Briefs: Grand opening of Newport Transit Station scheduled for Monday

The public can visit the Newport Transit Station at a grand opening and open house celebration from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, April 27, at the station, 2222 Maxwell Av.

The station is part of the Red Rock Corridor transitway and provides a park-and-ride lot and a waiting area with restrooms. It is a stop for three express buses to downtown St. Paul each weekday morning and afternoon along the Metro Transit 364 route.

Speakers will start at 4:15 p.m., with other activities to follow. Speakers include Washington County Commissioner Karla Bigham, U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, state Sen. Katie Sieben, Counties Transit Improvement Board Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, Metropolitan Council Chair Adam Duininck and Newport Mayor Tim Geraghty.

"The Newport transit station is just one step in expanding transit in the Red Rock Southeast Corridor and will help leverage new development in the city of Newport," Bigham said.

For more information, see www.redrockcorridor.com.

View fire and police demonstrations, go to a mini boot camp with a Marine, and brush up on baseball skills at the Washington County Whole Community Public Safety Expo in Woodbury on Saturday, May 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kids Boot Camp begins at 10:30 a.m. followed by the Minnesota Twins Youth Training Camp Kids' Clinic at 11 a.m. Various city fire departments will give demonstrations, as will K-9. Adult classes include SkyWarn Weather Spotter training and a session with Woodbury police and fire on being safe during a workplace or home emergency.

A former Cottage Grove City Council member has pleaded guilty to a petty misdemeanor in a September 2014 high-speed driving incident.

Derrick Lehrke, 35, was convicted April 16 of exceeding the speed limit of 65 mph on Hwy. 61. He was driving 110 mph when a Cottage Grove police officer stopped him, according to a complaint filed in Washington County District Court.

Two misdemeanor counts alleging careless driving and speeding were dismissed in a plea agreement. Lehrke lost his City Council seat in November's election.

An related misdemeanor charge of domestic assault against Lehrke, accused of beating his wife Autumn, will be heard in a jury trial May 11.

The public can celebrate Law Day at the Washington County Courthouse on Friday, May 1. The event features a courthouse tour, information fair and Magna Carta quiz.

The event, at 14949 62nd St. N. in Stillwater, is being hosted by Washington County judges, Court Administration and the county Law Library.

Details will be posted at www.co.washington.mn.us/lawlibrary.

Residents can comment on a study of County Road 22, or 70th Street, in Cottage Grove from 4:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, at the Cottage Grove Service Center. The open house will address the corridor between Jamaica Avenue and Manning Avenue.

The county, in coordination with the city of Cottage Grove, is studying the county highway from the east ramp of the Hwy. 61/10 interchange to Manning Avenue. The study will include speed samples, traffic counts, crash rates and steep roadway grades.

The study should be completed by fall, the county said, and construction of a roundabout at Jamaica Avenue is planned for next summer.

An informational open house to review plans for the Point Douglas Regional Trail development will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, at the county's Cottage Grove Service Center, 13000 Ravine Parkway.

Washington County is preparing for 2016 construction of the trail, a 2 ½-mile stretch of abandoned rail bed along the Mississippi River in Denmark Township in southern Washington County. The trail will connect Point Douglas Park on the St. Croix River across from Prescott, Wis., to the new Hastings bridge bike trail.

Comments can be directed to Peter Mott, park planning manager, at 651-430-4328 or by e-mail at peter.mott@co.washington.mn.us.