The Mill Pond officially reopened to the public after an $838,000 restoration project that included draining the recreational lake in Jordan's Lagoon Park.

Jordan Mayor Ron Jabs spoke about a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, May 7. Here's some of what he said:

- Lagoon Park was originally dedicated to the city in 1929 by the flour company International Milling.

- The flood of 1960 deposited sediment in the Mill Pond that was many feet deep.

Cosmic Journey

Jordan Middle School students got a chance to explore the final frontier from the safety of the gym last week. The school hosted the Minnesota Planetarium Exloradome portable planetarium. The program – housed in an inflatable dome in which students laid on the floor and gazed at projected video on the ceiling – allowed students to visit almost anywhere they wanted within our solar system. They also had a chance to see most of the known universe when the projected video brought them outside the solar system and outside the Milky Way galaxy.

If you have never been to Jordan, the waterfall in Lagoon Park is a must see.

Take Highway 21 or 169 to Highway 282, turn south on Varner Street, go a dozen blocks or so. Turn onto Park Drive, near the cannon and flagpoles to enter Lagoon Park. The waterfall is about three blocks into the park on the left.

Here's a look:

On a kayaking trip from Helena Township, through Sand Creek Township, into Jordan on Sand Creek, a few guys found out that with a little ingenuity, you can surf the local creek. These guys are lucky to have not broken their necks, they said.

They also said it's easier than it looks.

Yesterday (Wednesday), students from Jordan High School helped two Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fisheries specialists transplant bluegill, bass, and crappie from Pelican Lake in Wright County into the Mill Pond in Lagoon Park. Garrett Prochaska is the student featured at the end of the video clip.

Thirty years ago, Jordan's park and recreation board planted dozens of trees in Lagoon and Mini-Met parks. Forty-four of the 50 trees planted a year earlier survived.

For more information, read the Looking Back column in the May 8 issue of the Jordan Independent. Read it online in the Print Edition section, or subscribe by going to www.jordannews.com/subscribe.

If a recreational lake can have a grand opening, that's what the Mill Pond will get on Wednesday.

Jordan Mayor Ron Jabs said the city plans to "make a splash" while the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources restocks the Lagoon Park pond with bluegill, crappie, and bass. "Let's party a little bit."

Here's what's been going on in and around Belle Plaine lately, according to the Belle Plaine Herald:

- Scott County Commissioner Jon Ulrich of Savage and the rest of the
county board unanimously directed staff to look into ways of opening
Cedar Lake Farms regional park in 2009. The land, which is owned by the
county, is located along Cedar Lake in Helena Township.

Ironman bike riders took rest stops in Jordan last weekend.

After the heavy snow and strong winds of last Saturday, Sunday morning saw the sun rise of a calm but beautiful day. A very light westerly wind and a temperature of 29 degrees Fahrenheit were the greetings for about 1,000 riders on the 100-mile route that included Jordan.

Every year for the last 43, about 5,100 riders leave the Lakeville High School and enjoy a 30-, 62-, or 100-mile trek.This is the sixth year the route has gone through the
Jordan area.