Metro briefs: Minneapolis sells 'dog park' land to Edina, St. Louis Park

The deal for a wooded, 15-acre parcel of land used as an informal dog park closed last week after nearly three years of negotiation. The land, on the west side of France Avenue S. at W. 40th Street, was owned by Minneapolis, but lies within the borders of Edina and St. Louis Park.

Minneapolis said that if the neighboring cities didn't buy the land, it would put the parcel up for sale to the highest bidder.

About 10 acres of "Weber Woods" are in Edina and five acres are in St. Louis Park. Edina has committed to reserving its share for parks, recreation, open space or stormwater management.

St. Louis Park did not agree to restrictions, and city officials have said they might be open to allowing a limited amount of residential development on the site.

JOHN REINAN

Edina will build sidewalks on a stretch of Xerxes Avenue S. that currently has none. The sidewalks will be built on the west side of Xerxes between W. 56th Street and 60th Street. Xerxes is the border between Edina and Minneapolis south of Minnehaha Creek; the Minneapolis side of the street already has sidewalks.

The cost of construction will be about $450,000, with Hennepin County contributing $100,000 of the total. The balance will come from Edina's Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Fund, which raises more than $1.1 million a year through a small tax on the energy bills of every Edina home and business.

Because of the growing number of people choosing to represent themselves in court, Minnesota's 10th Judicial District now is offering self-help legal services in Washington County.

Self-represented litigants can meet with staff from the district's Self-Help Center at the Washington County Courthouse in Stillwater every Thursday and Friday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

The Self-Help Center, which opened in the Anoka County Courthouse in 2015, was established to provide legal information and resources to residents in Anoka, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine, Sherburne, Washington and Wright counties. In its first nine months of operation, staff provided walk-in, e-mail, and phone assistance on nearly 2,000 legal matters.

The staff can't offer legal advice but can answer questions about legal procedure, help people correctly fill out court forms, and provide information on other legal services in the community, said Annette Fritz, the Washington County court administrator. "As more people are going into court without a lawyer, we hope many people will take advantage of this service, provided at no cost," she said.

Kevin Giles

The city's sewer department will begin conducting annual safety testing Tuesday. Crews will be injecting simulated smoke into the sewer system to find leaks and bad connections. They will be focusing on the area north of University Avenue between Snelling Avenue and Rice Street.

Residents may see smoke coming from building foundations, manhole covers, roof vents or storm drains, according to a city news release.

"We want to make sure everyone is aware of the testing and prevent unnecessary phone calls to the Fire Department," sewer engineer Aaron Hass said in a statement.

Officials do not expect smoke to get into homes or businesses. But if it does, the city is advising people to open windows and doors and call the safety testing crew at 651-238-0572.

The city will continue testing through October.