BPHS Dancers Make Noise at Cannon Falls
Gun Permit Applications on the Increase
Boys’ Hoops Team in Thick of MRC Race
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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
75¢ SINGLE COPY
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, JANUARY 20, 2016
NUMBER 3
Ridgeview/Lutheran Home Submit Concept Plan for Health Campus What is expected to be one of Belle Plaine’s biggest building projects in a number of years is taking shape on paper, and if all goes according to plan, actual construction will begin this summer at the same time the new bridge over Highway 169 is being completed. The Belle Plaine Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval of the concept plan for the Ridgeview Medical Center Clinic and Lutheran Home Senior Living Campus proposed to be located near the intersection of Highway 169 and County Road 3/Meridian Street south of Highway 169. The Belle Plaine City CounBelle Plaine Police Officer Kris Moloney (left) and Chief Tom Stolee (right) presented King- cil was scheduled to address sway Retirement Living Administrator Karl Keup a sign recognizing The Lutheran Home’s the concept plan and likely go commitment to keeping residents on its Belle Plaine campus safe. Keup and other Lutheran Home staff attended crime-free multi-family home training earlier this fall.
along with planning and zoning’s recommendation for approval at Tuesday night’s regular meeting after this edition of the Herald went to press. The meeting was held Tuesday rather than Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The bridge work, which started this past fall, is expected to be finished late this summer or early fall. The medical clinic/ senior housing campus will take about nine months to complete. “Ridgeview Medical Center proposes a mixed-use development at 165 Commerce Drive West,” reported Community Development Director Cynthia Smith-Strack. “Phase one of the project includes an inter-
connected 12,500-square-foot medical clinic, 9,500-squarefoot fitness and wellness center, and 55-unit senior care center.” Ridgeview/Lutheran Home Campus Development Description – Medical Clinic: The initial phase will be approximately 8,000 to 12,000 square feet designed with future vertical expansions to a total of 15,000 to 20,000 square feet. The clinic building will have a drivethrough pharmacy and provisions for an advanced imaging trailer to be parked alongside and integrated with the clinic. – Lutheran Home Care Cen-
Health Campus (continued on page 8)
Scott County Eyes Interchange Police Help Create Safer Setting at Highway 169-41 Crossing for Lutheran Home Residents The lights have long been a operates at capacity, and conBelle Plaine Police Officer Kris Moloney recalls the autumn evening he was on patrol along west Main Street. As he drove by Kingsway on West Main Street, he detected something wasn’t quite right. He put his concern into action. Maloney noticed the shrubbery
in front of the Kingsway building provided a blind spot to the front of the building from the street. The shrubbery provided too many hiding points for someone who might be waiting to assault one of the building’s fragile residents or find a way to break in.
Rural Fire Association’s 70th Annual Meeting Next Monday The 70th annual meeting of the Belle Plaine Rural Fire Protection Association will take place 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25 at the Belle Plaine Fire Hall, 700 East Main Street. All rural residents in the Belle Plaine Fire District are members and are invited to attend. Food and refreshments will be served. The meeting will include the distribution of the annual financial report, determination of yearly mill rate assessment and the election of officers.
In 2015, the Belle Plaine City Council, Fire Department and Rural Fire Protection Association (RFPA) agreed to purchase a new Rosenbauer fire engine truck at a prepay cost of $590,035. RFPA Secretary John Murphy said the truck is due to arrive in a couple of months. Murphy said no major purchases or spending increases are planned for 2016. Three seats will be up in the election of officers. Included are those of Allen Schmitz, Jim Witt and Jim Connelly.
Strait Smiles to Provide Free Dental Care to Kids in Need Strait Smiles Family Dentistry in Belle Plaine is joining with dental professionals across the state to provide free care to children whose families cannot afford to pay for the care. Strait Smiles is located at 201 West Raven Street. People interested in scheduling an appointment on Feb. 5 may call 952-873-6380. Patients seeking appointments should be age 17 or younger and accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Information on specific services that will be
provided will be outlined when an appointment is scheduled. The Minnesota Dental Association is sponsoring this statewide outreach effort, called Give Kids a Smile, because dentists are committed to providing all children with dental care and helping eliminate barriers to care throughout Minnesota. Learn more about the Minnesota Dental Association, the voice of dentistry in Minnesota, at www.mndental.org.
“We knew it was time to get the shrubbery trimmed, but that never occurred to us,” Kingsway Administrator Karl Keup said. “We had it cut back right away.” With the safety of Kingsway Retirement Living’s 95 residents in mind, Keup and the building administrators of the other facilities on The Lutheran Home’s Belle Plaine campus attended a two-day seminar on resident safety at the Belle Plaine police offices. Friday (Jan. 15), police stopped by Kingsway to thank Keup and the other building administrators on the campus to make sure residents knew their safety is a concern of the department and its officers. “This is a safe community. It’s a good community,” Police
$38 Million Project Set for Construction in 2018
Belle Plaine and area commuters weary of daily rush-hour congestion at the intersection of highways 169 and 41/Scott County Road 78 only have to wait another two years for the beginning of a solution as Scott County and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) begin the next major interchange project in the area. The county is leading the interchange project. Tuesday morning (Jan. 19), commissioners discussed the proposal during a workshop after the regular board meeting. Safer Setting The proposal calls for an in(continued on page 2) terchange to replace the semaphore at the intersection. It is scheduled for construction in 2018. It will be funded by a Former Miss blend of county, state and federBelle Plaine Dies al funding. The county received a $10 million federal grant for Ann Hennen, formerly the project. Schmidt, died Monday after a three-year battle with multiple myeloma (a type of cancer). She lived in Coon Rapids at the time of her death. Schmidt, the daughter of Catherine Schmidt of Belle Plaine and the late Erwin Schmidt, was crowned Miss Belle Plaine in 1977, the same year she graduated from Belle Plaine High School. Schmidt and her husband, Paul Hennen, raised four children. Paul is the son of Ron and Marian Hennen of Belle Plaine. Schmidt’s obituary and funeral arrangements were still pending at Tuesday’s press time. The information will be posted on the Herald’s Facebook page and website when it’s made available.
source of congestion to commercial and passenger vehicles alike. The county says the intersection is considers the intersection the site of a high number of crashes. “This intersection currently
ditions are expected to worsen due to projected increases in traffic and development,” according to a Scott County-pro-
Interchange
(continued on page 14)
Gas Prices Lowest Since All Three Local Stations Opened All three of Belle Plaine’s current fueling stations were not yet built when you could buy a gallon of unleaded gasoline for less than today. Kwik Trip and Cenex both opened in the summer of 2009 and Coborn’s in 2010. The price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline as of Tuesday morning at all three stations was $1.77.9. Gas prices in the Twin Cities metropolitan area Tuesday morning ranged from $1.50 at both Clark in Champlin and Costco in Maple Grove, to $2.29 at both Sinclair in Minnetonka and Southview 66 in South St. Paul. The national average price of gasoline recently dropped 7.6
cents to $1.89 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com, a website that tracks real-time national gas prices. That is the lowest price per gallon since March of 2009. Fuel prices are continuing to sink with the price of oil (less than $30 a barrel), but also because of the lower demand for gasoline during the winter months when fewer people embark on road trips. Some experts predict oil prices to remain near or below $30 a barrow for the remainder of 2016. The all-time high for gas in Belle Plaine was reached in May of 2013, when the price was $4.29.9 a gallon for regular unleaded.
St. Patrick’s Planning Meeting Jan. 20
By Any Measure, That’s Cold Travelers found the going frigid Monday morning (Jan. 18). After a weekend that saw the winter’s coldest air invade Belle Plaine and Minnesota, Monday morning saw pre-sunrise temperatures dip to 19-degrees below zero. While bank clock temperatures are not considered totally accurate, by any measure it was plenty cold. But things are looking up. The National Weather Service is forecasting daytime high temperatures in the low- to mid-20s by mid-week and the weekend.
The Belle Plaine St. Patrick’s Committee will hold a planning meeting for this year’s celebration on today (Wednesday) at Neisen’s Corner Bar downtown. All committee members and bar/restaurant owners are asked to attend. It begins at 6 The team from Coborn’s Superstore took home bragging rights after their entry was judged the best tasting chili at Saturday’s Wizardz chili cook-off at Oak Crest Elementary School. p.m. The Coborn’s team of (from left) Janice Teal, Jass Reid and Libby Ling proudly showed off the first-place award. The team’s winning recipe included ground turkey and plenty of spices. The teams from Johan’s Sports Bar & Grill and Sparetime Tavern finished second and third. The chili cook-off was a fund-raiser for the Wizardz, a Special Olympics team of local and area athletes.
Chili Cook-off Champs