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I hope you had a wonderful Easter and got to spend some quality time with family.  We finally had a family gathering that included all of my siblings along with families.  This marked the first time since covid has hit that we were all in the same place.  It was amazing.  It was so nice to see smiling faces and our kids (they are old now) got to see their nephew who they last saw when he was born.  He is now over two years old.  

This pandemic has taken so much away from our lives as we know it, I just hope and pray that it is in the rear-view mirror. I understand that it won’t be eradicated fully, but if we can get back the joy that I felt on Easter, that would make life much more bearable.

Speaking of Easter - thanks to the good folks at First United Methodist for hosting their annual Easter Carnival.  They entertained a bunch of young kids with fun and games as well as some awesome treats.  

Tomorrow (April 22), the Chisago Lakes Rotary Club  along with the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office and Lakes Area Police, invite the public to join them at  the St. Bridget’s parking lot at 11:30am for an  Earth Day Clean-Up.  The community will be picking up trash along Olinda Trail until 1:30pm.  Trash bags, high-visibility vests and gloves will be provided.  See you there!

In this edition of the Press you will find our annual Spring Sports Preview.  The preview highlights spring high school sports containing interviews with coaches from both North Branch and Chisago Lakes.  I would encourage you (if the weather ever improves) to get out and enjoy some local sports. It’s super cheap, sometimes free to watch, and you will be blown away at the talent that both schools are putting on the fields.  Good luck to the local athletes and thanks for reading.

This Saturday, there is a food drive in Center City. Lauryn Lundberg is hosting her annual food drive in the lower parking lot of Chisago Lake Lutheran Church.  

She is asking the public for help by donating canned goods, along with non-perishable foods and personal hygiene products.  It is a drive-thru donation  event, so you can be in and out in a matter of seconds.  Thanks in advance for giving.

Lakes Free Church in Lindstrom is also holding the annual Sharing Shop clothing event Saturday.  For a very small fee,  affordable gently-used clothing is available for those in our community with clothing needs.  The event runs from 9am to 1 pm.  The church is south of downtown Lindstrom on Olinda.

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