Why is everyone laughing so much? buying cake mix? can you buy two?

As I drove to work on Tuesday morning, there was a strange phenomenon taking place. Every car I passed, people were crying. I thought maybe they had passed a gruesome accident. But when I stopped at the light in Lindstrom, I was next to one of them. They were not crying... they were smiling and laughing! From a distance it looked like crying, but up close they all were ecstatic, to the point of tears coming down their face. Very odd. Maybe they were all listening to the same morning show on their radios. Not really sure, but one thing is for certain, they all were driving away from the middle school.

Now that School is back in session, let’s all make a concerted effort to be on the look out for students before and after school hours. I know, I know, you are a very careful driver. But even the safest driver can’t control young students who pay little to no attention to traffic. Congratulations to the Chisago Lakes Wildcat football team for their very first win in a new conference. They really handed it to Big Lake on Friday night. It’s always good to begin the season on a winning note. Hopefully Coach Weiss can keep the momentum rolling throughout the year. As we approach the much anticipated Feed My Starving Children packing event in October, the good folks that put on this amazing event remind me they are still in need of monetary donations.

The money donated goes towards the purchase of the dry goods used in the event. If you would like to donate, please look at our website, we have a tile that links you to the site. Also, I might have forgot to mention this, but the event is not limited to just the Lakes Free Church. The event is held at the Free Church, but is put on by many local area churches. So if I omitted that earlier, I apologize. If you are wondering when you and your team can sign up to pack, sign ups begin on September 16. There is another great charity event taking place locally that might interest people. Brandi Colberg has begun something really cool. The Birthday Box Project is underway. The Birthday Box Project provides neighbors in need with the proper items needed to celebrate birthdays. As you know, our local food shelf is seeing higher usage than ever before. Meaning many of our neighbors are struggling in these tough times.

Thank God we have the food shelf to help these folks and great volunteers who help at the food shelf. The food shelf hands out food necessities to help these families. What they do not have is birthday items such as cake mixes, frosting, candles, sprinkles, cupcake liners, plates, balloons, and other birthday supplies. Brandi saw the need and began this great project. You can now donate any of these items at three places in our community, Chisago Hardware, Thrifty White and the Swedish Village in Center City. I hope you can help get this wonderful idea up and running. The Chisago Lakes School District will be putting a referendum on this November’s ballot. While I have my opinion, this is not the place to try to sway votes one way or another. So why am I writing about the referendum? Because we have a tile ad on our website where citizens can read and formulate their own opinions on the November vote.

They have made it clear and simple on what the new referendum consists of, what costs if any will be on homeowners, and polling locations. The school is also holding public informational meetings at Taylors Falls Community Center, Shafer Public Works Building, Lindstrom City Hall, Center City Hall, and Chisago City Hall. Please see the school page for dates and times. I would highly encourage you to attend these meetings. If there is one thing that bugs me as much as anything, it is someone forming an opinion on what they heard from someone else. If you have the chance, why not hear it from the original party?  I hope you can attend. They promise to keep it short. In this weekend’s Search Shopper, you will find our Home and Garden special section. The section is dedicated to everyone who has aspirations of completing a household wish before the snow flies. It is packed with great fall home projects.

We also have some great advertisers in the special that would love to show you how their business can make your life better. I hope you enjoy it. A few of my friends who happen to have eighth grade boys had our second annual father son fishing tournament last weekend. It is nothing official, no judges, no weigh-ins, just everyone keeping an honest track of the fish they caught. I can’t speak for my son, but I had such a wonderful time. Just the two of us on the boat with an air of excitement (especially after we caught the first one). We ended up taking third place, but spending the day fishing with your child is a winner in my mind.