Realtor apologizes for use of county logo

Dakota County officials last week were unhappy to see a replica of the county logo on a flier sent to homeowners from a realty firm trying to drum up business.

The Hittner Group of Coldwell Banker apologized and said it would not happen again.

The advertisement displays the Dakota County logo on the top left corner followed on the right by "2013 Property Value Alert" and an invitation for people to find out what their home is worth by calling the Realtor.

"For six long years we've been in the dumps here in the Twin Cities real estate market. Not anymore … values are up,'' the flier says.

Keith Hittner, team leader of the real estate group, said he called the county communications director and said it was not his intention to cause harm.

"We send letters to people all the time about their home values,'' Hittner said. "This particular mailing was sent only to people in Dakota County,'' and the county logo was lifted for that purpose. "It was a mistake,'' he said.

Inver Hills Community College will offer a four-week class open to the community to explore local archaeology and history.

Just 25 percent of class time will be held on the Inver Hills campus in Inver Grove Heights, with the remainder taking place in the field, allowing participants to perform real archaeological work.

Participants also will visit museums and regulators to learn more about the typical work of an archaeologist.

The course is open to community members for a $150 fee. Students seeking credit for the class can enroll at the college's standard rate of $527.19 per credit.

To register, call 651-450-3578. For more information, contact Prof. Jeremy Nienow at jnienow@inverhills.edu or 651-450-3445.

Work started last week on the reconstruction of the intersection of Hwy. 13 and County Road 5 in Burnsville. The first phase of the project will focus on County Road 5.

Williams Drive will be reduced to one lane in each direction for much of that time.

To sign up for e-mail updates on the project, contact Erin Borchert at erin.borchert@co.dakota.mn.us and include "CP 05-41 Updates" in the subject line.

For maps or more information, visit www.co.dakota.mn.us/Transportation/CurrentConstruction/CR5Interchange/Pages/default.aspx or contact Dakota County hwy@co.dakota.mn.us or 952-891-7926.