Metro briefs: Coon Rapids police department to get body cameras

Police officers could be wearing body cameras as soon as October after the Coon Rapids City Council passed a resolution allowing the city to enter into a five-year contract with WatchGuard Video Inc.

The contract calls for the city to spend $385,600 for the body-worn camera system and associated services. The cost includes $136,540 up front and $49,812 in subscription fees annually.

Coon Rapids has used WatchGuard for its "In-Car" squad video system since 2018.

Tim Harlow

The St. Francis library is open after a six-week closure for its first major update since the 1980s.

Service resumed Monday after Anoka County gave the interior a fresh paint job and installed new lighting, furniture, flooring and a service desk. The project also included remodeling the public restroom and improving staff areas, including adding office space, storage and an updated break room.

The library will now be open Monday through Saturday year-round, and with more frequent deliveries, "patrons should see a decrease in the time they have to wait for the items they've placed on hold to be available for checkout," said spokeswoman Erin Straszewski.

A reopening celebration will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 18.

Tim Harlow

The Excelsior Morning Rotary Club has donated $75,000 to local nonprofits using proceeds from charitable gaming operations at Maynards in Excelsior and the Narrows Saloon in Orono.

The Minnetonka-based ICA Foodshelf received $25,000. The WeCAN Foodshelf in Mound, the Open Hands Foundation in Excelsior, Family Friends in Minnetonka, Resource West in Hopkins and TreeHouse in Minneapolis each received $10,000.

"Even with all of the disruptions that came with the closing of restaurants and pulltab booths over the last year, our charitable gaming operations … have been successful," said Rotary Club President Jake Sturgis.

Richfield this week unveiled its new Augsburg Adventure Park, which city officials say is one of a few inclusive playgrounds in the metro.

The $750,000 playground — funded by Hennepin County, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Richfield Municipal Liquor — features rubber surfacing, accessible swings, a zipline, play structure ramps, ground-level musical instruments, team swings and "Quiet Grove," a comforting space for children on the autism spectrum.

More than 10% of Richfield's population identify as living with a disability.

"Too often, I heard about families that had to drive miles to find one or two pieces of playground equipment that their child could utilize," said Richfield Recreation Services Director Amy Markle.

Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez said the "barrier-free" playground is a place "for all children to come and have fun."