South metro town briefs

A tasty tour A growing effort to create a distinct identity around the Minnesota River and its history will feature a self-guided drive this weekend that takes in sites from Scott County all the way down to Mankato and around the bend to the area around Redwood Falls.

It's being called the Minnesota River Wine, Beer, and History Trail. And the event, Friday through Sunday, is dubbed Sips of History. The sipping, en route, includes wine, beer, tea and water-- at wineries, a brewery and other sites.

Stops include a new wine operation, the Crofut Family Winery, on a 63-acre spread south of Prior Lake, which offers visitors a renovated 1886 barn and a farmhouse built in 1872.

Details can be found at http://mnriverwinebeerhistorytrail.com.

Early childhood parenting class River Hills United Methodist Church will offer a "Love and Logic" parenting class open to all parents, grandparents and guardians in the community who care for children through age 6. The class will run from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings for five weeks, Oct. 22 to Nov. 19, at the church in Burnsville.

Early childhood special education teacher Erica Triebenbach will lead the class. "Love and Logic parenting techniques teach you how to share control while still being the parent, share decision making, apply empathy before delivering consequences, and provide opportunities for building strong self-concept," a press release says. Child care will be provided.

River Hills UMC is at 11100 River Hills Drive -- the intersection of Hwy. 13 and River Hills Drive in Burnsville. For more information, call the church at 952-890-2515.

Scott County and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community are teaming up to reconstruct County Road 83, expanding it from two to four lanes from County Road 42 to County Road 16.

The work won't close the road, but it will last a long time -- tentatively, from June to November of next year. The Prior Lake City Council will consider the issue later this year.

Scott County invites folks interested in the project to an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. tomorrow at Sun Path Elementary School, 2550 17th Av. E., Shakopee. Call project manager Daniel Jobe at 952-496-8345 for more information.

Steamboat history program Steamboat travel on the Minnesota River will be the topic of an educational program on Saturday at the Landing -- Minnesota River Heritage Park, formerly Historic Murphy's Landing.

Guided Tours of Eagle Creek Village will be held at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., before and after the steamboat program, which runs from 1 to 2 p.m. The cost for all activities is $5 per person.

Help name public parks Prior Lake's Parks Advisory Committee is looking for suggestions about what to name two public parks.

One is the rain garden behind City Hall; the other is the park at Shepherd's Path. Those interested in having a go at it may consult the city's Park Naming Policy (www.cityofpriorlake.com/documents/naming_policy.pdf) and use a form online (www.cityofpriorlake.com/documents/naming_form.pdf) as the format for submitting ideas.

Assistant City Administrator Kelly Meyer (kmeyer@cityofpriorlake.com) is taking ideas. The deadline is Oct. 24.

DAVID PETERSON