Dakota County, MN

Help us keep our roadways clean. Volunteers looking to collect litter along designated segments of County highways can help without adopting a section of road or forming a group. Coordination of the program and supplies (safety vests, trash bags and training) are provided by Dakota County Transportation staff.

The Wetland Health Evaluation Program engages citizen volunteers to help monitor wetlands in their community. Since 1997, WHEP volunteers have been monitoring wetland health throughout Dakota and Hennepin counties. They provide important information to city and county planners, engineers, resource managers, and others. The data is also used by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to track wetland health throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area. 

The Wetland Health Evaluation Program teaches citizen volunteers to become wetland monitors in their community. WHEP volunteers work in teams to evaluate the biological health of wetlands selected by their community. All training and equipment is provided and volunteer times are flexible and adaptable to a busy summer schedule. 

For additional information about this program, check out this intro video or visit the MN WHEP website.

Please select the team (city) you want to join. If desired team is full, please join the nearest team to your home location that is still available. For assistance, please contact Garrett Zaffke at garrett.zaffke@co.dakota.mn.us. 

DISCLAIMER: The opportunities listed below are not managed by Dakota County but instead are associated with an organization located in Dakota County. You may have to complete additional steps with the host organization to fully apply for this opportunity. The organizations that host these opportunities take full responsibility for the management of the events listed below.  

Dakota City Heritage Village is a 1900-era village and museum dedicated to connecting people to the rural past. Located in Farmington, Minnesota, just 30 minutes south of the Twin Cities on the Dakota County Fairgrounds, our five-acre site includes 22 buildings where visitors experience living history firsthand with costumed interpreters and demonstrations. Ahlberg Heritage Center, our museum, houses more than 10,000 artifacts depicting social and rural history, with an emphasis on agriculture. Events throughout the year focus on rural life 100+ years ago, including how residents met their needs for food, clothing, shelter, and social connection. School programs are scheduled throughout the spring and fall, and various group tours are offered. In addition, buildings at Dakota City are available to rent for weddings, family gatherings, and organization events.

Help maintain your dog's mental and physicals health by getting them outside to roam. Dakota Woods Dog Park is a 16-acre, fenced-in, wooded park that is a great place to let your dog run and exercise on and off-leash. The park is centrally located in Dakota County, just east of Rosemount and north of Farmington.  

Lake Byllesby Regional Park is nestled in the scenic Cannon River Valley on Lake Byllesby Reservoir, the largest lake in southern Dakota County. This beautiful park offers vast open space for a variety of year-round activities including cooling off in the splash pad or lake, staying overnight in our campsite, or taking a boat ride to take in the sheer cliff facings on shore that are hundreds of years old. Make sure to catch a glimpse of the Lake Byllesby Dam before you leave.

Lebanon Hills Regional Park is the crown jewel and largest park in the Dakota County park system. Containing almost 2,000 acres, the park offers miles of trails and many lakes for year-round outdoor sports, recreation and environmental education. The Lebanon Hills Visitor Center, located in the eastern section of the park, offers park information, interactive nature displays, courses and programs for all ages, and equipment rentals. 

This charming 57-acre park provides a quiet get-a-way in the midst of West St. Paul. The park features a large picnic and playground area that overlooks Thompson Lake and miles of wooded trails that link Thompson County Park to Kaposia Park and to the Mississippi River Regional Trail. Thompson County Park is also the home of the Dakota Lodge — a four-season event center that is perfect for weddings, reunions, meetings, banquets, retreats, parties and much more.

Enjoy the outdoors while assisting park visitors with questions, directions, and providing an extra support measure in case of emergencies. Our patrol units offer a vital service to our county parks by providing trained individual assistance to our park users, helping to keep everyone happy and safe on our park and regional trails. Volunteer while personally enjoying the trails yourself, so easy and fun! 

Whitetail Woods Regional Park is located in Empire Township in the center of Dakota County, one mile north of the Vermillion River. Whitetail Woods provides year round fun from sledding down hill in the winter to enjoying a walk through the flowering prairie during the spring to taking in the relaxing sounds of an outdoor concert during the summer. Looking to get away for a weekend? Unique cabins for rent offer year-round comfy lodging for you and your family to explore the outdoors.

The American Red Cross and Dakota County partner to offer onsite blood donations at our main building locations throughout the county. 

Dakota County Social Services Internship Program

The Dakota County Department of Social Services provides broad range of programs and services that enhance the well-being of individuals and families in the community. We offer a limited number of internships for associates, undergraduate and graduate degree students looking to fulfill academic degree requirements. 

General Process

• Submission of an online application, resume, and cover letter.
• Successful completion of a criminal background check.
• A brief interview conducted by county staff.
• A written agreement between Dakota County and the college or university prior to acceptance.
• Meeting between the school contact and intern supervisor prior to start date.

2022 Fall Schedule

For fall 2022 internships, postings will be listed in each program area below on May 23rd and will close on June 10th. Please note if there is overwhelming interest in a specific opportunity, it may close sooner. 

Administrative Operations Quality Assurance (AOQA) offers administrative, operational and systems support to all programs and services working with various county customers including our clients, employees, and providers/vendors. AOQA helps mobilize each unit’s vision and helps integrate them together within the department and organization and has a presence in all aspects of daily work.

Areas of study may include:

• Digital & Print Media Support
• Project Management
• Communications
• Business Administration

Positions are primarily out of the Western Service Center (14955 Galaxie Avenue, Apple Valley, MN 55124) though work is also done at other designated sites in addition to telework as appropriate for the specific work assignment. 

Dakota County Social Services’ Adult Services provides a variety of mandated and voluntary services to assess risk, increase safety, and connect individuals and families to needed services and supports.  We strive to help build networks and supports so that individuals and families can be stable, healthy, and thriving.    

Area of studies may include:

• Working with Adult Intake
• Crisis Response Unit
• Crisis Stabilization
• Mobile Crisis Response
• Pre-Petition Screening
• Adult Mental Health Assessment
• Chemical Health
• Jail Treatment Program
• Adult Protection
• Supportive Housing Unit

Located primarily out of Northern Service Center in West St. Paul (1 Mendota Road West, West St. Paul, MN 55118).  Locations may also include field work as well as remote work, depending on the specific internship.  

Children and Family Services staff deliver a variety of mandated and voluntary services to support families and keep children safe. In all that we do, we strive to ground our work in the guiding principles of equity; trauma-informed responsive practices; integrated service delivery; and safety, permanency, and well-being frameworks. 

Areas of study may include:

• Ongoing child protection or investigation
• Truancy
• Children’s mental health
• Foster care and adoption
• Intake & family assessment
• Family drug and treatment court (FDTC)
• Childcare licensing

Positions are primarily out of the Western Service Center (14955 Galaxie Avenue, Apple Valley, MN 55124) though work is also done at other designated sites in addition to telework as appropriate for the specific work assignment. 

Community Living Services provides information and support to people living in Dakota County who are older adults or to individuals that have a disability. The vision of Community Living Services is to partner with people and communities to promote equity, self-determination and belonging.

Areas of study may include:

• Working with current case managers and assessors in program enrollment support
• Provision of administrative supports
• Assuming case management role to support people in the community

Positions are primarily out of the Northern Service Center in West St. Paul (1 Mendota Road West, West St. Paul, MN 55118). Locations may also include field work as well as remote work and is dependent on the specific internship.

Housing and Community Resources staff deliver a variety of services in response to community needs across the housing continuum. 

Areas of study may include:

• Eviction prevention
• Shelter provision
• Housing search
• Housing stability
• Transportation services for older adults and persons with disabilities
• Adult foster care and childcare licensing
• Resource Development 

Opportunities are located either at the Northern Service Center in West St. Paul (1 Mendota Rd W, West St. Paul, MN 55118) or the Western Service Center in Apple Valley (14955 Galaxie Avenue, Apple Valley, MN 55124). Work is also done at other designated sites in addition to telework opportunities for specific work assignments.

Veteran Services provides benefit counseling, advice and assistance for veterans and their family members filing claims for the state and federal benefits. The county also assists veterans and their families with a variety of other programs and provides referrals to community resources.