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If you are looking for a relaxing Saturday evening, look no farther than Franconia Sculpture Park. September 11 and again on October 9, they will be hosting their 3D Summer Concert Series. The concerts will run from 4 to 8 p.m. and they will feature music acts of all kinds. The cost is free, and you and your family will get to enjoy great music as well as tour the park. There will be food and drinks available as well.  Also, on September 25, you are invited to attend the art and artist celebration. You can meet the artist who have created these wonderful sculptures.

Speaking of great businesses to the east, I would like to express a heartfelt congratulations to Wade and Carol Vitalis. Wade and Carol own the Taylors Falls Drive-In.

In the latest edition of Minnesota Monthly, the Drive-In was the cover story. It was named one of the top 24 "Greatest places to eat and drink outdoors". The author pays homage to the fifties and to great food and the Drive-In is tops in both categories.

Congratulations to Wade and Carol and to the great staff at the Drive-In. If you have not been there in a while, early fall is a great time to look at leaves and have some great root beer.

Chisago Lakes has lost a real gem among us. Pat Budig passed away last week. Many of you who have lived here for years remember Pat as a youth growing up in Center City. Many of you who have older children probably know her for her involvement with the schools. You see, Pat's husband was killed by a drunk driver a while back. Since that horrible day, she made it her mission to educate our children on the dire consequences of drinking and driving. Those of you who have attended one of her assemblies know just how powerful and excellent they were. In fact, when Pat would finish her speech, you would always see a large group of kids approach her and ask more questions.

Pat was an amazing person, and our area is a little dimmer without her in it.

If your business has a milestone, or an anniversary you will be celebrating in the near future, I encourage you to call us here at the Press. Let one of our sales staff show you how we can help you publicize, promote and make your milestone a one of a kind. We are in the process of completeing a project for a local business and it is incredible. You can reach our sales staff at 651-257-5115.

If you have really been yearning for some good apples, I mean good, crisp, make your mouth water apples, your time has come. Beginning this weekend, most of our local apple growers will be open for business. I can not wait to bite into a Honey Crisp that has just been picked from a tree.

I have a tip for all of you people with those seasonal swimming pools. If you are like us, your Spring goes something like this; dig pool out of storage, set up pool, fill pool for what seems like five days, treat pool with chemicals, watch pool turn a sick looking orange, treat with chemicals again, watch the bottom of your pool disappear, spend the next month trying to clear the water, once the water is clear begin to take pool down for the winter.

Frustrated beyond belief, and sick and tired of making trips to a store to buy more paper filters, I decided to do something about it. I drove to A Pro in Lindstrom and dumped my problem on them. They kindly explained to me that the seasonal swimming pools do not come with large enough pumps to clean the water. They sold me a sand filter pump for about what I had already spent on paper filters this summer and explained how to set it up. I am not kidding folks, our pool went from looking like the Hudson River to crystal clear in a day and a half. I know the swimming season is coming to a close, but this would be a great time to purchase a new pump and have clear water right away next summer instead of battling brown sludge for a month.

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