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Forest Lake Times
Girls soccer takes loss to Coon Rapids
The Forest Lake girls soccer team lost a road matchup against Mounds View on Wednesday, Sept. 13, by a final score of 3-0 before falling to Coon Rapids 4-2 at home on Saturday, Sept. 16. The Rangers now stand 3-5 midway through the season, and 0-2 in the conference. The Rangers were scheduled to host Roseville on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 5 p.m. in a contest that was not completed by press time.
Sports Briefs - Sept. 21, 2023
The Forest Lake boys soccer team lost on the road to Mounds View 3-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The Rangers struggled on the defensive side and weren’t able to find any offensive explosion. The Rangers found the net in a game against Anoka on Saturday, Sept. 16, but ultimately lost 3-1. The squad sits at 1-6-2 on the season. Forest Lake were set to host a matchup against Roseville on Tuesday, Sept. 19, in a contest that was not completed at press time. Girls tennis ...
Sports Preview: Girls swim and dive ‘building some really good depth’
The Rangers have a mix of newcomers, returnees The Forest Lake Rangers girls swim and dive team hopes to improve on its third-place finish at the Section 7AA Championship a year ago, and the Rangers will have the opportunity to do so at sections in November with new swimmers and a younger lineup. The Rangers have eight new swimmers this season, a quarter of the 32-girl roster. Forest Lake lost...
Sports Previews: Growth in offseason helps boys cross country compete
The Forest Lake boys cross country team aims for improvement from last season. After finishing last in the section meet and seventh in conference a year ago, the Rangers are poised to take a big leap this upcoming season. Head coach Andy Richardson is excited about the growth his runners have made over the offseason and has high hopes for them to start and finish strong. Key figures to watch for on the Rangers this year include sophomore captain Sam McCafferty, who Richardson tabbed as...
Sports Previews: Girls cross country aim for a state repeat
Hushagen returns after 3rd-place state finish The Forest Lake girls cross country team earned themselves a state tournament appearance last season, and the team is aiming for another section championship with the help of returning stars. The Rangers lost two seniors in the offseason, and seniors Eva Farinella and Arielle DeYoung look to take leadership and accountability of the team. “Our expectations in a lot of ways, it’s the two...
Rangers girls tennis eyes section championship
With developing young talent on the brink of getting even better, the Forest Lake Rangers girls tennis team is having a strong start to the season. Head coach Violet Shortly expects it to be a season filled with individual and team accomplishments after finishing 18-10 overall and 6-3 in conference play a season ago. The Rangers lost four seniors during the offseason and now possess three seniors on this year’s varsity squad. Shortly highlighted freshman Lucy Saari as a player to watch for this season....
Sports Briefs - Sept. 14, 2023
The Forest Lake boys soccer team has started its season 0-1-1 in SEC play and 1-4-2 overall. The Rangers lost 7-2 at Cretin-Derham Hall on Thursday, Sept. 7, and fell 1-0 at home against Coon Rapids on Saturday, Sept. 9. Forest Lake and Irondale’s match on Monday, Sept. 11 ended in a 1-1 draw. The Rangers play at Mounds View on Wednesday, Sept. 13, after press time, and Anoka at home on Saturday, Sept. 16. Girls soccer ...
Football clinches first win
The Forest Lake Rangers football team rallied back from a 14-point deficit to win 35-29 at conference-rival East Ridge on Thursday, Sept. 7. The win improved their record to 1-1 on the season after losing 7-6 at Prior Lake in the season opener. The Raptors scored with 13 seconds left in the first quarter and at the 8:02 mark of the second quarter for an early 14-0 lead. The Rangers cut the deficit in half thanks to an 18-yard run from senior running back Leyton Patzer (above) with 1:32 left on the clock in the first half. But East Ridge...
Cannabis ordinance roundup
After the state passed the legal use of cannabis products earlier this year, cities were left with little, though some, decision making regarding cannabis use in their cities. The state allows cities to determine how many – to some extent – and where businesses can be, when licensing by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management begins to license businesses. The state allows the use of cannabis products in one’s private home and around one’s private home as long as it doesn’t impact neighbors. Those in...
Wyoming starts at 9.14% increase for preliminary levy
Wyoming is looking at a 9.14% levy increase this year. The proposed levy increases by $469,026, from $5,133,772 this year to a proposed levy of $5,602,798 in 2024. Despite the 9.14% levy increase, the city’s tax rate will decrease by 0.45% to 38.91% as the tax capacity has increased by 10.4%. Assuming an 8% increase on home valuations in Chisago County, current estimates show a home valued at $200,000 last...
Virtual learning day approved for February
Forest Lake Area High School will have a distance learning day on Monday, Feb. 5, due to the Suburban East Conference’s Musical Festival. The board approved this shift during its Thursday, Sept. 7, meeting, with Julie Corcoran and Curt Rebelein Jr. absent. The shift to a distance learning day will not count against the five Legislature-allotted e-learning days at the school. Those days are reserved for inclement weather, which the district utilized a few times last winter. Teachers will be available virtually to answer questions.
Scandia moves forward on waste hauling ordinance
Internet committee defends potential decreasing of budget funds Eight months into transitioning into an organized waste hauling market, Scandia continues Waste Management negotiations and begins fine-tuning its waste hauling ordinance. “We just saw the very first draft of it the other day; there’s still probably work to be done,” council member Steve Kronmiller told the Times. ...
The climb for clean water
Local family sees its legacy live on in Tanzania When the Koch family decided this year would be a good time to tour some of the Tanzanian villages touched by the Tanzania Life Project’s work, summiting Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money felt like an added bonus for Brad. “He’s an Eagle Scout, so he grew up camping. This is in his wheelhouse, and he’s all about it,” Bridget said, adding...
Local grows and sells dozens of native trees to Scandia community
Uprooting several of his 70 trees out of the gravel bed nursery on Friday, Sept. 8, was an exciting endeavor for Tom Furey, a Bone Lake homeowner, as he had been waiting for this moment. “It’s been exciting,” Furey said. For Furey, removing trees has been fun, somewhat labor intensive, and not a sad endeavor as this was the goal of his gravel-bed tree nursery all along – to grow...
Volleyball preview: Rangers aim to stay competitive
Experienced players returning for competitive season The Forest Lake Rangers volleyball team saw its large senior class – seven of last year’s 12 rostered players — graduate in June, but that’s not changing their expectations of continuing the program’s success this season. Bethany Weiss and Kaysie Bakke, who had been two of Forest Lake’s leaders on the court, were among the departures — which are “big shoes” to fill, head...
Boys Soccer Preview: Rangers looks to win enough to host sections
After a rough 2-13 season last year, head coach of the Forest Lake boys soccer coach Joe Tomas knows the challenges that may present themselves this season. Despite the last couple of seasons proving difficult for the Rangers, Tomas is optimistic for this season, and he’s even hopeful the team can show improvements through the season to end with a run at sections. “[I’m] excited for this year because [we] got a group of kids that are playing hard,” Tomas said. ...
Girls Soccer Preview: New coach strives for competitiveness, consistency
A new girls soccer head coach is hoping to shake things up and give the squad a turnaround season. With head coach Manny Cobo taking on his first year as head coach, and strong leadership from senior captains Kylie Bloomstrom and Greta Brooks, the girls soccer program is hoping to improve on their 5-11-1 season last year. The Rangers have some star firepower with significant varsity minutes to help them this year. Bloomstrom and Brooks have played significant varsity minutes over the last few years,...
Columbus’ Fall Fest promises familiar return
After a three-year hiatus, Columbus’ Fall Fest returns on Friday, Sept. 15, with a familiar rhythm, but this time with some new ones. The annual festival had been canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic and didn’t return last year due to planning issues. “I’m really excited,” said council member and Fall Fest planning committee member Janet Hegland. When Hegland joined the council, she wanted the city to...
Forest Lake looks to 20% levy increase, new positions
Inflation, increasing labor costs, also reasons for increase The staff of the city of Forest Lake asked the council for a more than 22% levy increase to help fund road improvements, park maintenance and updates, and new positions in various departments. But the council didn’t seem to have an appetite for anything north of 20% of a levy increase, despite city staff saying these items are needed, whether it’s this year or soon. ...
Football Preview: Rangers look to build on historic winning season with tougher teams
Head coach Brad Beeskow: Rangers will be ‘exciting team to watch’ this season Last year the Forest Lake football team racked up a historic 7-3 season, going 5-0 to start, and ultimately beating Eagan in a playoff game before falling to Maple Grove, the eventual state champions. But Beeskow, who flipped the Rangers’ script into a winning season for the first time since the late 90s, stressed that this year’s team deserves its own story. ...
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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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