South metro briefs: New transit service debuts in South St. Paul

A new circulating bus service will begin May 24 serving South St. Paul seniors. The South St. Paul LOOP will offer planned stops on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a hourly loop schedule. Riders may also request a stop nearby. Residents can catch the bus at five senior housing developments in South St. Paul and take it to the grocery store, pharmacy, library or restaurants.

The route also links up to the West St. Paul LOOP.

The buses have a lift for wheelchairs and provide door-to-door service. The requested fare is $2 a day. Sponsors of the service include the St. Paul Foundation, Bolton and Menk, Sandy and Jerry Meyer and ProRx Pharmacy.

A ribbon cutting for the service is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. May 24 at Central Square Community Center (100 7th Av. N., South St. Paul), which is one of the LOOP's stops. Several speakers, including Mayor Jimmy Francis, plan on attending.

Erin Adler

Dakota County will hold an open house from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the banquet room at the Rosemount Community Center (13885 S. Robert Trail, Rosemount) to hear public comments about its Rich Valley Greenway Master Plan, as well as the Central Greenway connectivity study.

The Rich Valley Greenway will connect Lebanon Hills Regional Park to the Mississippi River. The deadline for public comment on the draft of the Rich Valley Greenway Master Plan is July 1.

Both studies should be completed this summer. Their recommendations will be considered for implementation over the next two decades.

The county says it has been turning trails into a 200 mile network of "multifunctional greenway corridors that provide recreation, nonmotorized transportation, cultural interpretation, habitat value and water quality improvement." For information, see www.hkgi.com/projects/dakota.

Erin Adler

The Dakota County community services committee met May 8 and approved the creation of a leadership work group to address the need for emergency shelter among single men, women and young adults.

Emergency shelters in Dakota County and other metro counties are seeing more homeless people on waiting lists and the annual homeless count also shows more individuals living in cars or sleeping outside, according to a Dakota County Board memo.

In December 2016 and January 2017, four Dakota County churches set up a rotating, temporary shelter because of the freezing temperatures. That shelter ran for 32 nights and served 78 people.

The community services division suggests addressing the needs of Dakota County's homeless with a permanent shelter. This leadership work group will look into that possibility. The group will involve 11 people, including county commissioners, county staff, faith community representatives, and a person who has been homeless.

They will meet from May through September and prepare a report for the County Board in October. The item will appear on a future County Board meeting agenda for final approval.

Erin Adler

The Dakota County Library is introducing a text messaging notification service to alert customers when they have an overdue item, a hold, a fine or need to renew their materials. Notifications are currently sent out by phone or e-mail. The new service is provided through Shoutbomb and can be sent in Spanish. The service is free, but regular texting fees apply. To sign up, visit www.dakotacounty.us/library or call 651-450-2900.

Dave Osberg, Eagan's city administrator since 2013, has received an award for his management skills. The Minnesota City/County Management Association presented Osberg on May 4 with its highest honor, the Dr. Robert A. Barrett Award for Management Excellence. Osberg began his career as an intern for Eagan before working in Waterville and St. James and moving on to serve as city manager in Hastings for 24 years. He was nominated by his peers for "building strong ties with people and his passion for the profession," according to an Eagan news release.