogue, 5224 W. 26th St., St. Louis Park, at 6 p.m. Sunday as part of the synagogue's National Speaker Series.

The event in the past has featured such figures as former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Rice is now a senior fellow on public policy at the Hoover Institution and professor of political science at Stanford University.

Tickets to the speech range from $50 to $180, with premium tickets that include a private reception and dinner with Rice ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 per person.

For information on tickets, call the Beth El office at 952-920-3512.

"Globalization: What is it?" will be the topic of discussion from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Nov. 18 at a session sponsored by the St. Louis Park Senior Program at the Lenox Community Senior, 6715 Minnetonka Blvd.

Former St. Louis Park teacher Bob Erickson, now an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas, will discuss globalization, what constitutes it now, and what it might be in the future. The registration deadline is Nov. 12.

Another session, "Great Decisions: The United States and Rising Powers," is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 1. Tom Hanson, a former foreign service officer in numerous countries and now a foreign policy consultant, will discuss who are the rising powers, how their emergence will change the global balance of power, and how the United States will react. Registration deadline is Nov. 25.

For more information, go to www.stlouispark.org/senior_programs.htm.

PLYMOUTH

Plymouth's Great Pumpkin Drop will accept discarded pumpkins, gourds and apples through Nov. 9.

Edible fall decorations can be dropped in a Dumpster at the west side of the Public Works Maintenance Facility, 14900 23rd Av. N.

Candles should be removed from inside the pumpkins. Barthold Farms will use the collected items to feed its farm animals.

GOLDEN VALLEY

The Friends of the Golden Valley Library have purchased a kinetic sculpture by Jeffrey Zachmann that is on exhibit near the entrance of the library at 830 Winnetka Av. N.

A reception celebrating the new sculpture is scheduled for 2 p.m. Nov. 14.

Zachmann's sculptures mix art and science. "I see my work not only as sculptural machines, but also as studies in line, shape, color and motion," Zachmann says on his website at www.zachmann.com .

The work of art, titled "Kinetic Sculpture 462," is made of stainless steel moving objects and glass balls.

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

EXCELSIOR

Music at Trinity will present the Copper Street Brass Quintet at 4 p.m. Nov. 22 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 322 Second St., Excelsior.

The ensemble will perform its newest program, "The Color Project," in which each piece of music represents a color.

The concert is free and open to the public.

WAYZATA

The Robbinsdale Armstrong High School Choir and the Oratorio Society of Minnesota will collaborate in a concert on Nov. 22 at Wayzata Community Church, 125 Wayzata Blvd. E., Wayzata.

They will perform Mozart's Requiem with the chamber choir from the Oratorio's Viva Coro program and a full orchestra.

For more information go to www.oratorio.org/?submit=first.

WAYZATA

Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners is set to launch its 2009 Sleep Out to raise money to help meet $2 million in housing needs.

A thousand families are caught in a "perfect storm" caused by lost jobs, lost housing and less help available in the community, the IOCP says. The kickoff rally for its annual drive is set for 6-8 p.m. Nov. 14 at Klapprich Park, 340 Park St. E., Wayzata.

Donations for the IOCP's annual Sleep Out campaign can be sent to the IOCP, 110 Grand Av., Wayzata, MN, 55391.

HENNEPIN COUNTY

Hennepin County Library's Minnesota Sesquicentennial exhibition, "Minnovation: 150 Years of Ingenuity," has received a Minnesota History Award from the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums.

The award recognizes excellence in the field of local history.

The exhibit was on display at the Central Library's Cargill Hall from May through August of 2008. It dealt with the history of Minnesota inventions, inventors and innovations.

MINNEAPOLIS

The Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a seminar on property taxes in Minneapolis.

"What's Up With Those Property Taxes?" will feature Minneapolis Finance Director Patrick Born and Minneapolis City Assessor Patrick Todd in a discussion about the city's property tax structure and how taxes are determined.

The free session will be held from 6-8 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Av. S., Minneapolis. Neighbors from surrounding neighborhoods -- such as Kenwood, East Isles, CIDNA, Bryn Mawr, Harrison, Loring Park, Lowry Hill East, Stevens Square and Whittier -- are invited, but anyone can attend.

The sixth annual Gathering of Our Children Pow Wow will be held Saturday at the Minneapolis American Indian Center, 1530 Franklin Av. E., Minneapolis. Dancing sessions will begin at 1 and 7 p.m., with a feast at 5:30 p.m.

The pow wow is intended to welcome Indians who were adopted by families outside the Native American community, and also to raise awareness of Indian children in foster homes.

The event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the state Human Services Department, Hennepin County, Indian community agencies and tribes.

For more information, contact Sandy White Hawk at 651-442-4872 or sandywhitehawk@gmail.com.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE,

HERON MARQUEZ ESTRADA,

MARY JANE SMETANKA