Metro briefs: Cottage Grove picks administrator for 'wealth of knowledge'

Cottage Grove is expected to hire as its new administrator a woman who was a finalist for similar positions several times over the past year.

Charlene Stevens was a finalist in Lakeville, Shakopee and Golden Valley before securing the new position. She was the city administrator for Willmar, Minn., from 2011 to 2015, but was let go earlier this year after it became known that she was applying for work elsewhere.

Stevens bested co-finalist Jeffrey Dahl, assistant city administrator for the city of Chaska since 2012.

Some council members in Shakopee, where demographics are rapidly changing, had been drawn to her background as a Spanish speaker who had forged connections in Willmar, a west central Minnesota city that has turned extraordinarily diverse: 21 percent Hispanic, or four times the figure for Minnesota as a whole.

In a statement, Mayor Myron Bailey described Stevens as bringing "a wealth of knowledge and experience," notably economic development experience.

The city is calling Stevens its "final candidate" until contracts are negotiated. Stevens declined to comment until that happens.

David Peterson

The department recently announced that it received four animal rescue oxygen kits through a donation from Invisible Fence, an electronic pet containment system brand. The kits will debut Thursday with a 7 p.m. training and demonstration at the Apple Valley Municipal Center, 7100 147th St.

Maple Grove's fire department also received a donation from Invisible Fence last month. Soon after, on Aug. 4, first responders saved their first cat with a mask.

Invisible Fence said it has so far donated more than 12,400 pet oxygen masks to fire departments in the U.S. and Canada. Local fire departments can request masks at invisiblefence.com/O2.

Stephen Montemayor

The second annual Plane Pull, in which teams race to pull a 60,000-pound Delta jet across a tarmac, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Proceeds will support Special Olympics Minnesota.

Teams of up to eight individuals will compete in hopes of receiving the fastest time for pulling a jet for 25 feet across the tarmac. To participate, each team must raise at least $1,000 in pledges.

For more information, for volunteer or sponsorship opportunities, or to register a team online, go to planepullmn.org, e-mail molly.swanson@somn.org or call 612-604-1284.

STAFF REPORT

The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is accepting proposals this month and next for grants of up to $25,000.

The Cynthia Krieg Watershed Stewardship Fund assists local community organizations, schools, businesses and nonprofit groups to help others understand the importance of keeping lakes, streams and wetlands healthy. To qualify for funding, proposed activities must be within watershed district boundaries and promote community involvement in natural resource protection.