North Lakes boys look forward to new conference competition

Game in Timberwolves arena also anticipatedbroadstreet.zone(48036);
The Husky boys basketball team has a lot to look forward to this year. With a move to the new Twin Cities Athletic Conference bringing more balanced competition to the schedule, second-year head coach Mark Kosloski expects to see his team improve from its 4-22 finish last season.
“I think we’ve got returning players who played in my system last year, and kids who have put in a lot of time over the summer,” Kosloski said.
The TCAC is the largest conference in the state, with 22 members, mostly pulled from charter schools and academies. Boys basketball is the one sport in which all 22 members field a team. In the Huskies’ division, teams like AFSA and Liberty look to be good matchups.
The AFSA game will be played in the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, the home of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx.
“We’re really excited about

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Winning “never seems to get old”

Photos by Deno Johnson

Young talent bolsters state-level Nordic squads
A lot of things never seem to get old within the Forest Lake Nordic skiing program. First, head coach Deno Johnson, who has been in charge since 1998. Second, the team, which always seems to find new talented youngsters to fill out its roster. And last but not least, winning: both the boys and the girls teams were among their respective top echelons in the state last year, with the boys taking fourth at the state meet and the girls eighth.broadstreet.zone(48036);
The boys team beat Stillwater for a place at the state meet on a tiebreaker, avenging an identical loss in 2003 that still has Johnson sore.
“It just shows that if you stick around long enough, the tables will turn,” he said.
Junior all-stater Ryan Mead led the boys team last year and is set to do so again.
“He has set some high goals for

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Rangers eye return to state tournament

Skaters enter 2016-17 with experience beyond their years
The girls hockey team has already begun play, earning a 2-2 tie at fifth-ranked Minnetonka and a 6-0 win over the Duluth co-op team at home. In those games, third-year head coach Todd Gutterman said, “we showed our youth. We have a lot of things to work out still.”broadstreet.zone(48036);
There is no dissonance to be discerned between those early results and Gutterman’s analysis – no more than can be found in the fact that the 2016-17 hockey squad is both young and experienced at the same time. Of 31 players listed on the varsity roster, there are four seniors and three juniors. Only three players graduated from last year’s team, which won the Section 7AA tournament and went to the state tournament.
That means there were not many spots to fill with new players, and many of the freshmen and sophomores bring extensive varsity experience.
“It’s

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School Board approves multi-million dollar budget cut for 2017-18

At the Dec.  1 meeting of the Forest Lake Area School Board,  board members voted to direct the administration to make budget reductions in the amount of $2.5 million for the 2017-18 school year.
Over the past several years, when budget reductions were necessary,  school district administration has reviewed enrollment,  staffing, and programs, and made recommendations to the School Board.broadstreet.zone(48036);
Moving forward, the Administrative Council, consisting of all building principals and district leadership administrators, will work through the “2017-18 Program Budget Reduction Process” and present a recommendation regarding specific cuts to the School Board for their April 6 meeting.

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