North news briefs: Lyric Arts cabaret fundraiser is May 10-11

Lyric Arts Main Street Stage in Anoka will hold its annual cabaret fundraiser with shows this Friday and Saturday, May 10-11.

The show has the tongue-in-cheek title, "Another Lyric Arts Salute to Broadway Musicals We Can't Afford to Produce." Doors will open at 6 p.m. each day, with a silent auction and other festivities. The show will begin at 7:30.

Tickets start at $50 and are $60 for box seats and table seating. Call 763-422-1838 or go to www.lyricarts.org.

Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park will be the setting for the fourth annual Mental Wellness 5K Walk on Saturday, May 18. May is Mental Health Month, and the walk is sponsored by the Mental Wellness Campaign for Anoka County.

The walk will begin at 11 a.m. at Pavilion 3 at the park, which is located at 9750 Egret Blvd. in Coon Rapids. On-site registration will be available beginning at 10 a.m., and a short program will be held at 10:30 with featured speaker Sue Abderholden, executive director of NAMI, MN (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill).

Registration fee is $15 for individuals, $25 for families. In addition to on-site registration, you can preregister at http://mwcac.org/calendar_walkregis ter.html.

Proceeds will be used to support outreach activities of the Mental Wellness Campaign, a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to increase awareness that mental health is as important as physical health.

The seminar is hosted by Safe Kids Anoka County and will be presented by Alison Feigh from the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center. Feigh says the presentation will focus on strategies that work when parents talk to children and teens about personal safety.

For further information about Safe Kids Anoka County, go to www.safekidsanoka.org.

A community engagement conversation will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at Brooklyn Park's City Hall.

Rescheduled from a snowy April 11, the discussion will center on how to increase the quality of civic participation among African immigrants and other underrepresented groups.

The forum also will match participants' interests to volunteer opportunities and community causes.

Other sponsors are Brooklyn Park's Diversity Team, the Diversity and Equity Department of North Hennepin Community College, and the Northwest Civic Engagement Coalition.

The Columbia Heights Public Library Foundation will hold its 2013 fundraising effort this Friday through Monday, May 10-13, in conjunction with Linder's Greenhouse Garden Center and all Flower Marts.

If you make purchases at Linder's and present a coupon from the library, a portion of the money will go to the foundation to help with building a new library.

Coupons can be picked up at the library at 820 40th Av. NE. For further information, call the library at 763-706-3690.

Fridley officials signed a contract last week with Walter (Wally) Wysopal, who will start as city manager on June 17.

He moved his family to Fridley six years ago and said he is looking forward to working on housing and commercial development near the Northstar Commuter Rail station and other projects.

His annual salary will be $125,400, said Human Resources Director Deborah Dahl. He will receive a car allowance of $4,200 a year and the standard benefits package available for full-time city employees, Dahl said.

Wysopal will be the city's ninth manager since 1954, said City Clerk Deb Skogen. He succeeds Bill Burns, who retired in December after 24 years in the job.

Robbinsdale Cooper and Armstrong high schools will hold a Relay for Life from 6 p.m. Saturday, May 18, to 6 a.m. Sunday, May 19, at the Cooper Stadium in New Hope.

The event is one of many Relays for Life around the world that raise money for the fight against cancer and honor survivors and those who have lost their lives to the disease.