Queen and princess candidates sought in East Bethel

The East Bethel Scholarship Program offers an opportunity for local girls to become candidates for East Bethel Royal Ambassador.
Throughout the seven-week candidacy, activities and educational experiences occur which promote positive character development. Some of the topics covered in candidacy include public-speaking, volunteerism, interview skills, and building confidence. A guest speaker has been booked to talk with the candidates about leadership and having a positive self-image. Candidates also participate in an image clinic covering etiquette, poise, and public and virtual image awareness, along with a make-up clinic with a cosmetic professional. All candidates and their families also learn CPR.broadstreet.zone(48036);
East Bethel royal candidates need to be female, 16 to 22 years of age by July 1, cannot currently cohabitate with a significant other and never have been married or pregnant. Little Miss East Bethel candidates need to be a female 6 to 8 years of age by July 1. All candidates need

See Full Post >>

Editorial: Minnesota above average, but economic inequality persists

This is the second installment in an editorial series called The Changing Face of Minnesota. This year, the ECM Publishers Editorial Board is examining demographic changes and disparities in Minnesota that center around race, wealth, age, region and employment.
 
Years before “the 1 percent” was coined as an invective against deeply uneven U.S. wealth distribution, a Minnesota congressman was tilting his sword at the problem.broadstreet.zone(48036);
The late Martin Sabo, a Minneapolis Democrat, repeatedly introduced a bill called the Income Equity Act to limit corporate tax deductions on executive salaries. His ambition, always thwarted, was to use the tax code to try to narrow the gap between sky-high executive salaries and those of the rank and file.
Sabo believed growing stratification was corrosive, a threat to upward mobility and social cohesion. “We all do better when we all do better,” said another politician of the era, the late Sen. Paul Wellstone.
Were they still alive,

See Full Post >>

How did we communicate?

The contract law enforcement discussion and process in Forest Lake over these last few months is unlike any I’ve covered anywhere I’ve worked. The passion to which people have responded to the possibility of Washington County taking over law enforcement services – and the number of people who have mobilized – is truly remarkable.
While there are many aspects of this conversation that are cause for celebration, I’ve also unfortunately observed dialogue on both sides of this issue at times become ugly and counterproductive. This process has put our community under the microscope for better and for worse. Here are two lessons I’ve gleaned from watching and reporting on the process as it’s unfolded.broadstreet.zone(48036);
Transparency matters
Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote a column about a different hot topic in the Forest Lake area.
“(M)uch of the reaction The Times has observed from residents is tinged with mistrust, confusion and the feeling that

See Full Post >>