---

Don’t look now, but winter is almost gone. Yes we will have one more major snowstorm I am sure, after all, it is state tournament time.  We had a spectacular weekend last week and it looks like this weekend will be equally as nice.  

Since the weather will be nice, why not venture out and visit the 2016 Home Show.  This weekend at the high school is one of the biggest Home, Garden and Business shows around.  This year the show has grown. There are more vendors than the past three years. We are equally excited that there are many new vendors to the show. That is great, it gives it a new flavor with many of the great vendors as before and some new ones.
I think this year’s show is going to be really great.  We have some wonderful entertainment including Unexpected Company and Anna and Elsa from the movie Frozen.

The show is filled with tons of local businesses who all have something different to offer you for your home or business.  It is a super-relaxed atmosphere where you are free to come and go as you please. There will be food and beverages available for purchase. Come make a day of it!  Stop by the Press booth and register for one of three subscriptions being given away this year. I will see you at the show.

We have begun our yearly quest to put out the best community and visitor guide in Minnesota.  Each and every year the guide has grown in both size and popularity. It is the go-to resource for local events, businesses and references.  We have worked our tails off to make the guide something the entire community is proud of.  The day the guide comes out, we usually can expect a few calls from some businesses who want to be on our list for next year's guide. If you are a business owner or run a business that would like to be in this year's guide, I urge to you contact us now. The guide fills up fast, so I would hate for you to miss out. Call us here at the Press at 651-257-5115 or email us at [email protected].  We will help you create a great message that will last an entire year.

It seems like every week I am writing about a local sports team that has made it to the state tournament. This week is no exception. The Chisago Lakes boys swim team has made it to state in pretty much every category. Jacob Carlson is headed back to state in diving, and he set the section record just last week. Austin Turman, Derek Frank, Matt Braun, Josh Falkowski, Sam Gustafson, Jacob Carlson, and Alex Sagendorf all qualified for state. Incredible. Every year Chisago Lakes churns out some of the best boys and girls swimmers in the state.  Congratulations to the boys and good luck!  

Congratulations to Aaron Sistrunk, Teddy Pierce, Kyle Schoenecker and Adam Klick. These boys all made it to the state wrestling tournament. I watched them all on Friday and they did great. Teddy ended up finishing third in the state.  That is incredible. Congrats to Teddy and the rest of the boys and to coach Frederixon on their great year.

Tonight the Chisago Lakes Boys Basketball team will play in the section finals in Cambridge.  The boys have won 21 times this season and only lost six times.  Coach Chris Gargaro has the boys playing at a great level. They just have to beat Hermantown to advance to the state tournament. The way they are playing anything is possible.

If you are one of the hundreds who purchase your Chisago County Press off the store shelf each week, let me say thank you.  Have you ever considered having it mailed directly to your home?  For a cost that is less than what you pay at the counter, you can simply walk to your mailbox.  Just give us a call and we will get you going.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of Cameron Strand. Cameron was an iconic figure in this community who had his fingers in everything. I mean that in a good way. He was a very generous man who had wonderful intentions and this community will sorely miss him.

---