Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page N1

QtdPlKlhl inO Expanded coverage WLCII II IMUI IU of the south metro dakotacounty PT A nTTlTTITTlirT? A TTTTT J-l TTMT TIT TTITA Tf TTTTlTF i-l STARTRIBUNE.COMS0UTH SECTION SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2013 Parking restrictions eyed for area near Cedar BRT line Anger rises in Farmington over state's local tax limit An infusion of state aid comes with strings attached, cutting the city's ability to raise funds. I'M SO MAD. WE DO THE RIGHT THING AND WE GET PUNISHED FOR IT. Farmington City Council Member Jason Bartholomay Apple Valley wants so limit residential parking to avoid overrunning neighborhood. By LAURIE BLAKE laurie.blakestartribune.com Apple Valley plans to restrict parking on Upper 139th Street to prevent people from leaving their cars on the street to hop the new Red Line Cedar Avenue busway.

Before the busway was built, 139th was a through street joining Cedar. The street was turned into a cul-de-sac ending east of Cedar to make room for construction of the Red Line's walk-up 140th Street station. To give fire trucks space to maneuver on the street, the city has banned parking in the cul-de-sac. Neighbors also are concerned about the possibility of busway parking in front of their homes because the station has no parking. Service from Apple Valley to the Mall of America began June 22, so it's too early to tell if parking on the street will be a problem.

But residents want to make sure their street does not become a park-and-ride area. The four households on the block next to the cul-de-sac agreed they would like on-street parking prohibited from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Parking continues on N2 Minnesota and the cities." The one-year, statewide levy limit for cities puts Farming-ton in a tight spot given its history it has not increased its levy for the past two years, and would have needed an increase of almost 6 percent in its levy for its 2014 proposed budget to cover costs.

The City Council directed City Administrator David McKnight at its last council workshop to propose budget cuts to get down to just a 3 percent increase. Now, with the Budget continues on N3 By LIALA HELAL liala.helalstartribune.com Farmington's budget plans have hit another snag, and city leaders and council members are frustrated. The city recently learned that the state not only capped local property tax levy increases at 3 percent for 2014, but any local government aid (LGA) from the state counts against that 3 percent. After getting no LGA, from the state this year the city is expecting a bump up to about $250,000 for 2014 an amount equal to about 3 percent of its 2013 property tax levy. That means there is little room to collect more levy dollars for 2014 operating costs.

"Shame on our lawmakers and our governor," said Council Member Jason Bartholomay at a council workshop Monday. By placing these limits, they "screw over the residents of Si 4 3 I' i--JB. Mid. i BRUCE BISPING bbispingstartribune.com Traffic backed up at the intersection of County Road 5 and Hwy. 13 in Burnsville, where a new intersection is being built.

Roadwork brings change along Hwy. 13 Future interchange A two-year construction project at Hwy. 13 and County Road 5 delivers problems and improvements to local businesses. BURNSVILLE 34 'A miles Burnsville DAKOTA COUNTY Sources: Esri, DeLorme.IPC, Star Tribune bridge going over Hwy. 13, with loops and ramps connecting the two, instead of the current traffic lights at the intersection.

The project will cost $27.5 million in construction alone, and is expected to improve traffic flow and reduce crashes. Seven businesses along the frontage road near Fantasy Gifts were torn down to make room, and that is actually helping business, Scheerz said. "There's just a lot more open space, so from Hwy 13 people can see us, where they wouldn't have before," she said. "We're going to be a lot more visible. It's going to end up being quite to our advantage." Other nearby businesses aren't so lucky.

Some have seen By LIALA HELAL liala.helalstartribune.com Josie Scheerz is relieved that in two years, she won't hear frequent crashes and sirens while she's at work. "I couldn't be happier," she said. "There are a lot of accidents out here and it'll be nice not to hear those while we're working." As a salesperson at Fantasy Gifts, on the frontage road off Hwy. 13 and County Road 5 in Burnsville, she's near the intersection with one of the highest crash rates in the state. Dakota County began a two-year construction project this spring to create an interchange County Road 5 will be a a drop in customers as crews work along the frontage roads.

The county is saving the actual construction on Hwy. 13 for next year, when it will excavate and drop the highway by 23 feet to make room for the bridge overhead. Crews Traffic continues on N4 Many business locations along Hwy. 13, including All Cars, have "Open During Construction" signs to alert customers that they are open for business. Lakeville test shows iPads boosted education in many classrooms A new report shows that a grant program to put iPads in classrooms in the Lakeville district has had positive effects.

teachers less likely to use them in high-level ways. Snyder said that she was "interested and intrigued" by this finding and that it will likely affect the district's future decisions. Myers said another significant theme was that for teachers, "one of the most useful means of using iPads" was "the ability to get instant feedback." Instead of giving a pretest and correcting it later to iPads continues on N3 iLearn grant from the district in late 2011. In all, 32 classrooms, groups of classrooms or special programs got iPads, with 108 teachers involved and 1,900 iPads distributed. To qualify, teachers had to have a plan for incorporating the devices and conduct research on student motivation, engagement and learning.

Each teacher or team chose how to measure the three areas. Nine classes had one iPad per student (a 1:1 model), 11 classrooms had their own set and seven groups of teachers shared a set among several classes. Five grants went to media centers. "I'm most excited about the results of the 1:1 classrooms," said Harvey. "That's also where we saw the greatest gains." Chris Myers, the district's digital learning coach, said that teachers who shared iPads among several classes reported that it was challenging.

Sharing a set was really no different from taking students to the computer lab, he said, with "I've read a lot of the research on the utilization and need for digital tools for learning," she said. "So I wasn't very surprised that it was going to be successful." Trish Harvey, the district's digital learning coordinator, said that classes not reporting gains either saw no change or had teachers who were reluctant to attribute progress only to iPad use. No one reported negative results, she said. In order to receive the iPads, teachers had to apply for an that student motivation went up and 20 observed gains in student learning, according to the iLearn Resarch report, discussed at Tuesday's school board meeting. "This is innovation at its best and I'm really excited about that," said Roz Peterson, board chairwoman.

Superintendent Lisa Snyder said she was happy with the results, but not surprised. By ERIN ADLER erin.adlerstartribune.com A new report shows that the Lakeville district's investment in technology is paying off in terms of student learning and motivation. Of the 31 classrooms or programs that completed research on newly issued iPads last year, 23 reported increases in student engagement, 24 reported.