Saturday filled with things to do, the worst Mother's Day planner

I have been talking about the Carp Festival for weeks now, and it is finally here. If you would like to take part in the contest, there is still time. All you have to do is call Steve Levey at 257-2966 or 462-7900 to register.

As of right now, the weather looks perfect. Low 80’s with minimal winds. If you have no interest in catching fish, there is plenty to do in Lindstrom Lions Park. There is a 5K run/walk, an egg hunt, minnow races, a kids fishing pond, the crowning of the king and queen, raffle drawings and of course great live music. The Chisago Lakes senior class will be selling burgers, brats and hot dogs to support their senior party. Come on out, have some fun and let’s clean up our lakes. The founders of the ever popular Ojiketa Art Blitz are looking for vendors. The event does not take place until October, but they would like to solidify the vendor selection as soon as possible. This event will include live music from local bands, local food vendors, and visual arts, and wine from our local WineHaven. This is a unique event with the mission being local artist awareness, quality and exposure.

The Ojiketa Art Blitz will be held at the 70 acre nature park, the site alone makes this festival unique. You are encouraged to call Doris Zacho, Chisago City Parks Programmer at Chisago City Hall, 651-257-5464. The Chisago Lakes Wildcat baseball team would also like to invite the public to their game on May 21 at 7:30 against Duluth Denfeld. The Wildcats are going to honor a former super fan Quinten Rossow and have his family throw out the first pitch. Quinten was a longtime fan, bus driver and friend to kids and the Chisago Lakes baseball teams. Quinten is legendary among us old alumni who took a bus to any sporting event. He had a unique voice that bellowed throughout the bus.

On the field, you could always hear him offering words of encouragement to the players. Quinten was a great man and I hope you come out and show the family your support. I need to apologize for last week. It completely slipped my mind that it was Mother’s Day. I am the coach of a 12U baseball team, who idiotically scheduled a baseball tournament on Mother’s Day weekend. So leading up to the tournament, it never clicked with me. My team ended up playing on Saturday and Sunday so the extent of my wife’s Mother’s Day was eating a sandwich and a shake at the Elk River Dairy Queen. What a thoughtful, thoughtful husband I am. What I should have written here last week is that I truly hope that you took the time to tell your mother how much she means to you. To say that life goes by in the blink of an eye is a huge understatement. Trust me folks, enjoy your parents now, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Happy belated Mother’s Day to every mom out there.

You do the world’s toughest job and get the world’s least amount of credit for it. This Saturday morning is community clean-up day. Begining at 8 a.m. on Liberty Lane in Chisago City, residents are encouraged to bring their trash and other stuff that has been cluttering up their house and garages. Hazardous waste will not be accepted. The clean-up day is for Chisago City and Lindstrom residents and you will be asked to show proof of residency. Highway 8 construction is bustling to say the least. Judging by the number of hits on our website, people are continously trying to keep up with the ever changing look of downtown Lindstrom. I have heard on multiple occasions people muttering “I have no clue on how to get around in this mess”. Folks, as much as I dislike change (see my wardrobe for example), I try to see the positives in things. I am not a champion for the split-pairs, infact, I was against it in the beginning.

But now that it is happening, well the next best thing to do is embrace it. So, if our town is going to change, let’s make darn sure that the change is for the better. A population makes up a city, but we make up a community. We can make this the best community in Minnesota if we choose. If we choose. If the public chooses to support the businesses during tough times as well as good times (they had better be around the corner), the businesses will continue. What the businesses need to do (including this one) is support the people. We need to tell you how much we value you. We need to show you how important you are to us. We need to morph to what the public desires. Change is not always easy, but if we all change, we can make this one heck of a town.