West news briefs: March of Dimes walk set at Mall of America

The March of Dimes' annual March for Babies will be held Saturday, April 25, at the Mall of America.

For the first time, walkers from all over southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities will come together under one roof. Bringing nine March for Babies events from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, Austin/Albert Lea, Red Wing, Rice/Steele counties, Rochester, Winona, Mankato, Marshall and New Ulm enables the March of Dimes to combine resources to provide a good experience for walkers — without weather worries.

Registration will begin at 7 a.m., with the walk beginning at 8 a.m. To register for the walk, go to marchforbabies.org.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum usually is closed to canines except for service dogs, but every dog is about to have its day there.

On "All About Dogs Day," from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday dogs will be allowed entry into the arboretum for festivities that include a vendor fair, a meet-the-breeds event and a stroll on Three-Mile Drive.

Advance registration is requested at arboretum.umn.edu/dogday.aspx. The preregistration fee offered until noon Friday is $20 for members and $25 for nonmembers for each dog. Walk-in registration is $30 for members and $35 for nonmembers. Registration includes a doggy goody bag and professional pet portrait from Little Saints Photography.

For more information, call 952-443-1400.

The forum, which is being held by the Community Action Partnership of Suburban Hennepin, the city of Eden Prairie and Oasis for Youth, will take place from 11 to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Southdale Library in Edina. Community members, churches, school personnel, libraries, health workers and agencies are encouraged to attend.

It includes a lunch and report of youth services available in southwest Hennepin County. Afterward, there will be a resource fair featuring 23 organizations. To RSVP, contact 952-697-1364.

The Arden Park neighborhood has completed the process to become a city-recognized neighborhood association. Edina now has nine recognized neighborhood associations: Arden Park, Creek Knoll, Chowen Park, Countryside, Concord, Morningside, Normandale Park, Pamela Park and Strachauer Park.

To become a recognized association, neighborhoods must establish an organizing team of interested and involved members, notify city staff, host a neighborhood meeting and submit an application. For more information about establishing a neighborhood association, contact MJ Lamon at 952-826-0360 or mlamon@EdinaMN.gov.

ResourceWest will hold its annual fundraiser, Journey With Us, at Pique Travel, 362 3rd St. in Excelsior, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday.

Cargill Risk Management is helping to sponsor the event. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door and can be purchased at www.resourcewest.org/event/2015-fundraiser/ or by calling 952-933-3860.

Chaska resident Tom LeMay has been awarded the Three River Park District's Distinguished Volunteer Service Award for his contributions as a beekeeper, bluebird monitor and program assistant at Richardson and Lowry Nature Centers and the Outdoor Recreation School.

LeMay been a volunteer for Three Rivers for seven years. In that time, he has volunteered a total of 1,493 hours, including 301 hours in 2014.

"I became a volunteer to be outside as much as possible and to help others enjoy and appreciate the outdoors," LeMay said. He said it's the appreciation of young people that he most enjoys.

The Plymouth Crime and Fire Fund and Plymouth Lion's Club Partner are donating $5,700 to buy tactical first aid kits and training for the Plymouth SWAT Team.

The League of Women Voters of Golden Valley will hold its annual meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 1, at Plymouth City Hall, 3400 Plymouth Blvd. There will be a joint breakfast event with the Wayzata-Plymouth League. Cost is $10. At 9:30 a.m., Gillian Rosenquist will speak on: "The Origins of the League of Women Voters from the Women's Suffrage Movement." At 10:15 a.m., the two leagues will hold separate business meetings. The public is welcome. For reservations, call LWVGV president Marti Micks at 651-224-5445.

Four police officers who responded to a November 2013 shooting were recently awarded Medals of Valor — the highest award an officer can receive.

Deputy Chief Chris Fischer awarded Police Chief Correy Farniok, Officers Brad Schoenherr, Paul Hooper and Josh Needham the Medal of Valor at a March 23 City Council meeting, given to officers who "intelligently and knowingly performs a courageous act of personal bravery at hazard to life under circumstances evidencing a disregard for personal consequences."

The four officers responded to the home of Stephen Larson, 74, who was shot inside his home by Ted C. Hoffstrom on Nov. 15, 2013. Hoffstrom, 30, of St. Anthony, was standing outside the home when officers arrived. Police said "diligent attempts to negotiate" with Hoffstrom failed, and he reached for a handgun before he was shot by officers. A Hennepin County grand jury later cleared the officers in the fatal shooting of Hoffstrom.

The eighth-annual Wine on Wayzata Bay event will raise money for the Wayzata Community Sailing Center, one of the largest community sailing centers in the Midwest.

A new exhibit, "Abstraction in Action," will open Thursday at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts. The exhibit, which will be open until May 14, is free and open to the public at the center, 2240 North Shore Dr., Wayzata.

It features several artists, and all artwork will be for sale. A reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. April 23. For more information, go to minnetonkaarts.org.

After holding five open houses on for the Southwest Corridor light-rail station designs, planners are accepting input until April 28 on the 17 stations to be along the 16-mile line from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie.

Each station is expected to be one of four station types. To view the meeting presentation, go to http://bit.ly/1O0b8D3; more meeting materials are at http://bit.ly/1FtQR9U. To provide comment, fill out an online form at http://bit.ly/1I0mNQI.

The line, which will pass through St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka before ending in Eden Prairie, is slated to open in 2019.