West news briefs: Immigrants to tell their stories Oct. 21

Stories of Minnesota immigrants will be told from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Normandale Hylands United Methodist Church, 9920 Normandale Blvd. The free event will feature five individuals sharing their personal stories of immigration to Minnesota from countries including Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Refreshments will be provided.

The event is open to the public; preregister at eventbrite.com/e/our-journey-to-america-tickets-13018202795. The forum is co-sponsored by the Bloomington Human Rights Commission, the Al-Farooq Youth and Family Center, Normandale Hylands United Methodist Church and the Bloomington League of Women Voters.

Swiss artist René Küng will talk about his work and life from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The 80-year-old artist is coming to the arboretum to oversee the installation of two of his pieces in the Harrison Sculpture Garden.

The installation completes the sculpture garden of 26 contemporary works donated by philanthropists Alfred Harrison and Ingrid Lenz Harrison of Wayzata. It is located at the Arboretum's High Point.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is home to five of Küng's works. "Stone Arch" (1995, limestone) and "Stone Harp" (1993, limestone) have now joined "Sahara Variation" (2004, iron), "Canto a Cinque Voci" (2000, copper) and "Night Sign" (1996, bronze).

The Küng event is $10 for members and $25 for nonmembers. To reserve a spot, go to www.arboretum.umn.edu/renekungconversation.aspx or call 612-301-1210.

The Friends of the Edina Library will hold a used-book sale on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 25-26, at the library, 5280 Grandview Square. Thousands of adult and children's hardcover and paperback books will be on sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. that Saturday. A bag sale — all the books that fit into a bag for $5 — will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Edina's Day of Service — a communitywide event dedicated to providing volunteer service to Edina residents — will be held Saturday, Oct. 25. Projects will include leaf-raking for elderly residents, school and church ground fall cleanups and garden composting, home energy audits, highway litter cleanups and stocking food shelves.

All are welcome to join the daylong event. For more information or to register, go to www.edinadayofservice.org.

There are four contested elections for Hennepin County judgeships in the Fourth Judicial District this fall. They are: Seat 16 — Judge James Moore and Bruce Michael Rivers; Seat 43 — Bridget Ann Sullivan and Paul Scoggin; Seat 53 — Bev Benson and Chris Ritts; and Seat 61 — Beverly Aho and Amy Dawson.

The public is invited to hear the candidates at a forum from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, at Golden Valley City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road The event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters-Golden Valley. For more information, call 763-546-7930.

The city of Maple Grove is seeking volunteers for its annual effort to remove invasive buckthorn.

Volunteers are asked to bring heavy gloves and pruning shears or saws. For more information, call Frank Kampel at 763-494-6365.

The Junior League of Minneapolis has named Barbara "Babs" Koch as the recipient of its 2014 Katharine Phelps Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes "an outstanding leader in the Junior League of Minneapolis who throughout her lifetime has used her talents and resources to improve the social and economic conditions of others," the league says.

Koch's primary areas of volunteer commitment include spiritual development, human welfare activities, youth development, education and aspects of animal welfare, the league said. She has been a member of the league since 1957.

A Minnetonka church recently celebrated two new rain gardens.

St. Luke Presbyterian Church installed the rain gardens thanks to a $20,625 grant from the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. The grant covered 75 percent of the project costs; the rest will be funded by St. Luke's Sustainability Focus Group.

WeCAN for Empty Bowls, a fundraiser to support the WeCAN Mobile Market, will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Mainstreet Gathering Place, 5221 Shoreline Drive, Mound, next door to the WeCAN office. A soup and bread meal has been donated by Scotty B's Restaurant in Mound. The event will feature a silent auction, including bowls made by local artists; kids' activities, and tours of the WeCAN facility. Donations will be accepted.

The Plymouth Police Department is now accepting applications for police reserve officer positions.

The volunteer reserves, who must be at least 21 years old and pass an extensive background check, do 15 hours of volunteer service a month and attend one monthly meeting. They volunteer at community events to provide security or traffic direction, assist patrol officers, and play roles in scenario-based police training exercises, among other duties. To apply or get more information, contact Sgt. Jeff Dorfsman at jdorfsman@plymouthmn.gov or 763-509-5669.

Peace Lutheran Church in Watertown is throwing a bake sale and staging a comedy in coming weeks.

Its fall bazaar and bake sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at the church at 600 Kristi Lane. It will feature handmade crafts and homemade baked and canned goods. The play "Looney Lutherans" will be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at the church. Tickets are $15 (price includes dessert and beverage after the show). For more information, call 952-955-3434 or go to www.plcwatertown.com.

Willcox, a Minneapolis native and retired U.S. Navy captain, has been the west metro suburb's mayor since 2008.

Before then, he was on the City Council starting in 2004 and on the city's Planning Commission starting in 2001. Willcox also owns and operates two manufacturing companies, Delta Waseca Inc. and Tartan Transportation Systems Inc.

Wayzata-based Merrill Lynch Wealth Management firm Boyd, Bencini, Gibbons & Associates is hosting a free seminar on breast cancer awareness Oct. 23.

The event, "Living Life Well — The Organization Correlation," will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 23 at The Lafayette Club, 2800 Northview Road, Minnetonka Beach.

The seminar will focus on breast cancer awareness, women's financial education and empowerment, and will highlight Park Nicollet's Jane Brattain Breast Center and Be Pink Wayzata, which strive to raise awareness and research a cure for breast cancer. Attendees must preregister to Stephanie Starcevich at stephanie_l_starcevich@ml.com.

Deephaven City Council candidates Darel Gustafson, Tony Jewett and Dale Moe will be part of a forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, at Deephaven City Hall, 20225 Cottagewood Road

Excelsior City Council candidates John Beattie, Todd Carlson, Jennifer Caron and Bruce Kelly will participate in a forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30 at 5735 Country Club Rd, Shorewood.