Columbus
Forest Lake Times
Sports Preview: girls soccer hopes to rebound this season under strong leadership
Leadership key to unlocking success for Rangers season The Forest Lake Rangers girls soccer team has been limited to just two wins against conference opponents over the past three years, but the leadership on the team this season could pave the way to a new chapter. “We have a lot of seniors. The leadership has already been great to begin with,” Forest Lake coach Trent Holmes said. “I anticipate them...
Sports Preview: Rangers depth, flexibility key to competitive season for girls tennis
Team features strong senior, rookie talent The Forest Lake Rangers girls tennis team went 12-17-1 last season, significantly improving from the 2019 and 2020 seasons. While the team lost several quality seniors to gradation, the depth of the program has seamlessly found replacements for them, which is why this season is so highly anticipated. “We’ve got some really young talent that are just so eager,” Forest Lake coach Violet Shortly...
Josie Bothun ready for junior season after successful offseason
Former Forest Lake Area High School graduate and Wyoming native Josie Bothun is thriving this summer, having a strong developmental offseason that she hopes will translate to the upcoming season in her junior year at Penn State. “I think this summer has been one of the best summers [for my development],” Bothun said. “I’ve had a good balance between hockey and life.” Bothun was one of 29 men’s and women’s...
Sports Preview: Ranger football aims high with new coach
Football sees growth, but still learning Coming off a second- to-last-place conference finish and 2-7 overall record, the Rangers are getting acclimated to new strategies implemented by new coach Brad Beeskow. “Our only weakness right now is that we’re still learning,” Beeskow said. “A lot of schools right now are in the phase where they’re just continuing things that they’ve done in the past or their programs have been there...
New principals aim to support district’s education standards
Middle school rolls out new orientation process The Forest Lake Area School District will welcome a new principal at both Lino Lakes Elementary and Forest Lake Area Middle School for the upcoming year. Despite the new titles as principals, Jason Miller and Sara Stratton are not new faces to the district nor the community, which they hope will help foster their relationships with peers and parents to support students’ education...
Columbus denies construction permit over concerns about noise
City shelves 2022 Fall Fest due to lack of volunteers The Columbus City Council followed the suggestion of the city’s planning commission and denied Park Construction’s conditional use permit application for an office, warehouse, and recycling area. The 4-0 vote at the council’s meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 10, follows a moratorium on the building of any new projects along a stretch of Lake Drive. The moratorium was put in place...
Seven candidates file for Forest Lake Area School Board
All three school board members up for reelection have decided not to file for this upcoming election on Tuesday, Nov. 8. School board members Alex Keto, Jill Landstrom and Kate Luthner will not run for reelection this year. Luthner is running for state Senate District 32. As the candidate filing period closed on Tuesday, Aug. 16, eight school board hopefuls filed to run for office: Ashley Bulmer of Forest Lake, Mike Burrell of Wyoming, Jill Christenson of Forest Lake, April Eagan of Ham Lake, Luke Hagglund of Wyoming, Laura Ndirangu of Forest Lake, Todd Proulx of Wyoming, and Curt Rebelein Jr. of East Bethel. However, candidate Burrell removed himself from the running by the withdrawal deadline on Thursday, Aug. 18, leaving seven candidates running for three school board seats. He withdrew in order to support three candidates: Hagglund, Ndirangu and Rebelein, according to a press release.
Forest Lake, Columbus, and Scandia political landscapes set for shakeup
Wyoming, Linwood quiet election for 2020 Election season this year will come with local shakeups in the Forest Lake, Columbus, and Scandia councils, which will all see current council members resigning after years of service. Council members Kathy Bystrom and Kelly Monson will leave their seats after completing their four-year terms. Both were elected to the council in 2018. ...
Love’s Travel Plaza opening misfires
The new Love’s Travel Plaza in Columbus held its grand opening on Thursday, Aug. 18, which quickly turned into a misfire for the new local gas station. Area residents who filled up with mid-grade or premium gas were met with engine issues, as water was confirmed to be mixed in two grades of gasoline. Chad Kowalski of Forest Lake filled up on Thursday around 11 a.m., and didn’t get farther than a few miles before he realized the engine started misfiring. He was just yards...
Bishofsky, Bahr, and McLean take local legislative primaries
The local stages are set for the general election in November after the primary on Tuesday, Aug. 9. Despite a last-minute endorsement from Sen. Karin Housley (R-SD 39) and retiring Rep. Bob Dettmer (R-HD 39A), Tina Riehle couldn’t overcome Mark Bishofsky, who had received the state GOP’s endorsement for House District 33B. Bishofsky secured 59.99% of the vote, with 1,637 votes. Bishofsky moves on to face DFLer Josiah Hill, who ran against Housley for Senate District 39 in 2020, in the general election. ...
Martin Lake association eyes delisting from impaired water list
Martin Lake community’s dedication hooks results, lake expected to be off list in two years “Root Beer Lake” is what John Mattila, the Martin Lakers Association president, said Martin Lake had been dubbed by locals due to its murkiness. But now, after a decades-long water quality improvement effort, the residents and the Anoka Conservation District are nearing their end goal: to get Martin Lake off the impaired waters list. “They...
Zack Raabe flourishing in first full season with Carolina Mudcats
Forest Lake grad drafted last summer by the Milwaukee Brewers sees growth on the field In college, Zack Raabe wanted to model his game after Los Angeles Dodger Cody Bellinger. Dustin Pedroia is another player that comes to his mind from that time, too. But Raabe doesn’t have to look far from home to find the player he currently aspires to model his game after. “My favorite player to watch...
Betsy Kelly wins 2022 Minnesota Women’s State Open
Forest Lake native Betsy Kelly has won back-to-back titles at the 2022 Minnesota Women’s State Open, becoming the first player to win two straight years in the tournament’s history. The championship took place Wednesday, Aug. 10 at Rush Creek Golf Course in Maple Grove.
Single-vehicle crash on I-35 kills one, sends another to hospital
A fatal crash just north of Wyoming on I-35 shut down southbound traffic for more than an hour on Friday. The single car roll-over accident, which took place just 1 mile north of the Viking Boulevard exit, killed one and sent another to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 50-year-old Curtis Harris of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, the driver of a Chevrolet truck, struck the right guardrail, then rolled into the left median. Passengers 33-year-old Amber Nicole Fountain of Abbeville, Georgia and 37-year-old Brian Eugene Newby of Elizabethtown, Kentucky were not wearing seatbelts. Newby died due to his injuries at the scene. Fountain was transported to Regions Hospital. Harris had injuries that were treated at the scene. Alcohol is believed to be a factor, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Forest Lake’s fishing team sees success amid growth
Three teams head to state tournament in September Three teams from Forest Lake’s fishing squad will be headed to the MN B.A.S.S. State Championship that will take place at the Whitefish Chain of Lakes on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10-11. To advance to state, teams needed to place in the top nine among 29 teams in the conference after three tournaments. The teams of Jack Gross and Jacob Proferl; Mike...
Forest Lake Brewers fall to Anoka in playoffs
A walk-off hit in the 13th inning ends Brewers’ season A pair of playoff losses against Anoka last weekend ended the Forest Lake Brewers’ season and eliminated their contention of playing at state. The Brewers were eliminated in the first round of the state tournament against the Rochester Royals a year ago and were hoping to return this summer. ...
School board approves bus camera policy
The Forest Lake Area School Board approved its new bus camera policy in a 6-0 vote, with Gail Theisen absent, during the Thursday, Aug. 4, meeting. “We recognize the need for a policy under which these cameras will operate and will guide our use of these cameras,” Superintendent Steve Massey said. During the past school year, the district received grant money to install stop sign arm cameras on all of...
Michaels confirmed for Forest Lake
Wyoming’s Dairy Queen to expand Business development in the area is in full swing. Craft franchise store Michaels has been confirmed to be coming to the city of Forest Lake. It will be taking over the former Office Max building, at 125 12th St. SW. The craft store expects to open later this year, and is hiring for various roles right now. ...
Wyoming’s public safety building enters final stages before construction
Budget discussions begin The city of Wyoming is nearing in the final phases of developing a plan for its new Public Safety facility. During the city’s budget meeting on Thursday, July 28, representatives from Wold Architects and Anderson/Kraus Construction presented one of the final iterations of the design process for the new facility, with an updated cost of almost $13.5 million. Compared to the last design presented to council, the...
Cal Bahr wins Minnesota Senate District 31 GOP race
Current Minnesota Rep. Cal Bahr will be headed for the general primary to facing off against DFLer Jason Ruffalo for the Minnesota Senate District 31 race. With all precincts reporting, Bahr has tallied 78.57% of the vote with 3,935 votes. Competitor Maribella McDermid received 1,073 votes.
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.