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Representatives of West Oak Grove Cemetery told the Oak Grove City Council on March 30 that worsening health issues among the cemetery’s aging board have accelerated the need to transfer operations, leading council members to begin exploring whether the city or another entity may need to take it over. The council took no formal action, but members agreed to gather more information, including checking with other cemeteries in the city and with Anoka County, before a possible work session on the issue. ...

The East Bethel City Council unanimously approved a contract March 23 to switch city attorney services to Berglund, Baumgartner and Glaser, replacing Eckberg Lammers. The change makes Mark Berglund, who also serves as Ham Lake’s city attorney, the new city attorney for East Bethel. The two firms submitted competing proposals at the council’s previous meeting. Berglund, Baumgartner and Glaser’s proposal was lower in every category except for a reimbursable developer rate of $325 per hour. ...

When people think of chimneys, they typically think of a passage for fireplace smoke. They do not typically think of a croissant-like dessert that can be filled with fruit, ice cream and other sweets. But owner Adam Almasri has brought that dessert to Chimney Cake House, 4110 Central Ave. NE in Columbia Heights, introducing customers to a treat popular in Hungary and other parts of Eastern Europe that takes its name from the household structure. ...

The Columbia Heights City Council unanimously approved a sustainable purchasing policy at its March 23 meeting, moving the city to Step 3 in the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program. City Planner Ursula Brandt said the policy was developed with the Sustainability Commission. Bri LaPlante, a member of the Sustainability Commission ,said that advancing Columbia Heights in the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program had been one of the commission’s goals. The program, run through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, gives cities a framework for improving infrastructure, policies and other practices with sustainability in mind. ...

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. ...

The March 28 “No Kings” protests drew demonstrators in the cities of Anoka and Columbia Heights as part of a broader wave of rallies held across Minnesota in opposition to actions taken by President Donald Trump. In Anoka, residents lined Main Street holding signs and chanting. In Columbia Heights, residents gathered on the pedestrian bridge at Central Avenue and 47th Avenue. The Anoka rally began at 10 a.m., and the Columbia Heights rally began at 1 p.m. ...

The Columbia Heights City Council approved first readings of two city code amendments at its March 23. One amendment would expand alcohol licensing options for certain businesses and give tenants more time to leave properties deemed unlawful to occupy. The other would update land use regulations to align city code with state law and recent council actions. According to a staff report from Community Development Director Mitch Forney, the first amendment adds an on-sale malt liquor license to city code and allows hotels, restaurants and theaters to obtain one if at least 30% of their gross receipts come from food or nonalcoholic beverages. ...

In Ramsey, the final steps are underway to preserve a 133-year-old schoolhouse and former town hall located along Highway 47, after the city obtained a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage grant. Built in 1892 during Anoka County’s second major period of public building construction, according to Ramsey Community Development Director Stephanie Hanson, the building served as District 28’s public schoolhouse before later becoming a town hall. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. ...