The Columbia Heights City Council last week cleared the way for Prodeo Academy, a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school, to be built on the site of Oak Hill Baptist Church on NE. University Avenue.
The council unanimously approved a conditional site permit, site plan and variances for the project and agreed to issue up to $24 million in conduit bonds to be paid with lease revenue from the school.
"All right, we have a new school coming," Mayor Donna Schmitt said after the vote.
Prodeo, which now operates campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul, is in the process of buying the Oak Hill site. It plans to raze existing buildings and build a school to accommodate up to 700 students, a project that will include a gym, playground, landscaping and parking lot.
KEVIN DUCHSCHERE
CHANHASSEN
Interpretive farm opens at arboretum
Farm at the Arb, a $5.4 million interpretive farm designed to educate the public about agriculture, was slated to open this weekend at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
The farm will have fields of fruit, vegetables and Minnesota crops including corn, soybeans and wheat. Interpretive exhibits and educational programs will focus on crops and farming practices, and produce developed at the University of Minnesota's nearby Horticultural Research Center will be featured.
The farm, which is paid for with private donations, sits on 40 acres. The fields surround a bright red barn built around 1917. The property passed down through generations of farmers before the U, which operates the arboretum, bought it in 1967.
KATY READ
Dakota County
Historical society hires archaeologist
The Dakota County Historical Society has hired archaeologist Jeremy Nienow to oversee a yearlong series of public archaeology programs for Dakota, Ramsey and Scott counties.
At the end of the project, Nienow will compare and contrast artifacts found in each county.
The county historical society hired Nienow with the help of an $89,000 grant it received this summer from the Minnesota Historical Society.
A program on public archaeology will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the LeDuc Historic Estate, 1629 Vermillion St., Hastings. Registration is required. For more information, go to dakotahistory.org.
Erin Adler
Ramsey County
First fall Fix-It Clinic is set for Sept. 28
Ramsey County is hosting a series of Fix-It Clinics on Saturdays this fall, where residents can bring in small household appliances, clothing and electronics for free help or repairs by skilled volunteers. Repairs will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. Typical items include lamps, hair dryers, sewing machines, toasters, toys, fans and clothing.
Clinics will be held 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at Ramsey County Library-Roseville, 2180 Hamline Av.; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 26 at St. Anthony Community Center, 3301 Silver Lake Road; 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 23 at Ramsey County Library-Maplewood, 3025 Southlawn Drive; and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 7 at Our Lady of Guadalupe, 401 Concord St., St. Paul. More information is available at ramseyrecycles.com/fixitclinics.
Shannon Prather
