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Burnsville | Eagan May 17, 2013 | Volume 34 | Number 12
Area legislators state their views
NEWS Water main break closes school
Hall: Marriage vote places him ‘on the right side of eternity’
A water main break on Monday, May 13, flooded Cherry View Elementary in Lakville, closing it for the rest of the school year. Page 3A
OPINION Don’t pave paradise Eagan resident explains why a proposal to pave trails in Lebanon Hills Regional Park is a bad idea. Page 4A
THISWEEKEND
by T.W. Budig SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
A late amendment to legislation allowing gay marriage in Minnesota turned state Rep. Pat Garofalo’s vote from “no” to “yes” last Thursday. The Farmington representative, who attends All Saints Catholic Church in Lakeville, said it was a “religious freedom amendment” that turned the tide for the five-term Republican. Garofalo was one of four Republican House members to approve the bill in the 75-59 margin. The Senate followed with a 37-30 vote Monday to pass the bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday. Garofalo stressed the importance of the amendment offered by Rep.
Republican Sen. Dan Hall of Burnsville, who represents District 56, said legislation legalizing samesex marriage could spark DFL Rep. Laurie Halverson of Eagan, who represents civil disobedience. District 51B, said feedback from her consitituents is “very much in favor” of her vote for same-sex marriage. (Sun David FitzSimmons, R- Thisweek file photo) Albertville, on “civil marriage” going onto the bill ment to protect churches That provision, Garoas a reason for his vote. and faith-based organi- falo said, was his “price “For me I was a ‘no’ zations,” Garofalo said. for voting ‘yes.’ ” vote on the bill, until Rep. “And ultimately, that’s “The lawyers say this FitzSimmons offered his what moved me to a ‘yes’ is strongest religious freereligious freedom amend- vote.” dom legislation in the na-
tion,” Garofalo said. FitzSimmons, with a go-ahead from House bill author Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, a lesbian lawmaker, successfully amended the bill to insert the word “civil” in references to marriage. FitzSimmons, who voted for the bill, said the addition of the word was to make plain that what happens in the courthouse and what happens in a church, synagogue, or mosque in terms of marriage are two different things. Clark’s legislation contained a provision stating religious organizations, associations or societies have sole control over their doctrine and that a licensed or ordained minister cannot be fined, penalized or subject to civil liability for reSee MARRIAGE, 15A
Street rebuilding needs Hotel deal at hand mounting in Burnsville for Heart of the City by John Gessner
Flute, harp, coffee This year’s Coffee Concert series in Lakeville concludes with a performance by the Bell’ Alma Duo. Page 21A
SPORTS
Softball playoffs are starting Eastview and Burnsville earned top-four seeds in the Section 3AAA softball tournament. Page 13A
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City’s pavement a cut below neighboring cities’ by John Gessner SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Drivers who find the ride a bit rougher in Burnsville than in younger, neighboring suburbs are onto something. Burnsville’s average “pavement condition index” reading is 57, compared with superior PCI readings of 69 in Lakeville, 74 in Apple Valley and 83 in Eagan. The comparisons are somewhat subjective, Burnsville officials caution, but the low number is a cautionary signal for a city that began building streets in earnest more than 50 years ago and began rebuilding them in 1990. More money — beyond what the city spends annually from its infrastructure trust fund and its share of state aid for streets — could eventually be required for it to catch up
This is a 25-year-old Burnsville street crumbling from a substandard bituminous mix. A number of such streets are adding to the city’s street-reconstruction burden. (City of Burnsville photo) with needed street recon- brecht said he isn’t seeking struction. tax hikes for streets. FundMore money could also ing is “more of a 10-year be needed if the city were question,” he said. to work toward a targeted But the council did dinumber on the pavement rect him to begin linking condition index. Un- pavement conditions to like Apple Valley, Eagan long-range capital spendand Lakeville, Burnsville ing plans. Albrecht and hasn’t set a numerical tar- City Engineer Ryan Peget for the 225 miles of terson will also prepare roads it maintains, about cost scenarios for working 58 percent of which were toward targeted numbers built before 1980. on the pavement condition At a May 14 City Coun- index. cil work session, Public See STREETS, 16A Works Director Steve Al-
The city of Burnsville is poised to sign a deal with a hotel developer, completing one of the last pieces of unfinished business in the Heart of the City redevelopment district. The City Council, acting as the Economic Development Commission, is scheduled to vote June 4 on the sale of city-owned land north of the Performing Arts Center to hotel firm Akota Hospitality LLC of Dickinson, N.D., according to Skip Nienhaus, Burnsville’s economic development coordinator. An Akota representative, Joel Cary, didn’t return a reporter’s phone call. The $503,600 sale has been reviewed by the city’s Economic Development Commission, which recommended approval on May 8. Akota appears to be interested in building a Hilton Garden Inn, Nienhaus said. The city’s proposed contract with Akota requires a hotel of at least 90 rooms, including a restau-
rant, meeting space and about 55 parking spaces. Construction must begin within 90 days of approval of a planned unit development that must be submitted no later than Jan. 31, 2014. A hotel has always been part of Burnsville’s plan for the Heart of the City, Nienhaus said. The redevelopment effort grew from initial city efforts in the 1990s to improve the Nicollet Avenue and Burnsville Parkway streetscapes. The hotel has gone waiting while other plans for the Heart of the City – the arts center, an urban park, mixed residential and commercial uses – materialized. “It certainly took a while, but yes, it did happen,” Nienhaus said. The 1.75-acre hotel parcel is the last remaining piece of 6.24 acres the city bought in 2001 from AAA Minnesota/Iowa. The contract with Akota calls for the company to pay $503,600 – more than Dakota County’s $457,600 valuation but well below See HOTEL, 16A
Sobriety High closing Eagan WWII veteran gets Charter school has “Whenever, like, something happens, I can al- his long overdue honors campuses in ways come to these people
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Burnsville, Coon Rapids by John Gessner SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
James Hinze of Farmington said he “always hung around the bad crowd” and abused all kinds of drugs and alcohol. After emerging from treatment two years ago, he found good friends, good counsel and continuous reinforcement at his new school, Sobriety High’s Alliance Academy in Burnsville. “It’s good, because I can relate to pretty much everybody here because we’re all fighting the same fight,” said Hinze, 16.
at school and they help me, unconditionally.” Hinze’s sophomore year, which concludes June 7, will be his last year at Alliance Academy, which opened in 2004. Money problems are forcing Sobriety High to close both of its campuses, in Burnsville and Coon Rapids. “I heard about the school closing, it must have been like two weeks ago,” Hinze said. “And I was devastated, because this school has been my life for, like, two years.” The charter school campuses are closing because they’ll be a combined $400,000 short of the funds needed to hold See SCHOOL, 16A
by Jessica Harper
SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
After their B-29 collided with an Allied plane over Japan, Eagan resident Wencel “Chum” Bohr and his fellow crewmen on the Sentimental Journey feared the worst. Their fate began to look bleak, yet the crew never lost focus on their task during the 1945 raid on Japan. Bohr, a gunner on the B-29, continued to fire at the enemy while the pilot struggled with the failing engines. Despite losing an engine, the plane returned safely to the U.S. Wencel “Chum” Bohr received the President Unit base on Iwo Jima. Citation, the World War II Victory Medal, and an Nearly 70 years later, Honorable Service Pin from U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Burnsville, nearly 70 years after he earned the medals See VETERAN, 11A for his service in World War II. (Photo submitted)