Columbus
Forest Lake Times
Ranger football holds off Eagan rally in 27-21 playoff win
Forest Lake to play Maple Grove this Friday The Forest Lake Rangers football team held off Eagan’s fourth-quarter rally en route to their 27-21 win on Friday, Oct. 28, in the opening round of the postseason. The Rangers (7-2) were on the right side of the early mistakes this time around after errors in the first quarter against Lakeville North last week dug them in a hole in the loss. ...
Girls cross country statebound
Norah Hushagen wins her fourth race of the season The Forest Lake girls cross country squad won the Section 7AAA championship race on Thursday, Oct. 27, at Anoka High School. Sophomore Norah Hushagen was the individual winner of the race, her fourth win of the season. Hushagen won the race with a time of 17:29.10, nearly seven seconds faster than her time at the Suburban East Conference championship. “It was...
Highway 97 redesign shows big changes
Limiting left-hand turns and lowering speed limit proposed by MnDOT The 1.8-mile stretch of Highway 97 between I-35 and Highway 61 is looking like it’ll be getting a complete redesign in 2025. The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Dmitry Tomasevich shared the new plan at the Forest Lake council meeting on Monday, Oct. 17. The construction project, which initially started as a basic mill and overlay reconstruction, has now gone through...
FLAHS theater department to debut ‘Newsies’ this weekend
Forest Lake Area High School students are set to bring “Newsies” to life, a musical fictional take on the real-life 1899 strike of newspaper boys. “In the end there’s a real positive message about the strength of coming together and what we can do when you really are focused on the same goal,” director Tim Newcomb said. Newcomb has been directing the fall musicals for around 25 years and rotates...
Columbus nears end of residential business moratorium
The Columbus City Council and Planning Commission hammered out more details regarding how citizens can operate a business on residential property in the city during a special meeting, specifically in how “invisible” a business is to the public, as it approaches the moratorium’s 12-month deadline on Dec. 6. The council approved a moratorium on residential zone businesses in a 3-2 vote on Nov. 10, 2021, to amend the ordinance to better define if and how someone can run a business from their residence. ...
Sports Briefs - Oct. 25
The Forest Lake boys and girls cross country teams participated in the Suburban East Conference Championships on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The girls finished second in the race behind Mounds View while the boys finished seventh. Sophomore Norah Hushagen won her third race of the season with a time of 17:36. “Norah led the race from start to finish, and her win was decisive,” Forest Lake assistant coach Erin Kvam said....
Volleyball tops Mounds View, plays Cambridge-Isanti in sections
The Rangers have won 11 of past 13 games heading into section play against C-I The Forest Lake Rangers volleyball team closed out their regular season with a win against Mounds View in a conference game on Tuesday, Oct. 18, getting the job done in three sets (25-16, 25-15 and 25-13). “That was an expectation for many of our matches all season if we were healthy and everyone’s available. ......
Scandia softball players head to Hall of Fame
Three former Scandia softball players will be inducted to the 2022 Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame at the 32nd annual Minnesota Sports Federation’s Softball Hall of Fame banquet on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Grand Casino in Hinckley. According to the press release from the Minnesota Sports Federation, there are 22 individuals in this hall of fame class, including former players, coaches, managers, umpires, organizers and promoters. The press release...
Football falls 31-14 to Lakeville North in regular season finale
Forest Lake finishes regular season 6-2, plays Eagan in opening round of playoffs Two weeks after making two costly errors at the 1-yard line in their 27-14 loss to Stillwater, it was uncharacteristic mistakes that once again cost the Forest Lake Rangers football team in their 31-14 loss to Lakeville North on Wednesday, Oct. 19 — their last regular game of the season. “You just can’t make mistakes against good...
Former Chisago County Sheriff charged in another blackmail sex scheme
Former Chisago County Sheriff Richard Duncan, 57, is charged with multiple counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in a “blackmail” scheme similar to one he pleaded guilty to in 2020. Duncan, a Wyoming resident, is charged with five counts: two counts of unlawful sexual penetration by use of force or coercion, and three counts of criminal sexual contact by use of force or coercion. A female victim with whom Duncan...
Girls cross country wins second race of season
Norah Hushagen takes first place, boys’ Ryan Houseman back for second straight race The Forest Lake girls cross country team won their second race of the season at the Tiger Invitational on Tuesday, Oct. 11. “They have fun winning, … but they know that the meets they’re really aiming for are still coming up,” Forest Lake head coach John Fick said. ...
Season ends for soccer programs after section quarterfinal losses
Boys drop to Blaine, girls shutout in Andover The Forest Lake Rangers boys soccer team fell 4-1 to Blaine in the 7AAA Section quarterfinal on Tuesday, Oct. 11, but the result could have been different had they not suffered another major injury. After sophomore captain Jack Jennen rolled an ankle a few weeks ago, the Rangers were without their center back for 10 days before the section game. But it...
Sports Briefs - Wednesday, Oct. 19
The Forest Lake Rangers volleyball team won both of their conference games last week with wins against White Bear Lake on Tuesday, Oct. 11, and Woodbury on Thursday, Oct. 13. Against White Bear Lake, the Rangers won in three sets (75-49 overall) and served at 90%. “Across the board we had great passing, which kept us in system and opened up our attacking lanes,” Forest Lake coach Sherri Alm said. ...
Scandia council sets preliminary levy at 8.7% increase
The Scandia City Council unanimously approved its 2023 preliminary levy at $2,800,556, an 8.7% increase from last year at $2,579,051, during its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Despite the increase, the citywide tax rate decreased from 2022 at 30.95% to 26.24% for 2023 due to rising home costs and increased tax capacity. City Administrator Ken Cammilleri explained that the city could keep taxes low while increasing the levy because of...
Former Forest Lake educator moves back after Hurricane Ian hits home
Former students rally to help former ALC coordinator The air was ripe with the smell of sewage as Mike Dornseif arrived at his trailer home in southern Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday, Sept. 30, after Category 4 Hurricane Ian battered the area. Dornseif, a former program coordinator, program supervisor and behavior intervention specialist at the Forest Lake School Alternative Learning Center (now known as the Forest Lake Area Community School), evacuated from his trailer – his home since January 2014 – before the storm hit....
Columbus Council approves 13.6% preliminary levy increase
Tax rate decreases due to expansion The Columbus City Council approved its preliminary 2023 levy at $4,233,669, a 13.6% increase, or $503,674 more than last year’s final levy at $3,709,644. The total projected budget for 2023 is $4,967,364, a 14% increase from last year’s budget at $4,376,257. Despite an increased preliminary levy and budget, the...
Here’s how and where you can vote
Redistricting affected Minnesota House and Senate districts, shaking up the political makeup across the state, including the Forest Lake area. Most of what comprised Senate District 39 — which currently encompasses most of Washington County — was split into Senate District 33 in the north and Senate District 41 in the south. Senate District 33 is comprised of Forest Lake, Hugo, Scandia, Marine on St. Croix, May Township, Dellwood, Stillwater,...
Voting roundup: Who are the candidates?
Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 8, in the midterm elections. Statewide, the race for governor, secretary of state, and attorney general are shaping up to be contentious races. Since redistricting took place earlier in 2022, Forest Lake, Scandia and Wyoming residents have been moved into Congressional District 8, which matches up incumbent Pete Stauber against challenger Jen Schultz. Meanwhile, Columbus and Linwood residents remain in District 6, which will see incumbent Tom Emmer face off with Jeanne Hendricks. ...
Forest Lake Times
869+
Posts
835K+
Views
Forest Lake Times has been serving Forest Lake, MN since 1902. Published Thursdays by APG of East Central Minnesota with 24/7 local coverage found online at forestlaketimes.com
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.