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Wow, what an unbelievable weekend to host a triathlon. I hope you had a chance to get out and either cheer on or participate in one of the triathlon events. The numbers are in and the entire event was a perfect success. The only down side obviously was the extreme heat. My family ran one of the many water stations along the race and I could not tell you how many racers commented on how they really appreciated all of the volunteers.

Thank you to all of the participants who braved the heat to take part in the race. An even bigger thank you goes out to each and every person who volunteered their time when they easily could have been sitting in the comforts of a cool home. One of the racers asked me if people in the area are always this nice. What could I say? Of course they are.

The heat didn’t appear to keep people away from Center City Days last weekend either. On Saturday, I took my daughter to the celebration and could not believe how many people were there enjoying themselves when it was so uncomfortable outside. People were really enjoying all of the various foods offered while taking in some music outside. The canoe race was a hoot to watch. There were six or seven teams entered in the race, and did they ever have fun. The one group that easily had the race in hand, flipped their canoe about 100 yards from the finish line and had to swim with their canoe across the finish line after a bunch of canoes had passed them by.

Well it’s official. Last week we finally landed on the evening news. Unfortunately with all of the wonderful things that take place in our area it would take a horrible event like last weekend to bring the television stations out to our neck of the woods.

Like many of you, having young children, we have been accustomed to watching the early newscast out of sheer tiredness.

For quite awhile I have been meaning to call them or e-mail them about the context of their broadcasts (mainly FOX 9). If there was ever a case of over-sensationalizing a subject, this newscast epitomizes that to the nth degree. The first 20 minutes of the broadcast are filled with murders, beatings, rapes and usually animal cruelty. Combine all of these subjects with some throaty man’s voice teasing the viewers with ridiculous tag lines, and you have basically Jerry Springer news. If there is ever a snifter of good news to report, they shove it in the last 20 seconds of their broadcast. After all, who wants to hear about someone who did a good deed or a town celebration? I know what you are thinking, why doesn’t this dope just turn the channel? It’s simple, I am addicted to the weather segment of the news...even if they are wrong most of the time.

Last week we said goodbye to a good friend, Ellen Glenna. This week we are welcoming a new one. Becky Carlson has joined the Chisago County Press’ team and we are happy to have her. Becky will be taking Ellen’s position in advertising sales.

Becky Carlson (Johnson) grew up in Center City and has lived here her entire life. She knows the importance of small town life and many of you probably have met her at one time or another. We think that Becky will be a terrific addition to the County Press staff and I am sure our advertisers will also.

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