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Although the ground is about to freeze over and white will coat the green grass with a glaze of snow, the Lakes Area Recreational Association (LARA) just polished off a gem of a baseball field and expansion to Ki Chi Saga County Park.

With a need for more fields to accomodate a booming number of youth athletes in the Chisago County programs, a perfect storm of opporunity and resources were created last year that allowed LARA to create extra space at a huge discounted price.

After the high school completed the new stadium last year, they needed a place to bring all the dirt that was dug up to accomodate the new turf field.

At the same time, Chisago County was still in need of new youth baseball and softball fields in the area, and LARA had the perfect spot for the dirt and the fields. On the south end of the ballfield complex already in existence at Ki Chi Saga, there was a huge weedy hill that was of no use to anyone except gophers and bigs. It started at the south parking lot and extended down from there.

LARA's idea was to take the dirt from the stadium site and bring it to the hill to level it out and create more room for fields at Ki Chi Saga.

Although they had to go through the Park Board and the Chisago County Commissioners, it wasn't very challenging as LARA was funding the project with all of their charitable gambling and donation money.

What resulted is a brand new youth baseball field and plenty of new room for even more baseball or soccer fields.

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