Chisago County is losing a one-of-a-kind; a new farmers market

My daughter and I decided on Friday night to drive to North Branch and take in the Midsummer coronation. I have covered many Midsummer events over the years but never the Midsummer Days Ambassador pageant. I was shocked by how many people packed the big top tent. All of the girls were beautiful and very funny. In the end it was Jessica Wicklund, Sydney Hylland and Lydia Olund that will be wearing their Midsummer sashes as the 2012 Midsummer Ambassadors.  Congratulations girls! While Mother Nature tried her hardest to rain out Midsummer Days, the great folks that put the event on were able to get most of the events in. The Grand Day Parade was a huge success despite rain, so when you can get a parade in, all is not lost. Thanks a million to the Midsummer Committee and the Legion Post and Auxiliary for all their hard work. Speaking of queens, Karl Oskar Days is just around the corner and that means the Queen Coronation is as well.

The Coronation will take place a week earlier than Karl Oskar Days so the newly appointed Queen and her court can attend all of the festivities. The coronation will take place June 29, in the PAC at the Chisago Lakes High School at 7 p.m. The coronation will feature a special photo display of all the queens from the past 50 years. Karl Oskar Days is turning 50.  Can you believe that? It is amazing how a small idea in the early 60’s could turn into one of the best small town celebrations in the state. I have seen the celebration at the best economic times and I have seen it at the worst, and the one thing that stands out is the support of the community. Even in tough times, people come out in droves to celebrate Karl Oskar Days. This hopefully is one of those years. I am not going into a “The economy is so horrible” rant, but what I am referring to is the road construction. The 50th anniversary fell on kind of a bad year construction wise. I know that the construction is scaring some people away from Lindstrom and the adjoining towns.

I hope and pray the construction will play no part in this year’s momentous celebration. Come on out, and please bring a friend or two, or three. You can find this year’s parade route in this edition of the Press. The rains have obviously been hindering the construction around Lindstrom. That is the reason for the giant machines that sit in the middle of First Street collecting puddles. What does all the rain mean? It means the completion date of the project keeps getting pushed back and back. Not news anyone wants to hear. Now more than ever, we need to support our local businesses. They are struggling right now and avoiding the construction is not helping them at all. Business is down everywhere, not just Lindstrom. We need to make a serious effort to support as many of these businesses as we can. Here is a nice story about supporting our businesses. My baseball team played St. Anthony on Monday night. As I was talking to the coach before the game, he told me that a group from his team stopped at the Swedish Inn to have dinner before our game. When I asked him for the reason, he said because they need to support the local businesses. Then, after the game, belive it or not, there was his entire team eating at Dairy Queen. I approached him and thanked him for supporting our town. Amazing.

Something very cool is taking place in Chisago City. No, I am not talking about Sven’s new store (even though that is super nice), I am referring to the brand new Farmer’s Market. Every Friday afternoon, you are invited to Moberg Park for the Chisago City Farmer’s Market. The market will feature around 20 vendors that offer everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to crafts to crepes. Who would think you could get a crepe in the middle of Moberg Park? The market runs from 2 to 6 p.m. every Friday. If you have yet to renew your subscription, this will be the last edition you receive. If you forgot and your paper stops coming, don’t worry, it is nothing more than a phone call to 257-5115 to get your subscription up and running again. I have said it a thousand times and I will say it a million more, thank you for reading.

Chisago County is saying goodbye to someone very special. Chris Eng has accepted a job with the City of Duluth doing what he has done here for years. What has Chris done here? He has been a beacon for local buinesses, a champion for new business, a friend to many (including myself), and has had nothing but the best interests of Chisago County since the day he took the job. I am quite sad to be losing such a wonderful ambassador for Chisago County.  Trust me when I say that Duluth has no idea how great of a person it is getting.