South news briefs: Savage photo contest winners announced

Photo contest winners announcedA father and son pictured on a fishing pier at Community Park were among the winners this year in the city of Savage's annual photo contest.

Katherine Gray's photo of her husband and son won the grand prize for adults, as well as first prize for photos of people.

Other winners among the adults were Ronald Guernsey, for places; Kathy Brooks, for events; Amy Olson, for "life," and an honorable mention for Brooks.

Victoria Gueorguiev, 11, won the grand prize in the youth division for a picture of her little sister. She also took first in events, as it was the Fourth of July when she took the photo.

Other winners were Ben Wedel, for places; Megan Kortenhof, for "life"; and Heidi Wedel, for people.

Buses available to state fairgroundsA "Pronto Bus" that will transport State Fair-goers from Burnsville and Eagan to the fairgrounds will be available for a round-trip fare of five bucks, with free rides for kids age 4 and under.

On weekdays other than Labor Day, express buses will run to and from Burnsville High School and the Burnsville Transit Station and the fairgrounds. They'll leave first from the high school at 600 E. Hwy. 13, then the station at Hwy. 13 and Nicollet Avenue. They'll depart hourly from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and return hourly from noon to midnight.

Fares are collected before heading for the fair, and not on the way back, so there's no one-way fare.

City makes list of best places to liveSavage has been listed as one of America's best places to live.

CNN Money Magazine ranks it 51st, praising its "reasonably priced homes": three-bedroom houses sell for $185,000 to $210,000 not far from a "quaint Main Street area from its more rural days" but also "typical big-box suburban stores," open spaces and 22 parks.

Other Minnesota cities on the list, all suburbs, include Chanhassen (10), Arden Hills (14), Lino Lakes (44) and Shoreview (52).

Chanhassen is praised for "good jobs right within its borders" and Arden Hills for the fact that "more people work than live in this town" -- in other words, there are lots of jobs nearby. A possible clue to high rankings, and a major goal for Savage and Scott County: a lot more jobs without having to cross congested bridges.

Members of the Rosemount VFW, the Yellow Ribbon Committee and the surrounding community will be hosting an Italian dinner fundraiser from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Rosemount VFW on Hwy. 3. Proceeds will help the Packard family cover the bills for their son Ronan, one of the twins born to Erik and Nicole Packard.

Ronan, now 2 1/2, was born with a hole in his diaphragm that allowed his liver and intestines to fill his right chest cavity, pushing his stomach aside and compressing his heart and one lung. Doctors initially gave him just a 2 percent chance of survival.

Erik Packard has been in the military for 13 years and has deployed to Germany and Iraq twice and once to Korea. Despite having health insurance, the family has thousands of dollars in medical bills.

Tickets for the Italian dinner can be purchased in advance for $8 per adult and $5 per child age 10 and under. At the door, the price is $10 per adult and $7 per child. To purchase tickets, contact Sherri DeBettignies at sdebett@gmail.com. For more information on the Packard family, go to www.babyronanpackard.weebly.com.

Ribbon-cutting set before road completedA new stretch of County Road 21, giving folks an entirely novel point of entry to Prior Lake, may open for traffic by the end of the month, officials say.

Officials from Scott County, Shakopee, Prior Lake and others will attend the ceremony "signaling the near-completion" of the roadway, in the words of the official invitation.

Prior Lake is busy gearing up for the new flow of traffic into its downtown area.

Meat processing courses offeredThe University of Minnesota is offering courses for deer hunters and those raising livestock on new ways to handle and in some cases profit from the meat they harvest.

Thursday and Friday there are day-long courses on value-added meats such as cured pork and speciality sausage, featuring experts from the Midwest and beyond.

Next month -- on Saturday, Sept. 10 -- there will be an all-day session on processing deer, including field dressing and making sausage and jerky.

Find out how libraries can help with schoolKids heading back to school can stop by the library to get help with research and homework.

Three free "Makin' the Grade" information sessions will be held at Dakota County libraries this month to explain resources, including online databases and homework help programs.

The workshops will be held Monday at the Farmington Library, Tuesday at the Heritage Library in Lakeville and Aug. 31 at the Galaxie Library in Apple Valley. All three sessions are scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m.

For more information, go to www.dakotacounty.us/library and look at the calendar of events.