Open To Business is a partnership between Golden Valley and New Hope and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD), an association of nonprofit community development organizations serving the Twin Cities. With the help of a matching grant from Hennepin County, the two cities will work with MCCD to provide business consultation services and financial advice to small local business owners and aspiring business owners.

The program will offer help in several areas, including:

• business plan assistance
• financial management
• bookkeeping set-up and training
• loan packaging
• real estate analysis
• marketing assistance
• strategic planning
• professional referrals

Open To Business participants will be able to meet with advisors at the MCCD offices to get the ball rolling. MCCD staff will also hold open office hours each month starting in June 2012 at either the New Hope or Golden Valley city halls to meet with participants one-on-one.

To enter, contestants must submit one photo of their room along with a 100-word description of the intended project. Complete rules and entry forms are available at www.HomeRemodelingFair.com/Rescue. Deadline to enter is Feb 20.

Judging will take place at the West Metro Home Remodeling Fair Sunday, Feb 26. Contestants must be present to win. The Fair will be from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm at Eisenhower Community Center, 1001 Hwy 7, Hopkins (one mile west of the Hwy 7 and 169 interchange). Admission is free.

The West Metro Home Remodeling Fair is a multi-city effort to boost housing conditions throughout the western suburbs. It will feature more than 100 exhibitors, free seminars and demonstrations, and an “Ask the Pro” booth. Exhibitors include architects, landscapers, designers, electricians, roofers, lenders, city inspectors, and more. Architects and interior designers at the “Ask the Pro” booth will offer no-obligation advice (bring your photos, sketches, and questions). Food concessions and children’s activities will be available in the cafeteria.

Sponsors are the Cities of Golden Valley, St Louis Park, Hopkins, and Minnetonka, and St Louis Park, Hopkins, and Minnetonka Community Education. Co-sponsors are Advanced Home Improvements; Bachman’s Landscaping; Building Arts Sustainable Architecture & Construction LLC; Center For Energy and Environment; DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen; Fair & Square Remodeling, LLC; Great Lakes Windows & Siding; Greenery Schack Landscaping; Neighborhood Building & Remodeling; Otogawa-Anschel Design Build; Sicora, Inc; and Timberline Construction and Remodeling.

Do:

• secure all garbage containers, wildlife feeders, and other food sources to prevent coyote access
• confine small dogs and cats in kennels, or supervise them when outside
• vaccinate all pets for rabies, distemper, parvo, and other diseases, as recommended by a veterinarian
• consider installing coyote-proof fencing
• harass (by chasing, shouting, etc) any coyotes that do not immediately run from people

Don’t:

• feed coyotes
• leave pet food outside
• allow cats and small dogs outside unattended

More About Coyotes

According to  the Minnesota DNR, most coyotes avoid people and domestic animals, but they may raid garbage cans and kill domestic cats and small dogs. “Healthy wild coyotes avoid people, and no attacks have ever occurred in Minnesota. However, attacks by urban coyotes have been reported in other states. Experts believe these attacks occur after a coyote has become accustomed to humans, or after being fed by humans.”

Visit the Minnesota DNR website for more information about coyotes in Minnesota and Minnesota DNR policies regarding coyotes.

The class will cover use-of-force training methods and policies, including the Minnesota state statute on deadly force, taser use, firearm training, soft-hand compliance techniques, impact weapons, and much more. The class will include verbal explanations, demonstrations, and discussion. Tuition is free, but space is limited to 20 participants. Download a registration form here or pick one up at the Public Safety building.

In 2011, the number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in the United States rose for the second consecutive year, with 177 fatalities, reports the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. This is 16 percent higher than 2010 and 42 percent higher than 2009.

In Minnesota, all licensed police officers are required to complete a minimum of 48 hours of continuing education credits every three years, according to standards set by the Police Officers Standards and Training Board. One of several mandated topic areas is use of force by officers. The Golden Valley Police Department most recently completed this training and met the requirements in Nov 2011.

For more information, call the Golden Valley Police Department at 763-593-8079.

To enter, contestants must submit one photo of their room along with a 100-word description of the intended project. Complete rules and entry forms are available at www.HomeRemodelingFair.com/Rescue.

Judging will take place at the West Metro Home Remodeling Fair Sunday, Feb 26. Contestants must be present to win. The Fair will be from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm at Eisenhower Community Center, 1001 Hwy 7, Hopkins (one mile west of the Hwy 7 and 169 interchange). Admission is free.

The West Metro Home Remodeling Fair is a multi-city effort to boost housing conditions throughout the western suburbs. It will feature more than 100 exhibitors, free seminars and demonstrations, and an “Ask the Pro” booth. Exhibitors include architects, landscapers, designers, electricians, roofers, lenders, city inspectors, and more. Architects and interior designers at the “Ask the Pro” booth will offer no-obligation advice (bring your photos, sketches, and questions). Food concessions and children’s activities will be available in the cafeteria.

Sponsors are the Cities of Golden Valley, St Louis Park, Hopkins, and Minnetonka, and St Louis Park, Hopkins, and Minnetonka Community Education. Co-sponsors are Advanced Home Improvements; Bachman’s Landscaping; Building Arts Sustainable Architecture & Construction LLC; Center For Energy and Environment; DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen; Fair & Square Remodeling, LLC; Great Lakes Windows & Siding; Greenery Schack Landscaping; Neighborhood Building & Remodeling; Otogawa-Anschel Design Build; Sicora, Inc; and Timberline Construction and Remodeling.

For the past several years, Hennepin County has been studying the feasibility of a dedicated transit corridor, known as the Bottineau Transitway, that would extend from downtown Minneapolis to the northwest suburbs.  While the majority of the Bottineau Transitway would follow Bottineau Boulevard (Hwy 81), the southern end of the corridor could diverge from this alignment and travel through Golden Valley along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad corridor through Theodore Wirth Park.

Study of the Bottineau Transitway is in an early stage, and the Jan 23 meeting provides an opportunity for Golden Valley residents be part of the process, view plans, and officially submit comments on the proposal. It’s also an opportunity for neighbors near the proposed corridor to get answers to questions.

If you have questions specific to the Bottineau Transitway project, contact Brent Rusco, Hennepin County Project Manager, at Bottineau@co.hennepin.mn.us or the County Commissioner’s office at 612-348-7882 or commissioner.stenglein@co.hennepin.mn.us. You may also contact the City of Golden Valley Planning Department at 763-593-8095.