2011 Year in Review: July's Top Stories on Mendota Heights Patch

The  has once again been listed as a potential site for closure by the United States Postal Service.

USPS is evaluating 3,700 of their retail locations across the country for potential closure, according to a statement. Retail location transactions have declined by $2 billion over the past five years, contributing to hefty losses.

Local nonprofit Neighbors, Inc. is hosting "Skydive for Hunger" Saturday, July 30, a leap of faith dreamt up by Mendota Heights resident Gail Wildenauer.

“Do you want to hear some of the jokes I’ve been making about it?” Wildenauer asked with a preemptive laugh.

“For all my friends who, you know, tell me I should take a flying leap off a cliff…well, now they should be sorry.”

For Henry Sibley High School student Josh Brinkman, the thought of a hallway plastered in ads for commercial products elicits an expression of disgust.

For members of the District 197 School Board, a hallway with a smattering of ads for nutritious eating and exercise brings the sound of dollar signs into a strained budget conversation.

Dozens of Harry Potters and Hermione Grangers—and even a few Lord Voldemorts—stormed their way into the AMC Showplace movie theater late July 14 for a midnight showing of the latest and last Harry Potter movie.

The midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was sold out early as nearly all of the theater's 16 screens showed the premiere. By 10:30 p.m., when the doors to the theaters opened, hundreds of Harry Potter fans, most of them teenagers, were thronging through the theater lobby.

Roughly half came dressed as their favorite Harry Potter characters. Students from Henry Sibley, Simley, Visitation, St. Thomas Academy, Hastings, Eagan, Minnehaha Academy and several St. Paul high schools were among the attendees.

From the bouncy castles to the beer stand, if you asked any given visitor at Mendota Days July 9-10 about the state government shutdown, you were bound to run into the same response over and over again. “It sucks.”

From those not overtly affected, to a woman that lost her job, everyone had an opinion, and their opinions are not forgiving.