Metro briefs: Dakota County releases plan for Veterans Memorial Greenway

Dakota County shared plans for its Veterans Memorial Greenway project — a 10-foot wide, multi-use trail that connects Lebanon Hills Regional Park and the Mississippi River in central Dakota County — at a May 10 meeting, opening the 45-day public comment period on the project.

The 5-mile trail segment cuts east to west through residential neighborhoods, parks and rural areas in Eagan and Inver Grove Heights. Ten memorials along the way tell the story of Dakota County's 25,000 veterans.

Memorial locations are spaced out along the trail route and include themes such as Gold Star families, support and allies, missing-in-action veterans and Native American veterans. A memorial may include benches, drinking fountains, restrooms, statues, interpretative signs, a plaza or interactive features.

Construction of the greenway is planned for 2023 through 2025. Public comments on the plan can be emailed to planning@co.dakota.mn.us.

Erin Adler

School hosts first Black Male Summit

Hopkins Public Schools hosted a new event Wednesday designed to empower Black teens.

"We need to be proactive in the conversation on how we address the needs of our Black boys," saidGeorge Nolan, principal at Gatewood Elementary School.

Over 70 students from Hopkins, Robbinsdale, Wayzata and Mounds View attended the event featuring speakers Karl Benson, executive director of One2One, Markus Flynn, executive director of Black Men Teach, Antonio Smith, youth services liaison for the city of Brooklyn Park, and William Hill, executive director of the Minnesota CHILL Foundation.

Nolan said it was powerful for Black teens to engage with successful Black men and discuss careers, education and mental health. He said the district plans to expand the summit next year to two days of professional development in June and invite more schools. He said the goal is to have a statewide and national summit.

Kim Hyatt

City to make 10-year plan

The city last conducted a similar process, called Imagine Roseville 2025, in 2006. Community demographics have changed in the past two decades, prompting city leaders to initiate a new process to plan for the next 10 years.

The city will hire an outside consultant to lead the effort, and has issued a request for proposals. The current budget for the process is $100,000.

"The objective is to ensure that the city's strategic vision is directly informed by the Roseville community," according to a press release.

Shannon Prather

City to honor veterans

The Veterans Memorial will include remarks from Mayor Jeff Wosje, an invocation, music, poetry readings and words to remember families and honor the fallen.

The event will be held at 11 a.m. at the Plymouth Veterans Memorial, 3400 Plymouth Blvd. It also will be livestreamed on the city's Facebook page and broadcast on CCX Media.