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Forest Lake Times
Brewers bats quiet in back-to-back league losses
The Forest Lake Brewers fell to 1-3 in the Metro Minny League play and 7-7 overall with a 10-0 road loss to the Blaine Fusion on Monday, June 20. It was the second loss in a row for the Brewers, who were also blanked by the Anoka Bucs 7-0 in a league game on Saturday, June 18. The Fusion (3-1, 13-2), the Metro Minny League champion three of the past four seasons, are allowing just over two runs per game this season. This week, the Brewers will play the Centennial Cougars on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at home, followed by a Saturday game at Cold Spring at 7:30 p.m. Next week, the Brewers kick off the week with an away game against the Champlin Park LoGators at 7:30 p.m.
Leonhart places 22nd at state golf
The weather conditions were erratic, but Forest Lake’s Bella Leonhart was steady while posting back-to-back 80s to finish in a tie for 22nd place in the Class AAA girls golf state tournament on June 14-15 at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids. “She played really well,” Rangers coach Andrea Brischke said. “She will say she always wants to play better, but the conditions were tough for everyone and I was super proud of it.” ...
Arts in the Park swings into gear during high heat
People flocked to Lakeside Memorial Park last Tuesday, June 14 to cool off from the high heat at the lake, as well as enjoy the second 2022 Arts in the Park event in Forest Lake, which featured band Swingin’ on a Star as the live concert performance.
Columbus Council approves luxury apartment complex permit
A new luxury apartment complex is slated to be built in Columbus during the City Council’s Wednesday, June 8 meeting. It was approved by a 4-1 vote, with council member Rob Busch dissenting. The 150-unit luxury apartment complex is planned to be built near the Southwest side of Clear Lake off of Hornsby Avenue, north of Highway 97, near the Forest Lake border. The council approved the conditional use permit for the complex, to be named “The Landings of Columbus,” owned by Apollo Development &...
Gammelgarden of Scandia honors past 50 years, turns a page
The story of immigrants remains heart of organization Lynne Moratzka’s two children referred to Gammelgarden Museum as Lynne’s third child after she was hired as a museum curator in 1981 – but it wasn’t an evil step-sibling for her children. “It afforded them some remarkable experiences growing up. Most kids don’t get to meet the Prince of Sweden and ambassadors, … or become involved in growing something from nothing,” said...
VanAcker runs down state title in 1,600 meters
Ellie Hanowski leads the girls with sixth-place finish It was a rapid swing of emotions for the Rangers, but senior Daniel VanAcker delivered a memorable performance to highlight Forest Lake’s efforts in the Class AAA track and field state meet on Saturday, June 11 at St. Michael-Albertville High School. After placing fourth in the 3,200 meters during day 1 of the new three-class, three-day state meet two days earlier, VanAcker...
Rangers capture first state softball title
Softball team is second-ever female team to be crowned state champion Charging into the storm is how the Ranger softball team approached their return to the Class AAAA state tournament, embracing what they called the “Buffalo” mentality. “The day we left for state, [head coach Sean Hall] told us this story about buffaloes and cows,” senior Grace Frechette said. “He explained that when a storm is coming, cows run away...
McKinnon drops two matches in state singles tourney
In a season filled with renewed optimism for the entire tennis program, freshman Malachi McKinnon represented the Forest Lake boys tennis team in the Class AA state singles tournament on Thursday, June 9 at the University of Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Club. McKinnon dropped each of his matches in straight sets, but Rangers coach Ron Ingalls views this season as a first step rather than a final destination. McKinnon, the runner-up...
Centennial stops Forest Lake in section lacrosse semis
Rangers finish season with school record 13 victories A record-setting season for the Forest Lake girls lacrosse team was ended by the Cougars 14-8 on Tuesday, June 7 in the semifinals of the Section 7 tournament at Centennial High School. Forest Lake (13-2) had its 10-game winning streak snapped by the second-seeded Cougars (13-3), but still finished with the program’s highest win total in a season. The Rangers also earned...
Former Forest Lake middle school teacher convicted of sexual misconduct
A former Forest Lake Area School District middle school teacher was convicted of two counts of felony criminal sexual conduct of juvenile students. On June 10, after four and a half hours of deliberation, a jury convicted James E. Carter, 58, of one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and another count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. Carter was acquitted of a third charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, stemming from the same victim. According to the criminal complaint, Carter engaged in sexual contact with...
Area school buses will soon be armed with interior and exterior security cameras
Officials aim to capture stop-sign-arm violators, curb in-bus poor behavior A grant from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety is helping equip Forest Lake’s 109 school buses with cameras on their stop sign arms, aiming to crack down on drivers who fail to stop for buses. The Forest Lake Area School District received a $270,575 grant this past year and will install them over the summer. “If we were going...
Rangers hammer Brainerd in shut out game to win state softball championship
The Forest Lake softball team defeated Brainerd 6-0 in the state championship game at Caswell Park in Mankato. It’s the first championship for softball in Forest Lake history, and it’s just the second championship for any girls team in history, with Nordic skiing winning the state title in 2020-21. The Rangers entered the game on a roll after tight wins against Centennial in the quarterfinal game, and a close conference-rival White Bear Lake in the semifinal game. ...
Local wins prize packages worth $33,000 on ‘Let’s Make a Deal’
Retired microbiologist headed on dream vacation to Galapagos after winning show’s big prize A bit of boredom and a lack of internet led to a big win for a new Forest Lake resident on the daytime show “Let’s Make a Deal,” which aired on June 7. Dawn Sturtz, a recently retired FDA microbiologist from Iowa, ended up winning three prize packages totaling a $33,000 value, including a lifetime dream vacation to the Galapagos Islands. ...
Ranger baseball season ends with pair of losses, but notable win
It wasn’t the ending that Forest Lake baseball hoped for, but a win against Anoka and tight losses to Andover and Blaine were a testament to resiliency that was displayed throughout the season. “I am very proud of how we competed,” Forest Lake coach Kale Henry said. “We played with passion, focus and intensity.” The Rangers entered the Section 7AAAA tournament as the No. 5-seed and didn’t go down without...
Rangers sending potent cast to state track and field meet
Girls place second, boys third, in Section 7AAA, with individuals headed for state Freshman Norah Hushagen swept the distance races to help lead the Forest Lake girls track and field team to a runner-up finish in the Section 7AAA meet on June 1 and 3 at Forest Lake Area High School. The Rangers finished with 109 points to finish second behind Blaine (118) in the team standings. Anoka was close...
Forest Lake advances to section semifinals
Erin Brown found the back of the net five times to help propel the Forest Lake girls lacrosse team to a 13-6 victory over Grand Rapids/Greenway in the quarterfinals of the Section 7 Tournament on Thursday, June 2 at Forest Lake High School. The third-seeded Rangers (13-1) advanced to face second-seeded Centennial (12-2) in the semifinals on Tuesday, June 7, after this edition of the Times went to press. Centennial defeated Anoka 22-4 in its quarterfinal match-up. ...
Blaine stops Ranger boys in lacrosse section opener
The Forest Lake boys lacrosse team was upended by seventh-seeded Blaine 16-4 in the opening round of the Section 7 Tournament on Tuesday, May 31 at Blaine High School. The Rangers finished the season with a 1-13 record. The Bengals (5-10) followed with an 18-3 loss at second-seeded Chisago Lakes 18-3 in the quarterfinals on June 2. The Wildcats advance to face third-seeded Spring Lake Park in the semifinals on June 7, with the finals slated for Thursday, June 9 at the higher seed. Top-seeded Centennial was scheduled to face fifth-seeded Duluth in the other semifinal.
Girls golf takes second in Section 5AAA tournament
Leonhart advances to state as individual It was a new section, but a similar result for the Forest Lake girls golf team. The Rangers, who were moved out of Section 7AAA this spring following realignment by the Minnesota State High School League, finished second behind third-ranked Maple Grove in the Section 5AAA Meet on Thursday, June 2 at The Links at Northfork. ...
Eischen finishes 15th in section golf tournament
Boys team wraps up season with seventh-place finish The Forest Lake boys golf team wrapped up its season with a seventh-place finish in the Section 5AAA tournament on Wednesday, June 1 at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids. The Rangers posted a score of 340 and did not make the cut for Round 2 on June 3. ...
Ranger softball guns for state title again
Game 2: Forest Lake softball is headed back to the state championship for a second year in a row after defeating top-seeded White Bear Lake 3-2 in the semifinal matchup on Thursday, June 9. “They’re extremely excited,” Forest Lake coach Sean Hall said. Just like the 6-3 win against Centennial in the opening match of...
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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
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