Briefs: Apple Valley celebrates Mid-Winter Fest

Get out and enjoy the 38th Annual Apple Valley Mid-Winter Fest on Saturday.

The free event includes a medallion hunt, face painting, kickball and volleyball tournaments, entertainment and s'mores roasting.

Festivities are located at the Apple Valley Community Center, 14603 Hayes Road, Apple Valley; and Hayes Park. People who bring food shelf donations will be entered in drawings for a prize.

The Apple Valley Parks and Recreation Department hosts the event. For more information, call 952-953-2300 or go to www.cityofapplevalley.org.

Mayor Elizabeth Kautz will give Burnsville's annual State of the City address on Feb. 11 at the Ames Center.

The Burnsville Chamber of Commerce hosts the event, which begins with the speech at 11:30 a.m. A luncheon will follow. The annual address is open to anyone — residents or business leaders — who would like to learn more about the direction the city is headed.

It is free to attend the State of the City address. The luncheon costs $25 per person. Contact the Burnsville Chamber at 952-435-6000 or jina@burnsvillechamber.com.

The event will take place at Ames Center, 12600 Nicollet Av., from 3 to 5 p.m. It will feature hors d'oeuvres, a chocolate buffet, games and entertainment. The cost is $12 per person.

Anyone interested in attending must register by Friday. To register, call 952-895-4500 or go to www.burnsville.org/recreation and click "Online Registration."

Dakota County is seeking residents to give input through citizen advisory committees.

The County Board appoints people to 12 committees that review policies, provide technical expertise and give feedback to commissioners. Some of the committees are the Dakota-Scott Workforce Investment Board, the Extension Committee, the Human Services Advisory Committee, the Library Advisory Committee and the Personnel Board of Appeals.

To see information about specific committee vacancies and application instructions, go to the Dakota County website, www.dakotacounty.us and click on "Government" to find the link to the Citizen Advisory Committees.

Certified application counselors will be at Dakota County libraries in February to help people learn about the state-run health insurance marketplace, MNsure.

A counselor will be at the following libraries from 6 to 8 p.m. on the following dates:

• Burnhaven Library, 1101 W. County Road 42, Burnsville, on Feb. 2;

• Inver Glen Library, 8098 Blaine Av. E., Inver Grove Heights, on Feb. 3;

• Wescott Library, 1340 Wescott Road, Eagan, on Feb. 10;

People interested in meeting with a counselor should register in advance at www.dakotacounty.org/libraries.

Kids 'n Kinship, an organization that matches south metro kids with adult mentors, is hosting an information session Feb. 19 in Eagan.

Children who participate in Kids 'n Kinship live in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville or Rosemount. The agency recently received a $10,000 donation from West Bend, a property and casualty insurance company, in honor of the volunteer work of Apple Valley residents Rick and Lise Anderson. They have mentored two boys for eight years and Rick also refurbishes bicycles, which he then sells to support Kids 'n Kinship.

To learn more about the program, attend the information session from 6 to 6:45 p.m. at Wescott Library, 1340 Wescott Road, Eagan. To register for the event, call 651-686-0990. Visit www.kidsnkinship.org for more information.

Staff reports