---

This weekend is Memorial Weekend.  While most people look at it as a long weekend filled with barbecue, friends and family, the meaning behind Memorial Day  is much more.  It’s our great country’s chance to honor those women and men who have dutifully served our country and many of whom gave their lives for our freedom.  We would not be where we are today without these awesome people.  If you look in this edition, you will find two pages of Memorial Day services in our area.  I would highly encourage you to come out to one of the services and pay your respects for the people who gave their lives for us.  

I know, I get it, it’s a busy weekend, but honestly these services usually only run around 20-25 minutes.  It’s the least we can do to thank them.  And for those veterans who are still with us, I would like to say Thank You. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

For those of you who have watched the construction of the new mountain bike trail in Ki Chi Saga Park over the last year, I have some great news.  The track has  opened. They are calling it a soft open, because a formal ceremony is in the works along with a ribbon cutting. But as of right now, you are allowed to bike on the trail. We have walked along the trail while out with our dog tons of times, and it looks like it would be a blast to ride on the track.

Congratulations the Chisago Lakes Girls Track Team.  They just finished in second place at State True Team which was held at Stillwater High School.

I’m still recovering from staying up late to watch the Timberwolves advance to the western conference finals.  

Talk about an anxiety riddled game with the team being down by 20 points at half.  I kept turning the broadcast off, but then watching the gamecast on my phone... thinking I was the reason they were failing so badly. Then came their huge run and little by little the lead dwindled.  

I decided to throw caution to the wind with about seven minutes left and kept the game on the television.  Low and behold, I am not a jinx, because they took care of business and soon I was clapping my hands and waking the wife and dog.  

It’s so nice to have the monkey that is 20 years of losing off, our (their) backs. No matter what happens in the finals, winning two playoff series in one season is a success no matter how you cut it.  And if it gets close in this series, don’t worry I will turn it off.

---