Ever wonder what to do with the tangled mess of lights that marks the start of many Minnesotans holiday season? Ring in the holidays by getting rid of old, broken, inefficient light strands and upgrading to new, efficient LED holiday lights! CERTs is partnering again with the Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM) for the 2013-2014 holiday season on Recycle Your Holidays™. RAM recycles every part of the light strings—the metal wires, the plastic casing, and even the lights themselves. We’re…

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Ice comes and goes with fluctuating temperatures at this time of year. As a result, the thickness of ice forming on local rivers and storm water management ponds is unpredictable and will not reliably support weight.  Water current is also a factor that can undermine ice formation and create unsafe ice conditions, so citizens should always remain cautious near ice. There are over 350 public and private storm water management ponds scattered throughout Rochester.  They vary in size, depth and…

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SEPTEMBER 14 and 15 Quarry Hill Nature Center announces its 24th Annual Fall Festival onSeptember 14 and 15, 2013. Enjoy food, fun, live music and all the best of Quarry Hill from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm each day. The festival is admission free. Fall Festival takes place on the grounds of Quarry Hill Park and Nature Center. Indoor & outdoor activities include nature games, nature crafts, cave tours, canoeing, rock climbing and pumpkin decorating. New this year is Tree Climbing offered by…

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July 24th 4-8:30pm Rain or Shine Tour 7 beautiful Gardens perennial, annual, and hosta glades inspiring water features garden sculptures by Andrew Arend antiques repurposed as garden art Golden Hills Educational Center tour Learn about companion plants for hostas straw bale gardening ornamental grasses turf grass management rain gardens urban bees, chickens, and geese Garden Tour Ticket Information Tickets and tour maps available for purchase at a cost of $5.00 per person, after 4pm on the day of the tour,…

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Native plants are popping up everywhere in our community and it is very exciting to see. Residents and guests are beginning to appreciate the beauty and importance of these native species. There are fantastic educational programs and events occurring in our area and it would be great to see that continue. The aim of this 5-10 minute survey is to understand what education is currently happening, what topics people would like more training on, and when the best time to…

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The National Junior Disability Championships will be here before we know it –July 6-13.  WE NEED TO FILL 170 VOLUNTEERS SHIFTS YET!!!  –and we hope you can help us out during this great event.  You can sign up to volunteer on-line at:  http://www.njdc2013.com/volunteer.html   **** No specific knowledge is required to work these events (swimming, archery, track & field) – there will be officials there to train you for what you will be doing ****   Here is some more information…

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Rochester Recreational Center to Essex Park Wednesday, July 10, 1-6 pm Free Canoe Rental and Shuttle provided by Boulder Dam Canoe and Kayak Rental Sign up for the upcoming Zumbro River clean-up on July 10. Help to clean up a reach of the Zumbro River that really needs it. Please invite others that you know that might to spend an hour or two in a canoe cleaning up litter in our local waterway. Zumbro River Clean-Up from Rochester Recreation Center…

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