The Minnesota River's storied rise in pictures and video. Includes several photos from local residents. Send your high water shots to [email protected].

Are you interested in reading the public notices published in the March 18, 2010 print edition of the Chaska Herald newspaper? The page or pages on which those notices were printed are attached to this item, in the form of .pdf’s that can be opened with Adobe Acrobat.

The Chaska Herald is launching an online map to give updates on flooding along the Minnesota River. It can be found here.

The map will include brief descriptions of water levels, road closures, and other activities along the river.

The map is a joint venture with the Jordan Independent, Shakopee Valley News and Savage Pacer.

Auditions for the summer musical THE MUSIC MAN, will be held on April 12th and 13th at Central Middle School in Eden Prairie beginning at 7:00pm.

Eight performances will be held June 17-20 and June 24-27 at the Staring Lake Amphitheatre.

Those interested in auditioning can find complete information by following this link to the EDEN PRAIRIE PLAYERS WEBSITE.

Auditions for the summer musical THE MUSIC MAN, will be held on April 12th and 13th at Central Middle School in Eden Prairie beginning at 7:00pm.

Eight performances will be held June 17-20 and June 24-27 at the Staring Lake Amphitheatre.

Those interested in auditioning can find complete information by following this link to the EDEN PRAIRIE PLAYERS WEBSITE.

The City of Carver will hold a short meeting at 5 p.m. tonight to discuss closing the Main Street bridge and creating sandbarriers. The meeting will be held at the Church by the River.

"I told you the other day I thought we were okay and I still think we're okay," said Carver Mayor Jim Weygand.

Weygand explained that the current predicted crest would put creek water at the same level as the Main Street bridge, necessitating its closure.

Virginia Nyblom, 75, of New Prague, was a strong woman who loved life and especially her family. She entered the Lord’s arms Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

A celebration of her life will be 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at St. John Lutheran Church in Belle Plaine. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.

Arrangements provided by Kolden Funeral Home of Belle Plaine, 952-873-6227.

This spring, Chaska property owners again can purchase shade trees at wholesale prices.

The program, sponsored by the Chaska City Council and the Chaska Public Works Department is designed to replace lost trees and add to the city’s tree population, according to a Public Works press release.

Photo by Unsie Zuege

The Matsons of Chanhassen worked with Destiny Homes of Chanhassen to
remodel their kitchen. The challenge of their six-sided home made the
remodel challenging but they love the results. A point of local
trivia--their home was once owned by Kevin Sorbo who starred in the
popular 1990s TV series "Hercules."

Click here
to see more home remodeling before and after photos.

The following obituaries are from the March 18, 2010 print edition of the Chaska Herald newspaper:

The Chaska girls basketball team rode a very strong second half to win its state Class 4A quarterfinal 76-57 over St. Francis on Wednesday at Target Center.

The Hawks move on to face No. 1-seeded, No. 1-rated and undefeated Lakeville North at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 18 in the semifinals.

The Panthers, in their first state tournament since the Lakeville district split, powered past Northfield 52-33 on Wednesday morning.

They’re cleaning out Athletic Park.

With the Minnesota River reaching flood stage in Chaska on Tuesday, and the crest not expected to occur until next Wednesday, it seems all but certain that Athletic Park will get wet in the days ahead.

“The initial games for the [Chaska] Cubs probably won’t be there,” City Administrator Matt Podhradsky told the council Monday night, adding that the high school likely wouldn’t be able to utilize the baseball field either.

Last night, the District 112 School Board voted unanimously for James Bauck to replace David Jennings as superintendent.

Dr. Bauck is current superintendent in the Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose School District.

According to the District 112 Web site, "The Board and Dr. Bauck will enter into contract negotiations with the hope of bringing a contract to the Board for approval at its March 25th meeting."

Could a Rolling Stones-themed Idol night be as huge as when the Beatles catalog was finally made available to the contestants? Answer: No. Not even close.

But I'm sure for many of the contestants it was a tall hurdle to jump to get one step closer to the Top 10 and a place in the summer tour.

So how did they do? Let's take a look:

Michael Lynche

Jeff Burzinski, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Community Bank Chaska and Chanhassen, will retire May 15, according to a news release.

During his tenure as CEO, Community Bank grew from a small lender to one approaching $200 million in assets. Burzinski oversaw the sale of Community Bank to Charter Bankshares, Inc. in 2008 and navigated the company through the worst banking crisis since the Great Depression. “I feel the time is now right for me and the organization to make this transition,” stated Burzinski, in the release.

Thought it was a century too late to realize your dream of being a streetcar conductor? Here’s you chance.

The Herald received this press release this morning:

The Minnesota Streetcar Museum, one of the few “living history” museums in the Twin Cities, needs volunteers to operate the historic Minnesota streetcars at its Excelsior Streetcar Line demonstration railway, located in Excelsior, Minnesota.Have you ever wanted to do something totally unique? How about operating a trolley car? Help us re-create history, and have a little fun, by volunteering your time and skills doing something that contributes to the quality of life in our community! Have you ever seen or ridden the historic streetcars that run from Water Street in Excelsior and said: “Gee that looks like fun!” Well, here’s your chance.

Paul Pederson, 73, of Waite Park, MN, formerly of Grand Rapids, MN, died Saturday, March 13, 2010 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester.

Funeral service is Thursday, March 18, at noon at the Bertas Funeral Home, 200 W. Third St., Chaska. The visitation was one hour prior to the service.

Funeral arrangements were with the Bertas Funeral Home of Chaska, 952-448-2137.

Elmer Eliason, 75, of Chaska, passed peacefully with his family at his side on Friday, March 12, 2010 at the Minnesota Veteran’s Home, Minneapolis.

Funeral service will be held Tuesday, March 16, at 11 a.m. at East Union Lutheran Church, 15180 Co. Rd. 40, Carver. Visitation is one hour prior to the service.

Funeral arrangements were with the Bertas Funeral Home of Chaska, 952-448-2137.

Among the items on tonight's Chaska City Council agenda are:

* Preliminary/final plat for West Creek Corporate Center Addition

* Conditional use permit for Jonathan Association/Karen House

** There will be a work session at 6 p.m. to discuss County Road 10 improvements.

Chaska City Council meetings are held the first, third and fifth Mondays of each month at 7 p.m. at Chaska City Hall, One City Hall Plaza.

Dassel Leikarring a folk dancing group specializing in authentic country folk dances of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland will be performing at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 16 at the next Waconia Sons of Norway, Scandia Lodge meeting at the Waconia American Legion, 233 Olive Street South, Waconia.

The group of 20 Dassel residents come together every Sunday to rehearse their folk dancing.They were organized 28 years ago under the leadership of Kjell and Elaine Nordie, who were folk dancers in Norway before moving to Dassel.