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Forest Lake Times
Girls soccer tallies up the goals, shattering last year’s scores
Team is getting offensive contributions from everywhere on the lineup The Forest Lake Rangers girls soccer team has found early success, starting the season 4-3 and surpassing their combined win total from the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The Rangers have scored 24 goals through seven games – four more than what they scored all of last season. Not only that, but they’ve had 12 different goal-scorers already from all over...
Ranger volleyball takes third at Shakopee tournament
Rangers drop game to Champlin Park in 3-0 loss After dropping their match against Champlin Park Tuesday, Sept. 6, the Forest Lake Rangers volleyball team responded with a third-place finish at a tournament in Shakopee Saturday, Sept. 10, improving their record to 5-2 record on the season. Forest Lake coach Sherri Alm said the team’s performance against Champlin Park on Tuesday was “disappointing” and wasn’t at the level she said...
Ranger girls tennis proving to be tough competition
Team takes charge of the court this season despite last season’s departures Before the season started, Forest Lake coach Violet Shortly said she believed the team hadn’t lost a step from last year. Well, the Rangers are 14-6 to start the season, despite graduating some solid players in the summer. According to Minnesota High School Tennis, the Rangers rank 45th in the state as of press time, and senior Malia...
Boys soccer struggling to score amid another slow start
Reaching the final third is among the early obstacles The Forest Lake Rangers boys soccer team is off to another slow start this season, losing six of their first seven games and scoring just four goals in the process. That included two shutout losses last week: a 7-0 loss Wednesday, Sept. 7, against Cretin-Derham Hall and a 1-0 loss Saturday, Sept. 10, against Chisago Lakes. “So kind of a rough...
Girls cross country sees success at invitational
Forest Lake finished No. 10 at St. Olaf invite The Forest Lake girls cross country team finished 10th out of 38 scored teams at the St. Olaf varsity invitational on Thursday, Sept. 1. “It went pretty good,” Forest Lake assistant coach Erin Kvam said. “It was the first race of the season, so we had a lot of girls that were a little rusty and a lot of girls that...
Columbus Council chews on high fire department expenses in ‘23 budget
Wages may increase, truck costs are more than expected The Columbus City Council began budget discussions on Wednesday, Aug. 31, but no preliminary levy or total budget numbers were included. Instead the discussions were centered around increasing on-call firefighter wages, funding a new fire engine and considering costs for repairs to the Columbus firehouse. Since the Forest Lake and Columbus fire departments function under a joint entity, Fire Chief Alan...
Sports briefs - Sept. 8, 2022
Boys soccer The Forest Lake boys soccer team went 1-1 in their two games last week, losing 4-1 against Duluth East Tuesday, Aug. 30 before winning 4-1 against Cambridge-Isanti Thursday, Sept. 1. The Rangers now sit 3-1 overall, but they’ve only played non-conference opponents. The Rangers played their first Suburban East match against Cretin-Derham Hall Wednesday, Sept. 7 after press time. They’re scheduled to play Chisago Lakes Saturday, Sept. 10...
Ranger football wins season opener at home under new coach
Forest Lake didn’t fold after early deficit The Forest Lake football team is optimistic about this season, but they remain in the learning phase under their new coach this year. After having a strong camp, the team was rewarded on the final day of practice by watching the movie “Top Gun” in the school’s theater instead of practicing. ...
Volleyball begins season with a pair of wins
Team hopes success continues against better competition After winning their season opener against Anoka, the Forest Lake volleyball team followed it up with a win in their only game last week on Tuesday, Aug. 30 against Blaine, improving to 2-0 on the season. Blaine took the first set 25-22, but the Rangers won the following three with a plus 23 point differential. Juniors Lindsey Johnson and Maddie Muellner and senior...
‘Neither snow, nor rain ...’
Mail carrier, hailed neighborhood hero, retires after 38 years with USPS In his 38 years as a postal carrier, Greg Land has only had his skin punctured by dog bites three times, walked hundreds of miles per year, and made friends in the central Forest Lake neighborhood along his route, between Broadway Avenue and 11th Street, and west of Highway 61. On Wednesday, Aug. 31, the Columbus resident walked his...
Five years of kindness
Forest Lake Good Samaritans see momentum Forest Lake’s Mike Kaiser was out for a run – where he says he does his best thinking – in mid-July 2017. It was just after the tornado had hit town, and people were cleaning up from the storm. He thought to himself how it would be great if he could gather a group of people, and just do the clean-up for residents who were impacted. ...
Forest Lake faces ‘challenging’ taxing decisions
Inflation, labor costs, and home values drive difficulties in budget planning This budget season is one of the most difficult, according to Forest Lake’s council and City Administrator Patrick Casey. “What makes this budget season challenging is the collision course between escalating property values and everything that comes behind that, and also escalating costs and the potential for a recession,” Mayor Mara Bain said, adding the uncertainty over the future...
School district staffing levels aren’t as dire as other districts
Sick staff could be an issue again, with staff being asked to fill in As some school districts across the country struggle to fill teaching roles, area school districts in Forest Lake are not close to that point. But that doesn’t mean the district won’t be facing some potential days understaffed. “I’m not under any illusion that it’s not going to be a challenge at times, but I think it’s...
Sports Preview: Boys cross country needs returnees, newcomers to step up
Team lost three of its top five runners to graduation The Forest Lake Rangers boys cross country team lost three of its top five runners to graduation last spring, leaving a major hole in the lineup and major shoes to fill. If the Rangers want a chance of reaching the state tournament this fall – something the Rangers couldn’t accomplish a year ago – they will need several runners to take that next step. ...
Sports Preview: Ranger swim and dive reloading on the fly
Team lost eight seniors, but has many returning players The Forest Lake Rangers swim and dive team has seven seniors returning this fall, nearly replacing the eight they lost to graduation in the spring. The team hopes to have another winning record this season even though it is a younger roster. “On one hand, it’s still a building year with a lot of young kids,” Forest Lake coach Rochelle McKenzie...
Ranger swim and dive reloading on the fly
Team lost eight seniors, but has many returning players The Forest Lake Rangers swim and dive team has seven seniors returning this fall, nearly replacing the eight they lost to graduation in the spring. The team hopes to have another winning record this season even though it is a younger roster. “On one hand, it’s still a building year with a lot of young kids,” Forest Lake coach Rochelle McKenzie...
Sports Preview: Boys soccer outlook looks promising despite uncertainty
Rangers looking to improve after 1-16 record last season The Forest Lake Rangers boys soccer team hopes to improve this fall after going winless last year against conference opponents in a painful and injury-laden season that they’re putting behind them. “[Last season] was injury riddled. I mean, to the point I’ve never seen it before,” Forest Lake coach Joe Tomas said. “This year we’re pretty much playing with the same...
Sports Preview: Cross country coaches see potential in young team
Rangers have a promising, but young group of runners The Forest Lake Rangers girls cross country team is looking to return to state once more after a strong season last fall. While this is a younger squad due to some seniors departing to graduation, it’s a promising group who has the potential to succeed this season. “It feels like we have a lot of potential, but it’s also a wild...
Aspen Blasko’s success continues amid growth in girls wrestling
The Blaskos hope girls wrestling continues to grow Aspen Blasko, a soon-to-be junior at Forest Lake Area High School, made history this spring by winning the first girls state wrestling tournament sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League. It was her third state title, with the first two not sanctioned by the MSHSL. But success has continued for Blasko this summer, too, when she was named to the Junior...
Rangers lineup taking shape amid high expectations
Volleyball aims for return to state The Forest Lake Rangers volleyball team has high expectations heading into the season after a second-place conference finish and state appearance last season. “We’ve had success over time, and the expectations are high,” Forest Lake coach Sherri Alm said. One of the Rangers’ major strengths this season is their...
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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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