To make the holidays a little brighter for those who are less fortunate, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) awarded $236,472 in charitable donations for the 2008 holiday season.

The donations, which went to 42 social service organizations mostly in the Twin Cities, are providing toys, clothing, food, activities and other gifts for families this holiday season.  

By Shawn Hogendorf, Staff Writer 

Minnesota has long been known as the hockey state, but Prior Lake and Savage hockey programs have struggled to find ice time over the years.

All that changed this year.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community will offer several Emergency Medical Services classes starting January 2009.

The classes are offered by the Mdewakanton Emergency Services department and are open to the public. Classes will be held in the new training room in Fire Station 10 across from Mystic Lake Casino on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community reservation in Prior Lake.

Dakotah! Sport and Fitness will sponsor the annual Turkey Trot 5K and Kids’ Fun Run on Nov. 22.

The 3.1-mile event will start at Dakotah! Sport and Fitness and wind through The Meadows at Mystic Lake, a golf course located in the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

To help protect wetlands on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, the SMSC will install approximately 15,000 square feet of pervious pavement in the former Little Six Casino parking lot that will absorb water that falls on it and allow it to seep into the ground.

As part of the same project the SMSC will also build two rain gardens for impervious pavement to drain into.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community recently approved the donation of 36 Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) to Minnesota organizations and departments through the Mdewakanton LIFE Program.
The Mdewakanton Emergency Services Department administers the Mdewakanton LIFE Program, which donates defibrillators to organizations including law enforcement programs, charitable groups and schools.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Land and Natural Resources Department plan to conduct several prescribed burns on reservation land between mid-October and mid-November.
A prescribed burn is an intentionally lit, low intensity fire used by land managers to replicate natural fires. Prescribed burns benefit natural communities by removing dead biomass, adding nutrients to the soil, releasing native seed banks, and killing non-native species.

Recent donations made by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community are making the expenses of a new school year easier for some families.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is installing a 32,648-square-foot green roof atop its second sheet of ice at Dakotah Sport and Fitness. The new ice arena is scheduled to open in mid-October.

The Mdewakanton Emergency Services department will offer two classes starting in September for emergency medical services.

The EMT Basic Course will run Sept. 15 through Dec. 3 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings from 6 to 10 p.m. The cost for the EMT course is $675, which includes the textbook. This class is open to individuals ages 18 and older.