West news briefs: Chaska camp will teach kids about safety

The Chaska Police Safety Camp, a two-day program designed to give kids entering second through fourth grades an opportunity to learn about safety in a camp setting, will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 15 and 16 at the Chaska Fire Department.

The event costs $30, which includes lunch and snacks, activities and a camp T-shirt.

Topics will include fire safety, bike safety, personal safety and basic first aid. Presenters will include local police and fire personnel, Ridge­view Medical Center workers, Chaska Community Center lifeguards and representatives of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

For more information, contact the Chaska police or fire departments.

A jazz festival will be part of July offerings from Music in Edina, the newest working group of the City of Edina's Arts & Culture Commission, has kicked off its summer.

"We are very excited about the new Edina Jazz Festival," said Kandace Ellis, chairwoman of Music in Edina. "Edina is filled with talent, and we believe this will be a very popular event."

The Edina Jazz Festival will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, July 12, at the Maetzold Amphitheater and Hughes Pavilion in Centennial Lakes Park, 7499 France Av. S. Featured artists will include Dan Ristrom, vocalist and bassist; Midnight in Moscow, a New-Orleans style ensemble, and award-winning singer Patty Peterson.

The summer Music in the Park events are free and open to the public. Residents and visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets.

The Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society will host an event on the history of the steamboat Minnehaha.

"Tapping History: Pints and Reflections on Lake Minnetonka's Past," the society's monthly event featuring a history expert, will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, July 13, aboard the steamboat Minnehaha. The steamboat, built in 1906 as one of seven "streetcar" boats to ferry visitors to resorts and hotels on the lake, was deemed obsolete in 1926 and purposely sunk into the lake near Big Island. Crews resurrected the boat in 1980, restoring it and providing cruises since 1996.

Volunteers from the Museum of Lake Minnetonka will discuss the boat's history. The boat will board at 6:45 p.m. at Bayside Grill, 687 Excelsior Blvd. Tickets are $20 for historical society members and $35 for nonmembers, and are available at elmhs.eventbrite.com.

For more information, e-mail info@elmhs.org or call 952-221-4766.

The award, considered LMC's highest honor for elected officials, is given out each year to a public official for their vision, statesmanship and commitment to public good, according to the League of Minnesota Cities.

Johnson was elected to the council in 1997, served as deputy mayor and then mayor from 2003-06. In 2008, she ran for a council seat and was recently re-elected. She was also on the League of Minnesota Cities' board of directors for several years, including serving as its president.

The Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners' biennial gala, Spread Your Wings, drew more than $380,000 this year.

The event, which was attended by 450 community members on June 25, helps support the nonprofit's programs and general operating costs. This year's event, which had a superhero theme, featured emcee KARE 11 sports anchor Eric Perkins and a live auction. For more information on IOCP, go to iocp.org.

Union Congregational UCC Church will host an outdoor campfire and singalong, weather permitting, at 6 p.m. July 22. The event will be held in the church's upper parking lot at 3700 Alabama Av. S.

For more information, call the church office at 952-929-8566.

Lowry Nature Center in Carver Park Reserve will host a program on bird banding from 9 a.m. to noon July 18.

It's an opportunity to see songbirds safely trapped, studied, and tagged with numbered rings and released.

This program is free and open to all ages. Children 17 years and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Groups of 10 or more are asked to call Lowry at 763-694-7650 to reserve a start time. Others are free to drop in anytime during program hours.

The presentation, "How Should We Respond to the Pope's Call for Action on Climate Change?" will take place at 11:45 a.m. Saturday, July 11, at the Edina Library, Wayzata Library, Maple Grove Library, Immanuel Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie and at Linden Hills Park in Minneapolis. It will feature a national conference call presentation by Patrick Carolan, the executive director of Franciscan Action Network.

For details and locations of meetings elsewhere in Minnesota, go to citizensclimatelobby-mn.org.