SUN Thisweek Apple Valley and Rosemount

Apple Valley | Rosemountwww.SunThisweek.com

July 6, 2012 | Volume 33 | Number 19

General Information 952-894-1111

Distribution 952-846-2070Display Advertising

952-846-2011Classified Advertising

952-846-2000

Opinions . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A

Announcements . . . . . . 6A

ThisWeekend . . . . . . . . 10A

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12A

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . 14A

Public Notices . . . . . . . 17A

Online

index

OpiniOn

Look for a photo slideshow from events related to Apple Valley Freedom Days and the big parade on July 4 .

Rosemount Leprechaun Days special section will be posted in PDF format when its published July 13 .

Sun Thisweek’s Facebook page offers local residents a chance to comment on featured stories at facebook .com/sunthisweek .

Health care law overcomes oddsA former Republican U .S . senator from Minnesota says provisions of Affordable Care Act will remain .

Page 4A

longtime eagle coach to northWalt Weaver, the longtime coach at Apple Valley High School, has accepted a job coaching at Lakeville North .

Page 12A

The magic of ‘Cinderella’Eagan High School Summer Community Theatre presents the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical this month .

Page 10A

THiSweekend

SpOrTS

Wills aims to put Capitol experience to work

by Tad JohnsonSUN THISWEEk

Anna Wills, the Republi-can candidate in House Dis-trict 57B, has seen the state Capitol at work from the in-side . As a legislative assistant in the 2012 session for state Sen . Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake, Wills has seen how much work goes into the position she is seeking this fall . In addition to seeing the effort that went into the 60-some bills Benson was an author or co-au-thor for, Wills has learned what is-sues are of concern to residents by fielding a wide range of constitu-ent communications . On the top of the list are jobs, taxes and education . “People are concerned about the economy,” she said . “They are working hard to make ends meet and pay their mortgage each month .” Wills said she understands those concerns firsthand as she and her husband are doing the same for their Apple Valley townhome .

Wills said she worked two part-time jobs before ac-cepting her new position at the Capitol . “They are look-ing for help,” she said of people who call their legislator . “Often we are their last stop .”

In some cases, Wills said she would like to help more, but can’t because of legal constraints and then refers people to those agencies that can help . She said reducing taxes on busi-nesses will create more jobs as they will be able to invest more in their workforce . Since next year is a budget year, she said the Legislature needs to evaluate programs to ensure they are cost-effective . Working at the Capitol also has helped Wills develop working rela-tionships with legislators on both sides of the aisle . “I want to hear all ideas to find solutions,” Wills said . The Apple Valley resident since

by Tad JohnsonSUN THISWEEk

Jeff Wilfahrt, the DFL candidate in House Dis-trict 57B, came to the race through a very personal rea-son . The much-publicized story of his U .S . Army sol-dier son’s death in Afghanistan in February 2011 put Jeff and his wife, Lori, into the spotlight when they felt it was important to tell his story as the Legislature considered a constitutional amendment ballot measure to define marriage as be-tween one man and one woman . Jeff testified against the mea-sure and told lawmakers about his son Andrew, who was gay . “I took that as an affront to my son,” Wilfahrt said of the amend-ment, which will be before voters in November . He said the state constitution should be about expanding rights, not inhibiting them . Through his involvement in the amendment debate, Wilfahrt said he was asked by many people to run for the state House, including

DFL state party Chairman ken Martin of Eagan . “I didn’t go looking for this,” the retired 3M scien-tist said of his entry into politics . Although he has strong feelings about the pro-posed constitutional

amendment, Wilfahrt says there are many other issues with which he is concerned . Wilfahrt describes himself as someone who is tight with money and has voted for both Republi-cans and Democrats in the past . “I make my decisions based on data,” Wilfahrt said . “I let the in-formation lead us in the right way .” That approach has led him to support state bonding bills because the jobs they create increase de-mand for other goods and services . He said his father owned a hard-ware store and that the business didn’t thrive because of tax breaks . The state needs to invest more in living-wage job creation and in-vest in secondary and higher edu-

Candidates in district 57B offer contrastJeff Wilfahrt says he makes

decisions based on data

Jeff Wilfahrt Anna Wills

See wilfaHrT, 5A See willS, 5A

Photo by Andrew Miller

Six-year-old Bryce Sullivan was all smiles as he displayed his catch at the Kids Fishing Derby held Monday at Lac Lavon Park in Apple Valley. Hosted by the Minnesota Valley In-Fisherman Club, the event for children ages 5-11 was part of Apple Valley’s annual Freedom Days festival, which ran June 29 to July 4 at various sites throughout the city. For more photos from the fishing derby, turn to 9A or go online to SunThisweek.com

Bills welcomes new challenge

Growing up beneath the bluff, Rosemount teacher looks to climb mountain

by T.W. BudigSUN THISWEEk

Rep . kurt Bills remem-bers how as a boy he used to wait for his father to come home on Friday nights . Bills, 42, grew up in a small town in south cen-tral Wisconsin . During the 1970s, a misery-index decade of inflation and high unem-ployment, Bills’ father, Leroy Bills, a tradesman, would sometimes have to travel as far away as Iron Mountain, Mich ., to find work . “We had a CB (citi-zen’s band) radio that would sit on the counter at home,” said Bills, a high school economics teacher and former City Council member in Rosemount, who is the endorsed Re-publican candidate for U .S . Senate .

“And his handle (radio call name) was ‘Sandpip-er .’ And I was the ‘Road-runner,’” he said . “I can remember Fri-

day night I would sit at the bar stool at our coun-ter and stare at the radio, because I knew dad was coming,” Bills said, his

Photo by T .W . Budig

Rep. Kurt Bills of Rosemount takes in the applause at the recent Republican State Convention after winning the party’s U.S. Senate endorsement.

by Laura AdelmannSUN THISWEEk

A potentially precedent-setting assisted-suicide trial started Monday as three of four Final Exit Network members charged in the death of an Apple Valley woman were booked into the Dakota County Jail, released and appeared in court . Before Judge karen Asphaug were Lawrence Egbert, 84, of Maryland; Roberta Massey, 66, of Del-aware, and Thomas “Ted” Goodwin, 65, of Florida . Jerry Dincin, 81, of Illi-nois, is also facing charges, but was not able to attend

because he is terminally ill, Final Exit Network attor-ney Rob Rivas said . The members’ next court appearance is Oct . 15, and defense attorneys will meet in August to review the prosecution’s 40 banker boxes of evidence, Rivas said . The Dakota County grand jury may have re-viewed some of that evi-dence in May before it produced a 17-count in-dictment against Final Exit Network and the four mem-bers for assisting in a sui-cide and interference with a death scene in the 2007 death of Doreen Dunn, 57, of Apple Valley . Dunn suffered years of debilitating pain before she joined Final Exit Network in

January 2007 and allegedly used information from the organization to end her life . According to Final Exit Network, their volunteers provide information, and are with a person when they end their life, some-times holding their hands during the “exit” and re-moving equipment after the person has died . Rivas said Final Exit Network volunteers never physically assist in the pro-cess, a key point if the de-fense’s expected motion to dismiss is denied and the case goes to trial . Dakota County Attor-ney James Backstrom al-leges Dincin and Egbert were present with Dunn when she died, and Rivas has told Sun Thisweek he

assumes Final Exit Net-work members were present when Dunn died, but could not confirm it . At the hearing, no bail was imposed and the defen-dants were released on their own recognizance . They must notify the

court of any address chang-es, seek permission to leave the country, and attend all future court appearances . Rivas said County At-torney Phil Prokopowicz asked the court demand Fi-nal Exit Network members

right-to-die group’s members booked Three defendants

released, next court appearance Oct. 15

Three members of the Final Exit Network were booked into the Dakota County Jail on July 2 and released pending their next appearance Oct. 15. From left are the booking photos of Lawrence Egbert, Roberta Massey and Thomas “Ted” Goodwin.

See Hearing, 5A

See BillS, 13A

Catch of the day

2A July 6, 2012 Sun ThiSweek - Apple Valley / Rosemount

by John GessnerSun ThiSweek

River hills united Methodist Church in Burnsville is 48 — one year older than its new lead pastor and five years shorter than the career of the pastor he’s replacing. The church has reached a new chapter, with a new pastor, new building improvements and resolve to counter the larger trend of declin-ing church attendance. River hills is “hold-ing steady,” said the Rev. Duane Sarazin, who re-tired last month after 12 years at the church and 42 years in united Meth-odist ministry. “in this day and age of a main-

line church, that’s good. we had a little uptick in our average worship at-tendance over the past year, so that is good. ... we’re a certified welcom-ing congregation, which means the congregation is really working hard on welcoming and befriend-ing people as they come in.” his replacement, the Rev. Robert Braudt, spent his first Sunday in the pulpit June 24 and will move into the par-sonage on Monday. he arrived shortly after the congregation completed $1 million in improve-ments, including a lobby redesign, an expanded west entrance, new pave-

ment in the parking lot and a new sign and elec-tronic readerboard easily visible from highway 13. The building at 11100 River hills Drive is now fully equipped with fire sprinklers and up to code — primed for expansion should that time come, Braudt said. “we’re ready,” he said. “But i’m more worried about expanding minis-try than about expanding building.”

Four decades in ministry Sarazin had his own renovations to deal with when he arrived in 2000 to replace the Rev. Joe

elenbaas. his first week concluded with hundred-year rains and flooding. Some of the clutter he had hoped to clear out of the building was now floating in the lower lev-el. “i said, ‘Lord, that was a little overkill,’ ” said Sarazin, now living in hastings. “My first week i was in a 500,000-plus (dollar) renovation project that i wasn’t counting on.” Beginning his career in 1970, Sarazin served con-gregations in St. Louis Park and hastings before being appointed a district superintendent for the

New pastor, new chapterIt’s hello, goodbye for River Hills United Methodist Church

See braudt, 8A

Photo by John Gessner

The Rev. Robert Braudt is the new lead pastor at River Hills United Methodist Church in Burnsville.

Sun ThiSweek - Apple Valley / Rosemount July 6, 2012 3A

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

Filing opens for Apple Valley City Council Filing dates are July 31through Aug. 14 for theApple Valley City Council.Two four-year seats on thecouncil will be on the bal-lotintheNovembergeneralelection. Candidatescanfilefrom8a.m.to4:30p.m.intheof-ficeofthecityclerklocatedattheAppleValleyMunici-pal Center, 7100 W. 147thSt.Thefilingfeeis$5. Thereisnoprimaryelec-tion. All those who file for

Mackin leader to present message Randal Heise, presidentofBurnsville-basedMackinEducationalResources,hasbeen selected by eSchoolNews as an outstandingthought leader to presentthemessageduringthe2012International Society forTechnology in EducationConference. Held in San Diego, Ca-lif., the ISTE 2012 confer-encewillfocuson“Expand-ingHorizons”andcontinueto provide professional de-velopment and network-ing opportunities to infusetechnology solutions intoeducation and provide stu-dentswithacomprehensive,digital-ageeducationtopre-parethemforthefuture.

Ovarian cancer benefit events preview The Minnesota OvarianCancer Alliance is prepar-ingfortwomajorevents inLakevillethisJuly:theMidSummer Night’s Gala andMolly Cade Scramble forOvarianCancer. TheMidSummerNight’sGalawillbeheldatBrack-ett’sCrossingCountryClubinLakevilleonSunday,July15, starting at 5 p.m. Spe-cialguestandKSTPanchorVineeta Sawkar will emceetheevening’sfestivities.Theevent will include a three-course gourmet dinner, si-lent and live auctions andliveentertainment. The Molly Cade Scram-ble for Ovarian Cancer isa fun, morning or after-

News Briefsoffice will be on the ballotfor Election Day on Tues-day,Nov.6,unlesstheyfilean affidavit of withdrawalbyAug.16. The terms of councilmembers Tom Goodwinand Ruth Grendahl expireon Dec. 31. Newly electedcouncilmemberswillbegintheirtermsinJanuary2013. Others on the five-member city council in-clude John Bergman, ClintHooppawandMayorMaryHamann-Roland.Formoreinformation, call the cityat (952) 953-2500 or visitwww.cityofapplevalley.org.

—Andrew Miller

noon tournament designedfor golfers of all abilities.HeldatBrackett’sCrossingCountry Club on Monday,July 16, the tournamentincludes 18 holes of golf,giveaway items, breakfastorlunch,alongwithatickettotheMidSummerNight’sGala held the evening be-fore. The event is namedinmemoryofMollyCade,one of the founding mem-bersofMOCA. Entrance fees for thescramble are $200 per per-son,whichincludesatickettotheMidSummerNight’sGala. Individual tickets forthe gala can be purchasedfor$75each.Attendeescantake part in one or bothevents. For ticket information,visitwww.mnovarian.orgorcall(612)822-0500.


Changing lanes To the editor: With the spacious inter-sections and liberal left-turn lanes in the south metro, I’m wondering why so many of my fellow travelers turn from the left lane into the right lane. It’s gotten to the point where I’m reluctant to take advantage of a right-turn option, because I can’t count on the oncoming left turner staying in his lane. In fact, my family has turned it into a game: When we see a row of people in oncoming traffic lined up for a left turn, we try to guess whether each one will stay in their lane or not. Typically, they don’t, but we haven’t established any pat-terns. One thought: If they’re driving a vehicle with a lousy turning radius, maybe they can’t make the tighter turn? Or they think the green arrow means the en-tire road belongs to them? Or they’ve never driven in a city?

Come on folks, can’t we all just stay in our lanes and keep traffic moving?

KATHRYN HENDRICKSApple Valley

The freedom to marry To the editor: I have been volunteering with Minnesotans United for All Families since last October. As a straight, Christian woman with a wonderful husband of 30 years and four children some might wonder why defeating this amendment is so very important to me. When my sister first came out to me in college, I was not really surprised but it took some getting used to. Over the years I have come to know that she is still the same sister that I love and care for and my best friend in the entire world; she just happens to be wired differently than me.

My sister has been with her love for the past 17 years. Sherry and Barb are as much a devoted couple as my husband and I are. Both give back to their communi-ty in many different ways as a volunteer firefighter, mas-ter naturalist and member of the town board. They also serve their community in their chosen professions as my sister works with people with disabilities and her partner is a nurse anes-thetist. Both Sherry and Barb have been there as we said goodbye to our par-ents, I battled cancer and we celebrated our children’s accomplishments. They are the most talented, giving people I know. It hurts me deeply to think that we can vote to say their love is any less meaningful or deserving of formal recognition. Would you want your sister or brother to be told their love wasn’t worthy of marriage or be asked to settle for a civil union? Allowing their

love to be recognized would not change or diminish my marriage in any way. Voting no on the pro-posed marriage amendment is important to my family. Please join me so all com-mitted couples have the freedom to marry.

VEDA KANITzLakeville

Save the postal serviceTo the editor: A letter on June 22 about the U.S. Postal Service blamed computers for its financial crisis and declin-ing revenue and that is, un-doubtedly, a contributing factor. But by far the biggest cause is a requirement im-posed by Congress in 2006 that the post office, in the next 10 years, pre-fund health care costs for its em-ployees for the next 75 years to the tune of $5.5 billion per year. Of course, since Congress wrote the law, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but the bottom line is the Postal Service is pre-paying health coverage for employees who not only haven’t been hired, they haven’t been born yet. So write or contact our current representative now and tell him to fix the fund-ing problem for the Postal Service. It won’t solve all the fiscal problems, but reduc-ing the $5.5 billion annual payment will make the oth-ers manageable without the drastic cuts in employees and services currently being proposed. And an important future action is to vote for Mike Obermueller for represen-tative in November. Ober-mueller will be a represen-tative who will work to fix the Postal Service and other issues in a way that gives us an efficient and effective government that works for all of us. JUDY FINGERApple Valley

Kline’s criticism ignores realityTo the editor: The Supreme Court made the right decision in upholding the Affordable Health Care Act, known as Obamacare. I was very disappointed by the diatribe of U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Lakeville, in a video he released the day of the decision. Kline called the ruling an “affront” to the Constitution, “misguid-ed” and “unconstitutional.” The ruling held the law is constitutional. The con-gressman has done his best to sabotage Obamacare without proposing viable al-ternatives. Kline’s proposed “full re-peal” of Obamacare would strip Americans of the fol-lowing positive rights and benefits available under the law: 1. Insurance companies will be unable to drop peo-ple because they are sick. 2. Insurance companies can no longer impose life-time coverage limits on your insurance. Individuals will no longer risk running out of coverage. 3. Insurers will be un-able to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions and deny them coverage because of the condition. 4. Young people can stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26. 5. Nearly 30 million more lower-income Americans

will have access to health insurance and community clinics. 6. Seniors will get $250 toward closing the prescrip-tion drug “doughnut hole.” Prescription drug coverage currently ends at $2,700 and resumes after spending nearly $6,200. Eventually, the reform act will close the doughnut hole entirely. 7. Small businesses will receive tax credits up to 50 percent of premium costs for offering health insur-ance to their workers. 8. Insurers need to justify rate increases and consum-ers have the ability to appeal claim denials to insurers. 9. All new plans must cover certain preventive ser-vices such as mammograms and colonoscopies without charging a deductible, co-pays or coinsurance as well no co-pays for other pre-ventive services for women, breast pumps and domestic violence screening. Obamacare provides a foundation for a healthier America and equality in health care regardless of so-cioeconomic status. Kline’s zeal to repeal Obamacare ignores its many benefits and is rooted in divisive partisan politics. Based on his irate response to the ruling on the law that helps seniors, the middle class, and the disadvan-taged, we should replace him in November.

STEVE FIEBIGERBurnsville

OpinionHealth care law will be reformed, not repealed

by Dave DurenbergerSPECIAL TO SUN THISWEEK

Did you know that bookmakers take odds on U.S. Supreme Court decisions? Neither did I until I heard the odds against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act being held constitutional were 5 to 1 going into last Thursday’s decision. The 5-4 opinion, upholding the law, was written by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. The opinion will go down in history as will the law itself, because of the incredible in-terest in the outcome and because it comes with four months left in an election cam-paign that may be decided by voter opin-ions of the law. It may also have been historic because of the role the chief justice played in deciding its constitutionality. In finding the man-date that everyone be required to purchase private health insurance or pay a financial penalty, an unconstitutional exercise of the commerce power granted Congress in the constitution, Roberts was joined by four of his conservative colleagues on the court. In upholding the mandate and its penalty as a constitutional exercise of the Congress’ power to spend and tax he was joined by the four liberals. A larger majority of the court joined in Roberts’ opinion that the Congress did not have the right to withhold Medicaid funds

from states that refused to enact the law’s new Medicaid expansion. This broadened eligibility for the joint federal/state pro-gram and promised the federal government would pay 100 percent of added costs in the first four years and 90 percent thereaf-ter. Obamacare itself is historic because it is so comprehensive. Despite the fact that federal and state government finances 46 percent of the $2.6 trillion annual cost of health care in this country, more than 50 million of us are uninsured and many millions more underinsured. The new law expands insured coverage to 30-32 million uninsured. It sets rules for health insurance competition which require companies to improve evidence-based benefits, risk as-sumption rules for eligibility and renewal, the amount of premium paid to providers, and the addition of catastrophic coverage. It is historic because at the same time it expands coverage it changes payment poli-

cy to provide incentives for health care pro-viders and systems to improve health and health care quality, safety and effectiveness. Interestingly, those of us in Minne-sota don’t see the historic proportions of the law because we have benefitted from thoughtful bipartisan efforts to do both coverage expansion and value-based care payment and delivery for decades. But to a fair amount of the rest of this country, and to all Americans, this is a big deal. For that reason it has also been polar-izingly political. The president chose to launch this reform effort early in his presi-dency at a time when the nation had not yet begun to recover from the destabilizing impact of what’s now called the Great Re-cession, while hundreds of thousands were losing jobs every month and while Con-gress was still being asked to go deeper into debt to bail out vital industries and to stim-ulate employment. In the summer of 2009 Senate Republican leader Mitch McCon-nell said the number one goal of his party was to make the new president a one-term president. As a result of all of this, Obamacare has been opposed by every elected Repub-lican in state or federal government from its inception, many of whom joined in contesting its constitutionality. I have been engaged in national health policy reform

since my election to the U.S. Senate and its Finance Committee in 1978. This law is built on a chassis of health policy reform in which both Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. Senate have been in-volved for many years. Despite that fact, and it is a fact, the partisan split on the law continues into the 2012 election. Republicans in the House will vote to repeal the new law this week. The Repub-lican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has pledged, if elected, to repeal it as the first item of business on his calendar. This is despite the fact that as governor of Mas-sachussetts he enacted almost the same policy, which our former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dubbed Romneycare. In my view the law will not be repealed, but it can be reformed by bi-partisan con-sensus because too much of it is supported by the millions of health care professionals who are already engaged in health reform. They think it’s time for national health policy to catch up to the reform that’s alive and well in Minnesota.

Former Republican U.S. Sen. Dave Duren-berger is founder and current chair of the National Institute of Health Policy at the University of St. Thomas. Columns reflect the opinion of the author.

by Don HeinzmanSUN THISWEEK

Youth hockey is a popular sport in Minnesota with over 40,000 players com-peting in the state. Coaching young people how to check properly is paramount, because illegal checking can cause serious injuries. Without proper rules and penalties rigorously applied, players could become seriously injured, as was the case of Jack Jablonski who is paralyzed because of an accidental check from behind him. The Board of Directors of Minnesota Hockey is to be commended for its deci-sion to keep the tougher penalties in place for illegal checking at all levels of youth hockey teams for the 2012-13 season. In reaction to the public’s concern over the Jablonski injury, the board of direc-

tors last spring agreed to assess a manda-tory five-minute, major penalty when a player illegally checks another. Previous-ly, the referee decided the severity of the check and applied the penalty. In late June, the board was wavering over backing a recommendation of an ad hoc committee. That recommenda-tion was to go back to the old rule way of letting the referee decide the penalty on illegal checking and assessing the two-

minute penalty. The more the board talked about re-verting to the old, more lenient rule on checking, the more members realized safety of the players was more important. Some who wanted the old rules argued that players lose instructional time when they have to sit out longer penalties. They preferred to leave the assessment of pen-alty to the official. Game officials would be encouraged to enforce the checking and boarding rule vigorously. Some who voted to keep the harsher penalties agreed that going back to the old rule would not be received well with the public. They were right, because the public in general is becoming more concerned over long-term brain damage from concus-sions suffered by players in any contact

sport. The Minnesota Hockey Board wisely advocates better education of coaches and game officials. Critics of the longer penalty argue that better knowledge and enforcement of the rules is a better route. They point out that the new rule takes away discretion of pe-nalizing minutes from the referee, because the five-minute penalty is automatic. The decision was a tough call for the board of directors, but most will agree it’s the right call, because it should make the game safer.

Don Heinzman, a member of the ECM Edito-rial Board and ECM Board of Directors, can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek. Columns reflect the opinion of the author.

Sun ThisweekColumnistDon Heinzman

Letters

Letters to the editor policySun Thisweek welcomes letters to the editor. Submitted letters must be no more than 350 words. All letters must have the author’s phone number and address for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will not be accepted. Letters reflect the opinion of the author only. Sun Thisweek reserves the right to edit all letters. Submission of a letter does not guarantee publication.

Publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julian.AndersenPresident. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marge.WinkelmanGeneral ManaGer/editor. . . . . . . Jeffrey.CoolmanaPPle Valley/thisweekend editor. Andrew.MillerroseMount editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tad.Johnsondistrict 196 editor. . . . . . . . . . . . Jessica.Harper

Photo editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rick.OrndorfsPorts editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy.Rogers .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..Mike.Shaughnessysales ManaGer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mike.Jetchickoffice ManaGer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellen.Reierson

Andrew.Miller..|..aPPle Valley news..|..952-846-2038..|..andrew .miller@ecm-inc .comTad.Johnson..|..roseMount news..|..952-846-2033..|..tad .johnson@ecm-inc .com

Andy.Rogers..|..sPorts..|..952-846-2027..|..andy .rogers@ecm-inc .comMike.Shaughnessy..|..sPorts..|..952-846-2030..|..mike .shaughnessy@ecm-inc .com

Mike.Jetchick..|..ad sales..|..952-846-2019..|..mike .jetchick@ecm-inc .comKeith.Anderson..|..director of news..|..952-392-6847..|..keith .anderson@ecm-inc .com

ManaGinG editors..|..Tad.Johnson..|..John.Gessner

15322 Galaxie aVe., suite 219, aPPle Valley, Mn 55124952-894-1111 fax: 952-846-2010

www .SunThisweek .com..|..Office.Hours:.9.a .m ..-.5.p .m ..Monday-Thursday,.9.a .m ..-.3.p .m ..Friday

GuestColumnist

Dave Durenberger

Right call in keeping tougher hockey penalties


� ��

� ��

� ��

� ��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

cation to bolster the work-force, Wilfahrt said. He sees equality as an overriding issue in reference to access to education, tax policy and economic opportunity “I believe in Minnesota,” he said. “It is a state with a long history in progressive politics. … It is not about one of us, it is a matter of all of us.” He concedes that his dis-trict is not favorable to Re-publicans, but he says he is a candidate who can attract

a wide range of voters. “I like to think that I am a reasonable man,” Wilfahrt said. “I am a common man, not well polished.” The Wilfahrts, who met while attending high school in New Ulm, have lived in Rosemount for the past 28 years. Their three children graduated from Rosemount High School. They have a daughter and son, who attend gradu-ate school at Cornell Uni-versity in Ithaca, N.Y., and the University of North Carolina, respectively.

Wilfahrt, who worked for 3M for 15 years before accepting a buyout when he was 39, has been largely self-employed since 1992, working as a contractor in software engineering. He earned a degree in chemistry from the Univer-sity of Minnesota at Morris. More information about his campaign is at www.wilfarht.org.

Tad Johnson can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.

2010 also has been a cam-paign volunteer for local Republicans and served as city chair of the Burns-ville campaign for John McCain’s 2008 bid for the White House. Wills lived much of her teen years in Burns-ville where she was home-schooled and then took classes at Northwestern College in Roseville through the post-secondary educa-tion program. She said being home-schooled by her mother and through homeschool co-op programs was a great expe-rience.

“Homeschooling is not for everyone and public schools are not for every-one,” she said. “Families should have the freedom to choose what works best for them.” With the values that were instilled in her, Wills said she isn’t someone who does things halfway. She realizes the sacrifice of time the campaign will take and will give 100 per-cent effort to meet as many people in her district, which includes Rosemount, the northern portion of Ap-ple Valley and the city of Coates. “I want to earn the votes,” she said. “I want to

be able to reach out to. Ev-eryone has concerns. I want to listen to all those con-cerns.” Despite the geographic differences and range of housing in the district, she said one common trait among its residents is that they love their community. “It takes someone who is willing to put in the work and cares about the com-munity,” Wills said of earn-ing people’s trust. More about the Wills campaign is at http://wills-forhouse.com.

Tad Johnson can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

wilfahrt, from 1A

wills, from 1A

to stop participating in an assisted suicides in Minne-sota as a condition of the pretrial release. Rivas argued that Final Exit Network members do not participate in assisted suicides, and would never agree to that terminology. Asphaug instead ordered the members remain law abiding, and Rivas agreed. He later explained the Final Exit Network mem-bers would continue to pro-vide information to people in Minnesota, as it is a First Amendment right. At the hearing were sev-eral Final Exit Network volunteers who had traveled from across the country to show support for the mem-bers on trial. Lee Vizer of Pennsylva-nia said she joined in the right-to-die movement to avoid the lingering pain her mother suffered for

four years before her death about 15 years ago. She suffered so severe-ly from osteoporosis and muscle deterioration that a careful hug from Vizer’s son Barry Cohen resulted in three broken ribs. “That was before she got worse,” Cohen of Tonka Bay told Sun Thisweek. “My mom died a hor-rible, lingering death,” Vizer said. “She didn’t deserve it. Nobody does.” Vizer said she believes a person should be able to end their life, calling it the “last human right.” Backstrom has told Sun Thisweek although he has “great compassion” for those suffering, state law does not allow for assisted suicide. Disability rights groups have also spoken out against the right-to-die movement, citing concerns about the potential for abuse. Vizer said “slippery slope

issues” raised before Oregon passed its 1998 “Death with Dignity Act” have not come to pass, proving it can work. According to Backstrom, the Death with Dignity Act applies only to terminally ill patients with incurable and irreversible diseases that are medically confirmed to produce death within six months. Dunn was not terminal, but a hand-written note signed by Dunn and faxed to Massey, stated she was “living with unbearable, excruciating, chronic pain” that spread throughout her body. Vizer said in her moth-er’s case, doctors wouldn’t declare her mother terminal even when she had shrunk to just 50 pounds. “She was forced to endure a living hell,” Vizer said.

Laura Adelmann is at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

hearing, from 1A

Grace Anne KindOctober 8, 1949 ~ June 27,

2012.Age 62 of Osage, MN peace-

fully entered eternity on Wednes-day evening, June 27, 2012 sur-rounded by her loved ones at St.Mary’s Hospital in Rochester,MN.

G r a c e A n n e w a s b o r n o nOctober 8, 1949 in Berkeley, CAto Laurie W. and Lorraine (Chil-ton) Wright. As a small infanth e r f a m i l y r e t u r n e d t o t h emid-west eventually settling inMoorhead, MN. She attendedthe Moorhead pub l ic schoolsgraduating with the High SchoolClass of 1967. Following highschool, Grace Anne went on toattend the Moorhead State Uni-vers ity where she earned herBachelors Degree in ElementaryEducation in just 3 years. Fol-lowing her graduation in 1970,she taught the 4th grade in WestFargo, ND for 3 years. On July15, 1971 Grace Anne was unitedin marriage to Dale Kind in Sisse-ton, SD. This union was blessedwith 3 daughters: Melissa, Toniaand Katie. Following her mar-riage, the young couple moved toHudson, MA where they residedfor 8 years. In 1981, they movedto San Marcos, CA where theylived until 1989 when they movedto Lakeville, MN. Throughouther working career, Grace Annewas always involved in the educa-tion of children. She enjoyed thechallenge of instilling the love forlearning in the lives of the young-sters she taught. In addition toher career, Grace Anne devotedher life to making a warm andloving home for her husband anddaughters. She was a wonderfulcook and baker who will be longremembered for her special birth-day cakes, Christmas cookies andcandy. In 2003, after being diag-nosed with an auto immune dis-ease known as Dermatomyositis,Grace Anne was forced to leaveeducation. In that same year sheand Dale retired to the Osage,MN area where they made theirh o m e o n t h e M i l l P o n d o fStraight Lake. Throughout herentire life, Grace Anne’s faith wasactively used in the churches shefa ithfu l ly attended. She hadbecome a very active part of theGrace Community church ofO s a g e w h e r e s h e a n d D a l eattended. She was an act ivemember of the Osage Lions Club,the Red Hat Soc iety and theOsage Ladies Lunch Group. Shealso enjoyed attending the OsageSeniors luncheon on Tuesdays.Grace Anne was a very accom-plished artist who loved to paint,draw, quilt and make her owngreeting cards. She loved theoutdoors whether it was swim-ming in the lake or working in herflower gardens. She loved to playcards and was an avid reader.Above all, Grace Anne dedicatedher l i f e to her husband, herdaughters and her 3 grandsonswho she loved with all her heart.

She will be lovingly remem-bered by her husband of 41 years,Dale; her 3 daughters: Melissa(Jeff) Donnelly of Elko, MN,Tonia Kind of Burnsville, MNand Katie Kind of St. Louis Park,MN ; her 3 grandsons : Jacob ,Joey and Luke Donnelly all ofElko, MN; her mother, LorraineWright of the Heritage LivingCenter in Park Rapids, MN; veryspecial aunt, Anne Garrett ofColorado Springs, CO; as well asa host of beloved family mem-bers and friends.

Grace Anne was preceded indeath by her father, Laurie in1988 and her brother , Joel in2010.

Funeral services were held at3 :00 P .M . on Sunday , Ju ly 1,2 0 1 2 a t G r a c e C o m m u n i t yChurch in Osage, MN with Rev-erend Paul McKibben officiating.Dorothy Crook was the organist.The Grace Community LadiesQuartet sang “It is Well with MySoul” and “What a Friend WeHave in Jesus”. The casketbear-ers were her nephews: Tony Kind,Jason Kind, Ron Kind, Ben Boe,Randy Mitzner and Chris Wilkes.Visitation was held from 5-8:00P.M. on Saturday, June 30, 2012at the Jones-Pearson FuneralHome in Park Rapids and for onehour prior to the service at thechurch on Sunday. A luncheonwas hosted for all to attend fol-low ing the serv ice. To leaveonline condolences or view thevideo tribute, please visit

www.jonespearson.com.

LawrenceMichael Hazel

Larry was born in New York,NY on December 31, 1936. Hegrew up in Brooklyn, and wasproud of his Red Hook heritage.Larry was honored to serve in theU .S . A ir Force, stat ioned inKorea. After serving, he returnedto F lor ida , and went back toschool to study electronics.

Following his studies, he wasemployed by Sperry Rand inMinnesota in 1961.

After more than 30 years andmultiple corporate name changes,Larry ret ired from Unisys in1992. The majority of his careerwas spent working in the Techni-cal Services Division as part of ateam doing government propos-als.

Larry married Marilyn in 1963and raised daughter Tammy andson Michael in Lakeville wherethey lived since 1967.

Upon retiring, Larry started hisconsulting business (Basic Sup-port Services, Inc.) and, moreimportantly, became even furtherinvolved in volunteerism. He wasgrateful to be asked to join theLakeville Lions Club, a phenom-enal group of hardworking, car-ing people. Larry also partici-pated in the planning of our newChurch, and helping with Loaves& F i s h e s a n d H a b i t a t f o rHumanity. The busier he was, thehappier he was. Spending timewith family and dear friends wastime he treasured.

In his free time, he very muchenjoyed golf, photography andwoodworking.

Larry started to leave us about3 years ago, but 2011 was a realturning point. When asked whyhe left us , his answer was : “Ididn’t want to go. But it will bealright.” We thank God over andover for giving us those few pre-cious minutes.

A special thank you to FatherTom Wilson, who has been car-ing for us throughout the longgoodbye. Also to Father Kelly forhis concern and prayers. To Dea-con Jim, who faithfully broughtcommunion to our home andprayed with us, for which Larrywas so grateful. Thanks to thestaff and families of All Saints fortheir lov ing support . To Dr .David Walsher for the years ofexceptional care and friendshipthat he gave to Larry.

Thank you to the incrediblecaregivers at Sunrise of Edina, amore kind and lov ing groupwould be hard to find. God sentus to the right place.

Larry was preceded in death byhis father, William Hazel, and hismother, Anna Horan Hazel. He issurvived by his loving family:wife, Marilyn; daughter, Tammy;son, Mike (Cathy); grandsons,Jeremy and Jared ; bro thers ,Raymond (Flo) Hazel, Al (Anne)P inkham ; s i s te r , Kay Ken t ;sister-in-law, Donna Darling; andm a n y n i e c e s , n e p h e w s a n dfriends.

Larry was blessed to have somany loving relatives and amaz-ing friends to share in his life.May God bless you and keep youhealthy and happy all the days ofyour lives…until he meets youagain.

Rita (Schweich)Gundersen

Age 83, will be honored on July11th in Lakeville, MN.

Rita died peacefully in Phoenix,Ariz., Dec. 28, 2011.

Born Sept. 9, 1928, Rita was thedaughter of Jacob and MargaretSchweich. She is survived by her 5Children and their Families Patri-cia (Timothy) Keith, Jean Berg(Kimberly), William Berg (Jim),R icha rd (Connie ) Be rg andCatherine Babick, 11 Grand and6 Great Grand Children, Broth-ers Lawrence (Bonnie) Schweich,John (Gloria) Schweich and Rob-ert Schweich, S isters-In-LawBetty Schweich, Arlene Schweicha n d M a r y S c h w e i c h a n dBrother-In-Law Gary Frighetto.

She dearly loved her family andcherished each and every friend.

Rita will be remembered for hergenerosity, beautiful smile andenthusiasm for life.

July 11th, 2012: There will be a10:00AM Reception at All SaintsCatholic Church, 19795 HolyokeAve., Lakeville, MN followed by10:30AM Rosary and 11:00AMMass. Rita will be laid to rest atAll Saints Cemetery in Lakevilleafter Mass. Please join Familyand Friends at the Chart Housein Lakeville following the Ser-vices.

William M.Buckley “Bill”

1937-2012, age 74, of Denverpassed away on Sunday, June 17,2012. He is survived by sons,Mike (Ann), Tim (Sherri), Kevin(Brooke) Buckley; daughter ,Anne (Scott) Miller; sister, Jeral-d i n e ( J o h n ) H o l d e n ; n i e c e ,Mary-Ann; nephew, Joe; com-panion , Pa t ty Bohm ; and 7grandchildren, 3 great-grandchil-dren.

Funeral Mass Thursday July12 10:00 am, at Christ the KingCatholic Church, 830 Elm Street,Denver, CO 80220. In lieu offlowers, memorials preferred inBill’s name to The Elks Lodge# 6 0 7 , P O B o x 6 0 7 , I d a h oSprings, CO 80452 in support ofLaradon Hall, a school for chil-dren with disabilities.

Please share condolences atHoranCares.com

��

Perry - AntonsonNicole Perry, daughter of Tay-

lor and Barb Perry of Lakeville,and Matthew Antonson, son ofMark and Carol Antonson ofL a k e v i l l e , a n n o u n c e t h e i rengagement.

Nicole is a 2006 graduate ofLakeville North High School anda 2011 graduate of University ofMinnesota Duluth with a degreein Life Science education. She willbe teaching at Aspen Academy inthe fall

Matthew is a 2006 graduatef rom Lakev i l l e No r th H i g hSchool and a 2011 graduate ofBrown College with a degree inComputer Technology and isemployed at the Center for Diag-nostic Imaging.

An August 17th wedding isplanned.

��

Herschl -Wahlstrom

Raymond and Nancy Herschlof Burnsville announce the May26 marriage of their daughterLaura to Dustin Wahlstrom inGrand Cayman. Dustin is the sonof Arba-Della Beck of Stillwaterand Mark and Nancy Wahlstromof Sioux Falls, SD.

Laura is a graduate of AppleValley High School and the Uni-versity of Minnesota – Twin Cit-ies. She is currently a PhD candi-date in clinical psychology at theUniversity of Nebraska – Lin-coln.

Dustin is a graduate of Stillwa-ter High School, Hamline Uni-versity, and earned his PhD inclinical psychology at the Univer-sity of Minnesota – Twin Cities.He currently works as a researchdirector at Pearson.

Dustin and Laura currentlyres ide in Aust in , TX , whereLaura will complete her predoc-toral internship at the CentralTexas Veterans Affairs HealthCare System. Dustin works atPearson’s San Antonio office.

��

Lucia LorettaOgren

Raymond and Tracy (nee Lar-son) Ogren, along with big sisterKhloe, welcome with love LuciaLoretta Ogren. She was born onFebruary 13, 2012, weighing 6Ibs, 15 oz.

Proud grandparents are Ray-mond and Jackie Ogren of St.Paul and Eric and Kathy Larsonof Lakeville. Great grandparentsare Arlene Bush of Bloomingtonand Leroy Molitor of CottageGrove.

��

��

To submit an announcementForms for birth, engagement, wedding, anniversary and obituaries announcements are available at our office and online at www.thisweeklive.com (click on “Announcements” and then “Send Announcement”). Com pleted forms may be e-mailed to [email protected] or mailed to Sun Thisweek, 15322 Galaxie Ave., Suite 219, Apple Valley, MN 55124. If you are submitting a photograph along with your announcement, please only submit photographs for which you have the right to permit Sun Thisweek to use and publish. Deadline for announcements is 4 p.m. Tuesday. A fee of $50 will be charged for the first 5 inches and $10 per inch thereafter. They will run in all editions of Sun Thisweek. Photos may be picked up at the office within 60 days or returned by mail if a self-addressed, stamped envelope is provided.

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

� ��

��

��

��

��

��


College news Art Institutes Interna-tional Minnesota, Minne-apolis, June graduate, Brent LaLone of Rosemount, B.S., media arts and animation. University of Wiscon-sin-Eau Claire, spring 2012 dean’s list, from Rosemount – Daniel Ellwein, Kyle Manley, Joshua Marek, Toni Simones. University of Wiscon-sin-La Crosse, spring 2012 dean’s list, from Rosemount – Bailey McCorkell, Sarah Shervey.

Community Education classes District 196 Community Education will offer the fol-lowing classes. To register or for more information, call (651) 423-7920 or visit www.district196.org/ce. • Knit Today – Wear To-

morrow, 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays, July 6 and 13, Yarn Garage, 2980 145th St. W., Rose-mount. Cost: $29. • Applause! Broadway (grades 5-10) (“Seussical, Jr.–Seussical the Musical”), 9 a.m. to noon Monday-Fri-day, July 9-27, Falcon Ridge Middle School, 12900 John-ny Cake Ridge Road. Cost: $139. • Cardio Kickboxing, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, July 10-31, Bodyblast Studio, 2020 Silver Bell Road, Suite 26, Eagan. Cost: $39. • Summer Early Child-hood Family Education: Par-ents with children ages birth through 12 months, tiny tod-dlers ages 13-18 months and toddlers 19-23 months are welcome to attend. Morn-ings, afternoons and eve-nings. Tuesday-Thursday July 10 through Aug. 2. Sliding fee scale. For more information, visit www.district196.org/ecfe/Catalog.pdf.

Education

Religion

Family Fun Day at Eagan Festival Park South Oaks Community Church will host a free Fam-ily Fun Day from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, July 15, at the Eagan Community Center – Festival Park. There will be everything from bouncy castles to competitions to a K-9 demonstration by the Eagan Police Department. Food will be served from

noon until 1 p.m. Also dur-ing the day there will be a hot wings eating competi-tion, a hula hoop contest, games, races and prizes. ASL interpreters will be available. South Oaks Community Church meets Sundays at 10 a.m. in the lower level of the Eagan Community Cen-ter. On July 15, the service will be outdoors at the band shell by the park.

Sun ThiSweek - Apple Valley / Rosemount July 6, 2012 7AImmunizations Dakota County PublicHealthprovidesreduced-feeimmunizations for peoplewhoareeligibleforMinne-sota Vaccines for Childrenvaccine. There is a $14 ad-ministration fee per immu-nization,buteligiblepeoplewill not be refused serviceforinabilitytopay. Julyclinicsare: • Tuesday, July 10, byappointment only, DakotaCounty Western ServiceCenter,14955GalaxieAve.,Suite286,AppleValley. •Tuesday,July17,walk-infrom4to6:30p.m.,Da-kota County Western Ser-vice Center, 14955 GalaxieAve.,AppleValley. • Thursday, July 19,walk-infrom4to5:45p.m.,Dakota County NorthernService Center, 1 MendotaRoadW.,Suite410,WestSt.Paul. • Tuesday, July 24, byappointment only, DakotaCounty Western ServiceCenter, Suite 286, 14955GalaxieAve.,AppleValley. For more information,call the ImmunizationHotlineat(952)891-7999.

Photosubmitted

Doreen L’Allier was installed as Apple Valley Rotary Club president for 2012-13 at the local service group’s President’s Dinner on June 27 at the Hayes Community and Senior Center. L’Allier, an employee at 360 Communities, will replace outgoing president Alan Player (right). The Apple Valley Rotary Club has 55 members and meets each Wednesday morning at Enjoy restaurant; more about the group is at www.applevalleyrotary.org.

Apple Valley Rotarynames new president


church’s Minnesota con-ference. After serving the conference for eight years, Sarazin was appointed to River Hills. “When I came in I met a congregation that was ea-ger to move ahead,” Sara-zin said. “We revisioned the church and decided outreach was really impor-tant, so we really beefed up the mission outreach of the church. Now they support two missionaries — one in Palestine, right in Bethle-hem on the West Bank, and one in Ukraine.” More than 10 percent of its funds support programs outside the church, a con-gregational point of pride, Sarazin said. Outreach is more impor-tant than ever, he said. “It was a cultural thing — if you moved into a community, you went to church,” he said. “But the culture has changed, and people aren’t necessarily religious. They may be spiri-tual. But many people don’t understand what a church is all about. We have to do a lot of outreach and ex-plaining and being authen-

tic, walking our talk, so to speak.”

New pastor With about 700 mem-bers, River Hills is below its historic high of 1,000 but holding its own compared with many churches and still one of the largest and most active United Meth-odist congregations in Min-nesota, Braudt said. “There’s not a person in the conference that wouldn’t want to serve River Hills,” he said. Raised in the United Methodist Church in Clin-ton, Iowa, Braudt studied political science and the-ater at Iowa State and then worked for AT&T in New Jersey as a financial fore-caster. He met his wife, Jocelyn, when both sang in a con-temporary Christian group. “We were singing one Sunday morning at a tiny little church, and a little old lady came up and said, ‘You should be a minister,’ ” Braudt said. “She wasn’t the first person who’d said it, but the first person I heard.” He earned his seminary degree and served as youth

and family minister at two churches in New Jersey. The couple returned to the Midwest to raise three sons, one who attends the Perpich Center for Arts Education and two who are in college. Braudt was assigned in 1994 to Richfield United Methodist, where he served for three years. Then he was asked to serve as lead pastor at Discovery United Meth-odist in Chaska, which was struggling to establish itself. “It hadn’t found that right combination of lead-ership and congregation,” Braudt said. “They’d gone through three pastors in about six years. The bishop told me, ‘Either close it or grow it.’ ... And so we grew it. We actually bought a second campus. We had a campus in Chaska and a campus in Chanhassen.” After eight years at Dis-covery, the state conference sought to reassign Braudt, who had settled into a home in Waconia with his family. “I can choose my confer-ence. Once you’ve chosen your conference, you choose to be itinerant. That’s part of your ordination,” he said. Wanting to keep his

children in their current schools, Braudt decided against reassignment and took a seven-year leave of absence, during which he worked for Dow Building Solutions selling energy-ef-ficient products. One client was a South Dakota prison that built small, pre-fab homes for the poor and el-derly. “We converted that pro-gram with Dow products to make them more ener-gy-efficient,” said Braudt, whose wife owns River Valley Dance Academy in Chaska. “I felt really good about that. It felt a lot like ministry.” Braudt didn’t leave church ministry, though. Two years into his leave he offered his services to a small rural congregation in Hanover that lacked a per-manent pastor. “I was reminded who and what the church really is from that experience,” said Braudt, who served part time with the confer-ence’s blessing. “They were real church, genuine com-munity.” Then came the confer-ence’s invitation to take over for the departing Sarazin.

“They contacted me,” Braudt said. “I had opened myself up to that contact. ... It’s the right fit.” A self-proclaimed “healthy skeptic” on reli-gious institutions, Braudt said his chief interest in re-turning to full-time minis-try is giving young people a foundation on which to build their lives. “The church is strug-gling, and not just the Methodist church,” he said. “The church is struggling to be relevant, to be real.” The River Hills congre-gation is a “nice mix,” he said. “We have to grow young-er, clearly, but the congre-gation is very vital in many age categories. ... There’s a lot to work with to grow this church.” The church is also seek-ing a new youth director to replace Bonnie Laabs, who will leave at summer’s end for doctorate studies at the University of Minnesota.

John Gessner can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

braudt, from 2ACitizens asked to give input for park master plan Dakota County is seek-ing input from citizens on how they use Lebanon Hills Regional Park as well as what citizens would like to see in the future at an open house from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, at Leba-non Hills Regional Park Visitors Center, 860 Cliff Road, Eagan. The meeting will include an informal discussion be-ginning at 7 p.m., followed by a presentation and sur-vey at 7:30 p.m., and ending with a time for questions at 8 p.m. The updated master plan will build from the existing plan adopted in 2001 and includes planning for coun-ty greenways, managing natural resources, building and filling gaps in park ac-tivities such as picnicking, bike-able trails and short walking loops. The plan update will help identify how Lebanon Hills can help achieve the county park system vision and pri-oritize actions for the fu-ture.


Kids Fishing Derby Left: Paige Fortman, 5, displayed one of the myriad fish she caught from the dock at Lac Lavon Park in Apple Valley during the Kids Fishing Derby held July 2. The event was hosted by the Minnesota Valley In-Fisherman Club as part of Apple Valley’s six-day Freedom Days festival.

Below: Four-year-old Ashton Boehmer got a helping hand from his mom, Heather, as he reeled in his fishing line.

Photos by Andrew Miller


Thisweekend

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

by Andrew MillerSun ThiSweek

“Cinderella” director Dennis Swanson had one word to describe the lat-est production from eagan high School Summer Com-munity Theatre: magical. in fact, there’s magic every step of the way – be-fore, during and after the show. Young girls who attend “Cinderella” are encour-aged to come dressed as princesses and take part in the “princess parade.” Twenty minutes prior to the start of each perfor-mance, all the little prin-cesses in attendance will be called onto the stage and introduced to the audience. And immediately follow-ing the performances of the classic Rodgers and ham-merstein musical, the audi-

ence will have a chance to

meet and mingle with members of

the cast, includ-ing Cinder-ella, Prince C h a r m i n g

and the evil Stepmother. The actor playing Cin-derella, Jacqueline evans, says she looks forward to meeting with the “little princesses” in the audience after the show, as she un-derstands the appeal of the fairy-tale princess. A 2007 eastview high School graduate who re-cently completed her bach-elor’s degree in vocal per-formance at iowa State university in Ames, iowa, evans went the extra mile to score the role of Cinder-ella – literally. evans drove from Ames

to eagan for the audition in the spring, then made the trek back to Ames the following morning. She made the same long drive for the callback audition. “when i heard they were doing ‘Cinderella,’ i was like, ‘i have to do this.’ i saw the Cinderella movies as a kid, and i recently saw it at the Ordway,” evans said of her interest in the role. “it’s just this timeless story that everybody kind of grew up with. “This is the first time in my life that i’ve ever worn a tiara – i’m never taking it off,” she added with a laugh. evans isn’t the only cast member who was charmed by “Cinderella” as a child. “i saw the movies when i was younger – i liked the characters and fell in love with the music,” said

Magic of ‘Cinderella’ comes to Eagan stageA ‘princess parade’ for girls will precede each performance

Photo by Rick Orndorf

“Cinderella” opens next week at Eagan High School. Pictured are: Jacqueline Evans (Cinderella), Mike Leach (Prince Charming), Meg Krekeler (Stepmother), Bailey Richardson and Madie Gore (the Stepsisters), and Sarah Frazier (Godmother).

Photo by Rick Orndorf

Mike Leach and Jacqueline Evans star in the Eagan production of “Cinderella” this month.

Mike Leach of Apple Val-ley, who’s cast as Prince Charming. The production has ele-ments that will appeal to fans of musical theater, as well as kids enchanted by the Disney versions of the story, according to Meg krekeler, a regular actor with eagan Summer Com-munity Theatre who’s play-ing the evil Stepmother in “Cinderella.” “when kids come to see the show, there’s definitely that Disneyesque aspect, but with our own unique stamp,” said krekeler, a speech coach at eastview high School. “it’ll feel like the world of Cinderella you’ve come to know and love.” “Cinderella” runs July 13-28 in the auditorium at eagan high School, 4185 Braddock Trail. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 students/seniors, and are available by calling (651) 683-6964 or going online to www.eagan.k12.mn.us.

Andrew Miller can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sun-thisweek.


theater and arts briefs

theater and arts calendarfamily calendar

IMAX family night The IMAX Theatre atthe Minnesota Zoo in Ap-ple Valley will host FamilyNightonMonday,July16. Guestswhopurchaseoneadult admission ($16.50)to the 6:30 p.m. showingof “The Amazing Spider-Man” will receive one freechild’s admission to themovieandacomplimentarysandwich and drink (whilesupplies last) before theshow.Dinnerwillbeservedin the lobby beginning at5:30p.m.

Irish dancers at Caponi Art Park The O’Shea Irish Danc-ers will give a step danceperformance at 6:30 p.m.Sunday, July 22, at CaponiArt Park in Eagan. Theperformance is part of theart park’s Summer Per-formance Series, a family-friendly program presentedfreeofchargeintheTheaterin the Woods outdoor am-phitheater. A$5perpersondonationis suggested. The perfor-

To submit items for the Arts Calendar, email: darcy.

[email protected].

Books Atina Diffley, author of “Turn Here Sweet Corn,” will be at Valley Natural Foods, 13750 County Road 11, Burnsville, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on July 10 to discuss her fam-ily’s experience as organic farmers and sign copies of her book. Free, but registration re-quired by July 9 due to space considerations. Call (952) 891-1212, ext. 221 to register.

Concerts Music in Kelley Park fea-turing The Castaways from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 6, at Kelley Park, 6855 Fortino St., Apple Valley. Free. Food and beverages available for pur-chase. DeVotchKa with Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps, 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 6, Subway Music in the Zoo, Minnesota Zoo amphitheater, Apple Valley. Cost: $31. Tick-ets available at ticketmaster.com. Melody and The Dramat-ics will perform at 7 p.m. on July 8 as part of Sunday Night Music in the Park at Nicollet Commons Park, 12600 Nicollet Ave., Burnsville. Free. Music in Kelley Park fea-turing Harold Torrence’s Latin Vibe from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 6, at Kelley Park, 6855 Fortino St., Apple Valley. Free. Food and beverages available for purchase. Dakota Valley Summer Pops Orchestra & Chorale will perform at 7 p.m. on July 11 as part of the Wednesday in the Park Concert Series at Civic Center Park, 75 Civic Center Parkway, Burnsville. Marc Cohn with Rebecca Pidgeon, 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 13, Subway Music in the Zoo, Minnesota Zoo amphi-theater, Apple Valley. Cost: $46. Tickets available at tick-etmaster.com. Marc Cohn with Alison Scott, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 14, Subway Music in the Zoo, Minnesota Zoo amphi-theater, Apple Valley. Cost: $46. Tickets available at tick-etmaster.com.

Exhibits World Travel Photogra-

phy exhibit by artist Becqi Sherman at the Lakeville Area Arts Center, 20965 Holyoke Ave. Information: (952) 985-4640.

Festivals Lakeville Pan-O-Prog runs July 1-8. Information: www.panoprog.org. Rosemount Leprechaun Days runs July 20-29. Infor-mation: www.rosemounte-vents.com/Leprechaun.html.

Theater Eagan Summer Com-munity Theatre will present “Cinderella” in the Eagan High School auditorium, 4185 Braddock Trail, at 7:30 p.m. July 12 (free senior preview), 7:30 p.m. July 13-14, 18-21, 25-28, and 2 p.m. July 15, 22 and 28. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors 62-plus and children under 12. To purchase tickets, call (651) 683-6964 between 1 and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, or purchase online at www.eagan.k12.mn.us/.

Workshops/classes Heartbeat Studios, Apple Valley, will offer a six-week youth dance, singing and acting class summer ses-sion beginning July 9. This fairy tale production is open to ages 3 to middle school, and will be presented in mid-August in the amphitheater at Caponi Art Park in Eagan. For class registration information, contact Heartbeat Studios, (952) 432-7833, or heartbeat-studios.com. Mystery Art Night will be offered Fridays, July 20 through Aug. 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Eagan Art House. All supplies will be included and light refreshments will be served. Cost per class is $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Register at www.eagan-arthouse.org. Call (651) 675-5521 for information. Music Together in the Valley offers classes for par-ents and their infant, tod-dler and preschool children in Rosemount, Farmington, Lakeville and Apple Valley. In-formation: www.musictogeth-erclasses.com or (651) 439-4219. The Eagan Art House of-fers classes for all ages. For a complete listing go to www.

eaganarthouse.org or call (651) 675-5521. Dan Petrov Art Studio in Burnsville offers oil paint-ing classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced skill level painters, www.danpetrovart.com, (763) 843-2734. Teens Express Yourself with Paint, 5 to 7 p.m. Mon-days at Brushworks School of Art in Burnsville, www.Brush-worksSchoolofArt.com, (651) 214-4732. Drama/theater classes for ages 4 and up at River Ridge Arts Building, Burns-ville, (952) 736-3644. Special needs theater program (autism-DCD), ages 5 and older, Burnsville, (952) 736-3644. Join other 55-plus adults at the Eagan Art House to create beaded jewelry. The Jewelry Club meets on the third Fri-day of each month from 1 to 3 p.m. Fee is $3 and includes all supplies. Bring any old jew-elry you would like to re-make. 3981 Lexington Ave. S., (651) 675-5500. Savage Art Studios, 4735 W. 123rd St., Suite 200, Sav-age, offers classes/workshops for all ages. Information: www.savageartstudios.com or (952) 895-0375. Soy candle making classes held weekly in Eagan near 55 and Yankee Doodle. Call Jamie at (651) 315-4849 for dates and times. $10 per person. Presented by Making Scents in Minnesota. Country line dance classes held for intermedi-ates Mondays 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Rambling River Cen-ter, 325 Oak St., Farmington, $5/class. Call Marilyn (651) 463-7833. Beginner country line dance classes on Wednes-days, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the Lakeville VFW, 8790 Upper 208th St. $5/class. Call Mari-lyn (651) 463-7833. Country line dance classes on Wednesdays at the Lakeville Senior Center, 20732 Holt Ave. Beginners, 9-10 a.m.; Intermediate, 10 a.m.-noon. $5/class. Call Mar-ilyn (651) 463-7833. The Lakeville Area Arts Center offers arts classes for all ages, www.lakevillemn.gov, (952) 985-4640.

To submit items for the Family Calendar, email: dar-

[email protected].

Friday, July 6 Forever Wild Family Fri-day: Dakota Wild Animals, 7 p.m., in the Discovery Room at Lebanon Hills Visitor Cen-ter, 860 Cliff Road, Eagan. Meet a friendly collection of live animals. All ages. Free. Registration required at http://parks.co.dakota.mn.us/Activi-ties/Activities.asp?SCheck=743696172&SDT=39002.758900463&sectionId=2. Course number 4088.

Tuesday, July 10 Family Fun Tuesday – Mexican folk dance with Los Alegres Bailadores, 10 to 11 a.m. in the Sculpture Garden at Caponi Art Park, Eagan. $4 per person donation is sug-gested. Information: (651) 454-9412 or www.caponiart-park.org.

Wednesday, July 11 Get up and move with the YMCA, for children, 1 to 2 p.m. at Valley Natural Foods, Burnsville. This movement ac-tivity to music will show kids simple techniques and steps that they can do at home. Reg-ister for the class 32 hours in advance in the store, at (952) 891-1212, ext. 221, or online at www.eventbee.com/v/val-leynaturalfoods/boxoffice. Eagan Market Fest, 4 to 8 p.m., Eagan Festival Grounds. Farmers market, Gypsy Ma-nia Trio (4 p.m.) and Songs of Hope Children’s World Choir (6 p.m.), free kids’ art and family games. Information: www.cityofeagan.com/mar-ketfest or (651) 675-5500.

Thursday, July 12 Music in the Parks – Al-phaBits, 10 a.m. at Central Park Amphitheater, Rose-mount. Free. Weather line: Call (952) 985-1780 option 6 to find out if a performance has been cancelled. Thursday Rockin’ Read-ers – Harriet Bishop Princi-pal Rob Nelson, 11:15 a.m., Nicollet Commons Park, 12600 Nicollet Ave., Burns-ville. Free. Thursday Rockin’ Lunch Hour – Story Time with the Wonder Weavers, noon, Nicollet Commons Park, 12600 Nicollet Ave., Burns-ville. Free.

Friday, July 13 Outdoor movie, “Yogi Bear,” 7:30 p.m. seating, dusk showtime, part of Burnsville’s “Flicks on the Bricks” series at Nicollet Commons Park in the Heart of the City. Summer Fresh Fri-day Film, “The Miracles of Greens: How Greens and Wild Edibles Can Save Your Life,” 6 to 8 p.m. at Valley Natural Foods, 13750 County Road 11, Burnsville. Informa-tion: (952) 891-1212, ext. 221.

Saturday, July 14 Movies in the Park, “Puss in Boots,” at dusk at the Cen-tral Park Amphitheater near City Hall, Rosemount. Bring blankets and lawn chairs. Weather-related updates: (952) 985-1790, option No. 6.

Blood drives The American Red Cross will hold the following blood drives. Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767)

or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. • July 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wescott Library, 1340 Wescott Road, Eagan. • July 12, 1 to 6 p.m., Hope Church, 7477 145th St., Apple Valley. • July 12, 1 to 7 p.m., All Saints Catholic Church, 19795 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville. • July 12, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Valmont Industries, 20805 Ea-ton Ave., Farmington. • July 13, 12:30 to 5:30 p.m., Easter Lutheran Church – By the Lake, 4545 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan. • July 13, 1 to 6 p.m., American Family Insurance, 400 Third St., Farmington. • July 14, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nelson Chiropractic, 14321 Nicollet Court, Burnsville.

Reunions Lakeville High School Class of 1972 will hold its 40th reunion at 3 p.m. Satur-day, July 28, at the home of Bruce and Pat Zweber, 387 Maple Island Road, Burnsville. Information: Mary Boegeman Johnson at [email protected] or Mary Ann Knox at [email protected]. Burnsville High School Class of 1992 will hold its 20th reunion from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Hyatt Regency, downtown Minne-apolis. Tickets are $50 in ad-vance or $65 at the door. To register and purchase tickets, visit https://reunionmanager.net/class_members/registra-tion.php?class_id=124786 or contact Kelly Bruce Regan at [email protected] or Bob Hayes at [email protected] with questions.

mance will be rescheduledfor July 29 at 6:30 p.m. intheeventofpoorweather. The O’Shea Irish Danc-ers also will perform tradi-tionaldancestepsataFam-ily Fun Tuesdays event onJuly17at10a.m.intheartpark’ssculpturegarden. Moreinformationcanbefoundatcaponiartpark.org.

Former Thisweek editor makes fiction debut Betty McMahon authors mystery novel

‘A Rendezvous to Die For’

by Andrew Miller

SuNThISWEEk

Betty McMa-hon’s newspaperdays providedplenty of fodderforherfirstforayintofiction. herdebutnov-el, “A Rendez-voustoDieFor,”is a mystery thatcenters on thegruesomemurderof a newspaperreporter. If there’s atrue-to-life feelto the novel, it’sbecause McMa-honcoveredagoodnumberof crimestoriesintheear-ly1980sasareporterfortheDakotaCountyTribune,and, starting in 1983, as the first editor of ThisweekApple Valley newspaper. (Thisweek merged with SunNewspapers in March of this year to become SunThisweek.) “I never covered a murder in Apple Valley, but IdidwinfirstprizefornewswritingforastoryIwroteaboutawomanwhowasterrorizedallnightlongbyanintruder,”McMahonsaid.“Itwasquiteterrifyingandverygraphic.” McMahonleftThisweekinthemid-1980stotakeajobinthecorporateworld,andeventuallystartedherown business, Z Communications. A longtime EdenPrairieresident,McMahonnowlivesinNewMexico. Asforthegenesisof hernovel,“I’dbeenworkingasajournalistandcorporatewriterandwantedtoknowif Icouldwritefiction,”McMahonsaid.Shetookanonline fiction-writing course offered by Writer’s Di-gest, then honed her mystery-writing skills throughcourseworkatTheLoftLiteraryCenterinMinneapo-lis. “ARendezvoustoDieFor”isavailablethroughon-linebooksellersAmazonandLulu. Moreabouttheauthorandthenovelisatwww.bet-tymcmahonwriter.com.

Andrew Miller can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

Betty McMahon


Sports

File photo by Rick Orndorf

Walt Weaver watches volleyball players as the head coach for the Apple Valley team for more than 30 years. After taking a few years off from being a head coach at the varsity level, Weaver is taking over at Lakeville North starting this fall.

by Andy RogersSun ThiSweek

walt weaver is back. One of the pioneers of high school volleyball in Minnesota will return to the sport as a varsity head coach for the Lakeville north Panthers this fall. The weaver resume is long. in 31 years as Apple Val-ley’s head coach, his teams won two state titles and reached the state tourna-ment 13 times. he’s a mem-ber of the Minnesota State Coaches Association hall of Fame. he retired from high school coaching in 2006 af-ter accumulating 656 wins. his teams were ranked in the state’s top 10 for 29 con-secutive years. he’s also the director and co-founder of the Midwest Volleyball in-structor Camps. he never intended on re-turning to the varsity ranks. After coaching Apple Val-ley for more than 30 years, it might seem strange that he’s now coaching one of the eagles’ biggest rivals. But above all, weaver says he supports volleyball. “Some factions might see this in a different light, but we’ve lived in Lakeville

for 25 years,” weaver said. “This is about volleyball and the promotion of vol-leyball.” Both of his daughters, Cassie and Lindsey, went to Lakeville north, so he’s used to cheering for the Panthers, but more than anything, he loves the sport.

At first sight From the first time he played volleyball, weaver said he loved it. he liked the people, the athleticism, the strategy, and just about ev-erything else. “it attracts the kind of people i enjoy being around,” weaver said. “So many of the top students at Apple Valley ended up on our volleyball team. The game attracts the intellec-tual. i love the beauty of it. “it takes a major ath-letic person to do the things in volleyball to make for a successful experience. it’s the ultimate team game. Six people have to operate as one systematic movement. it’s a small space to control a ball moving at erratic and high speeds. it’s always an intellectual challenge.” The fire never went out.

Lakeville North

when the Panthers’ head coach from last season, Steve willingham, took the head coaching job at Lakev-ille South in late spring, the door opened for a new head coach at north. when athletic directors look for coaches, they first search for someone who’s also a teacher. weaver is a retired teacher and would like to keep it that way. “More and more of those people (teachers/coaches) can’t get jobs,” weaver said. “Lakeville is cutting back. At some point they asked if they could talk to me to see if i can help building and moving the volleyball team forward. “They asked me. i wasn’t looking for a coaching job, but if push came to shove, they felt i was the best per-son to help on a short-term basis.” he emphasized “short-term.” he doesn’t plan on coaching for another 30 years. “Anything i would do is short-term,” weaver said. “i think they understand that, so it seems like a good place for me right now.” his last varsity season was in 2006 and he had no intention of coaching high

school varsity again. “My intent, always, is to help the game flourish,” weaver said. “That’s been my goal since i started in the early ’70s. i think we’ve come a long way. we’ve got some of the most exciting players in the nation here. At the grass-roots level in terms of girls sports, if it’s not the top sport, it’s near the top. i want to keep push-ing that forward. This is one place i feel i can help.”

Family first weaver stepped down at Apple Valley for several reasons. Perhaps the big-gest was the possibility of missing the chance to watch his daughters compete with Lakeville north and at the collegiate level. Cassie is now at Concordia university, which has won the last five nCAA Division ii champi-onships. Lindsey just gradu-ated after playing volleyball at Luther College in Deco-rah, iowa. “i’m freer now than i have been,” weaver said. “(Concordia’s) games are played on different nights and it’s one daughter in-stead of two.” Steve Getchell, former

Walt Weaver returns to varsity coaching Volleyball pioneer will take over at Lakeville North

Robbinsdale Armstrong head coach whose teams won five straight state titles in the 1980s, will be weav-er’s assistant coach. Getch-

ell also coached at Maple Grove high School and in the northern Lights club.

See WeAver, 17A

by Andy RogersSun ThiSweek

education is considered one of the best ways to promote gun safety, and it’s never too early to learn. A free youth shoot will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Dakota County Gun Club, 17501 Station Trail, Rose-mount. Boys and girls 16 and under are welcome. All equip-ment will be provided free. Participants will be outfitted with .22-caliber rifles, 20-gauge shotguns, ammunition, hearing and eye protection, bows, ar-rows and arm protection. “if they happen to go over to a friend’s house and they pull out their parent’s firearm, i think these kids will be able to handle something like that,” Dakota County Gun Club’s Bruce Vogelgesang said.

Participants will receive one-on-one instruction from about 35 volunteers on how to handle firearms and archery equip-ment safely. “Safety is of utmost impor-tance,” Vogelgesang said. “we have someone standing right with them the whole time. The volunteers come out six Sat-urdays a summer, so kudos to them.” Vogelgesang expects more than 100 participants this week-end. “The word is spreading,” he said. “it’s finally getting a life of its own. earlier this sum-mer a lady came up and said, ‘i didn’t even know this was here and i live a mile away.’ ” Other free youth shoots this summer at the Dakota County Gun Club are scheduled July 21, Aug. 3 and Aug. 18.

“we’re not emphasizing anything except gun safety and (shooting) as a sport,” Vogelge-sang said. There will also be a free women’s shoot from 3 to 8 p.m. Aug. 18 to try rifles, handguns, muzzle-loading rifles and shot-guns. “we had 300 last year,” Vo-gelgesang said. “we’ll have ev-ery type of gun you can imag-ine out there.” For more information on the youth and women’s shoots, call (651) 402-0368, email [email protected] or visit www.dakotacountygunclub.org. Persons attending the free shoots are asked to donate non-perishable food items.

Andy Rogers can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

Youth shooting event at Dakota County Gun Club

Event is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday

by Mike ShaughnessySun ThiSweek

Officially, first day of high school fall sports prac-tice is Aug. 13, but in reality many of those athletes are preparing already because of summer waiver periods and a year-round commit-ment to training. essentially, there’s no off-season anymore. But before moving on to 2012-13, here’s a look at 10 compelling sports stories from 2011-12 in the Sun Thisweek coverage area.

Cougars pile up points Lakeville South girls track and field coach An-drew hilliard downplayed his team’s chances of win-ning the state Class AA championship, saying the Cougars could finish “any-where from first to 10th.” it just so happened it was first place. The Cougars didn’t win any events at state but scored points in eight of them to win their first state championship.

eastview breakthrough eastview quickly became competitive in athletics after the school opened in 1997, but in 2011-12 the school

was still looking for its first boys state championship. The Lightning had a chance in soccer, but a loss to eden Prairie in the Class AA title game ended what would have been a dream season. in June, fortunes changed. eastview’s lacrosse team, led by offensive standouts Jacob heppner and Ryan Mcnamara, drubbed eden Prairie 10-4 in the state fi-nal. About 2 1/2 weeks later, evan DeCovich pitched a two-hit shutout as eastview defeated Bemidji 1-0 in the Class AAA baseball cham-pionship game at Target Field.

Fall from grace kurt Virgin is the only boys high school varsity coach in Minnesota with more than 400 victories in two different sports (soccer and basketball), but his ca-reer at eagan high School ended abruptly. he was placed on administrative leave just before the start of boys basketball practice in november while School District 196 investigated a complaint against him. By January, he retired from his teaching and coaching posi-tions, and it was announced that eagan police were in-vestigating his management of youth sports camps. in

May, the Dakota County Attorney’s Office charged him with six counts of theft by swindle, accusing him of stealing almost $30,000.

Walking away on top Apple Valley’s Jim Jack-son surprised some in the wrestling community by retiring from coaching af-ter leading the eagles to 14 state championships and two national titles in 17 sea-sons. he cited a desire to spend more time with his family after being in the Ap-ple Valley program for 32 years (including 15 as an as-sistant coach). he coached 56 individual state champi-ons. Longtime Apple Valley assistant Dalen wasmund was chosen to take over for Jackson. wasmund is just the third head coach in the wrestling program’s 36-year history.

The Farmington Flash Farmington took fourth place in the state Class AA girls track and field meet, and junior nadia Lorencz had a lot to do with it. Lor-encz earned a memorable victory in the 100-meter hurdles, edging defending champion Jessica January

of Richfield by .03 seconds. January had set the all-time state meet record in the preliminaries. Lorencz also added a victory in the long jump and a fourth place in the triple jump, meaning she scored 30 of the Tigers’ 40 points at state. Lorencz also is an accomplished gymnast – she finished second on vault at the 2012 state meet – but indicated she likely would concentrate on track and field in her senior year.

Soccer power in south metro As the 2011 high school soccer season progressed, it became clear that many of the state’s best Class AA teams were concentrated in two conferences – the South Suburban and the Lake. Therefore, it was no sur-prise that the two leagues supplied the participants in the state boys and girls championship games at the Metrodome. eden Prairie stopped the eastview boys’ march toward an unde-feated season, defeating the Lightning 3-1 in the state final. eastview finished 20-1-1, by far the best record in school history. in the girls championship game, way-zata defeated Burnsville 2-1 in a shootout. The Trojans converted on four of their

penalty kicks to Burnsville’s three in the shootout. One of the Blaze’s kicks banged off the goalpost, providing wayzata with the opening it needed. Both teams had youthful lineups, raising the possibility that they could meet again in the 2012 championship game.

State hockey memories eagan and Lakeville South represented the South Suburban Conference in the state boys hockey tourna-ment, and both teams gave fans moments to remem-ber. eagan, the South Sub-urban champion with four players headed to Division i colleges, won one of its three games at the tour-nament and placed sixth. Lakeville South pulled the tournament’s biggest up-set in years, beating no. 1 seed Duluth east 3-2 in the quarterfinals. it marked the first time a Lakeville team had won a quarterfinal game at the state boys tour-ney. South lost to eventual champion Benilde-St. Mar-garet’s 10-1 in the semifinals before recovering to beat Moorhead 2-1 for third place. Senior forward Justin kloos, the Cougars’ lead-ing scorer, also was the first player from a Lakeville high

school to receive the Mr. hockey award.

A strong core A core group of se-niors helped lead Lakeville north to strong showings in football, boys basketball and boys golf. The football team, with Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year Trey heid at quarterback, won conference and section championships before los-ing to Cretin-Derham hall in the state quarterfinals on a last-second field goal. The basketball team, which fea-tured seniors Tyler Flack, Ryan Saarela and Brett Rasmussen leading a deep rotation, went 30-2 but lost to Osseo 49-47 in the Class AAAA championship game on a basket at the buzzer. Three-sport athletes such as heid and Joel Oxton also contributed on the golf team, which was ranked first in the state for much of the season.

Fifth-game flashbacks Lakeville north was involved in two compel-ling high-stakes volleyball matches in eight days. First, the Panthers outlasted Lakeville South 25-20, 17-

In many ways, a memorable 2011-12A look back at 10 top stories in high school sports

Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer talks with Apple Valley High School football players last week during one of the Eagles’ summer workouts. Kramer, who played for the Vikings from 1977 through 1989, spent a day with the Eagles dispensing advice, particularly about the passing game.

Photos by Mike Shaughnessy

See 2011, 17A

Tommy Kramer chats with Apple Valley High School football coach Mike Fritze (right) during a summer workout for the Eagles football team last week. Kramer was passing through the Twin Cities following a commitment in North Dakota and spent a day with the Apple Valley football team. He played for the Vikings from 1977 through 1989, earning the nickname “Two-Minute Tommy” for leading several last-minute comebacks.

Wisdom from a former viking


��

��

��

��

��

� � � �

��

��

� ��

��

��

��

voice thickening with emo-tion. Lots of people were laid off in those years, Bills said. “It was a challenge.” The Bills family lived in Sauk Prairie, the nickname for the twin villages of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac, snug on the banks of the Wisconsin River in south-ern Sauk County. Traveling south on High-way 12 out of Sauk Prairie for 30 minutes leads to Mad-ison. Travelling north leads to the Badger Army Am-munition Plant – formerly a big area employer – with the highway then climbing the Baraboo Bluffs, polished sides jutting downward just a few feet off the shoulder of the road. Once over the bluff top, Wisconsin Dells awaits about 30 minutes down the road. Kurt Bills’ parents grew up nearby, with Leroy liv-ing within walking distance of Sauk Prairie at Stone’s Pocket and Sheila Bills, Kurt Bills’ mother, growing up near Plain. His mother’s ethic ances-try is German, his father’s more speculative – perhaps Irish or English. “We don’t know for sure. But I do have a little bit of everything in me,” Bills said. Raised a Catholic, Bills attended St. Aloysius Cath-olic Church in Sauk City. Bills indicated a certain flexibility in attendance. There was hunting and fishing on weekends, but

also firewood to bring in. The Bills heated their home with firewood – Bills isn’t sure he can remember ever seeing the LP tank re-filled. “It was legendary how much wood we would haul in a weekend,” Bills said, adding he learned the basics of conservation by watch-ing landowners select the trees they wanted felled. Leroy Bills’ theory about how his son got to be a standout shot putter in high school is that the motion of tossing a stick of firewood onto a truck is about the same as heaving a metal ball. Kurt Bills went to state in shot put and discus, though finished out of the medal hunt, he said. But his Sauk Prairie High School distance records match favorably against two other local athletes, both of whom later played in the National Football League. “I was a ‘C,’ ‘B’ student in high school,” Bills said. “I played sports a lot. I had a lot of fun.” Bills’ parents still live in the area. “They just worked hard for everything they got,” Bills said. Bills traces his core val-ues to them. “Dad just instilled in me you do things in your life, and what you do has costs,” he said. “And what you do has benefits. And don’t try to push your costs onto oth-er people.” Bills also credits his mother with having a strong

influence. She first stayed home with her son and daughter but later worked outside of the home, even-tually becoming the office manager for a feed com-pany in Sauk City. For about 18 months after high school, Bills worked as a union laborer in road and bridge construction, and taking old equipment out of an Oscar Mayer plant. His interest in attending college and pursuing law enforcement as a career, on advice of a family acquain-tance, led him to enroll at Winona State University. Once there, Bills began to chum with students enrolled in the School of Education, and began to see coaching as a means of providing early guidance to students rather than arresting them as a police officer at some later date. “It was a lot of hard work. But it paid off,” Bills said of his career choice. “I’m glad I went into teach-ing.” Construction-worker money exhausted, Bills took a job working with adults living in a group home in an old Victorian house in Winona. Pay was decent; it was a good resume builder, and the experience would be valuable, Bills reasoned. During his junior and senior years at college, Bills shared an apartment with two developmentally dis-abled men. Bills helped get them up in the morning, stay on schedule, assist them to al-low them the greatest con-

trol over their lives, Bills explained. “We had great times. Story after story,” Bills said. “They are the most lovable people in the world. They’re just happy.” One night, a bat got into the apartment, and David and Paul were excited and frightened. Bills got them into their room, and began hunting the bat with a tennis racket. At one point, in trying to maneuver the bat, he sensed someone standing just be-hind him. It was Paul. Unable to coax the bat outside, Bills whacked it and the bat slammed into the refrigerator, dead. Bills scooped up the bat, and was about to intern him in the trash outside when Paul insisted a few respect-ful words first be said. “‘Well, he was a good bat,’” Bills said, laughing about the brief service. After citing the bat’s many virtues, Bills per-formed a tight-lipped rendi-tion of Taps. Paul snapped to atten-tion. “Just things like that, makes your life – this is what it is all about, just this moment,” Bills said smiling. Besides gaining experi-ence working in the group home, Bills became ac-quainted with a fellow stu-dent who also worked there. “There’s still some con-tention about who called whom first. I believe she called me first,” Bills said of his future wife, Cindy.

“If Mrs. Bills was here, she would definitely have a problem with that state-ment,” he said. Bills proposed to his wife at Garvin Heights Park in Winona, a scenic outlook with a view of the Missis-sippi River Valley below. They married in March 1995. The couple have four children. They attend Christ Church in Apple Valley. Bills depicts his efforts in public office – two years on the Rosemount City Coun-cil and in the Minnesota House – as a response to his students’ concerns about the direction of the country.

The campaign Charlie Weaver, execu-tive director of the Minne-sota Business Partnership and former chief of staff to Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, foresees Bills having a tough time rais-ing campaign funding in his run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a plight not made easier by the perception that Bills is the underdog. Bills scoffs at the idea of feeling daunted by the chal-lenge. “I’d much rather be in this election versus Amy Klobuchar than trying to get a wrestling team to beat (powerhouse) Apple Val-ley,” said Bills, laughing. Bills coached Rosemount High School wrestling for seven years, among other coaching duties. In talking politics, Bills cited a basic belief.

“I believe in people,” he said. “I believe if you let people and businesses they run manage things, I think you’ll come out OK. … I think the Republican Party, and hopefully America, is still about the individual.” Bills, showing off the campaign’s three school buses parked next to his campaign office in Bloomington, dismissed the idea that he is an emotional person. “Passionate,” he said. Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, who is not only a friend of Bills but recruited him to run for the Legislature, said Bills is one of the most popular teach-ers at Rosemount High School among parents and students. He’s been repeatedly asked to deliver the com-mencement address to grad-uating seniors, he noted. “He does a great job at educating the kids,” Garo-falo said. Bills is “really smart,” honest, decent, exactly the kind of person you want to see in public office, Garo-falo said. One reason Bills is ea-ger to address the country’s economic issues, Garofalo indicated, is that as a stu-dent of economic history he has a larger view of the problems facing the United States.

T.W. Budig can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

Deadline for photo contest nears The deadline for the third annual Rosemount Photo Contest is Thursday, July 12. The contest, sponsored by the Rosemount Area Arts Council and the Rose-

mount Parks and Recre-ation Department, has five categories with the winners being honored during a dis-play at the Steeple Center during Rosemount Lepre-chaun Days. Ribbons will be awarded for first, second, third place and honorable mention in each of these categories: • Nature: landscape,

wildlife, floral; • Lifestyle: People, activi-ties, city scenes; • Enhanced or signifi-cantly altered by computer; • Youth: 17 and under, and • Give Us Your Best Shot: Anything, anyplace. For more information, go online to www.rose-mountaac.org or call Heidi

in the Garden” from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 31, at the Research and Display Gar-dens in UMore Park, 1605 W. 160th St., Rosemount. The event is free and open to the public. There will be educational presentations on topics such as: • How to grow the healthy fruits and vegetables

• Plants that attract birds, bees and butterflies • Identifying pesky weeds and how to control them • Hands-on opportuni-ties for kids to learn the fun in gardening Visit http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mgweb/dakota for more information.

News Briefs

bills, from 1A

Gustafson-Green at (612) 237-0203.

super Tuesday in the Garden The Dakota County Master Gardeners will sponsor “Super Tuesday





��

��

��

PUBLIC NOTICEDOCUMENT 00 11 13

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDSOne (1) Traffic Control Signal System,

One (1) Revise Signal System, andTraffic Control InterconnectionCity of Apple Valley, Minnesota

City Project No. 2011-140County Project No. 31-63SEH No. APPLE 119268

Notice is hereby given that sealed Bidswill be received by the City of Apple Valleyuntil 10:00 am CDST, Thursday July 26,2012 at the Apple Valley Municipal Centerat 7100 West 147th Street Apple Valley, MN55124 at which time they will be publiclyopened and read aloud, for the furnishing ofall labor and material and all else neces-sary for the construction of one (1) TrafficControl Signal System, one (1) Revise Sig-nal System, and Traffic Control Intercon-nection. Major components of the Workinclude:

* 6-inch Concrete Walk* Truncated Domes* One (1) Traffic Control Signal System

(CSAH 31 at 157th Street West)* Traffic Control Interconnection* One (1) Revise Signal System

(Galaxie Avenue at 147th Street West)* Pavement Markings and Messages

Bids shall be on the form provided forthat purpose and according to the BiddingRequirements prepared by Short ElliottHendrickson Inc., dated June 28, 2012.

The Bidding Documents may be viewedat the office of the City Clerk of the City ofApple Valley, and at the issuing office ofShort Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (3535 Vad-n a i s C e n t e r D r i v e , S t . P a u l , M N55110-5196, telephone 651.490.2000).

Digital copies of the Bidding Documentsare available at http://www.sehinc.com fora fee of $30. These documents may bedownloaded by selecting this project fromthe BIDDING DOCUMENTS l ink and byentering eBidDocTM Number 2135880 onthe SEARCH PROJECTS page. For assis-tance and free membership registration,contact QuestCDN at 952.233.1632 [email protected].

Paper copies of the Bidding Documentsmay be obta ined from Docunet Corp.located at 2435 Xenium Lane North, Ply-mouth, MN 55441 (763.475.9600) for a feeof $75.

A pre-Bid conference will NOT be held.Bid security in the amount of 5 percent of

the B id must accompany each B id inaccordance with the Instructions to Bid-ders.

Bids shall be directed to the City Clerk,securely sealed and endorsed upon theoutside wrapper, "BID FOR APPLE VAL-LEY TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS - CITYPROJECT NUMBER: 2011-140."

The City reserves the right to retain thedeposits of the three lowest Bidders for aperiod not to exceed 60 days after the dateand time set for the opening of Bids. NoBids may be withdrawn for a period of 60days after the date and time set for theopening of Bids.

The City reserves the right to reject anyand all Bids, to waive irregularities andinformalities therein and to award the Con-tract in the best interests of the City.

Pamela J. GackstetterCity ClerkCity of Apple Valley, Minnesota

3069309 7/6-7/20/12

��

Also on the coaching staff are Julie Marvets, who was an All-State setter on Weav-er’s first state championship team at Apple Valley, and her twin sister Janis Goeh-ner, who played middle blocker at AVHS and runs the Lakeville North Juniors program. Goehner also is the mother of Alyssa Goeh-ner, Lakeville North’s star player.

Northern Lights Weaver never really left coaching. He’s been keep-ing busy with the Northern Lights club for the past six years. Last week he led the 15-1 Northern Lights team to an AAU open division nation-al championship in Florida. Players on that team includ-ed Lakeville North’s Janae Neuenschwander, Lakeville South’s Jade Tingelhoff and

Eagan’s Callie Schapekahm. The Northern Lights 15-Red team won the classic di-vision, 17-White won clas-sic, 16-2 won club, 17-Red was second in classic, 18-2 was second in club and 17-1 finished third in the open division. The club had several All Americans from the area, including Eagan’s Brian-na Pernsteiner, Lakeville North’s Samantha Flattum and Goehner, and Lakeville South’s Tingelhoff.

Willingham back at South Willingham took over at Lakeville North in 2011 after longtime head coach Milan Mader stepped down after winning the Class AAA state title in 2010. Although North lost two of its top three players from 2010, the 2011 version near-ly won the state title again falling a few points shy of a repeat and finishing second to Eden Prairie. “I’ve had so many great experiences at North,” Will-ingham said. “But the job opened up in my backyard nine months later.” Willingham can see the Cougar football stadium from his house. “When Jen (Nelson, the Lakeville South coach since 2006) decided to leave the program, it felt like a no-brainer for me,” Willingham said. “It was tough to leave North after only being there a year. I didn’t want to put the team through the hard-ship of finding a new coach

again.” Willingham coached at Lakeville High School from 1986-2005. When Lakeville South opened, he coached for the Lakeville South 9A program from 2005-10 be-fore heading up the road to Lakeville North. “I’m a Lakeville guy at heart and supportive of both sides of Highway 50,” Willingham said. South had a thrilling sea-son as well in 2011, tying for the South Suburban Con-ference title while spending a few weeks ranked No. 1 in the state. But it’s not about win-ning for Willingham as much as it’s about family. As in, he’d rather not be an enemy in his own house. His oldest child is 9, so “I would have a few more years at North before I’d be faced with that reality,” Willing-ham said. “When I talked to Walt (who had daughters at Lakeville when he coached at Apple Valley), he said it was pretty hard. So when the opportunity came up, it was hard not to at least take a look.” The Cougars lost the ma-jority of their 2011 team to graduation except Jade and Jazzmyn Tingelhoff. “We’ll be a bit of a mys-tery, but this town loves its volleyball,” Willingham said. “I’m excited to see what we can do.”

Andy Rogers can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

Weaver, from 12A

25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13 in the Section 3AAA final. The tension was cranked up even higher at the state tour-nament when North faced Eden Prairie for the cham-pionship. After the longest fifth game in state tourna-ment history, Eden Prairie prevailed 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 22-20. North’s Alyssa Goehner had 34 kills and 38 digs in the marathon championship match, and

she’ll be back next season as the Panthers take another shot at the title.

run to win Dakota County runners were a factor in the state Class AA cross country meet last fall, with Burns-ville’s boys and Lakeville South’s girls both earning team runner-up trophies. Senior Cole O’Brien fin-ished fifth individually for Burnsville. Nathan Rock, who placed 21st overall,

led Rosemount to fourth in the boys team competition. Ninth-grader Kaytlyn Lar-son finished sixth individu-ally for the state runner-up Lakeville South girls team. Eagan junior Danielle An-derson finished eighth in the girls race and helped her team place ninth.

Mike Shaughnessy is at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

2011, from 12A


��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

Photo by T.W. Budig

Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson praised the Supreme Court’s decision last week on the Affordable Care Act.

by T.W. BudigSun ThiSWeek

The u.S. Supreme Court upheld the Obama admin-istration’s landmark legis-lative achievement, the Af-fordable Care Act, on a 5-4 vote Thursday, June 28. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, ren-dering the majority decision on the controversial individ-ual health insurance man-date, concluded the provi-sion was indeed permissible as part of the federal gov-ernment’s taxing authority. “The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that cer-tain individuals pay a finan-cial penalty for not obtain-ing health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax,” Roberts wrote. “Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness.” Americans who refuse to obtain health insurance face penalties beginning in 2014. One of the most outspo-ken critics of the federal law, Republican 6th District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, blasted the court’s decision on Cnn. “it really is a turning point in American history,” Bachmann said. “This is an activist court you saw to-day.” Bachmann characterized the judicial logic that the in-dividual mandate was per-missible as “bizarre.” She called it “a denial of liberty,” and spoke of the ballot box as the only rem-edy left to opponents of so-called Obamacare. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka and chair of the house health and human Ser-vices Finance Committee, expressed disappointment over the ruling. “it’s a great ruling if money would fall from the sky,” Abeler said. Abeler views the health care law as emblematic of out-of-control federal spending, a gushing of bor-rowed money for which he blames Republicans and Democrats alike. Abeler views the Afford-able Care Act as tightening federal control on the states. Second District u.S. Rep. John kline, R-Lakeville, ex-pressed dismay over the rul-ing. “The Supreme Court’s decision is a devastating blow to the American peo-ple,” kline said in a state-ment. “if Washington can penalize private citizens for failing to buy government-approved health insurance, then there is no reasonable limit on federal power.” house Speaker kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, also expressed disappoint-ment. “President Obama and Democrats in Congress have unleashed a massive expan-sion of government that will harm our economy every day until it is repealed,” he said. Fourth District u.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-St. Paul, argued in a statement

Opinions vary on court’s health care ruling

Minnesota u.S. Sens. Amy klobuchar and Al Franken in the past as “totally” fail-ing to defend the Affordable Care Act. he’s been astounded by the silence of the Demo-crats, he explained. Affordable Care Act pro-visions already in effect in-clude: • Children with pre-exist-ing medical conditions can-not be discriminated against by new health care plans or grandfathered group health plans. • Prohibits insurance companies from dropping people from health care coverage if they get sick. • Requires new health plans and certain grandfa-thered plans to allow young people up to age 26 to re-main on their parents’ in-surance policy, if desired.

T.W. Budig can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/sunthisweek.

Kline criticizes, Durenburger praises high

court’s decision

that it was time for Republi-cans to change their tune. “it is now time for Re-publicans in Congress to end their vitriolic repeal campaign and work on ef-fectively implementing this law to the benefit of the American people,” she said. Dayton administration health care officials, includ-ing human Services Com-missioner Lucinda Jesson, applauded the court ruling. “The ruling signifies real progress and impor-tant protection for citizens across Minnesota,” she said in a statement. “2014 will be a really big year,” Jesson said of the time when major elements of the act, such as health in-surance exchanges, should be in place. Jesson indicated that she believed most Americans, assisted by elements in the legislation, would willingly take steps to insure they’re covered. “Minnesota has always been a national leader in health care and the admin-istration will continue ef-forts to increase quality and improve access to insurance and affordable care will con-tinue,” the statement read. Former Republican u.S. Sen. David Durenberger, founder and current chair of the national institute of health Policy at the university of St. Thomas, explained that while the Affordable Care Act isn’t a flawless piece of legislation, it’s pretty good. it reflects evolving wis-dom and consensus over health care gained over past decades. “All these things are coming together now,” Du-renberger said. “The law is the reward. … it’s got ev-erything we’ve been looking for.” Well-defined national health care policy goals are found in the bill, he ex-plained. Durenberger, speaking prior to the Supreme Court ruling, defended the person-al mandate. “You’ve got to have a system in which everybody is in,” Durenberger said. As for Republican critics, they have some laudable, long-terms goals for health care, Durenberger said. “(But) they don’t know how to get from here to there,” he said. Durenberger, seen as a health care expert, views Democrats from Obama to

SUN Thisweek Apple Valley and Rosemount

Documents

apple valley resident

apple valley rosemountwww

apple valley townhome

apple valley high school

apple valley freedom

state capitol

capitol experience

thisweeks facebook page