Metro briefs: Dakota County's credit rating downgraded

Standard & Poor's Rating Services has downgraded Dakota County and its Community Development Agency's credit ratings of AAA to AA+.

The downgrade was the result of a late interest payment on an $8.1 million bond. County officials expected to get a summary from the Depository Trust Co., a financial services agency, notifying them of the need for a $175,000 interest payment. They did not get that summary.

"It's really quite disappointing and difficult to understand," county Financial Services Director Stephanie Shawback said, because the county is in a good place financially.

The downgrade could affect the Community Development Agency's borrowing rates.

The county's rating from Moody's Investors Service remains at AAA.

Jessie Van Berkel

EDINA

Bees and chickens are a go

The buzz in Edina is the passage of a new law allowing residents to keep bees in their back yards. The City Council last week passed the ordinance on a 5-0 vote. Also passing without a squawk was a companion ordinance allowing residents to keep egg-laying hens. Both ordinances will go into effect on official publication, expected this week.

"I look forward to seeing many hens and apiaries in Edina in the future," said Dianne Plunkett Latham, chairwoman of the Local Food Working Group of the city's Energy and Environment Commission.

JOHN REINAN

HENNEPIN COUN­TY

Watershed district board decision is delayed

Hennepin County com­mis­sion­ers are post­pon­ing the de­ci­sion on ap­point­ing two spots to the Min­ne­ha­ha Creek Wa­ter­shed District board un­til April 14.

The County Board was ex­pect­ed to ap­point two peo­ple to the wa­ter­shed board, which gov­erns the 181-square-mile wa­ter­shed dis­trict, last week, but not all com­mis­sion­ers were pres­ent or at their next meet­ing March 31.

The dis­trict, which man­ag­es wa­ter re­sources in 27 cit­ies — from Min­ne­ha­ha Falls to Lake Minnetonka — has two spots up for ap­point­ment on its seven-mem­ber board. Con­tro­ver­sy the past year over the wa­ter­shed's lead­er­ship spurred 11 ap­pli­cants for the open spots. Some west-met­ro mayors have called for new lead­er­ship, and the board has re­mained di­vid­ed on lead­er­ship is­sues since oust­ing its top lead­er in a split 4-3 vote last April.

KELLY SMITH

Minneapolis

Riv­er­front land buy OK'd

Minneapolis park com­mis­sion­ers voted 7-0 Wednes­day to buy a piece of West Bank prop­er­ty on the city's up­per riv­er­front for $2.5 mil­lion.

The pur­chase of the form­er Japs-Olson build­ing ad­ja­cent to the west end of the Low­ry Avenue Bridge rep­re­sents the first land deal since a­dop­tion of an up­per riv­er­front mas­ter plan 15 years ago.

"It's a great, great day," said North Side Commissioner Jon Olson. "It's been dif­fi­cult to ac­quire prop­er­ty on our side of the riv­er. I want to thank folks in my dis­trict for be­ing pa­tient."

The Park Board plans to e­ven­tu­al­ly ac­cu­mu­late en­ough land or ease­ments to ex­tend rec­re­a­tion­al paths and a park­way north­ward from Ole Olson Park to the Cam­den area.

Steve Brandt

Oak Park Heights

Open houses set on bridge

Two public meetings to present the latest stages of St. Croix River bridge construction will be held Tuesday in Oak Park Heights.

The four-lane bridge, 2 miles downriver from Stillwater, will open in late 2016. It will connect Hwy. 36 in Oak Park Heights with Hwy. 35 in St. Croix County, Wis. Project staff will be present to discuss:

• Minnesota's 2015 construction schedule for approach highways, which includes completing all driveway construction, local road connections, paving, finishing touches such as striping, and trail construction.

• Wisconsin's 2015 construction schedule for approach highways.

• What's coming for bridge and loop trail construction.

Tuesday's meetings will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at City Hall, 14168 Oak Park Boulevard N.

Kevin Giles