Catch the last few Harmony in the Parks, come and watch The Little Mermaid

As summer is drawing to a close, that means there are only a few precious more chances to take in a Harmony in the Park Concert. The concerts have been well attended this year and the last two should be as well. On August 8 Harmony will feature Monroe Crossing, and on August 15, Wild Honey & Locust will headline. Both shows should be great and I truly hope you can get out and see them. It has been a while since I wrote about the road construction, but since they are closing Highway 8 to Shafer, I thought this would be a good time to re-visit it. If you are one of those who has been avoiding Lindstrom, Chisago City and Center City because you just don’t need the headache of road construction, I urge you - please change your habits. These businesses are struggling right now and this is the time for us as a community to save our town(s). A little dramatic I know, but also true.

If we are happy avoiding our towns and driving to larger towns that are construction free, well then I guess that means we would be fine if our community became a ghost town. Oh well, maybe a bunch of large corporations will take over our community and we will lose our downtowns. At least we could save 35 cents on a four pack of toilet paper right? Think of the gas we will save not having to drive to neighboring towns to see which price has “fallen”. If you know me, you know that I am not a negative person. You also would know that I am a realist. So while what I am writing is somewhat tongue in cheek, it also isn’t. We (you and I) absolutely possess the power and the will to ensure our community survives both construction and this economy. Speaking of community, we have a few fun things coming up soon in our area. The Chisago Lakes Sportsmen’s Club will be hosting their annual picnic on August 12. The picnic has been around for 57 years, and just keeps getting better. One thing that people do not understand about the picnic is the fact that you do not have to belong to the club to attend the picnic. Nor will they solicit you to join either.

The picnic has door prizes, bingo, turtle races, horseshoes, volleyball and of course trap shooting. There is a kids jump castle as well as races and boys and girls bike will be given away as well. Grab the family and come on out, the best part?  It’s completely free. I can’t speak for you, but school can’t come quick enough in our house. When kids get to spend a good chunk of the summer at home, they seem to have free range over the food in the house. I am sure this happens everywhere, but every time we go to the pantry to grab a food item, it’s gone. I went to grab some chocolate chips for cookies and they were gone. “Where are the chocolate chips?” I asked. “Umm we used them on our pancakes this morning.” “Where did all of the milk go?” “We made malts today!” Uhgg, is it September 5 yet? This is a tough time for many families right now. The economy is down, many people have lost their jobs and foreclosures are at an all time high. If you happen to fall into that category, my heart goes out to you. No one chooses to struggle. No one elects to lose their job. It just happens. We as a society need to lean on our faith and trust that there is a reason for all of this. I do not mean to be preachy, but our faith is the one thing no one anywhere can take away from us. If you happen to be in the process of a foreclosure or recently been foreclosed on and really wanted to keep your home, I might have some help. We are looking for homeowners who truly desire to keep their homes. If your home was or is being foreclosed on, and you did not see the legal notice in any editions of the Chisago County Press, you might have a case to win your house back.

If you know someone who is going through this or if you are, please contact us.  We would love nothing more than to help you. All you have to do is submit your name, contact information, address of your property and a copy of the published notice or the name of the paper the notice was published in and the dates it ran. Please send it to Foreclosures - County Press, PO Box 748, Lindstrom, MN 55045. I promise you, there is 100 percent confidentiality. To read more, go to our website and click on the “Foreclosed?” tile. The Chisago Lakes Community Ed would like to invite you to their play “The Little Mermaid”. It is a voyage to the bottom of the sea as you watch this musical comedy put on by local youth actors. It’s a lively performance that will have you smiling throughout and tapping your feet throughout the show. Tickets for the show are $5 and the show airs August 2 at 7 p.m. at the chisago Lakes Performing Arts Center.