Around Town
What the cities, the county and the schools decided, and what it costs you. Every item links the record it came from, and I check each one before it posts.
Latest
Scott County votes Tuesday on a $33 solid waste fee for single-family homes
The fee pays for the household hazardous waste facility and recycling programs. The proposal also raises each multi-family unit to $18 from $12.
Read the story →Prior Lake weighs a project-wide 25% hard-surface cap for lakeside neighborhoods
City code caps hard surface at 25% in each shoreland tier. The change, up for a hearing Monday, lets one tier go higher if the whole project stays within 25%.
Read the story →Prior Lake gives final approval to 62 homes by Campbell Lake
Campbell Shores sits at Marschall Road and 170th Street, where the county's 2027 rebuild adds a roundabout. The city's share of that rebuild is $1,658,000.
Read the story →Prior Lake-Savage schools report 60.3% proficient in math on 2026 state tests
Reading was 58.7% and science 29.0%, each above the state figure, in the test results report prepared for the school board's Oct. 12 meeting.
Read the story →Prior Lake residents can now tell firefighters about their home ahead of a call
Community Connect is free and voluntary. It covers the fire department's service area: Prior Lake, Credit River and Spring Lake Township.
Read the story →Prior Lake-Savage school board votes to seek pre-Labor Day starts through 2030
No calendar is set. The Aug. 23, 2027 first day is still a proposal, and draft 2027-28 calendars go to the board's Oct. 26 study session.
Read the story →Scott County approves taking land for the 2027 Marschall Road rebuild
Commissioners voted 5-0 on Oct. 6. The rebuild from CH 42 to CH 82, with a roundabout at CH 12, is planned to start by spring 2027.
Read the story →Savage approves Highway 13 rebuild with new bridges at Quentin and Huntington
The council approved MnDOT's plan after a public hearing Oct. 5. MnDOT lists construction from spring 2027 through fall 2030.
Read the story →Chick-fil-A opens Oct. 8 where Shakopee’s Best Buy used to be
Open 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 8100 Old Carriage Ct., where the city finished a roundabout and a new signal Sept. 29.
Read the story →Prior Lake approves selling three city lots, two on the lake, for park repairs
The council released the lots from park use Tuesday and cleared the city manager to sell them. Staff recommends sealed bids; any sale returns to the council.
Read the story →Prior Lake signs off on financing for McKenna Crossing’s 72 new senior units
The approval lets the City of Mayer issue up to $30 million in tax-exempt notes for the expansion. Prior Lake pays nothing.
Read the story →Prior Lake August permits: 4 new homes and 2 new commercial buildings
The report in the council's Sept. 22 packet also lists 5 commercial addition and alteration permits worth $9,912,500 for the month.
Read the note →Vierling Ridge approved: work on the first 46 of 262 homes expected within weeks
The council approved Pulte Homes’ first phase, 46 of a planned 262 units, and the city expects more grading and street work to start in the next few weeks.
Read the story →New traffic signal is on at County Highway 16 and Dean Lakes Trail in Shakopee
Scott County said Monday, Sept. 21, that the signal at Eagle Creek Boulevard and Dean Lakes Trail/Kinlock Way is operational.
Read the note →On the Nov. 3 ballot: 10 for four school board seats, no contest for council
Ten candidates filed for four Prior Lake-Savage school board seats. The two City Council seats drew only the two members who hold them.
Read the story →Absentee voting starts Friday in the Prior Lake-Savage school referendum
Nov. 3 ballot: a $1,740.97 per-student operating levy in place of $623.97, plus a capital levy tied to it. About $46 a month on a $525,000 house.
Read the story →Scott County’s maximum 2027 levy adds $89.89 a year on the average home
The board voted 5-0 Tuesday for a $112.69 million maximum levy after staff added a $483,401 contingency. The final levy, set in December, cannot go higher.
Read the story →Shakopee OKs car wash, garden center and three retail buildings at Southbridge
The council approved the PUD amendment Sept. 15 for the 14.26-acre site at 1300 Crossings Blvd., where the applicant proposes removing all existing trees.
Read the story →Shakopee sets its 2027 levy: about $52 more a year on a median $375,300 home
Staff put the increase at $52 a year on the median value home, which rose 3.9% to $375,300, and $8 where a home's value did not change.
Read the story →Watershed district weighs an $875,897 alum treatment to cut Fish Lake algae
A public hearing and a vote on ordering the project were on Tuesday's agenda. A Clean Water Fund grant covers $796,270 of the cost.
Read the story →Shakopee sets 40 mph on the rebuilt Marystown Road between Vierling and 17th
The stretch between Vierling Drive and 17th Avenue reopened Aug. 21 with roundabouts. The limit had been 45 to 55 mph; the council set 40 on Sept. 15.
Read the story →Prior Lake-Savage kindergarten enrollment is 484, down 38 from last fall
The district budgeted for 489 kindergartners. It ended last year with 8,449 students, 52 under its revised budget.
Read the story →Prior Lake-Savage schools certify 2027 levy at the maximum, no home figure yet
The board voted Monday on a roll call. The state printout puts the maximum at $36.24 million, up 1.63%. A per-home number comes with the tax notices.
Read the story →Savage adopts preliminary levy that could add $86 a year on an average home
The council adopted the preliminary levy Monday, Sept. 21. Staff estimate $45 to $173 a year depending on home value, about $86 at the 2026 average of $439,200.
Read the story →Southbridge Parkway closes at CH 21 Thursday, Oct. 1, in Shakopee
Scott County expects to close Southbridge Parkway at CH 21 starting Thursday, Oct. 1, a week later than it said earlier. Pike Lake Road work continues.
Read the note →Around town, the summer catch-up: 16 decisions since Aug. 4
What the councils, the county board, the watershed district and the Shakopee school board did in August and early September, dated, each with its record.
Read the roundup →Prior Lake’s preliminary levy adds about $70 to the city share on a median home
The city estimates the city portion of taxes on a median valued home of $461,700 rises $70 for the year, or 4.8%. The council approved it Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Read the story →Scott County Library branches close Friday, Sept. 18, for staff development day
The Scott County Board approved the closure unanimously on the consent agenda Tuesday, Sept. 1. The staff report says there is no fiscal impact.
Read the note →Ponds Park phase two is finished, and Prior Lake has closed out the contract
K.A. Witt Construction was paid $1,112,072.14 in all, 3.3% over the original bid, after three change orders. The council approved the final payment Aug. 25.
Read the story →Upper Prior Lake is set to come off the state’s impaired waters list this fall
Listed for nutrients in 2002. After 20 years of projects, the MPCA recommended removal this spring; the EPA's sign-off is anticipated this fall.
Read the story →Shakopee says no to growing and making cannabis in its highway business zones
A licensed microbusiness at 491 Marschall Road asked to grow and manufacture in the B-1 district. Staff recommended denial; the council voted no, 4-0, Aug. 18.
Read the story →Shakopee Brew Hall can pour liquor now, not just beer, after a 5-0 council vote
New taproom, on-sale, small brewer and Sunday licenses for Dilemma Brewing Co. at 124 1st Avenue East replace its beer-only licenses. Approved Aug. 4.
Read the story →Shakopee extends trash and recycling contract with Dick’s Sanitation to 2031
The council voted 4-1 on Aug. 4. The 65-gallon cart, trash plus recycling, is $64.20 a quarter in 2026, and the proposed rates rise each year to 2031.
Read the story →How this works, what it covers and what it doesn’t: read the ground rules.
Photo: City of Prior Lake.