Community Corner

Lakeville Year in Review: From Tiger Blood to Budget Cuts

Here's a look at some of the city news that made headlines in 2011.

In any given year, a city like Lakeville will have its ups and downs, highlights and lowlights, and even some strange but true watercooler topics. It seems as though 2011 was no exception.

The year started out with a bang as . Mark Bellows moved from his council seat to the mayor's chair, and Matt Little and Colleen Ratzlaff-LaBeau both took oaths of office on Jan. 3.

It didn't take long, though, for tensions to rise on the new-look council. Friction over , , and the Heritage Center project, at times, led to sometimes public squabbles.

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In April, the , or half his council salary, to help fund a police records technician the council all agreed to hire. In October, the council responded to " and in July, some council members publicly —a topic that has been addressed a number of times in meetings and work sessions.

But news in Lakeville wasn't limited to the City Council, or , or even —both of which we chronicled last week.

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In March, a bizarre story about  graduate Shannah Henderson auditioning to become gripped the community. While she didn't get the job, she did get a number of job offers as a result of her 15 minutes in the spotlight.

In May, a helicopter pilot garnered praise for instead of homes along its shores. The pilot, Kevin Rossan, survived, and the FAA still hasn't issued its report on the crash.

The news was much more tragic in in Kansas City, MO.

Other leaders of Lakeville passed away in 2011, including , , , and .

But 2011 also was a year of good news: Lakeville's annual was a massive success, The being open, a was sold in Lakeville, and Lakeville native Dario Mejia’s Team iLuminate nearly in Las Vegas on NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’.


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