Saint Paul is using an innovative approach to control the spread of invasive species: goats. During the summer and fall of 2017, the goats will roam inside fenced-in areas along the Mississippi River and eat unwanted plants like buckthorn and garlic mustard.

Invasive plant removal is a part of the City of Saint Paul’s routine park maintenance efforts. Using goat grazing, however, is a new, ecologically sensitive approach for maintaining and enhancing natural habitats. This is a part of the City’s Great River Passage initiative.

Read more about the initiative in this MPR News article.

Mike Arturi, founder and director of the Universal Music Center in Red Wing, is presenting “Find Your Place in Music” to student at today’s Big 9 Music Festival. The program will feature vendors from a variety of non-performance music fields, giving students the opportunity to learn and explore career possibilities in music – from manufacturing and education to production and retail.

Learn more in this Red Wing Republic Wing interview with Arturi.

The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners authorized staff to enter into negotiations with Phoenix-based Cardon Development Group to redevelop Riverfront Properties, the nearly five-acre site built into the river bluff along Kellogg Boulevard in Saint Paul.

The proposed high-density development incorporates a mix of uses that will build on the existing energy of downtown Saint Paul. Specifically, plans call for residential housing, a four-star hotel, offices, and street-level retail along Kellogg Boulevard. Construction is anticipated to occur from 2018-2021.

To learn more about the proposed development, read this Finance & Commerce article.

Vikings’ football player Everson Griffen made a surprise appearance for students at the Science Museum of Minnesota. The defensive end visited with fourth and fifth graders from around the state who traveled to the museum for a sleepover field trip made possible by Flint Hills Resources’ Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount. For more information, watch this WCCO segment.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community committed an additional $5 million in new funding over the next two years to its Seeds of Native Health campaign. This raises the campaign’s funding total to $10 million and represents the single-largest coordinated philanthropic effort in American history focused on improving Native American nutrition.

As a part of this additional funding, the campaign will expand corporate partnerships and launch new projects with the American Diabetes Association, Better Way Foundation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and the University of Minnesota.

To learn more, read the Star Tribune article.

All are welcome to attend

Bob Goff touched the lives of many people with his keen humor, sage advice, and constant warmth. To honor Bob and his rich contributions to our lives and our community, please join us at a celebration of life reception at the Minnesota History Center on Monday, April 10, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. A brief program will begin at 3 p.m.

Memorials are preferred to the Minnesota Historical Society, Regions Hospital Foundation, or HealthPartners Hospice.

Please share your favorite memory or story about Bob at BobGoffStories@gmail.com, and view his full obituary to read the reminiscences of those closest to him.