Thisweek Burnsville and Eagan

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Philosophy, hard liquor and ďŹ sticuffs color “Art,â€? the new stage comedy by Chameleon Theatre Circle. See Thisweekend Page7A

A NEWS OPINION SPORTS

Thisweek Burnsville-Eagan JANUARY 28, 2011

VOLUME 31, NO. 48

www.thisweeklive.com

Opinion/4A

Real Estate/6A

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Sports/8A

Classifieds/9A

Public Notices/12A

Football, booze, confrontation and bloodshed in Burnsville

Say it’s so, Joe

Robert Thomas, 46, charged with second-degree murder by John Gessner THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Photo by Rick Orndorf

Minnesota Twins star Joe Mauer was in Burnsville on Wednesday with the Twins Caravan, which made an early-afternoon stop at the Mediterranean Cruise Cafe on Nicollet Avenue in the Heart of the City. During the appearance Mauer was interviewed live on ESPN 1500 by radio hosts Patrick Reusse, left, and Phil Mackey. For more photos, go online at www.ThisweekLive.com.

An alcohol-fueled football gathering ended in bloodshed Jan. 23 as one of two Burnsville men allegedly shot the other to death during a noisy confrontation. The party’s host, 46-year-old Robert Michael Thomas Sr., was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder. The victim, 38-year-old James Edward Koenig, died of a single shotgun blast inside Thomas’ townhouse at 14046 Plymouth Ave. S. The confrontation was over photos that Thomas’ 13-year-old son had taken that day of a shirtless Koenig, according to the criminal complaint. According to accounts given to police, the boy took photos of Koenig in body-building poses in a bedroom of the townhouse. Both Thomas and Koenig’s girlfriend confronted Koenig about the photos, which they deemed inappropriate, according to the complaint.

Thomas had invited the woman, a friend of his, to come to his house with her boyfriend to watch the Packers game. She dropped Koenig off and left to do some Thomas things with her children. When she returned shortly before halftime, the two men were drinking straight vodka out of coffee cups, the woman told police. Another friend of Thomas’ who came to his house that day also said Thomas and Koenig had been drinking. After the game the woman noticed the photos of Koenig on the boy’s camera. “She said that the defendant saw those pictures and asked her what her boyfriend was doing in the other room having the defendant’s son take pictures of him,� the complaint said. When confronted, Koenig said he See Murder, 14A

Coffee shop opens at Wescott Library in Eagan After long delay, grand opening of Dewey’s Cafe is Saturday, Jan. 29 by Erin Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

The wait is finally over – visitors can now enjoy a cup of joe while they browse the books at Wescott Library in Eagan. A grand opening celebration will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, for Dewey’s Cafe, which began serving customers about a week ago. Wescott patrons have been eagerly awaiting the coffee shop since it was first announced it would be included in the library’s $2.2 million renovation, which was completed in 2009. “We’re very excited,� said Chris McLean, who owns the cafe along with his partner, Tyler Liedman. The twenty-something entrepreneurs met while working as barristas in a St. Paul coffee shop and

Photos by Erin Johnson

A space was created for Dewey’s Cafe during the library’s $2.2 million renovation in 2009, but it sat empty until the coffee shop debuted last week. A grand opening celebration is planned Saturday, Jan. 29. The cafe is being operated by local entrepreneurs Chris McLean, right, and Tyler Liedman.

talked of starting their own operation some day. “It’s nice to finally have our own coffee shop,� he said. “The work is a little harder than what we were doing before, but it’s our own thing and our own

space, and it’s nice to be the people that choose the products and make sure we’re serving something good.� The cafe serves a variety of coffee drinks using primarily organic and fair

trade coffee, along with Italian soda, soft drinks, tea, juice, pre-made sandwiches, chips, donuts, and fruit. Since its soft opening a week ago, business has been steadily growing. “It’s been going great,� said Eric Austin, senior

cluster manager for Dakota County Libraries. “I think our patrons are loving it. Every time I go by I see folks in there on their computers, looking at books, drinking coffee.� The project cost about $50,000, Austin said. The bulk of the start-up funds,

about $45,000, came from Friends of the Wescott Library, a non-profit support group. The library and the county kicked in the rest. The cafe was originally supposed to open last June, but the task of meeting state and local codes for See Coffee, 14A

Washington comes to Crystal Lake Elementary Kline, Duncan discuss student achievement, education reform at northern Lakeville school by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Photo by Aaron Vehling

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan enjoyed an educational game with two English Language Learner students at Crystal Lake Elementary School in Lakeville on Friday, Jan. 21, during a tour of the school with U.S. Rep. John Kline, who lives in the neighborhood.

Last Friday, Jan. 21, a Lakeville resident hosted a friend at Crystal Lake Elementary, his neighborhood school, to discuss some heady education issues. It could have been another day in the monthlong discussion about the Lakeville School District’s budget but for the large group of movers and shakers following the two men around. District administrators, the School Board, Mayor Mark Bellows, some well-dressed aides, security forces and hordes of media stuck by the two men as they traversed the school. Along the way, some good oldfashioned science Jeopardy with some spritely kids added some levity. “Welcome to my hometown and my neighborhood school,� the resi-

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dent said to the masses. The resident, U.S. Rep. John Kline, and his friend, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, 16th in the line of succession to the presidency, toured Crystal Lake with newly-appointed Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. The school’s principal, Bill Mack, led the group around the school, stopping by two classrooms for some participation in educational games with excited students. During a question time, the students were allowed to ask questions. One student approached Duncan and said, “My father told me to ask you this.� A smile developed across his face and out came the question: “Do you ever play basketball with (President) Obama?� Duncan, a former professional

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basketball player in Australia and Harvard basketball star, laughed and answered in the affirmative. “He’s a very busy man, so he enjoys taking a break to play basketball,� Duncan said. Kline and company finished the tour with a press conference, addressing issues such as the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, Minnesota’s wide white-to-minority student achievement gap and alternative licensure to fill much-needed teaching positions in math and science.

Not failing Duncan and Kline both agreed that the status quo can’t stand. With respect to NCLB, which requires all students to be 100 percent proficient in core subjects by 2014, both men said there is a great need for See Education, 14A


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