Quartet of ultimate Halloween dip recipes
I’ve been sprinkling in Halloween themed recipes for the whole month of October, but with the holiday finally right around the corner this weekend, here are some of my favorite party dips to share with friends and family if you get together with them for the spooky season!
Mickelson heading to state again
For the second straight year, Chisago Lakes sophomore Claire Mickelson is headed to the state girls tennis tournament after putting together another impressive run through the Section 4AA individual tournament last week.
CL just edged by Becker, Casey claims another mark
Chisago Lakes put together a strong performance in the pool, but Becker's depth proved to be just enough as the Bulldogs edged the Wildcats 96-90 in a tightly contested girls swimming and diving dual meet on Tuesday, October 20 at Chisago Lakes High School.
Vikes beat shorthanded Hawks, but upset by Hunters
North Branch's bread-and-butter rushing attack was on full display against Hermantown, as the Vikings used long, methodical drives and timely defensive stops to earn a 32-16 victory over the Hawks.
CL boys claim conference crown; Hall takes girls title
More than a decade of waiting came to an end for the Chisago Lakes boys cross country team Tuesday, Oct. 20, as the Wildcats put together a dominant performance to capture their first Mississippi 8 Conference championship in over 10 years at the North Branch Golf Course.
Vikings offense churns out points in thrashing of Denfeld
North Branch's offense was firing on all cylinders Wednesday, Oct. 14, as the Vikings piled up touchdowns in bunches and outlasted Duluth Denfeld 61-34 in a wild, high-scoring affair that was early in the week due to the MEA holiday this year.
Wildcats make a run at section true team title, fall just short
The Chisago Lakes Wildcats girls swimming and diving team competed at the Section 5A True Team meet on October 10, delivering an impressive performance to finish second overall by just one point in a tightly contested competition.
Pair of upsets highlight NB’s individual section runs so far
For the second straight year, the North Branch girls tennis team found itself one win away from a trip to the state tournament, but unfortunately for the Vikings, a powerful Rock Ridge squad was standing in their way again.
Wildcats working to advance
Chisago Lakes sophomore Claire Mickelson kept her hopes of a return trip to the state tournament alive with a pair of victories in the Section 4AA individual girls tennis tournament, highlighting the Wildcats' performances in singles and doubles competition.
AREA VOLLEYBALL ROUND UP
The North Branch and Chisago Lakes volleyball teams had opposite results in their final stretch of regular season action last week, as the Vikings picked up a convincing three-set victory over Big Lake while the Wildcats couldn't quite keep pace with Monticello.
Let’s take a different look at pumpkin
I’ve been sharing all my sweet pumpkin recipes this year so far, but there is so much more to the versatile fall food. It makes some fantastic savory dishes as well, so here’s some of my favorites that utilize pumpkins as the main dish instead of just a sweet treat.
Wildcat swimmers continue to shine on the season
The Chisago Lakes girls swimming and diving team put together one of its most complete performances of the season on Saturday, Oct. 3, running away with the team championship at the Simley Invitational behind a strong combination of individual victories, relay dominance and impressive depth throughout the lineup.
Vikings run deep in sections
The North Branch girls tennis team is back in familiar territory as the Vikings continue their march through the Section 7AA tournament.
‘Cats team season over in semis
Chisago Lakes opened its Section 4AA girls tennis tournament run in dominating fashion, but the Wildcats couldn't carry that momentum into the next round as their season came to an end against Totino-Grace.
North Branch back in business, cleans Duluth East’s clock
North Branch made sure the homecoming crowd had plenty to celebrate Friday, Oct. 2, as the Vikings used a punishing rushing attack and some timely defensive plays to pull away from Duluth East for a 36-13 victory.
‘Cats mired in six match losing streak
The Chisago Lakes volleyball team ran into a difficult stretch over the past week, dropping five matches, including three at their own Wildcat Invitational.
Just some emotional eating recipes
I’ve really been trying to keep the recipes here warm and fuzzy the past few weeks. I’ve been in a crummy mood becasue I hurt my thumb playing volleyball and it’s kept me out of both fall golf and playing any more volleyball, so it’s put a damper on my fall! Am sharing some indulgent recipes, and hopefully that’ll keep cheering me up!
Timely defensive plays lead North Branch to first victory
North Branch didn’t need an explosive offense Friday night like they’ve been so accustomed to over the last few years. The Vikings, who were 0-3 on the year and struggling to score points, needed a couple of timely touchdowns, a defense bent but didn’t break.
Wildcat invite features dual wins
Chisago Lakes put three runners in the top eight and finished second at the Wildcat Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
Vikes topple Wildcats in tennis, but then CL bounces back with two sweeps
North Branch used a strong performance in singles to knock off rival Chisago Lakes in a girls tennis matchup Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Annika Hall, meet Annika Hall
There was a little extra reason for one Byron cross country coach to cheer on Chisago Lakes at the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 19.
It’s pumpkin spice season!
If you’ve read my column for any amount of time, you know I am Team Pumpkin Spice for life. My favorite dish as a kid on Thanksgiving was the pumpkin pie dessert, I’ve always loved pumpkin spice drinks. Everything about pumpkin spice is right in my wheelhouse. This column will be all the fall flavors with some pumpkin spice, as well an apple recipe in honor of Almelund’s fantastic Apple Festival that is this weekend!
Last of the summer sweet treats!
I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day! I spent it on the lake and soaking up the last few days of fun and sun before school starts and we turn to spooky fall season. Here’s my favorite last of the summer recipes that I’ve wanted to get out!
Vikings lose frustrating opener to Two Harbors in overtime
North Branch and Two Harbors traded punches throughout Friday night’s season opener, but it was the Agates who landed the final one in a 28-20 overtime loss for the Vikings.
NB sophomore finishes third at Rock Ridge Invitational
North Branch sophomore Caleb Rueter continued his strong start to the cross country season with a third-place finish at the Rock Ridge Invitational Thursday, Sept. 3 at the Virginia Golf Course.
Vikings start strong, but fizzle late against Grand Rapids
The Vikings started strong in their sectional match up against Grand Rapids last week, but the Thunderhawks took control over the final three sets to hand Nrth Branch a 3-1 loss on Tuesday, September 1
Wildcats underway quickly with five wins in seven matches
The Chisago Lakes volleyball team has gotten off to a strong start to the 2026 season, piling up five wins in its first seven matches, including a runner-up finish at the Rush City Tiger Volleyball Classic.
Hall starts her junior campaign on a winning note for Wildcats
Chisago Lakes junior Annika Hall started September in impressive fashion, winning the girls race at the Irish Invitational Friday, Sept. 4 in Rosemount.
Let’s put those sheet pans to use
Aly and I have really been into sheet pan recipes lately, as they are easy to make, easy to clean up, and generally pretty dang good! Here’s some good ones for you to try!
My favorite summer food is always corn!
Man, have I been enjoying the corn harvest this summer. There’s been some great stuff that I got from a local farmers market, and it just hits different.
CL looking to replace middle school parking lot; online numbers exploding
The Chisago Lakes School Board took a step toward a major round of parking lot improvements, while also hearing encouraging enrollment numbers and an update on the district’s strategic plan at their latest school board meeting on Thursday, August 20.
Three cheers for The Three Musketeers at Festival Theatre
Festival Theatre’s production of The Three Musketeers in St. Croix Falls is a fast-paced, swashbuckling adventure that leans into everything that makes the classic story fun. There are heroes and villains, sword fights, romance and plenty of laughs packed into a two and a half hour production that rarely slows down.
The reward at the end of a tough season
If your garden has survived some of the harsh heat of this summer, you should be getting close to some nice, big, juicy red tomatoes to pluck from the vine. It took a lot of water to get them where they are now, but this is the reward for all the hard work this year!
I can’t believe we’re almost to August
I’ve spent so much time complaining about the heat lately that i’s hard ot believe July is essentially done and we’re into August already. Where does the time go? I’m definitely finding the saying ‘The older you get, the fast time goes” to be true. I’m already seeing Halloween decorations out at Menards... I love fall, but please don’t get there yet!
How to beat the heat this week
Well, it’s officially disgusting out. This week has been brutally hot. Every time I’ve stepped outside to do something, I am instantly pouring sweat. I enjoy the summer because our winters here are far too long, but I don’t enjoy whatever this is. So this week’s recipes will be all about cooling down or at least not having to sit over a stove or oven or grill, since there isn’t anyone who’s interested in that right now!
Five generations strong, Brink's Market continues to grow
For more than five decades, the Brink family has been serving customers in the Lakes Area, and now Brink's Market is making one of its biggest investments yet in the future of Chisago City.
Have some ‘Swede’ Treats for KO Days
After last week’s tough column that had me tearing up while writing, I’m glad to be back to sharing fun recipes and to make this a space for some positive and uplifting time in your day.
Goodbye my sweet Benjamin
I know it's the 4th of July weekend coming up, but we’ll be short on food this week and long on reflections, so bear with me.
A little bit of this and that for the week
I was on vacation fishing last week and feel like I’ve shared nearly all of my best walleye recipes in this space before. I wasn’t quite sure what theme to follow this week, so I just went with a little grab bag of some fun recipes to try!
Minke and Melvin conquer The Quarry, headed to state
North Branch will be represented on Minnesota’s biggest high school golf stage next week after Nick Melvin and Jenna Minke earned trips to the Class AA State Golf Tournament at The Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan.
Girls lax keeps unbeaten season rolling, heading to state!
A dominant first half helped top-seeded Chisago Lakes roll into the next round of the Section 7A playoffs with a convincing 19-5 victory over No. 8 seed Anoka in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 28.
Congrats to the class of 2026!
Congratulations to all the graduates out there this year! Both the Chisago Lakes and North Branch seniors are getting to the end of their high school career and are off to bigger and better things.
‘Cats draw top seed
The Chisago Lakes girls lacrosse team finished out their regular season undefeated with a 16-6 win over Breck on Thursday, May 21. The win set the ‘Cats up nicely with the first seed in the Section 7 tourney in which they are heavily favored to win and return to state. The second-seeded Blaine Bengals are the biggest threat, and the ‘Cats beat them 13-3 in early May.
Helberg heading to state
Wyatt Helberg breezed through the Section 6A individual tournament over Memorial weekend without dropping more than two points in any game.
Season over for Wildcat pair
The Chisago Lakes tandem of Caleb Brink and Nolan Levasseur (at right) ran out of steam in the Section 7AA semifinals last week.
Enjoy these summer treats!
Here’s some favorites from our house recently!
Unbeaten ‘Cats cruise
A dominant spring kept rolling along last week, as the Chisago Lakes girls lacrosse team blasted Monticello 18-3 on Tuesday, May 12 before taking down a tough Hill-Murray squad 13-7 on Thursday, May 14 at Chisago Lakes High School.
Vikes get wins late in season
North Branch finally got off the schneid and picked up three wins over the last two weeks of the season, using timely hitting and steady pitching to finish the year 3-15.
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