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Monticello Times
Lawn watering ordinance is in effect
MONTICELLO — With the weather heating up for summer, residents are reminded of the city’s water conservation ordinance, which specifies an odd/even lawn watering schedule from June 1 to Sept. 30 every year. This distributes demand during the seasons when lawns are being irrigated and eases the burden on the local water supply. If your address ends in an odd number, you can water on odd numbered calendar days. If your address ends in an even number, you can water on even numbered dates. When planting new trees, sod or grass, you may request an exemption permit allowing you to water every day for 30 days. Permits are required when installing new sprinkler systems. To report a violation of the watering schedule, contact the Water Department at 763-295-3170. Fines may be imposed for violations.
Math, reading tutors sought to help local students
MONTICELLO — School is out for the summer, but the search is on for 900 math and reading tutors to help Minnesota students next year. Here in Monticello, Eastview Education Center, Little Mountain Elementary, Pinewood Elementary and Swan River Montessori are all looking for tutors. Research shows early command of reading and math is a predictor of future success, both academically and in life. Yet, fewer than a third of...
Movie Review: New Mad Max ‘Furiosa’ is a cinematic feast
In a time when blockbuster films have become increasingly dense and talky — awash in exposition and callbacks and in-jokes — George Miller’s films are refreshingly, blessedly simple. It’s not that he dumbs down, it’s that he strips back his cinema to its barest essence — mythic figures against mythic landscapes, rendered in a kinetic style, with fire and brimstone intensity. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” Miller’s latest, plays like...
Citizen of the Year is Jim Dickrell
MONTICELLO — A longtime volunteer who has served the city over four decades will be honored as the 2024 Monticello Citizen of the Year, awarded annually to an individual who helps make Monticello great. Jim Dickrell, a valued member of the community for the better part of 40 years, and a member of the Monticello Lions Club since 1991, will be recognized with the honor this year. Dickrell will officially...
Local Vietnam vets will be added to ‘In Memory’ program
MONTICELLO — More than 650 Vietnam veterans, including 22 from Minnesota, will be inducted into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s (VVMF) “In Memory” program in 2024. The induction on Saturday, June 15 will include three U.S. Army soldiers from Monticello, Ronald Berthiaume, Jerome Bradford and Pierre Rudolph Guertin. The “In Memory” program gives the families and friends of those who came home and later died the opportunity to have them...
Monticello man, 44, killed in crash with big rig in Becker
BECKER — A 44-year-old Monticello man was killed in a crash Tuesday evening involving a semi-trailer truck on Highway 10 in Becker. Derrick Ray Sartwell, 44, of Monticello, suffered fatal injuries after his pickup truck rear-ended a big rig just after 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. The 2023 International LT semi-truck was westbound on Highway 10, in the left turn lane, making a...
Blast from the past sports
50 YEARS AGO: JUNE, 1974 Mike Drazkowski earned a berth in the state track and field tournament for Monticello in the half mile. Drazkowski was the Region 5A runner-up in the half-mile after posting a school record time of 2:02. He was just three-tenths of a second behind the winning time. The Monticello High School junior was the only state participant for Monticello but they nearly had another. High jumper...
Monticello Athlete of the Week: Ali Schaefer
Monticello High School senior Ali Schaefer is the Monticello Athlete of the Week for her heroic performance in the Section 8 quarterfinals for the girls’ lacrosse team. She scored four points thanks to three goals, including the game-winner in OT against STMA. It was the first time the girls’ lacrosse team had beaten STMA on the road since 2016.
Monticello sports round-up: June 6
Taking the sceneic route The Monticello baseball team lost the first-round matchup of the double-elimination Section 5AAA Baseball Tournament but battled their way back to the section final through the elimination bracket. After falling 4-3 to St. Francis, Monticello beat Zimmerman 7-2, Princeton 8-3, Big Lake 7-6 and Becker 10-4 to reach the section championship against Totino-Grace. Monticello will have to win twice to book a ticket to the state...
Schaefer saves the day
Revenge is a dish best served hot. The Monticello girls’ lacrosse team was given a chance at a bit of a revenge tour to begin the Section 8 playoffs. In the first round, Monticello traveled to St. Michael-Albertville High School on Wednesday, May 29. For the first time since 2016, Monticello beat STMA on the road and it couldn’t have come at a better time. 48 minutes wasn’t enough for...
2 crashes on Highway 25 send drivers to hospital
MONTICELLO — Four local drivers were injured in two separate crashes Tuesday morning on Highway 25, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. In the first accident, just before 6 a.m. June 11 in Buffalo, a Big Lake woman and a Monticello man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after their vehicles collided on Highway 25 near mile marker 59. Carol Marie Michaud, 60, of Big Lake was driving a 2021 Toyota RAV-4 southbound...
2 crashes on Highway 25 send drivers to hospital
MONTICELLO — Four local drivers were injured in two separate crashes Tuesday morning on Highway 25, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. In the first accident, just before 6 a.m. June 11 in Buffalo, a Big Lake woman and a Monticello man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after their vehicles collided on Highway 25 near mile marker 59. Carol Marie Michaud, 60, of Big Lake was driving a 2021 Toyota RAV-4 southbound...
Another first: Monticello boys’ lacrosse wins 1st section playoff game in program history
Another first was checked off the to-do list for Monticello boys’ lacrosse. After winning the conference title for the first time ever, the Magic brought that energy into the Section 8 playoffs. The team had never won a section playoff game. On Wednesday, May 29, that changed. Monticello hosted St. Cloud for the section quarterfinal matchup. It was a tough start for the Magic. They held most of the possession but trailed 1-0 and 2-1 during the first quarter. ...
Magic sends small army to state track and field meet
After crushing the regular season, the Monticello track and field teams crushed it once again at the Section 5AA Track and Field Championships last week. The Magic hosted the section meet at Monticello High School. The prelims began on Tuesday, May 28 with the finals taking place on Thursday, May 30. After both teams claimed the Mississippi 8 conference title, the Magic won the boys’ and girls’ team section championships. The girls scored 153, 50.5 more than runner-up Foley. The boys had a similar result,...
Big Lake driver suspected of DUI in I-94 crash
ST. MICHAEL — A 22-year-old driver from Big Lake, suspected of being intoxicated, was injured during a single-car crash on Interstate 94 in St. Michael Thursday afternoon. Connor Jess Roberts was driving a 2014 Ford Focus eastbound on I-94 near where it intersects with Highway 241 when the car left the roadway, striking the Crow River Bridge and rolling, according to a report from the Minnesota State Patrol. Roberts, who...
Passenger hurt after pickup hauling camper, boat rolls into ditch on I-94
MONTICELLO — A passenger from Brooklyn Park was injured Thursday morning when the pickup truck she was riding in, along with the camper and boat it was towing, rolled into a ditch on Interstate 94 in Monticello Township. According to a report from the Minnesota State Patrol, the 2006 GMC Sierra was traveling westbound on I-94 and was pulling a fifth-wheel camper as well as a boat when it lost control near mile marker 192 and entered the north-side ditch, causing all three of the...
Local eye doctor lauded for volunteer work
MONTICELLO — Dr. Charles Yancey, a local ophthalmology specialist who has practiced here in Monticello for 30 years, has an eye for doing good in the world. Yancey, one of the doctors at West Metro Ophthalmology, which has clinics locally on Cedar Street in Monticello and in Buffalo, along with offices in Golden Valley and Plymouth, was recently honored with a humanitarian award from the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology, recognizing his extensive volunteer work both locally and abroad. ...
Hoglund reviews transportation over past school year
MONTICELLO — With school officially out for the summer, as students attended their last day of class Wednesday, the wheels on the bus will get a break from going round and round. Joe Kounkel, general manager of the Hoglund Transportation school bus company, gave a presentation to the Monticello School Board recently, offering a year-in-review look back at transportation within the district over the 2023-24 school year. Kounkel said his...
Family fun to take over city at Walk & Roll, bubble party
MONTICELLO — The City of Monticello will host two outdoor, family-friendly events in the coming days, with one a long-standing tradition and the other a brand-new activity making its debut. First up, the 28th annual Walk & Roll is returning Saturday morning with a route along Walnut Street to showcase downtown Monticello. Then, on Tuesday evening, Pioneer Park will play host to the city’s first-ever Bubble & Foam Party. Walk...
Local eye doctor lauded for volunteer work
MONTICELLO — Dr. Charles Yancey, a local ophthalmology specialist who has practiced here in Monticello for 30 years, has an eye for doing good in the world. Yancey, one of the doctors at West Metro Ophthalmology, which has clinics locally on Cedar Street in Monticello and in Buffalo, along with offices in Golden Valley and Plymouth, was recently honored with a humanitarian award from the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology, recognizing his extensive volunteer work both locally and abroad. ...
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Monticello Times has been serving the local community since 1857. Published Thursdays by APG of East Central Minnesota. 24/7 local coverage found online at www.monticellotimes.com
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