West news briefs: School supply collection at STEP

Donations are being sought through Aug. 17 for STEP's annual Back to School Program, which distributes free school supplies to qualifying children who live in St. Louis Park.

Spiral notebooks, crayons and tape are among the many items STEP is collecting to stock backpacks for kids. For a complete list, go to http://www.stepslp.org/.

Supplies can be dropped off at STEP at 6812 W. Lake St. from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday, and from 8 a.m. to noon Friday.

Volunteers who are at least 18 are needed to sort, assemble and distribute school supplies. To volunteer, contact Julie Jergens at jjergens@stepslp.org

The Minnesota Waterfowl Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are offering a Young Waterfowlers program for kids ages 11 to 15 who have never hunted waterfowl or are just getting started.

The only requirement is an interest in hunting birds and successful completion of the offered firearms safety course.

The program's goal is to introduce kids from non-hunting families to waterfowl hunting.

Adult mentors will assist students in training sessions and accompany students on a hunting trip in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge on Sept. 7 or 14.

Class dates are Aug. 20, 22, 27, 28, 29 and Sept. 3 and 5 from 6 to 9 p.m. Classes are at the refuge's Carver Rapids Education and Visitors Center, 15865 Carver Highlands Dr., Carver.

To sign up, submit the youth's name, address, birthday, parent's name, and phone and e-mail contact information to info@mnwaterfowl.com, with Young Waterfowler's Program in the subject line.

Questions can also be answered at 952-767-0320.

The South Lake Minnetonka Police Department will hold a citizens' police academy this fall on Thursday nights starting Sept. 12 and concluding Nov. 21. Ten classes will be held — none on Halloween — with classes starting at 7 p.m. and ending at 9:30 p.m.

Applicants must be at least 18, live or work within the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department jurisdiction and pass a background check. For more information, call Sgt. Mark Geyer at 952-474-3261 or go to www.southlakepd.com for an application.

Salon 300, an annual exhibit at the Hopkins Center for the Arts, again will showcase Minnesota-made artwork submitted but not chosen for the fine arts exhibition at the Minnesota State Fair.

Artists who pick up their unselected artwork at the fairgrounds have the option of bringing it directly to the Hopkins Center for the Arts. All work brought from the fair with a registration form is accepted into the Hopkins show.

A free public opening reception is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday and many of the artists participating in Salon 300 will be on hand. The exhibit will continue through Sept. 1.

The name "Salon 300" stems from the style of exhibition, which stacks work of different shapes and sizes to maximize gallery wall space.

This means that now there are fewer artworks in the pool at the fairgrounds from which Salon 300 draws. So Salon 300 has become a smaller show, but more consistent in terms of quality of work, the Hopkins Center for Art says.

The arts center is at 1111 Mainstreet in Hopkins. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Combining art and nature, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum will host an art crawl Aug. 17-18, with its landscapes and gardens providing the setting for the exhibition.

"Art Crawl Through the Gardens 2013," a show and sale of local arts and crafts, will feature a range of works, from photography and paintings to fabric bags and birdhouses, plus live music. Exhibitors will set up along Three-Mile Drive, and on Sunday, a local group, The BZ Girls, will perform live in the Nelson Shrub Rose Garden from noon to 4 p.m.

Hours for the event are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18. For more information, go to www.arboretum.umn.edu. The arboretum is located 9 miles west of I-494 on Hwy. 5 in Chanhassen.

After 40 years as an illustrator in advertising, Dingler paints in multiple media, including oil, watercolor and acrylic, with subjects ranging from a festival crowd to a lonely barn on a vast field.

The Bloomington Theatre and Art Center is at 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road in Bloomington. The Atrium Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday. There is no admission charge.

For information, go to www.btacmn.org or call 952-563-8575.

Applications for this year's Public Safety Citizens Academy are due by Aug. 30, with the free 12-week course meeting 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays, beginning Sept. 12.

The 36-hour course will cover the work of the police and fire departments.

Applicants must be 18 and live, work or own a business in Plymouth, and all participants must pass a background check.

Space is limited to the first 30 eligible applicants.

For more information, call community relations officer Jim Long at 763-509-5135.

The Plymouth nonprofit Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners (IOCP) will celebrate its annual "Learning for a Lifetime" campaign this month.

Participants can join the center at a hands-on event from 5:30-7 p.m. Aug. 19 (ages 16 and older) or 10–11:30 a.m. Aug. 20 at IOCP, 1605 County Road 101 N., Plymouth.

Register by Aug. 15 at https://iocp.ejoinme.org/LifetimeLearning2013. For more, visit www.iocp.org.

The city of Minnetonka will hold an emerald ash borer information session on Wednesday.

The event will take place from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Minnetonka Community Center, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka.

From 5:30-6:30 p.m., there will be exhibits featuring local tree care companies. From 6:30-7:15 p.m., a city forester will give a presentation on the emerald ash borer. And from 7:15-8 p.m., a panel discussion will take place, followed by a Q&A with panelists from 8-8:30 p.m.