North news briefs: Anoka County Sheriff's Office will hold open house

Sheriff's Office will hold open houseAn open house will be held from 4-7 p.m. today at the Anoka County Sheriff's Office and Tri-County Forensic Lab in Andover. The Sheriff's Office Public Safety Campus is located at 13301 Hanson Blvd. NW. in Andover.

Among the features and activities will be specialty vehicle displays, building tours and displays of specialty units for SWAT, Dive Team, Crime Scene Unit and Training.

Those who attend are asked to park in the front lot off 133rd Avenue.

New Wal-Mart opening todayA ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:30 a.m. today will mark the opening of a new Wal-Mart store at 1200 Shingle Creek Pkwy. Doors will open immediately afterward. The 186,218-square-foot store will be the anchor to the new Shingle Creek Crossing development that is taking shape at the old Brookdale site. It will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Spaghetti dinner to aid Library FoundationThe Columbia Heights Public Library Foundation will hold a spaghetti dinner today as a fundraiser for a new library.

The dinner will take place from 4:30-7 p.m. at Murzyn Hall, 530 Mill St., Columbia Heights. Tickets are $8 for people ages 13 and above and $5 for ages 5-12.

Tickets can be bought at the door or in advance by calling Cliff at 612-251-9557 or Marlaine at 763-788-4506.

First Lutheran Church of Crystal will host the "Respectful Conversation on the Marriage Amendment" from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at 7708 62nd Av. N. The program is sponsored by the Minnesota Council of Churches.

To pre-register for the event, go to www.mnchurches.org or call 612-230-3344.

Pancreatic cancer group hosts bike rideThe Twin Cities Affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is hosting an annual biking fundraiser this weekend, aiming to raise $350,000 for the national organization.

PurpleRide Twin Cities 2012 will take place Saturday at Elm Creek Regional Park, 12400 James Deane Parkway, Maple Grove.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. The 8-mile ride begins at 10 a.m. and a 25-mile ride begins at 8:30 a.m.; an 8-mile scenic challenge loop will be available during both rides.

The event was started seven years ago by Dave and Dan Breitenbucher, who rode their bikes from coast to coast to honor their mother who died from pancreatic cancer. It has since become an annual event. To learn more about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, go to www.pancan.org.

QCTV offering sports broadcasts, webcastsQCTV, community television serving Anoka, Andover, Champlin and Ramsey, is providing live webcasts of every high school sports event it is recording this fall.

The webcasts are available at www.qctv.org/sports. A number of events also are being broadcast live on Ch. 15.

The webcast schedule for the remainder of this week includes Anoka vs. Champlin Park in girls' and boys' soccer at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, and Totino Grace vs. Anoka in football at 7 p.m. Friday. The football game also is scheduled to be shown live on Ch. 15.

For further information, go to www.qctv.org/sports.

Activities and features include a pancake breakfast, arts and crafts sale, hayrides, music, petting zoo, historical display and more. There will be fireworks at dusk.

Nowthen Park is located at 8588 199th Av. NW.