LOCAL
Shafer city council tackles personnel, permits and more
Shafer City Council met August 19 for a regular meeting council member Nick Brehm was absent.
Chisago County Relay for Life ignites hope
There is not a prettier setting for a Relay for Life event than Center City’s Lutheran Church on the bluff, overlooking North Center Lake. The 2025 survivor honoree, Bonnie Anderson, spoke to event attendees. Hundreds of luminaries were purchased to celebrate loved ones and weather was perfect for lighting candles …
Why is it so cold already??
We’re in late August and it feels like fall! Even though I love the crispness of fall, and everything that comes with it, it’s a little too early for this.
Dickey’s BBQ awards grant to NBPD for e-bikes
The Dickey Foundation, the charitable arm of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, presented a $10,000 grant to the North Branch Police Department to fund the purchase of two state-of-the-art electric bicycles (e-bikes).
Wyoming denies cannabis cultivator permit application
A legal, but non-conforming, farm in the City of Wyoming was denied permission to let a third party lease land to grow a cannabis crop. The Wyoming city council last week did not approve an interim use permit to a cannabis cultivation enterprise.
Block party is this Saturday
We took part in the Center Lakes Association Raffle Run on Saturday. The event is held at five homes located on North and South Center. What a great event that was. The day was chilly, but everyone was still having a blast. Thank you so much to the host families …
Stacy council fields ATV use question, Stacy Ponds interest
Stacy City Council met August 12 for a regular meeting. Council member Jeff Barrett was absent.
Local couple to celebrate book release
There’s so much more to this story than just an announcement of a local book launch party; although props are due as it’s no simple feat to make a book.
North Branch considers local option sales tax
North Branch City Council was unanimous in its support commissioning a study looking at implementing a Local Option Sales Tax. The cities in Minnesota can get permission for a half of one cent sales tax, that doesn’t go to the state, on items sold in the jurisdiction. Mayor Kevin Schieber …
So far, so good on County transition over to local, single track probation
December 18, 2024 may not register as an important date to readers, but it was when Chisago County Probation (Court Services) Director Mark Hendrickson got the thumbs-up from the County Board to move ahead on what he hopes will be a positive transformation in probation delivery. With 34 years under …
Ki-Chi-Saga Days of Kraziness
One of the last city festival's of the year -- Ki-Chi-Saga Days in Chisago City -- took place last weekend and featured all sorts of fun activities including parades, fishing contests, pageants, pie eating contests and dedications.
Relay and Raffle this weekend
Well, Mother Nature wasn’t on the side of Ki Chi Saga Days, but when the weather let up, it was a full-go. Despite the drizzle, people still came out in droves to Moberg and Paradise Parks over the weekend. I did not go, but I hear the Lucha Libre wrestling …
Z is for Zucchinis!
Gardening aficionados have noticed zucchinis really started to hit their perfect size in the last few weeks, and when they start to mature, they mature fast. I’ve had zucchinis get massive over just a few days, and all of a sudden, you’ve got an abundance and you don’t know what …
Freeway fatality in Harris on August 16
The state patrol reports the lone subject involved in a rollover crash Saturday, August 16, at Harris in the the southbound lanes of I-35, was a 68-year-old male from St. Paul.
