South metro town briefs

Donate to food shelves Lakeville Liquors is accepting nonperishable food items through Oct. 31 for the Community Action Council's food shelf. Collection boxes are available at all three store locations.

The Lakeville store is competing with 230 other municipal liquor stores in Minnesota to see which location can collect the most items for their food shelves. The winning liquor store will receive a $2,000 donation to their food shelf.

Customers who donate items will receive a coupon for $1 off their next purchase of $10 or more.

For more information, visit www.ci. lakeville.mn.us and click the food-shelf-drive link.

Dallas Brass in Lakeville The Dallas Brass, a nationally known group of six performers with roots in the Twin Cities area, will appear in Lakeville for the first time tomorrow.

The performance at Lakeville South High School, at 7:30 p.m., is the kick-off for the 2008-09 Lakeville Area Arts Center series.

"The show takes audiences on a colorful musical journey through classical literature, jazz, hip-hop, swing, ragtime, Hollywood and contemporary favorites," according to the arts center. A finale will include nearly 200 high school musicians.

Presentation on levy The superintendent of schools for the Prior Lake-Savage district, Sue Ann Gruver, will give a presentation tomorrow afternoon in downtown Prior Lake on the school levy vote in November.

The event takes place at Club Prior, next to the library. The 1:30 p.m. session begins with an informal 15-minute talk on how the vote would affect taxpayers, how the district is trying to use money carefully, and what will happen if the levy fails.

For more information, call 952-447-9783.

Huffington editor to speak Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor of the liberal news website the Huffington Post, will speak at St. Olaf College in Northfield on Monday. The event, hosted by the Political Awareness Committee, is entitled "Road to 2008: The Presidential Politics of Today." Huffington will talk about the election and politics from a media perspective, organizers said. The 7 p.m. presentation will be held at Boe Chapel at St. Olaf. The event is free. For more information, call 507-786-3999.

Preservation group kickoff A kickoff meeting is Tuesday for a group to be called Friends of McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center.

The group will work with the city's parks department to raise money, provide volunteers and help with resource management and preservation. Those interested may call 952-882-2655.

Details on Concordia classes An information session will cover more details about the recently announced program of offering Concordia University classes in Burnsville.

The Burnsville Higher Education Partnership will start the classes in early 2009. The session on Oct. 30 will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Diamondhead Education Center, 308 W. Burnsville Pkwy., in the Heart of the City.

Those attending will meet concordia faculty and staff and get coffee and treats. For more information or to register, go www.csp.edu/burnsville or call Concordia at 651-641-8888.

Share thoughts on city plan The city of Burnsville is updating its comprehensive plan, a long-range strategic document that assists the city in planning. As part of an ongoing effort to ensure public input, the city is conducting a 2030 comprehensive plan open house from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Pkwy. The open house will allow residents to review maps and documents. City employees will be available to answer questions. Residents may drop in at their convenience; there will no formal presentation.

Court Self-Help Centers are also available at the Galaxie Library, 14955 Galaxie Av., Apple Valley, and the Law Library, 1560 Hwy. 55, Hastings.

The centers provide a computer and telephone that gives instant access to information and forms for family law, basic civil law, criminal expungement, landlord/tenant disputes, conciliation court and more.

And, officials said in a press release, the self-help center provides a link to the court self-help website and a child support calculator. There's a direct-dial telephone to a self-help center where lawyers can answer questions about the website and can talk about procedural issues and forms. They are not, however, allowed to provide free legal advice.

'Creatures of the Night' Stay up after dark with the "Creatures of the Night" Dakota County Parks program. It's at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Schaar's Bluff Gathering Center in Spring Lake Park Reserve, 8395 E. 127th St., Hastings. Participants must be 3 or older. The program is $8 for adults and $4 for children. Registration is required.

Participants will play games, take a guided night hike and learn about animals of the night from a naturalist.

Museum Adventure Pass Dakota County Library is part of the Macy's-sponsored Museum Adventure Pass Program in partnership with other library systems, museums and organizations in the Twin Cities. The Museum Adventure Pass, which can be checked out at your local library, allows free admission to 23 area museums and attractions.

New attractions this year include the Raptor Center on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul Campus, The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary in Minneapolis, and the Minnesota Streetcar Museum -- a trolley that runs between Lake Harriet and Excelsior.

More information is available at your local library or online at melsa.org/museumadventurepass.