By Lori Carlson, Editor
For Terry Hitchcock, the last eight months have been a different kind of marathon – a nationwide whirlwind of film festival appearances and motivational speeches.

The Prior Lake man is the subject of “My Run,” a documentary that follows his 1996 trek – in which he ran 75 marathons in 75 days – from St. Paul to Atlanta, Ga.

Hitchcock, who was 57 at the time of the run, had lost his wife, Sue, to breast cancer a decade earlier and became a single father to three young children.

The sun is shining and warming things up a bit, so it’s time to start thinking about spring gardening.

The Scott-Carver Master Gardeners present free gardening classes at the Prior Lake Library, 16210 Eagle Creek Ave., from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Mondays.

Upcoming classes include:

March 15: Growing and using herbs
March 22: Pruning trees and shrubs
March 29: Native plants for sunny spaces
April 5: Gardening in the shade

Registration is not required. For more information, call the library at (952) 447-3375.

Dakotah! Ice Center is now home to the Dakotah! Figure Skating Club (DSF). The Dakotah! Figure Skating Club is a non-profit organization.

Established in mid-2009, the club currently has about 40 skaters and member parents. Community children, youth, and adults who train as figure skaters formed the club with DSF figure skating coach Trudy Oltmanns, who is a skating coach at the Dakotah! Ice Center which opened in November 2008.

From the Prior Lake Association
When fishing with live bait such as minnows, do not release them into the lake, winter or summer, when you have finished fishing.

The main problem is that the live bait can have a variety of fungi, diseases and internal and external worms that can attack our native fish. Another exotic species is the zebra mussel, which can be transferred in this manner. Even though we have a small population of zebra mussels in Prior Lake, let’s not help them expand in Prior Lake or any other lake.

The Prior Lake Association’s fourth annual ice house contest will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20.

A panel of judges will make the rounds of ice houses on Prior Lake. Anyone wishing to have their ice house judged can invite the judges to inspect and photograph their ice house for the contest. Entry is free, but ice houses must be occupied to be judged.

Prizes to be awarded will be for the following categories: largest, smallest, comfiest, relic, colorful, “Caddyshack” and innovative.

From the Prior Lake Association
Prior Lake got some unwanted publicity with an article in the Minneapolis paper this past week about the trash being left on the ice this winter. Research indicates that trash hogs are 10 percent or less of the total population.

Prior Lake’s summer recreation schedule starts with signup for summer programs on Monday, March 1.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department partners with Prior Lake-Savage Area Community Education to offer online registration for youth, teen and adult activities.

Watch for the 2010 summer recreation catalog in the Feb. 20 print edition of the newspaper.

For more information on the city’s recreation offerings, call (952) 447-9820.