2011: The Year in Review

1. : When Council Member Charlie Crichton died in March at age 83 he left some big shoes to fill. Crichton had longest tenure on the council in the city's history  — serving for 19 years. He was described by colleague Dan Kealey as a "tax hawk" and was a vocal opponent of the Burnsville Performing Arts Center — built with $20 million in taxpayer funds. Nevertheless, his memorial service was held at the BPAC on March 17.

2. : Local attorney Bill Coughlin was chosen by Burnsville voters as successor to Crichton during a special election in July. Coughlin had a lot of competition for the seat, beating out eight other candidates to take the empty seat at city hall. Coughlin took 57.9 percent of the votes cast.

3. : The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District scored a coup in the November election this year, when voters resoundingly approved a measure to renew an existing operational levy for the another ten years. The levy, which was first approved in 2002, generates about $10 million annually for basic, day-to-day expenses. The referendum passed with 67.7 percent approval. 

4. : After surviving three years of recession, Council Member Dan Kealey dissolved his 18-year-old business, DSK Sound. Burt Kealey's ordeal did not end there: He also faced mounting debts from creditors.

5. : In 2011, the Burnsville City Council took a proactive approach to rooting out prostitutes working under the guise of "massage therapy." On July 19, the city council agreed to beef up city codes following a string of arrests in Apple Valley.