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Sgts. Killian and Grow lower the flag at Blaine’s Veterans Memorial Park. Original Article

The Sgt John Rice VFW Color Guard posts flags at the Blaine Veterans Memorial Park on March 29. Original Article

The Vietnam War memorial in Blaine on March 29. Original Article

Veterans Memorial Park during the memorial to Vietnam veterans held on March 29. Original Article

On a crisp spring afternoon, veterans, families and community members gathered on Sunday, March 29, at Blaine’s Veterans Memorial Park for what organizers hope will become an annual National Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony honoring those who served and the 1,566 Americans still missing from the war. The ceremony included a wreath-laying, a rifle volley and a flag presentation. “By serving their country in its time of need, they have helped preserve the very freedoms that all of us here today hold special and dear in our everyday lives,” honor guard commander Bob Wiltse said during the service. ...

The Columbia Heights City Council on March 23 approved sending a comprehensive plan amendment for the former Rainbow Foods site to the Met Council, advancing plans to redevelop the property as a transit-oriented development. The vote was 4-0, with Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula absent because of illness. City Planner Ursula Brandt said the item had been reviewed by the Planning Commission at its previous meeting. The 13-acre site, on Central Avenue between 43rd and 44th avenues, is currently designated in the city’s comprehensive plan for commercial use, with part of the property set aside as park space for stormwater. The proposed amendment would redesignate the site for transit-oriented development, Brandt said. ...

Fridley said March 27 that a contaminant had been found in the Mississippi River in coordination with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. According to the release, the city’s Public Works Department was notified at 11 a.m. March 26 by Minneapolis Water Works of a possible contaminant. Public works and public safety staff then verified that a storm sewer had discharged into the river upstream from Minneapolis Water Works. Public safety coordinated with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and its contractor to deploy temporary floating barriers used to contain marine spills and protect water intakes, the release said. The North Metro Chemical Assessment Team was also called in to collect samples of the contaminant. ...

WColumbia Heights Council Member Rachel James attends the No Kings rally in Columbia Heights on March 28. Original Article

Kids chalk the sidewalk during a No Kings rally in Columbia Heights on March 28. Original Article

Central Avenue streetlights are pictured above signs at the No Kings rally in Columbia Heights. Original Article