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What a great weekend for the home show!  We had well over 2,000 people attend the show which was bigger and better than ever.  There were 39 more booths and about 500 more visitors than last year.  I attribute it to the awesome Wildcat Community Center that allowed all of us to be under one roof.  The compliments were pouring in from visitors and the vendors.  Thank you so much to the Home Show Committee for all their hard work: Bob, Katie, Avery, Coreen, Becky, David and Michelle all did a wonderful job. Thank you to all of the vendors who participated this year. without you the show doesn’t happen.

If you attended the show, thank you. I had the opportunity to have a booth at the entrance and exit doors of the show. The location allowed everyone to stop and say hi. It also left me on an island to answer questions - hundreds of them.  So here are some questions that I didn’t have time to answer but was asked repeatedly;
•My beard just got too itchy - no my wife didn’t make me shave it off.
•Yes I have lost weight and thank you to those of you who pointed out that I was getting a bit “husky” (their words).
•No I am not part of the Dinnerbel development and unfortunately my ugly building will remain in Lindstrom.
•I did not have control of the Home Show thermostat.  
•Finally, yes I wholeheartedly agree there should be an Uncommon Loon booth with free samples.
I believe that about covers it.  Thanks for coming out, next year’s show wil be even better!

Before the show on Saturday, I attended the funeral of local firefighter Mike Gaustad.  I know I have written about Mike quite a bit in the past but I wanted to say what a touching service it was.  

The community showed up in droves and how the firefighters handled the funeral was wonderful and beyond respectful.  We have a terrific community here, we really do.

If you are like me, our house is filled with Twins fans.  We love to spend time outside in the summer and the only real television we watch is Twins games.  That’s why after 13 years with our cable provider Dish Network we dumped them. They severed their relationship with Fox Sports North which carries the games.  Add the fact that they raised our rates every year while their service got worse and worse, and losing the Twins was the last straw.

After much research and asking everyone I know, we were excited to hear that YouTube TV had Fox Sports North on their list of channels and guess what? They were $48 a month cheaper than Dish. It gave me so much satisfaction calling Dish and turning down every counter-offer they blurted out.  

You Tube TV is great. We love it and the recording ability is incredible.  Then it happened, a friend of mine sent me a link: YouTube TV is dumping Fox Sports North.  I can’t win. Watch, this year will be the year the Twins win the World Series.

Remember if you are looking for a great fish fry during Lent, we have some local places that serve amazing fish.  St. Bridget’s and Phil’s Grill in Center City both serve some of the best fish and both have coupons in this paper. Enjoy!

Congratulations are in order for some local athletes.  Austin Sonnek, Josh Logan, Brandt Bombard and Ashton LaBelle of North Branch and Nolan Huffman, Andrew  Novak, Austin Siefert and Connor Bleymeyer all qualified for the state wrestling tournament.  Chisago Lakes sent swimmer Addison Clarin and divers Jimmy Nord, Storm Opdahl and Tobie Stiles to the state tournament.  We had a state champ emerge as Storm won the boys diving title with Jimmy finishing fourth and Toby making the podium in seventh place.

Connor Bleymeyer had an incredible weekend at the wrestling tournament, he took second place!
Congrats to all the athletes on a wonderful season!

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