West metro briefs: Richfield City Council member apologizes for late campaign finance report

Simon Trautmann, the attorney recently elected to the Richfield City Council, issued an apology after filing his campaign finance report late and with errors.

Trautmann filed his campaign finance report May 24, the day after he won the special election.

According to Minnesota statute, a candidate is supposed to file a report within 14 days of receiving or spending more than $750, or 10 days before the election. Trautmann spent $767 in postage on April 15, according to his report, meaning it should have been filed before May.

In a written statement, Trautmann said the late filing was unintentional.

"I take responsibility for the error," he wrote in a statement. "This embarrassing mistake happened because I misunderstood the criteria for first filing."

He blamed his campaign treasurer for the "hastily prepared" report, providing few details on the contributions or spending. A revised form was filed May 26.

Richfield resident Brandt Krueger, who also ran for the First Ward council seat, first posted on Facebook about Trautmann's late filing.

Miguel Otárola

Blade, a German shepherd that served as a K-9 with the Edina Police Department for seven years, died May 15 from an aggressive form of cancer.

"Blade was a great asset to our department and his participation in community events and presence around Edina will be missed," Police Chief Dave Nelson said.

As a patrol dog, Blade located more than 75 suspects, searched more than 100 buildings and played a major role in 150 narcotics inspections.

He retired from the force in January because of deteriorating health. He spent his remaining days with his handler, officer Jason Behr, at his home in Bloomington.

Miguel Otárola

Hennepin County has named a new top leader of its veterans office.

Neil Doyle, the veterans services supervisor for Olmsted County, will start June 25 at Hennepin County's Veterans Services Office, leading the office in a four-year term. He replaces Milton Schoen, who retired Jan. 31 after nearly 23 years as director of the office.

In selecting Doyle, the county noted his service with the Minnesota National Guard, his 15 years of experience in veterans services and his tenure as past president of the Minnesota Association of County Veterans Service Officers.

The distinctive pool and fountain outside the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis is scheduled to finally fill up with water on Thursday.

The pool and fountain have caused problems for decades for the county. The fountain has been repaired twice in its 42-year history, but officials said the latest fix will last 30 years. The repairs took longer than expected last year after one of the wettest Septembers on record delayed work. The repairs included re-waterproofing the pool and replacing the oculus glass on the lower level that receives the waterfall.

KELLY SMITH

The second annual celebration of LGBT residents in Golden Valley is next Sunday at Brookview Park.

The Golden Valley Pride Festival features bands, a beer garden and food trucks, activities for pets and an interfaith religious service. New to the festival this year is a color run, organized by a local Girl Scouts group, which goes around the park.

The first Golden Valley festival was held last year and drew more than 2,500 people.

The festival runs from noon to 6 p.m. Brookview Park is located at 200 Brookview Pkwy. N.

Miguel Otárola

Starting June 13, a trolley will return to Wayzata streets for the summer.

The Lake Minnetonka Trolley runs every hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 13 until Aug. 31, stopping at 16 places throughout the community.

Wayzata had a trolley that stopped service in 2010 and some city leaders brought it back in 2014 as a pilot program, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and boost tourism with the motorized trolley. It now runs separately.