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Original Article

Original Article

Original Article

The BPM Motorcycle Club, alongside the Vigilant Guardians and Toys for Joy, held a rousingly successful toy drive, as well as fundraiser. The event featured food and bakery treats cooked by BPM, as well as a live band, Griff and the Grifters, who played a set heavy on classic rock such as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and other similar bands. There was also a silent auction that gave away items that included Ed Sheeran tickets, a handmade frame by BPM member James Hathaway and other miscellaneous items and gift baskets. ...

The BPM Motorcycle Club will team up with the Vigilant Guardians VMC this Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Anoka American Legion, 400 W. Main St., to host its annual Toys for Joy fundraiser, a 17-year community tradition that donates all proceeds and toys to local families. Doors open at 5 p.m., and tickets are $20. This is the first year the Vigilant Guardians will partner in the event. James Hathaway, a BPM representative, said the club has been in Anoka for 17 years, and he has helped lead the Toys for Joy drive for 16 of them. ...

Metro Transit announced on Facebook that starting on Saturday, Dec. 6, Route 852 would become Route 827, with access south of I-694 in Fridley along East River Road, as well as in northeast Minneapolis alongside Marshall St. MT said that the route would connect residents to Anoka County Technical College, the Mercy Hospital Coon Rapids campus, Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Northtown Transit Center, Foley Park and Ride, Fridley Park and Ride and the Northern Stacks business park. ...

The Ham Lake City Council on Nov. 17 unanimously approved the first reading of a rezoning request for the Elwell Farms development in Section 36. The proposal would change zoning from Rural Single Family Residential and Single Family Residential to Planned Unit Development. The vote was 4-0, with Council Member Mike Van Kirk absent. Mayor Brian Kirkham noted he had recently spoken with someone who drove through the area and complimented how the project was progressing. ...

Two fast-casual restaurants and a Seven Brew drive-thru coffee shop are planned for commercial land near Andover Cinema, after the Andover City Council on Nov. 18 unanimously approved a Planned Unit Development amendment, a preliminary plat and two conditional use permits to advance the project. The applicant, Java Companies of St. Paul, is proposing to develop the northeast corner of the existing commercial complex, near Willy McCoy’s, Andover Cinema and the bowling alley. The site, currently used as surface parking. ...

At its Nov. 18 meeting, the Andover City Council unanimously approved a conditional use permit for a drive-thru and drive-up lane for a new bank at 13879 Round Lake Blvd. City Planner Peter Hellegers said the site is at the southeast corner of Round Lake Boulevard and 139th Avenue, directly north of the Downtown Center shopping center. The property is guided for general commercial and zoned as a shopping center. ...

I am responding to the article written by Elliot Steeves. As a retired Special Education teacher, I can recall several students who met the self-description of Elliot Steeves on his diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, which was eventually absorbed into the Autism Spectrum Disorder. All of my students had an Individual Education Plan, with defined goals and progress reports. One student who comes to mind was a math whiz, whose IEP defined specific behavior goals. When this student met his defined expectations, he came to my classroom, and played classical music on the piano, a common like the two of us shared. ...