West metro town briefs: Books and CDs sought for Book'Em sale

Book'Em, the annual sale that benefits crime prevention efforts in Bloomington, is seeking donations of books, CDs, DVDs, games and puzzles for its June 7 to 21 sale.

Items can be dropped off during normal business hours through June 5 at Bloomington Civic Plaza, city elementary schools, the Jefferson and Kennedy high school activity centers, Southdown and Valley West shopping centers and other locations.

This year's sale is at 810 W. 78th St., Richfield, the former Border's Books site at Lyndale Avenue S. and Interstate 494. Donations will be accepted there from April 25 to June 13, Mondays and Thursdays from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, additional drop-off sites and a list of items that will not be accepted, go to www.bcpamn.org, e-mail bookem@bcpamn.org or call 952-220-2537.

Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead will discuss his 2014 State of the City presentation April 9 from 10 to 11 a.m. at Creekside Community Center, 9801 Penn Av. S.

Coffee and treats will be provided. Reservations are required by calling 952-563-4944, TTY 952-563-4933 or e-mailing reservations@bloom ingtonmn.gov.

Throughout April, Eden Prairie Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens is challenging Eden Prairie residents to conserve water, energy and natural resources by participating in the Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation.

The winning cities can qualify for prizes, including a Toyota Prius, Toro smart irrigation controllers, low-flow shower heads, gift cards and water-saving products. For more information, go to edenprairie.org/livinggreen.

Several thousand used books for adults and kids will be on sale Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 301 County Road 19 in Excelsior.

The selection includes fiction and nonfiction in hardcover and paperback and other media. Some materials were withdrawn from the library system while others were donated. Most items will be priced at $1 or less. Customers using scanners must pay a $5 fee.

The Friends of the Excelsior Library sale benefits the library and supports library classes, youth book clubs and author events. For more information, call 612-543-6350.

Five area Rotary clubs will hold a charity food-packaging event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at the Eisenhower Community Center, 1001 Hwy. 7, Hopkins.

For more information, go to www.outreachprogram.org. Sign-up for volunteers is at http://datakraftsystems.com.

This month, the League of Women Voters Edina's public meetings focus on the future of the Grandview District, the center of which is the city's former public works site at 5146 Eden Avenue.

There has been debate about whether the roughly three-acre site should be redeveloped for something like housing, devoted to public purposes or be the site of mixed-use development.

The meetings will focus on possible uses for the site, how that process will work and citizen input. Meetings are Thursday, April 10, at the Edina Senior Center and Saturday, April 12, at Edina City Hall. Both meetings are from 9:45 to 11:30 a.m.

For more information, visit LWV Edina on Facebook or www.lwvedina.org.

Volunteers act as one-on-one tutors and provide research-based interventions to students in kindergarten to third grade who are just below proficiency levels in reading. Tutors receive training, a stipend and an education award that is applicable toward federal student loans or postsecondary tuition.

For more information, visit www.minnesotareadingcorps.org or contact Anna Peters at apeters@mnedc.org or by calling 612-206-3034.

The Edina Human Rights & Relations Commission and World Without Genocide will host a series of events to remember victims and honor survivors, rescuers and liberators of the Holocaust and other genocides. The events are free and open to the public.

On Tuesday, April 8, the interactive play "Upstanders: Ten Who Dared," a performance of resistance music from the Holocaust and the story of a youth resistance movement in Nazi Germany, will be presented from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Edina Senior Center, 5280 Grandview Square.

On Thursday, April 10, the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide will be marked with a presentation by Ellen Kennedy, executive director of World Without Genocide. The program is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Edina City Hall, 4801 W. 50th St.

For more information, contact City Manager Intern Annie Coyle at 952-826-0429 or acoyle@edinamn.gov.

A new choice for primary care has opened in Golden Valley with this week's opening of Hennepin County Medical Center's Golden Valley Clinic, located in the Spring Gate Shopping Center at 5653 W. Duluth St.

With 16 examination rooms and lab and radiology services, the new 9,000-square-foot clinic offers comprehensive primary care services as well as complementary treatment options like chiropractic care and acupuncture.

"We carefully chose this location because many of our patients live in the west metro area," said Dr. Bryan Nelson, one of the new providers at Golden Valley Clinic. "We are very excited to make HCMC's clinical care services more convenient for them."

The Blake School will be host to author Richard Preston at a free public event at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, at its Upper School campus, located at 511 Kenwood Pkwy., Minneapolis.

The Methodaires, a show choir made up of community volunteers and staff from Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital, will be performing two benefit concerts to raise money for cancer care.

The concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. April 4 and 2 p.m. April 5 at the Hopkins High School theater in Minnetonka. General admission is $15 for adults and $10 for children and seniors; tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.pnfounda tion.parknicollet.com/method aires. Proceeds will go toward integrative treatments such as music therapy for patients at Park Nicollet's Frauenshuh Cancer Center.

The 13th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for the St. Louis Park Emergency Program (STEP) is Thursday, April 10, at Westwood Lutheran Church, 9001 Cedar Lake Road, St. Louis Park.

Visitors can eat a simple meal of soup and bread from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. They will receive a bowl and can make a free-will donation to STEP.

The event is the biggest fund­raiser of the year for STEP, which has a food shelf and provides other services to vulnerable people.

Empty Bowls raises over $26,000 annually and provides direct assistance to over 4,000 STEP clients. For more information, go to www.stepslp.org.

The Richfield Farmers Market is signing up vendors for its Wednesday market at 6400 Lyndale Ave S.

The market runs each Wednesday from 2 to 7 p.m. from June 4 to Sept. 10. The market needs produce from local growers and farmers; specialty food products like jams, honey, meat and cheese; food trucks and food vendors to sell food to eat on site and arts and crafts vendors. All vendors must be located within 200 miles of Richfield.

Application forms, information about fees and other information is at www.rich fieldfarmersmarket.org. All application materials must be turned in by 5 p.m. on April 11.

For more information, e-mail farmersmarket@cityof richfield.org or call 612-861-9362.

On April 2, David Allen Sibley, author of "The Sibley Guide to Birds: Second Edition," will speak at 7 p.m. at the Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. SE., Minneapolis. Tickets are required, and are available at www.bookcaseofwayzata.com.

At 7 p.m. April 11, W.J. (Wendy) Johnson, author of "Yarn Works: How to Spin, Dye, and Knit Your Own Yarn," will speak at the Bookcase, 824 E. Lake St., Wayzata.

At 7 p.m. April 16, Michelle Newman, co-author of "I Just Want to Be Alone," will speak at the Bookcase in Wayzata followed by a 7 p.m. April 19 event with Stew Thornley, author of "Minnesota Twins Baseball: Hardball History on the Prairie," and a 2 p.m. April 27 event with Joe Bissen, author of "Fore! Gone. Minnesota's Lost Golf Courses."

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