Ki Chi Saga Days was a huge hit, local businesses need your business

Thank you to all of the organizers that made this year’s Ki Chi Saga Days such a great event. The weather was perfect, there was no State Fair to compete with, it was just great. Everywhere I went there were large crowds. People seemed to be really enjoying themselves. We are so lucky to have all of these great community celebrations.

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As I have been doing and will continue to do, I will beg for your local business. This whole construction ordeal is hurting businesses more than initially thought. Everywhere I go, business owners are telling me just how tough it has been. It is not only Lindstrom either. Shafer is dealing with their part of Highway 8 being shut down as well. Chisago City along with Center City are also feeling the crunch because people are avoiding the area altogether. It is only with your help, and your neighbor’s help, that our community will survive. There is no “big bail out” money available for these businesses. Their one and only source of income is you. If your family likes to eat out maybe once a week and you usually go to say Applebees, why not give one of our local restaurants a try. If you need supplies for your home, instead of running to the big stores to save a few pennies, why not try shopping around here first? The little things add up. Trust me, go into a local business and spend some money, you will see some of the most grateful faces you have ever seen. Remember, back before all of this nasty construction began, when there was an event taking place that was in need of sponsors, who do you think always stepped forward to help?  Local businesses. Now when they need our help it is time for us to step forward. Come on folks, it is the right thing to do.

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If your business is looking for a great way to get your specials or your message out to the public, we have just your ticket. For a limited time, we are offering a full page in the Search Shopper for an incredible price of $500. This price is the lowest we have ever offered, and we just felt that in this economy where everyone is pinching their pennies, we should help the businesses as well. So for that low price, you get a full page that will be seen by 15,000 homes in Chisago County as well as on our website which had 11,000 views last week alone! Give us a call at 651-257-5115 and we will work with you to get the best message out in the most effective way. + + + + + + +  Last week I had a phone call where a reader told me I was talking out both sides of my mouth. She was referring to how I have been begging people to shop, eat and do business locally. In my article, I mentioned a retirement party for local man that was being held at a Wyoming restaurant. The caller thought it was hypocritical of me to urge people to a restaurant out of our area when the ones here are struggling. I agree with the reader about keeping as much business local as we can, but this man who the party was being held for has worked in Wyoming for 20 years. Not only that, his successors who will be running the Wyoming business were also going to attend the party to meet with their new clients.

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If you have looked in our public notices recently, you would have seen the ad titled “Foreclosed?” What we are trying to do is simple. If you or someone you know has been foreclosed on or is in the process, and really wishes to keep their home, we can help. If your notice was published in another newspaper and could not be seen in your town, we can help. We have attorneys who specialize in reversing foreclosures. These attorneys are not like what you would expect, they are in it for you. They make it easy and affordable and the best part, they are successful at what they do. So if you or someone you know is being faced with foreclosure, there is hope. Send us your name, address a copy of the published notice or the name of the publication it ran in and the date of that publication to: Foreclosures, County Press, PO Box 748, Lindstrom, MN 55045. We want to help.

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My family and I ventured north last week for a much anticipated get away. We had rented a cabin on the east side of Ely. The kids had been looking forward to this trip all summer, and quite frankly, so was I. After much planning and packing we set out on what should have been a four hour drive. We proceeded to get stuck in traffic just north of Hinckley and sat for about an hour. After finally arriving at our destination, we were blown away. Here was a resort that was only four miles out of Ely and it looked like we were in Canada on our very own lake. As you looked out the cabin, all you could see was a pristine lake and woods, no houses. Heaven. This was going to be a great trip. Then something happened. Something that has never happened in all of our years of going to cabins in the summers. Our kids made friends. Big deal you are saying?  Well in our family it is. Heck, when we are at a store and a classmate is walking down the same aisle, our kids will look at the ground or pretend to read something on the shelf. So for both of them to make a friend at a resort with strangers is monumental. My wife and I kept looking at each other, wondering if this was really happening. The kids became such good friends that our routine quickly became: eat as fast as you can and then run out and play. Come back for lunch and dinner and then run out and play. I know what you parents are thinking “How lucky can you get?” My response is that’s true - to a point. Yes, my wife and I did get to go fishing more than I had hoped. Yes we did get to spend way more time together than we ever had in the past. But at the same time we got to spend way more time together than we ever had in the past. In fact, my wife asked me one day as we could hear our kids playing about a quarter mile away, “Do you think we can do this when the kids are gone?” I wasn’t sure how to answer the question. After all, I had just replaced the fifth lure she had lost. We spent one week up north.  During that week, we left the resort three times. Two times were to get groceries. It was one of the best trips we have ever taken as a family. And yes, I do think we will be fine when the kids are gone.