Metro briefs: LRT meeting, meds disposal

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges has called special meeting of the City Council for later this week to vote on agreements to preserve public ownership of land associated with the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project.

The meeting is 10 a.m. Wednesday at Minneapolis City Hall.

The city is expected to make a crucial final vote on the light rail project Friday, after months of complex negotiations and continued questions and criticism from residents.

Staff report

Stillwater is holding a contest to name a stretch of city-owned riverfront property south of where riverboats dock on the St. Croix River.

The contest is the latest step in developing the woodland into a natural area that someday will have trails and a municipal boat dock.

The property along Hwy. 95, at the south entrance to Stillwater's downtown, has been known by various local references. One was "Stillwater Barge Terminal," but that decrepit structure was removed as part of the new St. Croix River bridge project. Another was "Hersey Bean," in reference to a long-gone sawmill.

Kevin Giles @stribgiles

To combat the spread of prescription painkiller abuse and heroin addiction, the Eden Prairie Police Department is offering free disposal bags for residents to safely get rid of unused medications. The bags contain activated carbon, which neutralizes the medication and prevents contamination of groundwater.

The new program, sponsored by the Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund, provides disposal bags available for pickup Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the police department's front desk, 8080 Mitchell Road.

For more information, go to edenprairie.org.

Staff report

Route 865 will make nine morning trips and nine evening trips on Hwy. 65 on weekdays. Three trips will serve the new park-and-ride lot at the East Bethel Theatre, 18635 NE. Ulysses St., while three will serve a parking lot Metro Transit is leasing at Family of Christ Lutheran Church, 16345 NE. Polk St., Ham Lake.

All nine trips will stop at the Paul Parkway Park and Ride lot, a 400-stall surface lot under construction at Paul Parkway and NE. Ulysses Street in Blaine. The lot is expected to open by the end of the month, said Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr.

The portion of Route 865 serving Ham Lake and East Bethel will test the market potential in those cities. Service will be evaluated after three years.