Town briefs: Rahr Malting expansion in Shakopee moves forward

Rahr Malting Corp., a Shakopee staple for nearly 100 years, has received funding that will help it expand there.

A $610,000 award from the Job Creation Fund will help with a planned $68 million expansion. The total expansion is set to include a malt house, pilot brewery and technical center, maintenance warehouse and distribution center. The company is also planning to add 28 full-time employees.

On March 31, the Shakopee City Council voted unanimously to approve Rahr's tax increment financing request — another crucial funding source.

The new facilities are expected to be up and running by spring 2017.

The Science Museum of Minnesota's Computer Education Center will teach a class on "Microsoft E-Mail Basics for Building Job Skills" from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in Shakopee.

Participants will learn how to set up a free e-mail account, send and receive messages and attach documents.

The class will be held at the Scott County Government Center's Professional Development Center, 200 4th Av. W.

Monthly free family law clinics are available through the Scott County Law Library in Shakopee. The next clinic is from 4 to 6 p.m. May 11 at 200 4th Av. W.

People can make a half-hour appointment with a volunteer attorney to ask questions about Family Court. Registration is required. Call 952-496-8713.

Nature Fest will be held from 9 a.m. to noon May 9 at the McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center, 13550 Dakota Av. S. in Savage.

Activities include outdoor yoga, a nature scavenger hunt, birdhouse building, nature presentations and canoeing.

Refreshments will be served and a free sapling will be given to those bringing a nonperishable food item to be donated to the local food shelf. The free event is sponsored by Savage Parks and Recreation. Groups or individuals who want to volunteer can call 952-224-3400.

The city-sponsored event lets residents discard unwanted appliances, electronics, yard waste and other items for a small free.

Members of the Savage Rotary Club will be at the event to accepted donated furniture and other items for Bridging, a nonprofit group that helps people in need. New this year, USAgain, a for-profit company, will be there to collect unwanted clothing, shoes and textiles.

Prices for recycling range from $25 for a pickup-load or trailer-load of garbage to $5 per item for appliances such as microwaves, refrigerators and washers.

Tea sandwiches, scones and a short education and entertainment program will be served at a Mother's Day High Tea from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. May 10 at the Historic LeDuc Estate, 1629 Vermillion St. in Hastings.

Cost is $25 per person. For reservations, call 651-437-7055.

Proof of residency is required. Acceptable items include household garbage, bulk items and construction waste, including windows, doors, lumber, shingles, Sheetrock and scrap metal. Appliances, electronics, computers and monitors will cost $25 to discard. Tires will cost from $5 to $40 each.

Items not accepted include paint, sludge, tar, thinners, fertilizer, pesticides, batteries and yard waste and brush.

Mushtown Road, from Village Drive to Pondview Trail in the city of Prior Lake, will be closed to through-traffic through October. Drivers are urged to use Toronto Avenue as an alternative from the north, and 180th Street as an alternative from the south.

A memorial garden to commemorate the life of longtime Prior Lake assistant city manager Kelly Meyer is planned from Lakefront Park in Prior Lake.

Meyer, who died in February, worked for the city for 16 years. She designed the wave pattern for the city's water towers and sidewalks and had a lot of input on the planters, benches and streetlights. She was named Business Person of the Year in 2013 by the Prior Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.

The project is expected to be completed in time for the city's annual Lakefront Days from Aug. 6 to 8.

Donations for the park are being accepted until May 25. Checks to the Kelly Meyer Memorial Fund can be sent to the Chamber offices at 4785 Dakota St., Prior Lake, MN 55372. For more information, call 952-440-1000.

Paddlers can canoe under the full moon, watch for wildlife and be entertained by stories Friday and Saturday at Cleary Lake Regional Park, 18106 Texas Av., Prior Lake.

The program runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. both days. Cost is $9. Registration is required. Call 763-694-7777.

Pat Pheifer, Emma Nelson