Motorists will encounter traffic delays when resurfacing of Highway 41 from Highway 5 to Highway 7 begins July 13, according to a Minnesota Department of Transportation news release.

Highway 41 will remain open but there will be a flagging operation that will reduce traffic to a single lane. Work will begin on the northbound lanes.

Crews will work Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The resurfacing project will be completed by July 24, weather permitting.

Submitted by Mollee Francisco on July 1, 2009 - 12:52pm.

A project to turn the C.P. Klein mansion on the corner of Fourth and Walnut streets into a fine dining restaurant is back on, after some successful brainstorming to make the financing work.
Developers Norm and Jan Kraus gave the council an update at its meeting Monday night. Things looked bleak for the restaurant recently with financing problems that were forcing the city to begin considering other options for the historic building’s reuse.

Submitted by Mollee Francisco on July 6, 2009 - 11:46am.

A former bookkeeper for the Jonathan Association was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of probation for felony theft.
In a press release, Carver County attorney Jim Keeler announced the conviction and sentencing of Kimberly Sue Ferrari, 38, of Chaska.   
Ferrari was charged with two counts of felony theft last August. She was accused of stealing over $9,000 in goods and services through the use of a Jonathan Association credit card between November 2005 and July 2007.

Submitted by HawkEye on July 6, 2009 - 2:59pm.

Due to the Chaska Town Course being closed on Monday, July 6 and July 13 for Shotgun Outings, the course offers its Monday Non Resident Special to all players on Tuesday, July 7 and Tuesday, July 14 through 2:30 p.m.
The special rate is $39.50 walking and $51.50 riding.
The course is in great shape and we would love to have you visit the Town Course.
Reservations can be made four days in advance by calling (952) 443-3748 or five days in advance at the Town Course's Web site.

Have politicians always made such a big deal out of what Bible they were sworn in on?

In the past, it never seemed to be on the radar. Or it may have been reported that a politician was sworn in on a family Bible, passed down from generation to generation.
However, it now seems that whenever someone is sworn in, the Bible makes a statement.

For instance:
* U.S. Sen. Al Franken was just sworn in borrowing former Sen. Paul Wellstone’s Bible.
* U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison took the oath, borrowing Thomas Jefferson’s Quran.

Jane A. (Tenquist) Christopherson

Jane Christopherson, 72, of Victoria, passed away Sunday, July 5, 2009. She was preceded in death by husband, Hubert L. (Chris) Christopherson; parents, Edwin and Amy Tenquist; brother, Wayne Tenquist’ son-in-law, Lynn Johnson.

Gubernatorial candidate Rep. Paul Kohls (R-Victoria) stopped by the Chanhassen Villager office Monday morning to discuss his quest for the governorship.
The four-term congressman, whose first order of business is to convince party deligates to support his candidacy, said his campaign will focus on fiscal responsibility and responsible government. Kohls thinks both issues will resonate with party activists and "the broad middle."

Overall, Minnetonka students were 90 percent proficient in reading and 82 percent proficient in math, according to the results of the MCA-II test from Spring 2009.
 This exceeds the state averages of 72 percent proficiency in reading and 64 percent proficiency in math. The scores show improvement over the Minnetonka School District’s 2008 test scores, which had 89 percent proficient in reading and 79 percent proficient in math.
 “We’re very proud that our students continue to achieve higher scores on state tests,” said Minnetonka Superintendent Dennis Peterson.

Plans to beautify the new section of Highway 212 from Eden Prairie to Chaska will speed up, thanks to $700,000 worth of federal stimulus funding for MnDOT. The E.P segment of roadway will get $200,000. The Chanhassen segment will get $200,000. The Chaska-Carver segment will get $300,000, according to a MnDOT landscaper. The planting, originally scheduled to take place between 2010 and 2012, is now scheduled for completion in 2010.

Two additional deaths associated with the H1N1 novel influenza virus have been reported to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
That brings to three the total number of deaths in the state linked to the ongoing H1N1 outbreak.
The two latest deaths were reported in an elderly individual and a child, both from the Twin Cities area. The elderly patient had underlying medical problems and had been hospitalized. The child had an extensive bacterial infection, in addition to being infected with the H1N1 virus.

The Carver County deputies assigned to the cities of Chanhassen, Victoria, and Carver and the townships of Laketown, San Francisco and Dahlgren responded to the following calls from June 29 – July 5:

By Sally Bruggeman
As we celebrated our nation’s birthday this past weekend, another important anniversary came to mind.
July 4 marked 43 years since the landmark Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was signed into law. Yet Americans still believe that our government is secretive.
FOIA established the public’s right to access government records and to know what our government is doing – both its successes and failures.

The initial goal was to get fit, but Jeannette Stemmer went further 

By Kristin Holtz

Meet Jeannette Stemmer.

She’s a 56-year-old grandma with two grown children and a wonderful husband.

Born and raised in Shakopee, Stemmer has worked at Rosemount Emerson in Chanhassen for 17 years, training employees how to use the company’s equipment. She loves sewing, quilting and traveling with her husband, Pete, to classic car shows.

By Sally Bruggeman

As we celebrated our nation’s birthday this past weekend, another important anniversary came to mind.

July 4 marked 43 years since the landmark Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was signed into law. Yet Americans still believe that our government is secretive.

Two additional deaths associated with the H1N1 novel influenza virus have been reported to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). That brings to three the total number of deaths in the state linked to the ongoing H1N1 outbreak. The two latest deaths were reported in an elderly individual and a child, both from the Twin Cities area. The elderly patient had underlying medical problems and had been hospitalized. The child had an extensive bacterial infection, in addition to being infected with the H1N1 virus.

Travel through the butterfly garden under the moonlight and search for sphinx moths.
Venue: Lowry Nature Center
7025 Victoria Drive
Victoria 55386
763-694-7650
Aug 05 2009
8-9:30 p.m.
Ages: 6-12 yrs
Cost: $5
Outdoor

763-559-6700

Jane Christopherson, 72, of Victoria, passed away on July 5, 2009.

Memorial service is 11 a.m. Thursday, July 9, at Faith Lutheran Church, Waconia, with family visitation one hour prior to the service.

Sheriff warns Victoria residents of recent burglaries
The Carver County Sheriff’s Office issued this warning on Wednesday, July 1.
Between the hours of midnight and 7 a.m. on July 1, 2009, there were five burglaries in the City of Victoria within the Deer Run area (1700-1900 block of Woodstone Drive and 8500 block of N. Fairway Point). These burglaries occurred while the homeowners and families were asleep in the residence. In one instance, two young children were having a sleep-over and asleep in the living room while the burglar(s) was/were in the home.

The Chaska Police Department released this statement pertaining to the emergency sirens that went off this morning:

"The outdoor warning sirens were activated in Chaska moments ago. This was a false alarm. The county is aware…

"The City of Chanhassen is in control of a remote device, which activates the sirens; indeed, the sirens were activated without a legitimate cause. Chanhassen wrongly activated the warning sirens for the cities of Chaska, Victoria, and Watertown. Perplexingly the sirens did not sound in Chanhassen.

ST. PAUL — Following one of the deadliest Memorial Day holiday weekends ever, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is reinforcing the need for motorists to drive belted, safe and sober during the Independence Day weekend. Last year alcohol-related crashes accounted for five of the eight motorists killed surrounding the holiday. Another 1,819 motorists were arrested for DWI.To combat impaired driving, Operation NightCAP (nighttime concentrated alcohol patrol) enhanced DWI enforcement efforts will be conducted during the 4th of July weekend.

The suburbs are still growing, according to a U.S. census report, but several cities in southern Minnesota lost population from 2007 to 2008.

The U.S. Census Bureau is reporting its 2008 population estimates for U.S. cities, and in Minnesota it shows strong growth around the Twin Cities.

Among the cities the grew the fastest from 2007 to 2008 were
Otsego, Hugo, Victoria and Waconia. They all grew by at least 3.5
percent since 2007.

The value of items stolen from vehicles in Carver County so far in 2009 already exceeds previous years, prompting the Carver County Sheriff's Office to issue a warning.

"There is no sure way of protecting yourself from becoming a victim, but you can protect your valuables. Take time to (1) remove all valuables from your vehicles, (2) secure windows and doors; and (3) If parked in the garage, make sure garage doors are down and secured (even then, do not leave valuables in your vehicles.)

By Unsie Zuege
Subway sandwich lovers, take heart. Although Victoria’s Subway shop in the strip mall next to Cabin Fever closed recently, it will be back, this time inside the Hi-5 Market. Deepinder Baveja, Hi-5 Liquor and Hi-5 Market owner confirmed that he bought the Subway franchise from the previous owner, and is in the process of moving the shop into his convenience store and gas station at 1510 and 1512 Commercial Ave.

By Unsie Zuege
   Victoria Mayor Mary Hershberger Thun presented an overview of Victoria’s vision of the future and the city council’s strategic planning at a Breakfast with the Mayor on Wednesday, June 17. The event was sponsored by the SouthWest Metro Chamber of Commerce at Deer Run Golf Club.

By Unsie Zuege
   The Victoria City Council unanimously voted to approve a request to rename the baseball field in Lions Park Poppitz Field in recognition of Mike Poppitz, manager of the Victoria Vic townball club, who has devoted much of his free time improving the Lions Park baseball park, raising funds for equipment, bleachers, and other amenities.
   Councilor Tim Amundsen introduced the resolution to rename the field for Poppitz.

By Carolyn Spargo
When Minnesotans think of Finland, the sauna (which is correctly pronounced sah oo na, not sana) comes to mind. In this old tradition, the small room, called the sauna, is heated to 212 degrees Fahrenheit and produces steam when water is poured over hot rocks. You sit in this room for 30 minutes or until your body says leave. Then you jump in a lake, swimming pool or shower to cool off. Finland boasts around 2 million saunas to a population of 5 million people!

By Unsie Zuege
Maybe it was the musical, maybe it was the company I was in, maybe it was because it was opening night, but seeing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat last Friday night felt exuberant, celebratory, and excuse the comparison, like being at a baseball game on a really great night when the hometeam is winning and the crowd, buoyed by the team’s energy, becomes as much a part of the game as the action on the field.
Well, whatever it was, it worked for me.

Farmer’s market vendors offer produce, meats and more every Wednesday
Canopy tents sheltered vendors and their produce and products from the hot sun last Wednesday. And despite the sweltering heat, purveyors were cheerful and eager to talk about their products. Since the beginning of June, Hartman Tree Farm in Victoria has hosted a farmer’s market 3-6 p.m. every Wednesday, which continues through the summer.

Mayor's Breakfast: Mayor Mary Hershberger Thun closes her presentation with an optimistic outlook on Victoria's future.

Mayor's Breakfast. Part 6 of 6. In this segment the Mayor talks about the city's parks and trails plans.