Chaska Herald - Environment - Comments

The City of Chaska will also

Mollee Francisco — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:37:33 -0500

The City of Chaska will also be holding a Spring Cleanup Day on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Athletic Park. Residents can bring their yard waste including leaves, grass, brush and garden waste for free. No bags and no brush larger than 3 inches in diameter and 4 feet in length.

For more information, call City Hall at (952) 448-9200.

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

More from the U of M on the

Mollee Francisco — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:36:30 -0500

More from the U of M on the newly named apple "frostbite." Here's their release:

The wait is over. The University of Minnesota has announced the winning name of its newest apple, Frostbite.

Formerly known as "MN447," Frostbite dates back to 1921 when the cross-pollinating of two apple blossoms was made at the university's Horticultural Research Center (HRC), now in its 100th year. The apple is actually a grandparent of the most famous U of M apple, Honeycrisp, and joins a long line of successes including Haralson, Zestar and Snowsweet apples. The center is also responsible for several new grape varieties, including the LaCrescent and Frontenac, and plants such as the northern-hardy "Lights" azaleas.

The naming of the apple was chosen following a contest at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum that saw more than 7,000 entries worldwide. Ten Minnesotans who independently submitted the winning name are Lisa Rolf of Eden Prairie, Ted and Caroline Larson of Chaska, Ann Stout of Woodbury, Bonnie Winzenburg of Brainerd, Matt Zitzow of Roseville, Dianne Brackett of Wayzata, Kelly Olinger of White Bear Lake, Cindi Cardinal of Coon Rapids and Linda Davis of Coon Rapids. They will each receive a certificate of congratulations and a basket of Frostbites.

"We're excited to finally have a name," said Jim Luby, a professor in the university's department of horticultural science. "The public interest in this naming was tremendous."

Luby and David Bedford, an apple scientist at HRC, coordinated the judging process. The committee selected two runners-up: "Munchkin" and "Small Wonder."

"It was an exhausting process, but we're very happy with the results," said Bedford.

Frostbite is a specialty apple with striking characteristics -- it is small in size; it has an unusual, almost tropical, flavor; and it is the most winter hardy apple ever released by the university. It is suited for home gardeners and orchards that market directly to consumers.

While the Frostbite name is here, consumers will have to wait to eat the apples. Commercial nurseries will soon start propagating the trees, which will be ready for gardeners and orchards to plant in one to two years. The first trees will then bear fruit to sell around 2014.

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

Why not consider using it as

dalmatianangel — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 09:57:52 -0500

Why not consider using it as an education center much like the Ney Center by Henderson?

Judging by descriptions of

Mark Olson — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 11:38:59 -0500

Judging by descriptions of its harsh taste, "Freezer Burn" might be a more appropriate name. Although, I look forward to trying some of it in cider.

And "Frostbite" it is!

Mollee Francisco — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:18:22 -0500

And "Frostbite" it is! Minnesota 447 has finally been named. What do you think of the choice?

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

It appears some Carver

anion — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:10:08 -0500

It appears some Carver County retirees have too much time on their hands. There are a few opinionated cusses out there reading the local "rag" with a critical eye. For example, one ol'fart said the Rapids Lake Ed. Center is technically situated on a river terrace, not a river bluff as reported in the Gehl-Mittelsted article. Apparently, the nomenclature has something to do with whether the land feature in question is situated on the inside of a meander or the outside of a meander. What's a meander?

Is this entire reuse study a meander? If it is, is it sustainable? Or is it just killing time and wasting money, an exercise in the erosion of common sense? Is the timing of the study appropriate? When can we expect the next 50 or 100-year flood? Is this just some muckety-muck's keep-busy project? So much to ponder.

Stay-tooned all you small-town feel enthusiasts. We should learn more sometime around Xmas.

Anion

Re: Veterans Park... Let’s

christian — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 14:28:36 -0600

Re: Veterans Park...

Let’s not forget the ruling by the City Council on Nov. 19th regarding Veterans Park, and the reasons behind it. It says: Work on Veterans Memorial Park (except for the grading of the ball field area, which is in process and apparently does not affect the outcome) is suspended and referred back to the Park Board until the following conditions are met:

• The Park Board must reevaluate whether this is an appropriate location for a “community park” and for a lighted ball field.

• The Park Board must give written notice to all residents in the neighborhood, and hold a public hearing to which the residents are invited.

• As part of their process, the Park Board must consider how any perceived impacts of the facility on the neighborhood can be minimized.

• The Park Board cannot make a recommendation back to the City Council until a public hearing has taken place.

When reading this article, it seems that Mayor Van Eyll’s commitment to gathering and valuing input from the residents of this community comes with a selective listening clause. Given their quotes here regarding Veterans Park, Van Eyll, Redman and Aaberg clearly intend to simply recycle the existing plan through the process without making any major changes. No surprise, really, as many have come to expect this type of attitude from Mayor Van Eyll and Tom Redman.

Van Eyll is only partly right when he says, “It all comes down to communication…” Yes, but it needs to be 2-way communication. It is likely true that when the City Council first approved the project in May of 2007, nobody in city government can recall hearing any negative feedback regarding the proposed baseball field. But in order for these claims to have merit, you would first have to inform people of the project, and then ask for – and incorporate – their feedback into the plan prior to final approval. This was not done, and most residents became aware of the ball field for the first time in October of 2007 when asked for their signature on the petition to stop it.

Mayor Van Eyll states in the article, “We want as much input as possible.” Lip service. The Mayor has received all kinds of input from over 150 neighborhood residents in this matter, yet he has neither said nor done anything that would lead them to believe that he values their input, or is willing to change his pro-ball-field agenda. In fact, 95% of the 146 households that comprise the Points West neighborhood have signed a petition that says they don’t want a heavily used, lighted baseball park for teens and adults here, but propose a neighborhood park that will support a growing number of families with pre-teens. Many other reasons why a neighborhood park/playground is needed, and why this type of ball field would be detrimental to this densely populated neighborhood have been repeatedly brought to the Mayor and other city officials as well.

So, no, residents of Chaska should not simply “trust the process” because Tom Redman tells us to. Not when the City Council agrees, on record, that the park planning process is broken. Indeed, if the process worked, and if resident opinion was truly a priority in this city, Van Eyll, Redman and Aaberg should have expected and even welcomed the City Council to make this ruling. The fact they were “surprised” or “shocked” indicates they are individuals who are unaccustomed to being questioned, and have forgotten who they really work for, and why.

We are not giving up either.

For more information about the Veterans Park petition and the reasons behind it, please visit http://www.cebellah.com/ballpark

With all due respect to the

Tastiest Apple — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:55:44 -0500

With all due respect to the Honeycrisp, there's really no contest in this category. The best eating apple in the world is the Macoun apple, developed in the 1930's in NY State by Canadian grower William Tyrrell Macoun. Tastes even better with sharp cheddar cheese and a cracker. Yum!