South metro town briefs

Toys for Tots wraps up FridayLakeville is collecting new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots through Friday at City Hall, the Police Department, the water treatment plant and the central maintenance facility.

The city will turn over the toys to the U.S. Marines for distribution.

Call the city for details at 952-985-4400.

Update sessions on new Hwy. 61 bridgeTwo update sessions will be held next week in Hastings for residents and others who will travel through the city on the new Hwy. 61 bridge being built over the Mississippi River.

Visitors will have an opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback to bridge project staff during the gatherings hosted by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The next informal chat is set for 11 a.m. Monday at Benny's Grill and Coffee Shop, 202 2nd St. in Hastings.

Another session will be held at 9 a.m. on Dec. 22 at Emily's Bakery and Deli, 1212 Vermillion St. in Hastings.

The South St. Paul City Council relies on eight boards and commissions to advise it on a myriad of issues. Some of the panels have representatives whose terms expire during the next few months; they include the planning commission, the parks and recreation advisory commission and the library board.

Applications are available on the city's website at www.southstpaul.org.

Seed Catalog exhibit planned at ArboretumThe Minnesota Landscape Arboretum will be conjuring up memories for many Minnesotans with a new exhibit, "Seed Stories: Catalogs of Life and Gardens in America," displaying seed catalog covers from a century ago.

The exhibit, which opens Jan. 7 and continues through April 3, will include nearly 150 catalog covers, pages and plates.

Seed catalogs once could be found on every parlor table. They were full of folk art, plant portraits and a wide variety of whimsical characters from fairies and gnomes to fair maidens.

"The cover images alone make this collection worth perusing," says Kathy Allen, head librarian of the Arboretum's Andersen Horticultural Library, part of the University of Minnesota Libraries.

Midwestern companies that are represented include Lippincott seeds and Northrup King, both of Minneapolis, and Farmer Seed of Faribault, among others.

The Arboretum is located at 3675 Arboretum Drive in Chanhassen. Admission is $9 for adults, and free for University of Minnesota students and children age 15 and younger. Winter hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Arboretum will be closed on Christmas Day.

KATIE HUMPHREY