CHASKA
City and Cricket Club partner on pitch
The city of Chaska and the Chaska Cricket Club have partnered to build a concrete and AstroTurf cricket pitch in the city's McKnight Park.
The city contributed about $10,000 in labor and materials; the Cricket Club has raised more than $7,000 on a GoFundMe page for the AstroTurf and training equipment for youth camps. The club's goal is to raise another $3,000 for batting nets.
The pitch — the central strip of a cricket field between the wickets — is one of a handful in the metro area. Plans are underway to organize youth and adult leagues and possibly host amateur tournaments.
Katy Read
north metro
Grants aim to crack down on auto theft
Several law enforcement agencies in the north metro have received grants from the Minnesota Department of Commerce to fund auto theft investigators.
The Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park police departments and the Anoka County Sheriff's Office were awarded grants through the Commerce Fraud Bureau's Minnesota Auto Theft Prevention Program. Fridley also won a grant to investigate auto thefts in that city and neighboring Spring Lake Park and Columbia Heights.
Money for the program comes from a 50-cent surcharge on comprehensive automobile insurance, said Commerce Department spokeswoman Mo Schriner.
The grants come as theft of cars and catalytic converters is on the rise. On average, 23 cars are stolen every day in Minnesota, the Commerce Department said. In Anoka County alone, car thefts increased 33% in 2020, and there were 12 carjackings last year compared with zero in 2019, said Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo.
