Those interested in running for Chaska City Council or the District 112 school board can begin filing today.

Affidavits of candidacy are now being accepted for council and school board positions. The filing period runs from Aug. 3 through Aug. 17.

On the Chaska City Council, the mayor's seat, a two-year term, as well as the Ward 1 and Ward 3 council positions, both four-year terms, are up for grabs.

Thirty-five National Night Out parties have been registered with the Chaska Police Department this year. Check out the list below to see if your neighborhood is participating.

Are you having a National Night Out event that isn't on the list? Please add the party information in the comments section.

Have photos from National Night Out you'd like to share? Email them to [email protected] and we may use them in the newspaper or in an online slideshow.

National Night Out will take place Tuesday, Aug. 3. The event is designed to increase awareness for crime prevention in community neighborhoods.

According to Julie Janke, local organizer with the Chaska Police Department, 35 neighborhood parties have already been scheduled in Chaska this year.

Homeowners expecting to see their city taxes go down as their home values continue to fall, may be in for a surprise.

Monday night, the Chaska City Council met in a work session to discuss the city’s five-year forecast, including a proposal to raise taxes.

Market values have dropped an average of 5.5 percent in Chaska, reducing the city’s tax capacity by $300,000 for 2011.

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

*Preliminary plat for Nickel Creek

*Final site/building plans for United Health Group data center

** A work session will be held at 6 p.m.

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.

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.

It was supposed to be a simple evening walk to check on her garden plot near Winkel Park. But before Mary Javurek could get more than a glimpse of her green beans, she found her socks soaked in blood and a stinging pain radiating from her calves. In the blink of an eye, Javurek had been bit by a dog.

“It bit me before I had any chance,” she recalled. “All I could hear was a horrible growl.”

What! Where the heck is Chaska?

Eden Prairie is the "Best Place to Live," according to Money Magazine’s recently released 2010 ranking.

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

*Public hearing for amendments to capital improvement plan

*Livable communities demonstration account funding

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.