HometownSource Blogs

When I moved to Lakeville in the spring of 1999 from the other side of the Minnesota River, I was impressed by the well-run, growing city, but disappointed that my new town lacked some basic amenities that communities need to be complete communities. I am delighted to report that times in Lakeville have changed for the better.One of the glaring gaps in Lakeville life is transit for those who can’t drive, can’t afford to drive or who prefer buses or trains to cars. Another gap has been a place where seniors can live once they need medical monitoring or more intensive health services.

In other words, the city needed services that would have allowed my mother-in-law to remain more independent and in Lakeville during her last few years.

If you’ve been around Lakeville for a while, you probably ran into my mother-in-law somewhere. Helen Zweber, widow of LeRoy Zweber, got involved in every activity that came her way. Once she and LeRoy gave up dairy farming in Credit River Township, Helen became one of the first female real estate brokers in the state. When she wasn’t selling land and houses, she was active in the garden club, the Lady Lions, the Senior Center or meeting friends at the VFW’s Friday night fish fry. The summer before a stroke slowed her down, she had a glorious ride in the Pan-O-Prog parade in a golf cart with her second husband, Bob White, whom she married several years after LeRoy died.

The golf cart was from Heritage Links Golf Club, which was built by the family on the land that Helen and LeRoy had farmed. On the back of the cart was a “Just Married”