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Every day I come to work, and every day there is someone pulled over (sometimes right in the road) taking photos of pelicans.  I am bad at guessing numbers, but there is what looks to be a few hundred pelicans residing on South Center (and maybe other lakes as well.)  If you have lived in the area for five years or less, you would have noticed them right around this time of the year.  Apparently they are resting and eating here until the big waters up north are ice-free.  

While they are neat to look at, I did a bit of research and it seems they have to eat around a pound of fish a day to sustain themselves.. that’s a lot of fish.  Speaking (very) selfishly as a local fisherman, I cringe when I see a group of a hundred plus in a line plucking fingerlings out of the water.  I know I am making a mountain out of a mole hill.. sorry. I don’t want to eradicate pelicans, I just want to teach them how to eat carp instead.

We lost another community giant this week. Jay Norelius passed away at the age of 82.  If you are from Chisago City or Center City you may not recognize the name, but if you are from Lindstrom, you would most likely have heard or seen the name Norelius.  Jay even worked here at the Press for his uncle, Ted, who owned the paper many years ago.  

Jay was a great guy who loved to talk.  I have never met someone who could hold a conversation quite like Jay.  He got me through many afternoons at the home show telling me about his Chisago Lakes collection in the attic of his cabin on the Sunrise River.  Great guy and even greater stories.

 As you would have noticed by now, we have begun our annual subscription renewal program and you most likely have gotten a blue card in the mail reminding your subscription is coming due.  Just simply send a check in, or fill out the credit card info on the back and send it to us here at PO Box 748, Lindstrom MN 55045 and we will make sure your subscription doesn’t miss a beat.  Thank you so much for reading.  You mean the world to us.

This Saturday you are invited to a pancake breakfast. at the Chisago City Fire Hall. They’d love to see you and feed you some yummy pancakes and fixings all for free (or a donation.)  The meal runs from 8 a.m. to noon at the fire station,  which is located at 29492 Karmel Avenue in Chisago City.

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