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Forest Lake Times
Forest Lake Sports Briefs: Girls and boys hockey see different results
The Forest Lake Rangers girls hockey team improved to 6-10 overall and 4-7 in Suburban East Conference play with conference wins over White Bear Lake and Cretin-Derham Hall in their only two games last week. After starting the season 2-9, the Rangers have won four of their past five games and sit fifth in the SEC with 8 points – 4 points behind East Ridge. The Rangers defeated the Bears 2-1 on the road on Thursday, Jan. 5, with goals from senior Maddy Monette at...
Forest Lake girls basketball sees ‘encouraging signs’ amid losing streak
While the Forest Lake Rangers girls basketball team is on a six-game losing streak, Forest Lake coach Dave Ostercamp said he was encouraged after their 56-43 loss to Centennial on Thursday, Jan. 5, to open up the week. The Rangers have suffered four conference losses since their losing skid began with a 59-57 loss to White Bear Lake on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Forest Lake is now 2-9 after losses against East Ridge and Stillwater to finish the week. After getting outscored 31-14 in the first...
Forest Lake boys basketball finds chemistry, beats Centennial
Forest Lake kept shutting the door on Centennial’s comeback While the Forest Lake Rangers boys basketball team fell to East Ridge last week 62-36 on the road on Friday, Jan. 6, East Ridge is undefeated in Suburban East Conference play, and the Rangers are different in terms of togetherness now than when the season started, according to Forest Lake coach Kyle McDonald and leading scorer Owen Waldoch. The Rangers lost...
Forest Lake boys swim and dive wins conference meet, finishes ninth at invitational
The Forest Lake Rangers boys swim and dive team saw success last week with a 103-65 conference win over Cretin-Derham Hall on Thursday, Jan. 5, before a ninth-place finish in the Maroon and Gold Invite at the University of Minnesota on Saturday, Jan. 7. Against Cretin-Derham Hall, the Rangers got 10 points in the 200-freestyle between seniors Joseph Galsworthy (2:02.39) and Brady Thompson (2:08.48), who finished first and second, respectively. Sophomore Sam Trocke (2:25.02) and freshman Thatcher Robertson (2:31.17) earned 7 points for the team...
Scandia levy increases 8.7% while tax rate falls to 26%
The Scandia City Council approved its final expense budget at $4,659,337 in a 5-0 vote at its meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 20. At the same meeting, it approved the 2023 tax levy at the same level as the September-approved amount of $2,803,556, an 8.7% or $224,505 increase from the levy in 2022 at $2,579,051. The general fund of the budget will account for about 67% of the levy expenses at...
A rags-to-riches story for toy Manchester terrier Gnatt
Ten years ago Gnatt was an unloved, unwanted, emaciated puppy just days away from meeting his final fate at a Texas animal shelter. He was seemingly not destined for much in this world. Flash forward to this past December and you’ll find Gnatt, a toy Manchester terrier, on the top of the world in a rags-to-riches story that is seen in the eyes of the dog’s owner and handler Lori Purdy as a “Hallmark moment.” ...
Area remained red in 2022 election for state and federal races
It’s the beginning of a new legislative session for both the state Legislature and U.S. Congress, with legislators and the governor setting up for their new terms. While Democrats took the state’s house, senate, and governor’s race, Forest Lake area residents resoundingly voted Republican. In addition, the majority of area residents also voted red when it came to the state’s Secretary of State and Attorney General races, as well. In...
Forest Lake levy set at 6.9% increase
The Forest Lake City Council unanimously approved a 6.9% levy increase for 2023, with a total levy amount of $13,126,354, up from $12,278,700 in 2022, or an increase of $847,654. Assuming a 27.6% change in market value, a home worth $366,250 — the average in Forest Lake — will see an increase of $151.90 to $1,281.62 for the city’s portion of taxes. A home worth $250,000 will see an increase of $110.39 to $833.06; a home worth $300,000 will see a $128.30 increase to $1,026.01;...
Anoka County board approves 2023 tax levy and budget
A $141.9 million 2028 property tax levy and $367 million budget were approved by the Anoka County Board Dec. 2 following a public hearing the evening before. The 2023 levy is the same amount levied in 2021 and 2022, County Administrator Rhonda Sivarajah said. “Just as inflation is hitting family budgets, the rising cost of fuel, electricity, goods and services are also impacting the county budget,” Sivarajah said in her...
'The stigma isn't over yet': Forest Lake athletes are breaking barriers
Title IX’s impact evident by the numbers, but athletes say society’s acceptance is still needed [Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a two-part series looking back at the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Part one can be found in last week's issue] Forest Lake volleyball coach Sherri Alm said there wasn’t any resistance when she started coaching in 1996. But she remembers the stories told to her by...
Hometown star’s MLB debut and state champions top sports stories in 2022
Reflecting back on 2022, the Forest Lake Rangers’ sports teams saw a lot of success. From Matt Wallner making his MLB debut for his home state Twins to Forest Lake’s softball team winning their first state title in school history, the community witnessed many special moments with Forest Lake connections throughout the year. Here are the top 10 stories from 2022: 1. Matt Wallner makes MLB debut ...
Sports Briefs: Boys hockey wins three straight
The Forest Lake Rangers boys basketball team won two of their three games in the TCO Holiday Classic tournament at Augsburg University on Wednesday, Dec. 28 to Friday, Dec. 30. The Rangers lost 64-54 in their tournament opener against Minneapolis Washburn. The game was tied at 25 at halftime, but Minneapolis Washburn outscored Forest Lake by 10 in the second half. Junior Owen Waldoch led the team with 19 points while junior Brennan Sauvageau added 14 points, combining for 33 of the team’s 64 points. ...
Top 10 stories of 2022
2022 was a year filled with changes. From an election after redistricting, local city projects, new businesses, crime, and a fun appearance by a celebrity, locals saw quite a bit of change take place this year. Nationally, inflation and the war against Russia held a lot of locals’ attention. Here is a list of the top 10 stories The Forest Lake Times followed this year. 1. 2022 elections After the...
Chisago County trims levy at meeting
As Chisago County Commissioners began their Wednesday, Dec. 7, meeting that set the county’s budget for 2023, Commissioner Ben Montzka made a confession. “At the time [we set our preliminary levy], I said, ‘We’ll never cut this – we need to cut it now,’” he said. It turns out Montzka was wrong: The commissioners, who set a preliminary budget Montzka noted was 6.69%, found a way to trim the levy...
Columbus approves budget and levy; both increase around 14%
The Columbus City Council approved its 2023 budget at $5,097,764 in a 5-0 vote, during its meeting Wednesday, Dec. 14, a 14% increase from the 2022 budget of $4,468,257. The council unanimously accepted its September-approved levy, the portion of the budget that is taxed to homeowners, at $4,233,069, a $517,344 or 13.5% increase from last year’s levy at $3,715,725. There were three areas within the 2023 budget that saw the...
‘They’re taking our stuff’: A look back at Title IX
Civil rights law changed course of Forest Lake sports, but it didn’t come without growing pains [Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part series looking back at 50th anniversary of Title IX. Part two will be coming in next week’s issue.] The Forest Lake Rangers cut the lead down to 2 points on their first possession out of the timeout after being down by 4, but the...
Sports Briefs: Forest Lake boys hockey wins first game
The Forest Lake Rangers boys hockey team won their first game of the season last week in a 11-0 shutout victory against Northern Edge on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at home in a non-conference matchup after five straight losses to open the season. It was the team’s only game last week after weather conditions postponed their match against Chisago Lakes on Thursday, Dec. 22. The Rangers outshot Northern Edge 51-4, scored six even-strength goals in the second period and drew five penalties in the game. Sophomore...
School bus rolls over, no one injured
School and school-related activities are canceled on Thursday, Dec. 22. Between 3 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21, a Forest Lake Area School Bus traveling eastbound on Howard Lake Drive in Columbus rolled over, injuring no one involved. “The front right tire got caught in, you know, the beginning of the ditch and [the driver] tried to bring the bus back onto the road. It just continued sliding along...
Forest Lake girls basketball drops two conference games
The Forest Lake Rangers girls basketball team won their first two games in Suburban East Conference play this season, but the team lost ground last week in conference play with losses against White Bear Lake on Tuesday, Dec. 13, and Mounds View on Friday, Dec. 16. The Rangers ended the first half with a 26-23 lead, but the team blew the lead in the second, which led to a 59-57 loss at home. The team was led by junior Cassidy Pitzl’s and freshman Aubree Hultman’s...
Forest Lake dance team wins conference finals
The Forest Lake Rangers dance team won in jazz and kick at the Suburban East Conference Finals on Saturday, Dec. 17, at Mounds View High School. Forest Lake finished first with a rank score of 3 ahead of Mounds View (6) and Roseville (9) in the jazz category. It was much closer, though, in the kick category, with the Rangers finishing first with a rank score of 4.5, which was in front of Mounds View (6) and Roseville (7). This is the fifth year in the past seven that the dance team has won championships in both jazz and kick. The team won either jazz or kick in the other two years.
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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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