Aurora Wine and Liquors will soon become MGM Wine and Spirits. Monday night, the Chaska City Council approved an off-sale liquor license for Jason Kleinprintz to operate MGM in the Chaska Commons.

Kleinprintz will lease the former Aurora Wine and Liquors space from the Bernardi family, owners of the building on Pioneer Trail. Kleinprintz already operates MGM businesses in Chanhassen, Spring Park and Waconia.

He said that he hoped to open as soon as possible and did not expect any major closures while they were updating the space to house the new business.

Fred Green will succeed Jeff Burzinski as the chief executive officer for Community Bank of Chaska and Chanhassen.

“Fred brings a wealth of experience and expertise in all areas of financial services to Community Bank,” stated Burzinski, in a press release.

The Ace Hardware is now open in downtown Chaska next to Cooper's County Market. According to Chaska City Administrator Matt Podhradsky, the new business opened Monday, July 19. In addition to general hardware store-type merchandise, Podhradsky noted that the Ace Hardware would also feature a gourmet cooking section to create some synergy with its grocery store neighbor.

Water towers aren’t just for water anymore. At least in Chaska, one water tower is providing the city some extra cash thanks to its “high” profile in the community.

Last month, the Chaska City Council approved an agreement with Clearwire to lease space atop its Clover Ridge water tower for an antenna to provide Internet access. The agreement is similar to several the city has with cell phone providers like T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon.

On a muggy June afternoon, one by one, tall glass bottles were filled with golden liquid.

Once full, nimble hands topped them with foil caps and sent them down the line to be dressed in labels. At the end of the line, they slid neatly off and into the capable hands of Jen Antila, who wiped the condensation off the bottles and carefully placed each one in its own cardboard padded slot. With all 12 slots occupied, the box was closed and whisked away to give the newly bottled liquid time to recover from bottle shock.

Monday night the Chaska City Council voted 4-1, with Councilor Greg Boe dissenting, to lease water tower space to rival Internet provider Clearwire.

The Clover Ridge water tower is one of three locations Clearwire wants to install an antennae for its Wi-Max service. It has lease agreements with District 112 for the other two locations.

Several councilors, including Boe, expressed concerns about entering into a lease agreement because Clearwire will compete with the city-run Wi-Fi Internet service Chaska.net.

Chaska's downtown merchants will hold their semi-annual “Night on the Town” event tonight from 5-8 p.m. The event will feature a variety of special discounts and offers, door prizes, treats and giveaways. A drawing will also be held for a $250 shopping spree comprised of a $25 gift certificate from each of the participating businesses.

Brengman Printing will close by the end of the month. According to a letter sent from owner Daryl Brengman to customers, he is leaving his downtown printing business after 30 years of service.

Brengman noted in his letter that two of his employees will continue on across the river.

“Kevin Siegle, my pressman, will be starting a print shop in downtown Shakopee – Riverfront Printing,” he wrote, adding that fellow long-time employee Cindy Steinert will join Siegle.

Hazeltine National Golf Club will close on July 5 for the replanting of the course. The site of last year’s PGA Tournament is undergoing a number of renovations in advance of the 2016 Ryder Cup.

Last fall, the clubhouse was torn down and has been under construction. It should reopen later this summer.

The city of Chaska has long been determined to keep a grocery store downtown, and now city staff is trying to get creative about how they do it.

“We view it as one of those anchor uses necessary to drive people downtown on a regular basis,” said City Administrator Matt Podhradsky.

“You saw this in Victoria,” he continued. “A grocery store has a positive impact on other businesses.”

Podhradsky said that it is “critical” for Chaska to have a grocery store downtown.