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Forest Lake synchronized swim team hosts annual show
The Forest Lake synchronized swim team will host its annual Synchronized Swimming Show on Saturday, May 7, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Pool. The pool is located at the Education Center, formerly Southwest Junior High, at 943 11th Ave. SW in Forest Lake. At the event, which is in its 28th year, the members of the team will swim their solo, duet, trio and team routines. Synchronized swimming is a combination of swimming, gymnastics and dance. It consists of swimmers performing a routine...
Forest Lake girls track shows depth at Mounds View
The Forest Lake girls track team put together a solid performance, especially in the running events, in the Mounds View SEC Girls Open run on Tuesday, April 19. The Rangers won five of eight running events while also showing their depth in those events. Senior Annika Gunderson was a double winner for Forest Lake, taking first in both the 100 (13.39) and the 200 (27.68). Fellow senior Ella Niznik placed...
Forest Lake council considers moratorium on wetland ‘banks’
Man-made wetlands manufactured for sale for developers The Forest Lake City Council discussed a moratorium on wetland banks, which are essentially man-made wetland areas in developable areas to assist in the impacts project developments might have on an area. Wetland mitigation “banks” are plots developable land that get built into wetlands for the purpose of selling them off to developers, who can purchase a “credit,” or a portion, of a...
Forest Lake boys track rides at Pony Relays
The Forest Lake boys track team fared well against a strong set of opponents at the Pony Relays hosted by Stillwater on Friday, April 22. The event featured strictly relays on the track, which brought sharp focus on a school’s depth, while the field events were scored individually. In the field events, the best performance was by junior Brayden Thompson as he took sixth in the pole vault by clearing...
Glumack scored 6 goals as Forest Lake girls lacrosse beats Park
The Forest Lake girls lacrosse team opened the season with an 11-8 home victory over Park of Cottage Grove on Wednesday, April 20. Senior Brooke Glumack was the star for the Rangers in that win, notching six goals while adding three assists for 9 points. Seniors Erin Brown and Samantha Hayek each added two goals and an assist, while junior Mikayla Kulenkamp had the other goal. Senior goaltender Hannah Melander finished with 14 saves while allowing seven goals in 48 minutes. Freshman Ava Hagland played two minutes and stopped one of the two shots she faced. The Rangers have two home games on the schedule this week, starting with a contest against White Bear Lake on Wednesday, April 27, that was not completed at press time. Forest Lake will host Irondale on Friday, April 29, then returns to action against Woodbury at home on Wednesday, May 4.
Slow starts holding back Ranger boys lacrosse
The Forest Lake boys lacrosse team got off to a slow start in Suburban East Conference play, dropping a pair of contests. The Rangers opened last week with an 11-1 loss at Park of Cottage Grove on Wednesday, April 20. Two days later Forest Lake hosted Stillwater and fell 13-2. Stillwater is ranked fourth in the state, a fact not lost on coach Bryan Rogers as he assessed his team’s...
Body of missing boater on Big Marine Lake found
The bodies of two missing boaters have been found after a boating accident on Big Marine Lake in Scandia on Friday, April 29. Crews responded to a call just before 2 p.m. by witnesses, who reported two adult males in distress on the north side of the lake. According to a press release by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, witnesses say the driver lost control of the boat, which was occupied by two males, just after departing the landing, and both men were ejected. Bystanders heard the boaters calling for help and rushed their boats out to assist, but when boaters arrived, the men could not be found. The Washington County rescue/dive team and water recovery team, along with the Department of Natural Resources and state patrol, conducted a search and located the body of one of the boaters shortly after 7 p.m. on Friday. Crews found the body of the second boater around 4 p.m. today.
Ranger baseball off to slow offensive start
The Forest Lake baseball team has found runs to be a scarce commodity as the team began the season with a 1-4 record. The Rangers scored five times in a shutout win over Irondale on Wednesday, April 13. But in their four losses, the squad managed a total of just one run. “We’ve got to cut down on strikeouts,” coach Kale Henry said. “When you have trouble making contact, and...
School district assesses staffing at meeting
The Forest Lake Area School District began assessing its staffing needs for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year in January. The ball is rolling following the school board’s approval of two staffing-related items during the meeting on Thursday, April 7. The school board approved reinstating part-time teachers who assumed full-time roles this school year back to their contracted part-time positions. The positions were switched to full time to help address the substitute teacher shortages with an increased rate of staff absences during the pandemic. Now those...
No charges for Forest Lake officers, Washington County deputy, in fatal officer-involved shooting
The Washington County Attorney’s Office will not charge two Forest Lake officers and a Washington County deputy who were involved in a fatal officer-involved shooting last fall. On Nov. 28, 47-year-old Bradley Erickson was shot after a standoff and brief chase; he later died of his injuries. The incident was investigated by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Portions of the incident were captured on police cameras, but have not been released to the public. At 1:33 p.m. on Nov. 28, the Forest Lake Police Department...
Forest Lake softball jets to 4-1
The Forest Lake softball team has not allowed a dreary April deter it from a strong start to the season. The Rangers have won four of their first five games of the year, with all of those contests coming in Suburban East Conference play. “We haven’t been out a lot, and games have been postponed for a variety of different reasons,” coach Sean Hall said. “Any time we have a...
Niznik honored with Athena Award
Ella Niznik vaguely remembers first hearing about the Athena Award. “I had heard about when I was younger,” she said. “I remember hearing someone had won it, and I thought, ‘That would be pretty cool to get one day.’” Niznik’s wish has come true, as she was named Forest Lake’s winner of the Athena Award, which is presented annually to the top senior female athletes in 43 different St. Paul-area...
Hy-Vee in Columbus still on – so far
Company announced cancellation of plans for five metro locations, including key location for Columbus. Despite the announcement last week by West Des Moines-based grocer Hy-Vee that plans for five planned sites for new locations would be sold as the company canceled plans for the grocery and convenience stores, so far the Columbus location is not on that chopping block. However, due to the announcement of Blaine’s store, implications for amenities provided at the Columbus Hy-Vee are in question.
Buesseler leads Kentucky rifle team to NCAA title
Freshman Allison Buesseler, a Forest Lake native, played a key role in leading the University of Kentucky rifle team to the 2022 NCAA National Championship. Buesseler was part of the Wildcats’ second air rifle relay, and she shot a perfect 10-for-10 with her final shots to post a 592 score and clinch the win at the event, which was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in mid-March. “Allison was just fearless...
Camp 3 Road to remain open for now, but sightlines will be improved
During a meeting on Wednesday, April 13, the Columbus City Council approved short-term and long-term plans to change the Camp 3 Road, Kettle River Boulevard and Lake Drive intersections in a 5-0 vote. The intersection at Camp 3 Road and Kettle River Boulevard has been under scrutiny with renewed interest since August 2021 when the council approved a road study. The council worked with the county to close Camp 3 Road for six weeks in fall 2021 to assess traffic patterns and gain public comments...
Wyoming moves toward utility expansion for west-side developments
LC4YF receives city funding The Wyoming City Council will be preparing plans and specifications to bring water and sewer utilities to new developments in the city west of I-35 and south of Viking Boulevard. “There is a water main present, but it’s not in effect to service the development in the full need,” said city engineer Mark Erichson. The expansion of the service would focus on the Sunrise Riverbank, but...
Forest Lake high schoolers to debut play ‘Harvey’
Director Cassi Betker watches students evolve After the hard few years that have plagued the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, director Cassi Betker thought it would be fitting for the high school theater department to perform a play that was originally written after a tumultuous time to make people laugh. “I found out that ‘Harvey’ was actually written right after World War [II] as a comedy to make people...
Scandia City Council approves solar farm moratorium
Screening remains center of discussion since original ordinance in 2015 The Scandia City Council approved a 12-month moratorium, in a 4-0 vote with council member Steve Kronmiller absent, pausing the installation of solar farms during its work session on Wednesday, April 6. The moratorium will exclude residential solar panel installation. Scandia has had a contentious history with its solar farm ordinance. In June 2015, the Scandia council approved the solar...
Columbus sees surge in commercial development following Highway 97 bridge reconstruction
City leaders excited about providing jobs and bringing in tax revenue Commercial development in Columbus is ramping up this year, especially with the reconstruction of the interchange of Highway 97 and I-35. And the city’s council and EDA are excited about what that means. The city of Columbus is mostly wetlands, with much of it a part of the Carlos Avery State Wildlife Management Area. That, coupled with the city’s...
School board approves visitors policy
During the Thursday, April 7, Forest Lake Area School Board meeting, the board approved the visitors policy, which underwent changes following the first reading, by a 6-0 vote with board member Julie Corcoran absent. The approved visitor policy strengthened its security measures and removed its initial “invitation-only” language which was included in the first version presented to the school board at the Thursday, March 6 meeting. “Essentially, the policy remains...
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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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