West news briefs: Hopkins Raspberry Festival fundraiser is Saturday

The Raspberry Festival committee is hosting a spaghetti dinner from 4-7 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at the Hopkins Activity Center to raise money for the Festival's Royalty Scholarship Program.

Doors will open at 3:30. Cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children under 10, with children under 4 free. There will also be bingo with prizes, a silent auction and $1 build-your-own ice cream sundaes.

For more information, call 952-200-5618 or visit www.raspberrycapital.com.

On Tuesday, April 16, author Theresa Weir — who also has written best-selling thrillers under the name Anne Frasier — will speak at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Hopkins on her award-winning memoir, "The Orchard."

The book tells the tale of a young woman who makes a difficult marriage into a farm family. It was a best-seller and an Oprah Book Club selection.

Weir's 7 p.m. talk will be followed by questions and a book sale and signing. The talk is in the church's Fireside Gallery at 715 Minnetonka Mills Road.

For more information, go to www.glconline.org or phone the church office at 952-935-1753.

Bridge Builders is a citizen-led volunteer organization of local individuals, members of community organizations and business people who want to connect with others to improve the Golden Valley with new ideas, partnerships and small projects and activities.

At this meeting, topics include a discussion on the purpose, power and organizational structure of Bridge Builders. There will also be an appeal to community members to serve as ambassadors and volunteers for the May 18 Golden Valley Days Art and Music Festival. The event will conclude with a tour of the Minnesota Department of Transportation facility.

For more information, visit www.goldenvalleymn.gov/community/bridgebuilders/index.php.

A class to help you learn the capabilities of iPhones will be offered at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 16, by the St. Louis Park senior program.

Learn to download applications, how to organize them, how to use the camera and e-mail pictures, and more. The instructor will be Andrea Lee, an adult community education teacher, who will also answer questions you may have and provide one-on-one assistance.

Author Frederick Blanch will appear at the Chaska Library at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 13, to discuss his book, "Last Words," which was nominated for a Minnesota Book Award.

The Chaska Library is located at 3 City Hall Plaza in Chaska. Call 952-448-3886 for more information.

The appearance is part of the Arts in April series funded by Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, also known as the Legacy Amendment.

As part of its effort to emphasize enforcement of basic safety each month this year, Edina patrol officers will be watching for drivers who fail to display their headlights during April.

State law requires all vehicles to display headlights anytime visibility may be impaired by rain or snow, smoke, fog or other conditions. Police will issue warnings to violators, with possible citations in extenuating circumstances.

The city of Edina's Energy & Environment Commission will host a session on "What's Up With the Weather?" on Thursday, April 18, from 7-8:30 p.m. at Edina High School.

Meteorologist Paul Douglas and J. Drake Hamilton, science policy director for Fresh Energy, will talk about "normal weather" vs. "climate change."

The event will begin with a resource fair at 6 p.m. at the school's Fick Auditorium. Xcel Energy, CenterPoint Energy and the Center for Energy and Environment will have information on reducing energy consumption and saving money, and the Energy & Environment Commission will have information on its sustainability efforts.

For more information, call Ross Bintner at 952-903-5713 or visit www.EdinaMN.gov.

Registration is open until April 17 for a knowledge bowl fundraiser organized by Chaska High School senior Mark Meier to benefit friend Tommy Costello, who has been battling cancer for the last year.

There will be five oral rounds with 45 questions per round, a silent auction and pizzas available for $12 each. All money raised will go to a fund split up to support the Costello family's medical bills and a charity of their choice.

The Independence Party of Minnesota 3rd Congressional District will hold its annual meeting and convention on Saturday, April 13, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Shady Oak Meeting Room of the Minnetonka Community Center, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd.

Everyone is invited. For more information, call 952-201-0982 or e-mail Gary Satnan at garysatnan@yahoo.com.

The city of Plymouth is offering grants to promote landscaping strategies that reduce irrigation and storm water runoff. The deadline to apply is April 26.

Property owners, community associations, businesses, schools, non-profits and other community organizations are eligible to apply for the grants. Up to $500 may be awarded for eligible projects. The total amount available in 2013 is $5,000.

For more information, go to plymouthmn.gov/greenup or call 763-509-5500.

Our Savior Lutheran Church & School in Excelsior is sponsoring a free seminar on Internet and cell phone safety for kids and teens from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 12.

This workshop will show parents how to address issues of Internet access, screen time and cell phone use, and their impact on children's values and beliefs.

It will be feature Jim and Lynne Jackson, founders of Connected Families and co-authors of "How to Grow a Connected Family and Discipline that Connects with Your Child's Heart."

Our Savior Lutheran is located at 23290 Hwy. 7 in Excelsior. For more information, contact Lindsey Hudson at 952-465-4194 or lhudson22@hotmail.com or visit www.oslcs.org.

There are prizes for the biggest crappie, a silent auction to benefit the American Diabetes Association of Minnesota, a raffle, music and free prizes for kids 14 and under.

Registration is $5. For more information and to register, go to www.mnlakeparty.com.

The Golden Valley Rotary Club's 2013 FUNdraiser will take place at 6 p.m. May 3 at the Golden Valley Golf and Country Club, helping to raise money for scholarships to local students and teachers in Robbinsdale and Hopkins.

The "Songs for Scholarships" event, which will take place at the country club at 7001 Golden Valley Road in Golden Valley, will include a live auction, raffle and entertainment by the Optimum Trajectory Jazz Quintet.

Money raised at past events has benefited students and teachers at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, but this year the Rotary club is expanding the scholarship program to include Hopkins High School because the school district also overlaps with half of the city.