A weekend after Twin Cities TV stations blabbed the bad news to the world, Jordan Public Works Director Dave Bendzick offered a different, more reassuring message:

"If you listen to the news, you'd swear that Jordan was going to flood, and that Jordan was going to be gone," he told the city council Monday. "The Minnesota River will not cause Jordan to flood."

Rural residents across Scott County will gather this evening for their annual town meetings.

The meetings, which are run directly by the residents, decide routine business, such as what banks and newspapers to use for the coming year. Citizens also review last year's budget and approve the proposed budget and levy for next year, either at today's discussion or in a meeting continued to this fall.

There are also four townships holding elections today: Jackson, Cedar Lake, Credit River and New Market. The others have moved to fall elections.

On Feb. 2, Scott County officially completed the acquisition of the last significant undeveloped lake-shore property on Cedar Lake, one of only two major recreational lakes in Scott County, for incorporation into Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park.

The 8-acre parcel, owned by brothers John and Bernard Novotny, is located on the southern end of Cedar Lake and contains 750 feet of shoreline and significant maple, basswood, and oak woodlands.

Lori Carlson of the Prior Lake American reports:

Concerned that Mediacom’s recent lawsuit against the city of Prior Lake could have implications for cable TV franchise agreements statewide, Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) is leading a charge in the Legislature to clarify the existing cable franchise law.

A press release from the office of state Sen. Kevin Dahle, DFL-Northfield, whose district includes Helena Township:

ST. PAUL -- State Rep. Jim Davnie, DFL-Minneapolis, and state Sen. Kevin Dahle, DFL-Northfield, are introducing legislation that would close a loophole that payday lenders have used to overcharge Minnesota borrowers. These three companies found a way to evade the state payday lending law regulating lenders and limiting the fees and interest they can charge borrowers established in 1995.

A press release from the Scott Soil and Water Conservation District:

The Scott Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in Jordan welcomes a new employee this month. Dan Miller of Minneapolis has been hired as the Water Resource Education Coordinator to provide educational services throughout Scott County regarding stormwater pollution prevention strategies.

A press release from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture:

ST. PAUL -– Minnesota ranks in the top ten of states with the largest number of certified organic farms according to a new survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The 2008 Organic Production Survey also found that while organic farmers enjoy higher sales of their products, they also incur more expenses to raise them compared to U.S. farms overall.

DNR QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Q: With discussions about the 2012 farm bill coming up soon, what are some of the issues the DNR is interested in seeing Congress tackle?

See these videos of a pair of skiers who dream of ski jumping in the Olympics someday: