By Richard Crawford

There will be a new sheriff in Carver County in 2011. That much is certain, as current Sheriff Bud Olson is not seeking re-election in November after holding the post since 1998.

The two candidates who will be on the ballot — Derek Lee and Jim Olson — faced off in a League of Women Voters candidate forum Tuesday.

Both men touted their experience and leadership abilities as being right for the position during the forum, which lasted about 30 minutes.

Derek Lee

The first candidate forum night sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Eastern Carver County (LWVECC) is Tuesday, Sept. 14.

By Shannon Fiecke

Chaska had its eyes set on redeveloping an abandoned rail line in its downtown area, but Scott County thinks that would be short-sighted.

Union Pacific Railroad gave tentative approval on Tuesday to sell 5.6 miles of abandoned rail line through Scott and Carver counties that was previously used for shipments to a Chaska sugar plant.

By Richard Crawford

Even before Carver County commissioners put the finishing touches on the 2011 budget, they have set the stage for creating a bit of history. The county’s 2011 operating levy will be going down for the first time in recent memory.

On Tuesday, commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a preliminary levy that will be at least $600,000 less than this year. When the County Board approves the final levy in December, it can be lower but not higher than the preliminary figure.

By Mark W. Olson

Carver County Republicans endorsed two county commissioner candidates at a Wednesday night endorsement convention in Norwood Young America.

It’s the first time in recent history that county Republicans have endorsed candidates for nonpartisan races – contests with no party affiliation listed on the ballot.

By Mark W. Olson

After a year on the backburner, negotiations to acquire 5.6 miles of abandoned rail line in Carver and Scott counties appear to be heating up.

The track was officially abandoned following the March 2007 collapse of a railroad trestle. Since then, cities and counties have eyed the property for everything from trails to utility corridors to road expansion.

Carver County learned this week it will receive almost $6 million in federal stimulus funds to expand its fiber optic ring project and provide high-speed Internet connections throughout the county.

The formal announcement of the competitive grant from the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) on Aug. 18 stated Carver County will receive $5,995,600 in federal funds. The county has agreed to provide $1,498,900, the required 20 percent match of the total project budget of $7,494,500, according to a Carver County press release.

The Carver/Scott Master Gardener Program of the University of Minnesota Extension is now accepting applications for interns for the year 2011

According to a University of Minnesota Extension, Carver County press release, Master Gardener is a title conferred by the University of Minnesota Extension Service to men and women who have fulfilled two requirements:

1) They have successfully completed 50 hours of Master Gardener classroom instruction in horticulture;

By Unsie Zuege

Those who have an affinity to bake from scratch are excited about this year’s baking entries at the Carver County Fair.

Did you know that there are 12 subcategories? Yeast breads, specialty breads, rolls, bread machine, quick breads, egg cakes, cakes, pies, bars, cookies, decorated goods, and candies.

Categories take into account not only adults, but junior bakers, too. And there are categories within categories. It makes a person’s head spin. And not just from all the sugar.

For the Carver County commissioners' race, it will be Gayle Degler and Neil Kennedy facing off in District 1; and Jay Swenson and Randy Maluchnik facing off in District 3.

These candidates received the most votes in the primary election, and will now advance to the Nov. 2 election.

According to the unofficial primary results on the Carver County website, the breakdown was: