Twin Cities metro briefs: Minnehaha Creek cleanup

Volunteers are needed for the eighth-annual Minnehaha Creek cleanup event June 29.

This year, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District hopes to collect 3 tons of trash from the creek and Minneapolis lakes. The event is sponsored by the Watershed District and the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company's Canoes for a Cause campaign, in partnership with Metro Blooms.

Volunteers will receive a free T-shirt, water bottle, trash bags and gloves. Leinenkugel's will provide a free BBQ lunch at 11:30 a.m. at Lake Hiawatha Park, along with prizes for children and adults.

Volunteers can meet at locations in St. Louis Park, at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and at Lake Hiawatha.

For more information on locations and to RSVP, go to www.minnehahacreek.org/cleanup.

KELLY SMITH

Would-be members of the school board in Minneapolis have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to file their candidacy for the job. Candidates may file in Room 201 of City Hall, 350 S. 4th St. They must pay a $20 fee.

Only the DFL endorsee has filed so far to run for each of the three seats in districts representing the eastern half of the city.

They are incumbent Jenny Arneson in the East Side district, Siad Ali in the city's midsection, and Nelson Inz in the Nokomis area.

The St. Croix River Association and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum will offer an Earth Partnership for Schools workshop Aug. 4-8 in the St. Croix River watershed.

Participating teachers from Minnesota and Wisconsin will learn how to plant and use restored native habitats and/or rain gardens on school grounds and nearby riparian, wetland and shoreline areas.

Ecological restorations taught in the workshop will explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics, social studies, art and more, organizers said. The workshop features a K-12 curriculum. There is no cost.

kevin giles

The grand opening of Whitetail Woods Regional Park, the metro area's newest regional park, has been set for Sept. 27.

The opening of the 456-acre park south of Rosemount and east of Farmington will be marked with activities and entertainment from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The county is expecting 500 to 1,000 people for the event and has budgeted about $22,000 to promote and stage the opening.

Work is underway now to transform the open land into a park. Facilities being built in the first phase of the park development include camper cabins, restrooms, a picnic area and shelter and trails. Work is expected to be finished in time for an unofficial opening of the park in August, county officials have said.