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The Farmington Police Department no longer offers citizens the opportunity to ride along with an officer and get a feel for what the officers do.

Police Chief Brian Lindquist told City Council members at a workshop on Monday, May 13, that ride alongs are too much of a liability and mitigation.

“My job is to protect you guys and the cops and citizens, and part of that is to mitigate reliability as much as we can,” Lindquist said.

He said that if a police officer has to worry about a passenger in the car during a response call gone wrong, then that worry could get in the way of the officer’s duty. He also said the computer system has private information, and if an officer is called on a domestic assault case, for example, the citizen left in the car could access or hear private information.

If someone is injured in a ride along as well, the city could get sued and always be paying that settlement off, Lindquist said.

“It’s not a spectator story, but we’ve treated it as such. But at the end of the day, if you were aware of the problem that potentially existed. … IT’s not a matter of (other cities) are doing it,” he said. “It’s not a good policy or good plan, and I don’t think it’s going to exist anywhere else much longer.”

Council member Christy Jo Fogarty asked for a compromise saying, “We’re not going to agree on this, but we need to find some middle ground. … I don’t want this opportunity lost to people.”

Fogarty said that if a student interested in law enforcement wants to do a ride along, it is a valuable way to determine his or her career path. She said not allowing this is a disservice to the community.

While neighboring cities do allow ride alongs, City Council members questioned whether this is a valuable service citizens should be allowed.

Council member Terry Donnelly said he is fine with no ride alongs and has no interest in ever going on one.

Council member Doug Bonar said, “My concern is a broad and consistent out reach to the citizens.” He hopes the police department finds ways to interact with the community where they are seen as individuals instead of just cops.

Mayor Todd Larson said he went on a ride along and found it boring for 90 percent of the time until a high-speed chase near the end. He said he saw where both sides were coming from.

“I also want our cops to be comfortable to do it,” Larson said.

“It’s half our budget. It’s a good marketing tool,” Council member Jason Bartholomay said. He raised the question if ride alongs bring more social value that outweighs the liability concern.

“It’s a great PR tool, but I can give them the same experience by watching the footage from patrol cars,” Lindquist said.

Fogarty and council members asked Lindquist to bring the a montage of footage that would be shown in place of a ride along.

“You need to convince me that you can show them just as well,” Fogarty said.

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For 150 days spanning from Nov. 1 to March 31, 4th and 5th graude students at Meadowview Elementary School tried to earn 100 points by staying active outside of school. Parents filled out weekly mileage forms confirming students were active for at least 15 minute. Students earned one point for low-intensity workouts and two for high-intensity, getting up to two points per day, 14 points per week. Physical education teacher Joe McCarthy said, “Research also says students who are physically active will perform better on academic assessments, have better behavior and will focus more in the classroom.” (Photo submitted)

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(Photo by Theresa Malloy)

Community members gathered at Farmington High School on Friday, May 10, as Farmington Royalty unveil their new float. The silver and back streamers gleamed in the sun, and a rail along the edge features a black and white cutout of the downtown storefronts. The scholarship pageant includes community parades where the girls serve as ambassadors for Farmington, waving from the new float. After the unveiling, the candidates had their first judged event in a “Meet the Candidates” interview session. The Farmington Royalty Coronation is a part of the Dew Days festivities at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 11 at Boeckman Middle School. For a schedule of candidate appearances, visit farmingtonroyalty.com.

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Groomingdale’s Pet Salons celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a ribbon cutting at its Farmington Location Friday, May 10. Owners Bruce and Jennifer Rohde are joined by Groomingdale’s staff, Mayor Todd Larson, city staff and Farmington Economic Development Authority members Geraldine Jolley, and Steve Wilson. (Photo by Theresa Malloy)

Since opening in Eagan in 1988, Groomingdale’s Pet Salons has grown and expanded making it a leading dog salon in the area.

At its ribbon cutting celebration at the Farmington location at 18450 Pilot Knob Road on Friday, May 11, Mayor Todd Larson, Economic Development Authority members Geraldine Jolley, and Steve Wilson, and city staff joined in the celebration.

Owner Jennifer Rohde said what makes the business strong is that, “We’ve got the most talented people, I think, in our industry.”

“We have seen an increase in more families having multiple pets, and I take care of them like a regular family member,” Rohde said. “They come in really regularly.” She even has loyal clients who moved out of state and will bring their pets back for an appointment when they come back into town.

Along with her husband Bruce Rohde, the couple own and manage the three locations in Farmington, Eagan and Lakeville.

The Farmington couple took over ownership from founder Cheryl Richardson about six years ago. Richardson still works at the Lakeville location as a groomer.

Bruce keeps his day job, but the two work as a team.

“We work on it all the time, but we love it,” Jennifer said.

Jennifer used to work as a groomer before becoming an owner.

She started raising Yorkies and realized how quickly their hair grows. She decided to see if bathing dogs could turn out to be something that she loved.

Everyday she is “excited to see our amazing staff and all our great dogs.”

Groomingdale’s will host its final ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 17, at its Lakeville location.

Free nail trims for pets will be offered on the Friday of the ribbon cuttings and the Saturday following. Enter a drawing for free pet grooming with a grand prize drawing for one year’s worth of free grooming, and one free grooming from each salon location.

Patrick Nau Photography will provide a free sitting and an 8-by-10 color photograph of clients’ freshly groomed pets.

For more information, visit groomingdalesmn.com.

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Farmington Girl Scout troops released colorful balloons into the air on Friday, May 10, at Farmington High School to celebrate a year of service and community engagement. At the Court of Awards Ceremony that evening, girls from Daisys to Cadets were honored, including troops that received the Bronze and Gold Awards, some of the highest community service honors. (Photo by Theresa Malloy)

About 330 Farmington Girl Scouts dedicated hundreds of hours to volunteering in the community this school year, including volunteering at the Trinity Care Center, working at the good shelf, adopting soldiers, raking leaves and pond cleanups.

“We’re really trying to make them give back,” said parent and Junior Troop 25013 co-leader Jeanne Nelson.

At the Court of Awards ceremony on Friday, May 10, more than 80 girls gathered to share and celebrate all the projects they did this year. Some troops received top honors including two fifth-grade Junior troops that received the Bronze Award for 20-hours of community service and three 11th grade Cadets that received the top honor of the Gold Award for a project that included 80 hours of service.

Maggie Kielas was one of the girls honored for the Gold Award who started and directed a children’s choir at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Farmington.

“Music has always been what I loved to do,” she said. “I wanted to do something with music. It’s been a good experience.”

Kielas, a Girl Scout for 12 years, said she worked with a choir of four girls, and it was not the easiest feat. She quickly learned lesson on politics, running into some adults who were not as supportive as they could have been.

“I’ve had a ton of fun learning about music,” she said.

Jennifer Elfering, another Cadet earning her Gold Award spent her 80 hours at Dakota Woodlands in Eagan where she raised money to help remodel a teen kid’s room, restyled a bedroom and helped removed clothes from a donation room, so it could be converted into cleaning supply storage space.

“At the end, it was hard to walk away from the work I did,” Elfering wrote in the program. “I made a brochure for Dakota Woodlands, explaining my project, so other people in the future can continue to make it a better place by donating their time and efforts as I did.”

Junior Troop 25013 earned its Bronze Award by collecting non-perishable food items for Mission Outpost in Burnsville. The troop hosted the Court of Awards and collected food donations from the more than 80 Girl Scouts that attended and their parents.

The Bronze Award was also given to Junior Troop 22301. For their project “First Aid, Pay it Forward,” the girls learned about administering emergency aid to people with asthma and allergies, then they taught these skills to their peers.

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Andrew William Alich

The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for the arrest of 21-year-old Andrew William Alich after he failed to show up for his hearing on May 6 related to two charges of soliciting a minor to engage in sexual conduct.

The Detroit Lakes man admitted to police that he asked a 14-year-old girl to have sex with him via an electronic conversation in October 2012, according to the criminal complaint.

Farmington Police retrieved the conversation from the Farmington minor where Alich asks the child to have sex with him or send a nude photo in order to have him contact a mutual acquaintance for her.

Alich faces two counts of solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual conduct. Each count carries up to three years of jail time and a $5,000 fine.

The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information pertaining to Alich to contact their office at 651-438-TIPS.

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A mock crash at Lakeville South in October. (photo by Rick Orndorf

Mock crash a sobering reminder

It’s a special time of the year for high school students.

It is the season for elaborate proposals, corsages, limousine rides, perfect dresses, dinner reservations, dancing and memories. It can be a wild time for high school students during prom season.

But, how wild, exactly?

Behind all the excitement stand anxious parents and the watchful eyes of safety officers.

“Kids are having a great time, but kids will be teenagers,” Rosemount High School dean of students Drew Storley said. “You want them to think carefully; make sure it stays a celebration and not something else.”

Prom, homecoming and graduation are annual causes for celebration, but they can be magnets for trouble. So school districts and communities have taken steps to make sure these events are remembered with smiles.

Crashing the party

One of the most effective methods of teaching young people about their own safety is showing them what happens when things get out of control.

Rosemount High School was the site of a mock crash Thursday in the school parking lot where juniors and seniors witnessed what happens when alcohol mixes with driving.

It involved two cars, one carrying a parent and child, and another filled with Rosemount students dressed for prom.

Police and an ambulance were called to help who they could before making arrests. Perhaps one of the more effective reminders is that the cars used were destroyed in accidents caused by drinking and driving.

A helicopter airlifts one of the students away while a funeral home comes to gather the fatalities.

All of the juniors and seniors were 50 feet from the action.

There’s also a program for ninth- and 10th-graders featuring three speakers whose lives have been affected forever by driving-related accidents, along with a panel discussion.

Several of the speakers have had a family member or someone close to them die in an alcohol-related accident, but two spoke about distracted driving and the importance of wearing a seat belt.

“You have a lot of kids that say it will never happen to me because I don’t drink, but we try to show them that one quick decision can change a life,” Storley said.

Rosemount holds the event every other year so every student will experience the presentation before graduation.

“It’s pretty powerful stuff,” Storley said. “Some kids don’t realize how powerful it is. We always have special ed services and counseling services available. Everybody has different circumstances. For some it might hit a little to close to home.”

Does it work?

Teenagers are notoriously incorrigible, but they can sense when someone is being honest and genuine.

“It’s anecdotal – I don’t have any stats –­­­ but without a doubt anybody who sees the faces on these kids and sees what they’re talking about afterward, they take it seriously,” Storley said. “One thing that really surprises them is how long it takes for the emergency services to respond. They see in movies and TV, the ambulance arrives right away. They’re seeing it drawn out in real time and seeing their peers involved.”

Storley has been helping organize prom at Rosemount for 17 years.

“I almost never have anything negative,” he said. “I’ve never had to recognize any discipline issue. The kids have built up this moment as the end-all, be-all event of the year, so they’re not going to take any risks.”

Rosemount’s prom once again will be at the Great Hall in St. Paul. Grand march begins at 5:30 p.m. and dancing starts at 8:30 p.m. About 30 adults will be present as chaperones in addition to the on-staff security.

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The Crystal Mormon Church in Minneapolis is holding its second annual “Mormon Prom” from 7-10 p.m. Saturday.

This is the second year for the event. Last year, students from Lakeville organized a dance for their church as an alternative to those put on by area high schools.

“Two or three years ago some of the youths had gone to prom and had bad experiences because of the music and the way the students were carrying on,” said Kim Milne, president of the Young Women’s Organization for the 12 Mormon congregations from Apple Valley to Fairmont. “The next year they just didn’t go, but last year they came to us to see if we could put on a prom. The kids loved it. We talked with other congregations in the metro and we’ve decided to put on one big prom.”

She said many of the young people of the Mormon faith want to enjoy a dance where students had not been drinking and the dancing was not so suggestive, The prom is alcohol free, participants are modestly dressed, and the music is G-rated.

They’re expecting 200-300 students with about 45-50 coming from the Dakota County area. Parents have been organizing decorations for five months and professional party planners have donated their time to help set the scene.

They’ve invited any high school aged couple in the community that shares the ideals. Although, each participant must have an interview beforehand in order to get a dance card, which is their ticket into the dance.

“They have to sign off on a honor code,” Milne aid. “There’s guidelines for the way they dress like no sleeveless or low-cut dresses – more modest. The dancing needs to be appropriate. The music is prescreened. If they sign off, they get a free ticket.”

There are Mormon Proms all over the United States, but this was the first in Minnesota, according to Milne.

For more information about attending the prom contact Milne at 952-469-5534.

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Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington. Photo by T.W. Budig

A late amendment to legislation allowing gay marriage in Minnesota turned state Rep. Pat Garofalo’s vote from “no” to “yes” last Thursday.

The Farmington representative, who attends All Saints Catholic Church in Lakeville, said it was a “religious freedom amendment” that turned the tide for the five-term Republican.

Garofalo was one of four Republican House members to approve the bill in the 75-59 margin.

The Senate followed with a 37-30 vote Monday to pass the bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday.

Garofalo stressed the importance of the amendment offered by Rep. David FitzSimmons, R-Albertville, on “civil marriage” going onto the bill as a reason for his vote.

“For me I was a ‘no’ vote on the bill, until Rep. FitzSimmons offered his religious freedom amendment to protect churches and faith-based organizations,” Garofalo said. “And ultimately, that’s what moved me to a ‘yes’ vote.”

That provision, Garofalo said, was his “price for voting ‘yes.’ ”

“The lawyers say this is strongest religious freedom legislation in the nation,” Garofalo said.

FitzSimmons, with a go-ahead from House bill author Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, a lesbian lawmaker, successfully amended the bill to insert the word “civil” in references to marriage.

FitzSimmons, who voted for the bill, said the addition of the word was to make plain that what happens in the courthouse and what happens in a church, synagogue, or mosque in terms of marriage are two different things.

Clark’s legislation contained a provision stating religious organizations, associations or societies have sole control over their doctrine and that a licensed or ordained minister cannot be fined, penalized or subject to civil liability for refusing to solemnize a marriage for any reason.

FitzSimmons’ provision was not enough for other area Republicans in the House or Senate to vote yes.

Sen. Dan Hall, a volunteer police and fire department chaplain in Burnsville, a former volunteer chaplain at the Capitol and the founder and former CEO of the nonprofit Midwest Chaplains, said the legislation could spark civil disobedience.

“Don’t fool yourself today,” Hall said of thinking the vote ended the same-sex marriage debate.

“This document will split our schools, our churches, our towns, our counties, our state,” he said. “It will hurt businesses and confuse children, more than any single issue has ever done since the Civil War.”

“People ask me, ‘Sen. Hall, don’t you want to be on the right side of history?’ The truth is, I’m more concerned about being on the right side of eternity,” Hall said.

Rep. Pam Myhra, R-Burnsville, said children have a right to have a mother and father.

Another Republican representative who has figured prominently in the gay-marriage debate has been Mary Liz Holberg of Lakeville.

For a time, Holberg carried the amendment legislation while then-Sen. Michele Bachmann carried it in the Senate.

Anti-amendment advocates at rallies once wore T-shirts with photos of Holberg and Bachmann on the front.

Asked whether conservatives were on the wrong side of history in regard to same-sex marriage, Holberg questioned it.

“I don’t know if it’s the wrong side. I think we’re on the side of the majority of Minnesotans,” she said prior to last Thursday’s vote.

Holberg carried the amendment the first time because she chaired the House Civil Law Committee and was concerned about perceived judicial activism.

“But others wanted to take up the banner, and that was fine with me,” Holberg said.

The marriage debate has been emotional.

“There were threats on my family’s life. I wasn’t allowed to be outside the Capitol alone,” Holberg said.

Republicans were spit on in the Capitol corridors after passing the amendment two years ago, she said.

But she would temper her comments, Holberg said, by adding she has had conversations with Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, Senate marriage legislation bill author.

“And many of those bad things he suffered as well. So I think the bad behavior occurs on both sides on the issue,” Holberg said.

Holberg has found the marriage debate frustrating. She recalled meeting with a woman who told her she would change her mind about same-sex marriage if she attended a corn feed that the sister put on.

“It’s pretty sad, because that’s not what this about. It’s not about people being nice,” Holberg said. “It’s about a definition of marriage and what that means.”

When asked if she thought the state would legalize same-sex marriage prior to the vote, Holberg said: “I don’t think Minnesota is there yet. I really don’t.”

Issue discussed

Garofalo said he spoke to some local Republicans about his intentions prior to last Thursday’s vote. He believes he has their support.

“The response from conservatives has been overwhelmingly positive,” Garofalo said.

“Religious freedom is a very important issue in my district. A critical issue. And people understand my motivations and are very supportive of it,” he said.

Civil unions would have been a better choice than the legislation passed by the House, Garofalo said.

“(But) I feel like given the position power I have (as a House minority member), I thought it was the best I could do,” Garofalo said.

One Republican lawmaker who has taken tough votes and been sanctioned for them by his caucus is Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka.

He believes Garofalo had the right to make up his own mind.

“My opinion is people have the right to vote their conscience on these social, moral issues,” Abeler said.

Abeler doesn’t foresee Garofalo running afoul of the House Republican Caucus, or, for that matter, the Republican Party.

“It would be just their locals,” he said. “If they represented their locals well, nothing will happen.”

Carleton College Political Science Professor Steven Schier said the marriage vote could dog Garofalo.

“Regardless of broader district opinion, active Republicans in their districts are likely to have strongly opposed gay marriage and will not forget this vote at the endorsement conventions,” he said.

A Democrat who did not flinch pushing the green “yes” button was first-year Rep. Laurie Halverson, DFL-Eagan.

“I’m going to vote for equity,” Halverson said prior to last Thursday’s vote. “Personally, it’s something that I have known my truth about for a very, very long time,” she said.

Halverson came to this truth, in part, by observing the love in same-sex families, she said. She’s hopeful the marriage vote won’t become campaign fodder.

“What I’ve heard from constituents falls very much in favor of (marriage) equity,” she said.

The decision for Halverson may have been made easier by last fall’s amendment vote.

In House District 51B, Halverson’s district, about 38 percent, voted “yes.”

Halverson said during the floor debate that families aren’t all the same.

For instance, her children are adopted.

“(But) when it comes to moms, they don’t get more real than me,” she said.

Currently Massachusetts; Connecticut;, Iowa; Vermont; New Hampshire; Washington, D.C.; New York; Maine; Washington; Maryland; Rhode Island; and Delaware have legalized same-sex marriage.

Tad Johnson contributed to this story.

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