South news briefs: Youth gala to raise money for Dakota County mentors

Kids 'n Kinship, a nonprofit organization that matches children to mentors in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Lakeville and Rosemount, is putting on a youth gala Oct. 6.

The event will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville. The night will feature a performance from The Voice celebrity Tim Mahoney. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom will serve as master of ceremonies, and the event will offer dinner, a silent auction, wine cork pull and purse tag pull.

Tickets are $40 each or $280 for a table of eight, from www.kidskinship2013gala.eventbrite.com. Sponsorships are available.

"We have grown a community through relationships," said Kids 'n Kinship Executive Director Jan Belmore. It is one of nine programs in the state to achieve "expert" status with Mentoring Partnership Minnesota, she said.

The program currently has 70 children matched with a mentor, and at any given time 50 children are on a waiting list.

For more information, go to www.kidsnkinship.org or call 952-892-6368.

Prior Lake's City Council was expected this week to discuss what tone to take with visitors and others on a big new city sign.

The decision was to come after the deadline for this edition, but it concerns a major new monument sign to be erected near downtown as a part of a road realignment of a route leading from Hwy. 13 to the heart of the downtown area.

The proposed dog park at Murphy Hanrehan Park Reserve won't be happening this year.

Savage City Administrator Barry Stock has told council members that he doesn't expect the Three Rivers Parks District, the Hennepin County-based entity that oversees Scott County's regional parks, to review the concept at the board level till October.

"Since fall is rapidly approaching, there is no chance for any improvements yet this year," he said.

Savage's own council, which hopes to partner in the project, won't take the matter up till after the Three Rivers people do.

Open houses are set for early next month at fire stations in Shakopee and Burnsville. In Burnsville's case, it's an event that last year drew 1,200 people.

Shakopee's open house is at Fire Station 1, 2700 Vierling Drive E., from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 5.

The city encourages folks to see what a station is like, meet firefighters and learn about fire protection in the home.

Burnsville's is Oct. 10 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Fire Station No. 1, 911 140th St. W., with parking in the lot at Kohl's.

The theme is preventing kitchen fires, with demonstrations of what can happen, usually from unattended cooking.

Shakopee's City Council has greenlighted engineering work on street reconstruction projects for next year.

The work includes these city streets:

• Seventh Avenue and Shakopee Avenue from Apgar Street to Fuller Street;

• Apgar Street and Scott Street from Seventh Avenue to 10th Avenue;

• Atwood Street from Sixth Avenue to Shakopee Avenue;

• Market Street from Seventh Avenue to 11th Avenue.

At a time when the size of signage is growing as an issue in Shakopee, the City Council has agreed to let two property owners upsize their signs beyond the normal rules.

St. Francis Regional Medical Center and Shakopee Valley Marketplace, both along Marschall Road, got that permission.

The hospital sought changes to cut down on confusion for visitors and to alert passersby to the existence if a previously employee-only farmers market that will now be open to the public as well, city officials say,

The retail area wanted to raise the height of an existing sign to add more space for tenants to let people know they are there.