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From YouTube: Bloomington Today: January 4, 2012
Description
Happy New Year! On this week's episode of Bloomington Today we'll find out what's on the line up for the 2012 Winter Fete celebration, we'll also take a look at what to do with your old holiday lights. All that and more on this episode of Bloomington Today.
A
A
C
This
year
we
actually
have
expanded
winter
fed
out
it's
our
longest
period
that
we've
ever
had
it
it's
going
to
be
january,
21st
to
29th,
so
we
have
eight
days
of
activities
for
the
first
time
in
the
past,
it's
been
more
of
a
weekend
thing
or
a
friday
through
sunday,
so
we've
we
actually
expanded
it
with
more
activities.
This
year.
B
In
years
past
winterfet
has
proven
to
be
a
fun-filled
family
weekend.
That
literally
has
something
for
everyone
back
by
popular
demand.
You'll
find
ice
fishing
for
beginners
on
bush
lake.
Here
minnesota
dnr
representatives
will
be
on
hand
in
heated
ice
houses
to
give
fishing
lessons,
don't
worry
if
you
don't
have
the
tools
or
equipment
that
will
be
provided.
B
This
free
event
runs
from
11
to
2
p.m.
On
saturday
january
21st
also
you'll
be
given
the
opportunity
to
see
bloomington
from
a
unique
perspective
by
taking
a
ride
on
a
dog
sled
at
the
pond,
dakota
winter
history
festival
from
noon
to
4
pm
on
sunday
january
29th
stop
by
pond
dakota
mission
park
to
take
your
ride
for
two
dollars.
C
People
are
very,
very
active,
obviously
in
the
summer,
much
more
so
we
have
a
lot
of
good
activities,
they're
scattered
throughout
the
city,
tons
of
things
you
can
do,
but
in
the
wintertime
we
just
definitely
want
to
make
sure
that
people
are
taking
advantage
of
all
they
can
and
it
adds
to
the
whole
quality
of
life.
Actually
in
bloomington
having
a
wintertime
festival
activities,
you
can
go
out
and
do
and
just
kind
of
embrace
the
whole
year
round,
instead
of
just
the
very
nice
summers
that
we
have.
B
It's
time
now
for
another
in
the
loop
segment,
where
we'll
bring
you
news
and
events
happening
within
bloomington's
south
loop
district.
It's
been
a
few
months
since
we've
last
visited
the
radisson
blue
hotel
and
a
representative
from
mortensen
says
the
parking
ramp
is
around
80
percent,
complete
with
minor
interior
work
and
exterior
panel
work
left.
The
skeleton
of
the
structure
is
complete
and
the
first
few
months
of
2012
will
include
precast
and
metal
panel
installation
beginning
this
month.
B
The
same
representative
from
mortensen
development
says
the
project
is
on
track
for
the
anticipated
march
2013
opening,
because
most
of
the
city's
land
area
has
already
been
developed.
Most
of
today's
projects
focus
on
redevelopment
and
revitalizing
structures
already
in
place.
That,
however,
is
not
the
case
with
one
last
new
development
taking
shape
in
southwest
bloomington.
B
D
B
B
B
B
Many
residents
may
not
know
that
tangled
non-working
strings
of
holiday
lights
can
be
recycled
at
the
south
hennepin
recycling
and
problem
waste
drop-off
center,
located
at
1400
west
96th
street.
For
the
disposal
of
live
christmas
trees.
Many
waste
haulers
will
offer
pickup
service
during
the
first
few
weeks
of
january.
Trees
can
also
be
brought
to
a
yard
waste
drop-off
site
like
skb,
environmental
in
minneapolis
or
resource
recovery
technologies
in
shakopee
for
questions
call
hennepin
county
environmental
services
at
612-348-3777.
B
Here
you
can
find
the
dates
and
hours
of
warming
house
operation
a
map
of
the
outdoor
rinks
around
bloomington,
along
with
what
amenities
are
available
at
a
specific
rink
like
if
there
are
flood
lights
or
hockey.
Nets
rinks
are
also
available
for
rental.
Interested
residents
are
asked
to
contact
parks
and
recreation
at
952-563-8877.
B
E
A
H
I'm
gene
winstead
mayor
of
the
city
of
bloomington,
I'm
really
excited
about
a
collaborative
between
the
cities
of
bloomington,
richfield
and
edina
in
partnership
with
blue
cross
blue
shield
everything
we
do
in
the
planning
and
development
of
our
city.
We
can
keep
in
mind
different
ways
to
allow
people
to
live,
healthier
lives.
B
Welcome
back
to
bloomington
today
we
are
now
joined
by
jan
crails.
Jan
is
the
vice
president
of
marketing
for
the
bloomington
convention
and
visitors
bureau
welcome
jan
hi.
How
are
you
today,
I'm
wonderful
great?
Well,
the
bloomington
convention
and
visitors
bureau
is
embracing
2012
with
some
great
upcoming
events
and
packages.
I
The
big
ticket
package
was
created
to
be
a
tourist
in
your
own
town.
Basically,
it's
a
great
hit
with
our
out
of
town
visitors.
So
we
thought
why
not
offer
it
to
our
local
residents
as
well,
and
what
the
big
ticket
is.
It's
much
like
the
disney
park,
copper
pass,
so
you
get
to
visit
six
attractions
within
a
three-day
period
and
it's
very
affordable.
All
the
rates
are
substantially
discounted
by
30
percent
and
the
great
attractions
are,
of
course,
mall
of
america
nickelodeon,
the
sea
life
minnesota.
B
Absolutely
well,
one
thing
that
we
talked
about
earlier
in
this
particular
show
was
the
progress
made
on
the
radisson
blue
hotel
over
this
past
year.
This
is
the
first
hotel
to
be
connected
to
the
mall
of
america.
How
does
the
bloomington
convention
and
visitors
bureau
see
that
benefiting
the
city
of
bloomington?
You
know.
I
I
You
know
it's.
It's
beautiful,
it'll
be
great
for
visitors
as
well
as
business
travelers.
They
have
great
meeting
and
event
space
within
the
hotel
and,
of
course,
being
connected
right
to
mall
of
america
will
be
fabulous
for
you
know
everyone
who's
been
kind
of
really
wanting
that
direct
connect
to
the
mall
to
go
shop
and
so
forth,
so
very
excited
it's
our
hometown
brand,
so
glad
they
chose
the
mall
of
america
location,
absolutely.
B
I
I
B
I
B
I
C
I
I
You
know
the
convention,
visitors
bureau
works
hard
year
round.
Our
goal
is
really
to
bring
meetings
and
conventions
and
special
events
and
visitors
to
our
city,
to
stay
in
our
hotels
to
shop
and
to
eat,
and
of
course
we
do
that
through
selling
many
fun
packages
on
our
website.
Getaway
packages,
family,
fun,
big
tickets-
that
all
is
part
of
the
experience
for
a
great
getaway
vacation
and
some
notable
events
that
we
host
every
year
are.
I
The
iron
girl
duathlon
over
at
normandale
park,
brings
in
1500
female
athletes
to
run
a
run
two
miles
bike
22
and
run
two
miles:
that's
every
september.
So
that's
a
great
event.
We
just
secured
the
women's
half
marathon,
which
will
take
place
in
august,
which
is
a
brand
new
event
and
they're
shooting
for
five
thousand
attendees
again
women
from
all
around
the
united
states.
I
B
J
J
G
Call
them
the
golden
years
and
for
many
seniors
they
are,
but
for
too
many
others
retirement
is
like
a
prison.
Do
you
have
any
jacks
the
difference
this
couple
saved
for
their
retirement?
And
this
couple
didn't
it's.
Your
choice
choose
to
save,
to
learn
how
to
get
started.
Get
your
free
power
to
choose
brochure,
because
your
retirement
can
truly
be
your
golden
years.
B
Welcome
back
to
bloomington,
today,
a
few
weeks
ago
we
were
joined
by
a
cornerstone
development
coordinator,
who
told
us
about
cornerstone's
annual
santa
shop
event.
We
were
on
site
before
the
holidays,
as
numerous
volunteers
helped
prepare.
For
this
event,
no
amount
of
holiday
decorations
seemed
to
be
enough
as
city
chamber,
of
commerce
members,
along
with
other
groups
and
cornerstone
staff,
decked
the
halls
and
prepared
cornerstones
meeting
rooms
to
be
transformed
into
santa
shop,
and
I
don't
mean
the
workshop
in
the
north
pole.
E
It's
a
time
when
we
invite
all
the
children
we've
served
throughout
the
year
to
come
back
and
they're
able
to
pick
out
gifts
for
their
family
members
so
for
their
moms
and
siblings.
And
it's
we
rely
a
lot
on
the
donations
and
the
support
of
the
community
and
our
volunteers
to
provide
the
gifts
for
the
kids
to
pick
out.
B
What's
unique
about
santa
shop
is
kids
learn
the
joy
of
giving
gifts
rather
than
just
being
the
recipients
of
them
during
santa
shop?
A
child
is
taken
by
an
elf
to
a
room
like
this
one.
This
is
the
gift
room
for
ages,
zero
to
three
say
that
a
child
has
a
young
sibling.
They
can
select
a
gift
for
their
brother
or
sister
and
wrap
it
themselves.
E
This
building
is
just
completely
covered
in
christmas,
extremely
festive.
We
cannot
do
it
without
the
volunteer
groups
to
come
in
and
help
and
they
bring
their
creativity,
their
ideas
and
share
their
time
with
us
and
really,
and
a
lot
of
what
we
like
to
see
is
that
if
people
come
here
and
have
a
good
experience,
they
want
to
share
it
with
other
people,
so
that
hopefully
it'll
help
us
build
on
this
program.
Every
year.
B
For
privacy
reasons
we
weren't
able
to
be
there
when
families
came
and
picked
out
gifts
from
cornerstone's
santa
shop,
but
we're
happy
to
report
that
the
2011
santa
shop
served
more
than
380
children
in
just
three
days.
Human
services
division
annual
holiday
joy
program
was
able
to
help
a
number
of
people
this
year
as
well.
This
program
provides
bloomington
adults
with
disabilities
with
a
gift
card
during
the
holiday
season,
who
may
not
otherwise
receive
a
gift.
B
A
total
of
one
thousand
seven
hundred
and
fifty
seven
dollars
and
83
cents
was
raised
through
contributions
from
city
employees
and
a
business
bake
sale.
The
employee
advisory
committee
held
a
popcorn
fundraiser
at
civic,
plaza
and
local
business.
Larkin
hoffman
law
firm
annually
holds
an
office-wide
bake.
Sale
proceeds
from
the
two
events,
along
with
all
other
individual
donations,
were
pooled
to
purchase
gift
cards
for
47
disabled
residents.
B
Human
services
would
like
to
thank
everyone
for
their
generous
contributions
that
ultimately
helped
make
the
2011
holiday
joy
program
a
success,
and
even
though
the
weather
outside
can
be
unbearable
at
times,
pet
owners
have
recognized
the
importance
of
getting
their
animal
exercise
even
on
the
chilliest
of
days.
City
parks
and
recreation
staff
would
like
to
remind
residents
of
the
rules
and
regulations
regarding
leash
loss
in
the
city
winter
walks
and
play
times
with
your
animals
in
the
city.
K
Some
of
the
thoughts
that
concern
us
about
that
is
because
the
parks
are
for
everyone,
and
some
people
aren't
comfortable
around
dogs.
Dogs
do
create
a
mess
from
time
to
time
in
the
parks.
So
we're
really
hoping
to
encourage
people
to
make
sure
they
understand
what
the
laws
are.
The
ordinances
here
in
bloomington
make
sure
your
dog
has
a
license.
B
K
The
users
out
there
have
done
a
great
job
in
creating
a
trail
around
the
park,
so
you
can
walk
the
perimeter
with
your
dog
there's
even
a
little
pond
there
that
you
can
bring
your
dog
to
one
concern
at
this
time
of
the
year,
especially
with
the
weather
that
we've
had
is
just
be
aware
of
the
ice
thickness.
So
if
your
dog
does
go
out
onto
the
ice,
you
want
to
make
sure
that
you
can
get
your
dog
back
and
so
be
cautious
with
that,
but
have
a
great
time
out
at
the
off
leash
area.
B
Off
leash
dog
recreation
area
is
open
one
half
hour
before
sunrise
until
10
pm
seven
days
a
week
for
directions
and
a
complete
list
of
site
rules
visit
the
city's
website,
keyword,
search
dog
now
it's
time
for
another
city,
faces
segment
where
we
take
you
into
a
day
in
the
life
of
a
city
employee
today,
we'll
introduce
you
to
plan
check,
engineer
mike
salon.
Take
a
look
salon
is
a
part
of
the
building
inspections
division
in
the
community
development
department.
L
Building
codes
are
laws
that
govern
the
construction
of
safe
buildings
and
I'm
challenged
by
having
to
constantly
learn
new
things
about
construction,
about
building
materials
and
the
code's
constantly
changing
too.
So
that's
one
thing
that
challenges
me:
another
is
working
with
homeowners
and
sometimes
contractors
who
are
reluctant
to
see
the
value
in
the
code
and
if
I
can,
after
spending
time
with
them,
convince
them
that
the
code
is
there
to
create
safe
buildings
for
everyone
to
use,
then
I
feel
I've
accomplished
something
that
day.
So
that's
that's
challenging
for
me.
B
L
B
L
We
go
through
quite
a
bit
of
work
here
more
so
when
the
economy
was
better,
but
it's
picking
up
now,
I'm
glad
to
say,
and
so
in
a
week
it
really
varies.
It's
a
very
interesting
job
in
that
I
don't
just
look
at
plans,
but
I
also
talk
to
homeowners.
Architects.
Designers
contractors
spend
a
lot
of
time
on
the
phone
and
a
lot
of
time
at
my
desk.
Looking
at
plans.
B
When
salon
finds
some
time
outside
of
his
work,
he
enjoys
downhill,
skiing,
hiking
and
kayaking.
He
also
loves
to
travel
and
since
his
visit
to
italy
in
2001
he's
been
trying
to
master
the
italian
language.
Well,
that's
all
the
time
we
have
for
today
to
get
more
information
on
city
projects,
parks,
road
construction
and
events
visit.
The
city's
website
to
check
out
past
bloomington
today
shows
or
other
city
productions
visit,
bloomington's
youtube,
channel,
accessible
right
from
the
city's
homepage.
That
and
so
much
more
is
online
right
now,
at
www.ci.bloomington.mn.us.