Twin Cities north metro town briefs: Golf tournament will aid Stepping Stone

Stepping Stone Emergency Housing of Anoka will hold a golf tournament June 2 at TPC of the Twin Cities in Blaine to raise funds in the fight against homelessness. "Par-Tee Fore a Purpose" will have a shotgun start at 1 p.m.

The fee is $250 per golfer and includes cart, greens fees, three-course dinner after the event and other perks. For those wishing to attend the reception/dinner only, the cost is $60 per person.

Registration is available for both options at www.stepping stoneeh.org

Stepping Stone is Anoka County's only adult homeless shelter. The goal of the golf tournament is to raise money for programs and services to help the people who use the shelter be able to thrive and live self-sufficient lives.

Brooklyn Park's first accessible playground for children with special needs will have a grand opening celebration from 6:30 to 7 p.m. today at Northwoods Park, 7600 107th Av. The city says the playground is "part of a plan to promote the city's mission statement, which is Brooklyn Park, a thriving community inspiring pride where opportunities exist for all."

Northwoods Park is also the home of a wheelchair-accessible softball field that opened two years ago and now hosts national wheelchair softball tournaments.

Mike Sable, Brooklyn Park's assistant city manager, has been named Outstanding Assistant of the Year by the Association of Public Management Professionals. The award was presented last week at the annual conference of the Minnesota City/County Management Association.

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held last week for a new Mother Baby Center at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. The $30 million center is an initiative of Allina Health and Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. The targeted opening date is May 2015.

The center will include a Level II special care nursery with private patient rooms. For babies born at less than 34 weeks gestation and those requiring a higher level of care, there will be a transition to and from the Mother Baby Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Children's in Minneapolis.

Allina and Children's says the center will have a number of other features: 10 labor and delivery rooms, 22 postpartum rooms, two large operating rooms, an infant resuscitation room, a newborn nursery, five triage rooms, a family lounge dedicated to families whose baby requires neonatal care, and provider call rooms.

Ultimately, the plan is to move Mercy's current birth center to the new 62,200-square-foot Mother Baby Center attached to the hospital, the operators say.

"Stompin' Out Hunger" — a wine- and beer-tasting event benefiting the Southern Anoka Community Assistance food shelf — will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at the Willow Tree Vineyard and Winery in Ham Lake. The event will also include live music, a silent auction and a live grape stomp. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door. To purchase tickets, go to www.eventbrite.com

Boy Scout Troop No. 211 will partner with Tech Dump, an electronics recycling nonprofit, later this month to collect unwanted electronics as a fundraiser.

Gently used, obsolete or damaged electronics can be dropped off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 31, in the parking lot of Advent Lutheran Church at 9475 Jefferson Hwy., Maple Grove.

Items such as computers, cellphones, electrical cords, internal or external drives, other electronic accessories, TVs and monitors will be accepted. (There is a $15-45 fee for tube TVs and monitors — not flat panels).

Tech Dump will destroy all information and data on the electronics at its facility in Golden Valley.

The fundraiser will support the troop's weekend camping and outing fees, and other supplies.

A prostate cancer support group will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 28, at North Memorial Medical Center, 3300 Oakdale Av. N., Robbinsdale.

Dr. Neal Shore, a urologist from the Carolina Urologic Research Center, Myrtle Beach, S.C., will speak to the group about Provenge, an advanced prostate cancer treatment. A question and answer segment will follow his presentation. There is no charge, and wives, family and friends are welcome to attend. For more information, call 612-388-3588.