March 23, 2023 12:18
| New council
lukewarm to
vets' housing site | Should a new city council feel compelled to support a project that was approved by a different set of elected officials? Lindstrom City Council found itself facing that dilemma last week on a decision that would either kill a proposed non-profit veterans’ housing project or extend its viability another year.
Friday, March 24, 2023
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March 23, 2023 12:20
| | County Board district, precinct change OK'd | The annexation of Lent Township parcels into the City of North Branch has set some related actions in motion, among these is the expansion of a county commissioner district. The properties affected, shown in map, were approved by the city council last week to go into Jim Swenson’s County Commissioner District One, which is all of North Branch.
Friday, March 24, 2023
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March 23, 2023 12:26
| | Lindstrom City Council Briefs... | The search for a new city administrator for Lindstrom is in process. Lindstrom City Council was advised last week that advertising is being disseminated for the position and promotional materials the search firm is using were reviewed.
Friday, March 24, 2023
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March 23, 2023 12:10
| | Franconia levy steady for 2024 |
The Franconia Township Annual Meeting was the quietest one in recent memory. 12 township citizens attended the meeting, which lasted just 40 minutes. Sonny Sparby was re-elected as a township supervisor for another three-year term, receiving 16 of the 18 votes cast. The township residents approved a levy of $740,000 for 2023, which is the same amount as the 2022 levy. Angela Dahlstrom recently resigned as town clerk. Township treasurer Karen Anderson will add the clerk position to her township responsibilities, and Chuck Fitzer will be the deputy clerk.
Friday, March 24, 2023
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March 23, 2023 12:09
| | Amador Town Board gets OK
for 2024 minor budget hike | The Amador Township annual meeting March 14 presented no surprises for the 20 or so attendees. Moderator was Sunny Peterson.
Friday, March 24, 2023
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March 23, 2023 12:08
| | CL Township annual meeting notes... |
Chisago Lake Township held its annual meeting March 14. The meeting followed an election which saw Sherry Stirling defeat Donna Prahl for a supervisor position by a vote of 69-39. Stirling, who was the incumbent, will retain her position for three years. The election also saw treasurer Judy Straub re-elected with 102 votes. Straub was running unopposed.
Friday, March 24, 2023
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March 23, 2023 12:07
| | Community guide can help your business; egg hunt, waffle meal | I know I wrote this a week or two ago, but time is nearing where it will be too late.
Friday, March 24, 2023
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March 23, 2023 12:06
| | More Chisago County records going digital | The Internet age has left everyone with the expectation that whatever they need to know, it will be available with a few keyboard strokes.
Friday, March 24, 2023
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March 23, 2023 12:04
| | Sometimes forgotten sweet potatoes | I know I have used some sweet potato recipes in this column space before, but I’m not sure if they ever got their own dedicated column, and we’re about to change that!
Friday, March 24, 2023
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March 23, 2023 12:03
| | Rotary Club donates to Harmony in the Park | The Chisago Lakes Rotary Club is proud to be a platinum sponsor for this Summer’s Harmony in the Park. The Board presented a check for $500 to Rusty Johnson recently at our board meeting. The Rotary club is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and wanted to celebrate by supporting the concerts in the park.
Friday, March 17, 2023
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March 16, 2023 12:25
| | Moody Lake next on W.D.
projects list | In the world of water quality, the term legacy doesn’t always mean something positive. In the case of a public park on Moody Lake in Chisago Lake Township South, research has identified a “legacy” load of contaminating manure built up over decades of an operating dairy farm. Last week the watershed district managers voted to do something about it.
Friday, March 17, 2023
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March 16, 2023 12:24
| | Police Commission honors longtime volunteer | The every-other-month Lakes Area Police Commission meeting last week was a festive gathering celebrating the end of an era, literally, of service from citizen Mark Anderson, Chisago City. He has announced he’s stepping away from the reservist program, but he will still volunteer with city parks and community events.
Friday, March 17, 2023
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March 16, 2023 12:23
| | Taylors Falls 2022 audit, good and bad news | The Taylors Falls City Council heard Monday night this week; that it was a good thing the city had healthy reserves (balances) and also took in extra federal recovery act funds, because the city spent much more in 2022 than it took in. The audit was presented by Abdo accounting associate Brad Faltysek. He told the council the audit also showed a number of municipal accounting shortcomings likely resulting from staff chaos. He advised that the state of Minnesota is not going to be coming to the city assessing any fines, as long as the state sees “you are going in the right direction,” he declared.
Friday, March 17, 2023
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March 16, 2023 12:22
| | Ag leadership organization celebrates 25 years; women leaders being shaped by North Branch alum |
The native Chisago County farm kid, currently leading an important women in agriculture organization, should not be a surprise to anybody who knew her back when. As Doris Mold was growing up on the family farm near Harris, her mother Sarah was the first female elected to be a Chisago County Commissioner. Doris’s dad Melvin was involved in Farm Bureau and the American Dairy Association. They made sure Doris got to her FFA and 4H meetings and supported her in contributing volunteer hours at the county fair.
Friday, March 17, 2023
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March 16, 2023 12:17
| | What on earth is a pandemic?
Shorts on St. Patty's Day? Yep | From time to time I like to look back a year, three years, even five years to see what I was writing about.. I stumbled across my 2020 column from this week.
Friday, March 17, 2023
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March 16, 2023 12:05
| | Time for March Madness | We’re coming up on March Madness this weekend, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m not even a huge college basketball fan, but I love this time of year. Games on in the morning, bets flying between friends and non stop action from near sunrise to sundown on the basketball court.
Friday, March 17, 2023
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March 16, 2023 12:04
| | Relative of triple homicide victim is main suspect | A 39-year-old male found deceased in rural Dakota County, Saturday March 4 is being investigated as the main suspect in a triple homicide here, Chisago County authorities announced this week.
Friday, March 17, 2023
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March 16, 2023 12:01
| | Center City Council hears of pier replacement, fire tanker pending sale | The big news out of last week’s Center City Council meeting had to be that the DNR is providing a new fishing pier. The one on North Center Lake is over 20 years old, more like 40 years by some estimates, and the state has it on the replacement cycle for 2023.
Friday, March 17, 2023
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March 16, 2023 12:00
| | Fish Lake Township deaths | The Chisago County Sheriff’s Office late Tuesday this week, released the names of three gunshot fatalities, found in a residence on Brunswick Road, Sunday March 5. The investigation has developed a “person of interest” believed to be the perpetrator, who is also deceased. This person was not identified. This death and the scene in Fish Lake Township began to connect after authorities found links working the case basically non-stop, according to a sheriff’s spokesperson.
Friday, March 10, 2023
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March 9, 2023 14:35
| | Lent-North Branch annexation OK'd | A relatively uncomplicated annexation of sections of land out of Lent Township and into the City of North Branch has been ordered by state regulators. Based on materials submitted supporting the annexation, the MN Office of Boundary Adjustments and its administrative law division released the decision Wednesday March 1.
Friday, March 10, 2023
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March 12, 2023 15:08
| | Disputed Lake Martha
preliminary plat approved;
annexation moves forward | After having been denied by the city planning commission in December and then sent back to the planning commission by the city council, a preliminary plat for Lake Martha Overlook and related variances was approved unanimously by council, Feb. 28. The planning commission met Feb. 2 to reconsider a revised plat for the detached villa townhome development, and city staff recommended approval.
Friday, March 10, 2023
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March 9, 2023 14:25
| | Townships hold elections, meetings soon | The second Tuesday of every March, townships in Minnesota hold annual meetings where residents gather to review the budget, talk about concerns and make suggestions. Most townships also hold elections, although in Chisago County— Lent and Nessel Townships have opted to provide ballots on the November General Election calendar.
Friday, March 10, 2023
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March 9, 2023 14:23
| | North Branch Council briefs | The five elected city council persons in North Branch all seemed to agree last week that they are not to be considered “personnel.” But, when time came to vote on designating officeholders as “non-personnel” the action was tabled until a work session later this month.
Friday, March 10, 2023
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March 9, 2023 14:20
| | Sewer Commission to move forward on 'Phase 4' work | Friday, March 10, 2023
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March 9, 2023 14:12
| | Chisago City Council OK's
Highway 8 design | The Chisago City Council met on Feb. 28 one member short. Technical difficulties prevented Craig Meyer from attending the meeting remotely, but that didn’t keep the council from tackling its lengthy agenda.
Friday, March 10, 2023
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March 9, 2023 14:11
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