Creature in Lake Wirth, Summer Music Performances and School’s Out All Over: Pick of Our Patches

Editor’s Note: Every week we will bring you a sampling of stories from Patch sites in the west metro: Edina, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Lake Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Richfield,Shakopee, St. Louis Park and St. Michael.

(Click on the headline to read the full story.)

Forget “senior ditch day,” Minnetonka High School seniors finished finals two days early to go out and serve their community through volunteer service.

The new schedule at Hopkins junior highs is not paying off in greater teacher contact with parents and students, at least according to a survey the  reviewed.

From the opening of the carnival to the coronation and parade awards Sunday evening, the weekend is packed with events. Here's a look at the list.

Town Green in Maple Grove will be host to approximately 50 free performances this summer, from music to comedians to Friday night movies. The first performance starts Monday, June 11.

Funding Needed For New Wayzata H.S. Scoreboard
Project Score was created by the Wayzata Athletic Boosters to find the best way to fund getting a new Wayzata High School scoreboard to replace the outdated one. Project Score is community funded through business sponsorships and private donations. 

In order to address some "elephants in the room" last week, a Richfield Planning Commission member said he thought the city didn't have a clearhousing policy and it was "guessing" when making redevelopment decisions.

At Tuesday's Shakopee City Council meeting, two  seniors from the Environmental Ethics class brought up an idea cropping up in urban places around the country: Backyard Chickens.

Artists of All Ages Contribute to Community Project
Not content to simply stroll down the sidewalks at the 46th annual Edina Art Fair, some visitors elected to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty by contributing to a community art project. Children and adults splattered paint Jackson Pollock-style on 50 canvases set up by local businesses during the annual three-day event.

Minne, a 13-foot fiberglass dinosaur, will call Wirth Beach home this summer. This traveling piece of art has moved in just in time for this weekend's grand reopening.