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Holy cow, what a weekend that was. Living in Minnesota, you would think we would be used to a huge snow event, but apparently it has been so long that we have forgotten how fun they really are.

Here at the Press, we continually joke about the weather forecasts because nine out of ten times the predicted storm never happens. So you can imagine the fun we were having telling everyone to bring their sleeping bags because they probably wouldn't make it home due to the snow.

Well, for once the meteorologists nailed it. I am not sure how they actually determine how much snow a community gets when the snow is falling sideways, but if Osceola got 23 inches we had to have close to that. Either way, we had a boat load of snow. Our kids, as I am sure everyone's were in total heaven. If they were not inside drinking gallons of hot cocoa, they were out in the five foot snow drifts building forts.

We were watching the news on Saturday night and there was a report about snow covering furnace vents in homes. They told us to go outside and check our vents right now before your furnace turns itself off. I clicked off the televisions and headed..to bed. I woke up about 5:30 to a house that was 48 degrees and dropping. When I got out to the vent, it was completely snowed over.

My lower back tells me that we had too much snow, but having fished on our low lakes all summer long, I say bring it on. I hope we have four more of these.

We are always looking for cool Christmas presents that are from our area. This year we really made an effort to find the perfect presents. Without sounding like a total homer, the gifts we found this year are some of the best we have ever bought. I would say that 80 percent of our gifts this year have come from the Chisago Lakes area. While I can not tell you what they are (because some recipients get this paper), I can tell you that some are apparel, some are food related and some are novelty.

Not to beat a dead horse, we really do have some wonderful businesses in our area that are perfect for Christmas gift ideas.

In this edition of the County Press, you will find our annual Winter Sports Preview. Our Sports Editor Jeff Norton, along with our Assistant Sports Editor Chuck Fitzer, have been interviewing coaches and players about the winter sports season.

They have some great pictures and quotes from players and coaches from North Branch and Chisago Lakes. We have some very good teams in both schools this year and they would like to invite you to come out and enjoy a game.

Also included in the preview are some great businesses who continue to support our local sports teams year after year. Thank you to these great businesses for making the preview possible and for supporting our local high school teams. If you would like an extra copy of the preview, just stop by the Press and pick one up.

I know I am a week late, but did you happen to watch the Gophers play Cornell last week? It was awesome to see Josh Figini out on the court defending the Gophers. Cornell eventually lost to the Gophers, but I found myself cheering for Josh and the Gophers at the same time.

If you happen to not have plans this Christmas, the good folks at the First United Methodist Church in Lindstrom would love to have you over for dinner. They will be holding a great Christmas dinner and you are invited. The dinner will take place between noon and 1:15 p.m. on Christmas Day. They would like you to make reservations by December 20, just so they know how much food to prepare. If you are going to be alone this Christmas or are unable to leave your home, please call by December 20, and someone will arrange for a meal to be delivered to you.

If you would like to help out with the dinner or if you would like to donate food items please call Wendy at 257-8791 or Lois at 257-5547.

Back to the snow event for a second. Wasn't that an amazing video of the Metrodome collapsing early Sunday morning? I have always wondered how they clear the snow off the top of that place. What is really wild is that you can see workers on a cart just escape the tidal wave of snow and ice in the background.

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