Category: The Latest From Forest Lake Times

Submittted photo
Judy Rydeen, President of the Scandia-Marine Lions Club presented a check for $1,000 to P.J. Forsythe of the Cottage Grove Lions for an inclusive playground. Woodbridge Park will be a destination for everyone to provide captivation, inclusion, and innovation. For more information on the park, go to goo.gl/cr8v4i. Pictured are Lion Tom Triplett, Lion Judy Rydeen, and P. J. Forsythe of the Cottage Grove Lions.

See Full Post >>

In an effort to promote a more peaceful and equitable world, Scandia Elementary students in Laura Frericks’s third grade class participated in activities surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 17. Students watched a video about Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and why he wanted to see change in the world, while also diving into how to make that change in a peaceful and nonviolent manner. Frericks’s class then participated in writing their own “I have a dream” statements for three separate areas: country, community and world.

See Full Post >>

Katherine Upchurch, age 78, of Wyoming, died peacefully on February 20, 2017, surrounded by family. Preceded in death by her parents, John and Clara Premo; son, John Goodale; brother, Donald Premo; and sister, Lois Sparks. She is survived by her sons, Marty (Michele) Goodale, Jeffrey (Audrey) Goodale; grandchildren, John Richard, Crystal, Danielle, Erin, Jamen, Heather, Matthew; siblings, John Premo, Mary Roberts, Michael Premo, Susan Masters, and Debbie McEathron.
Private family services will be held. Online condolences may be made at www.mattsonfuneralhome.com. Cards and memorials may be directed to Mattson Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 343 N. Shore Drive, Forest Lake, MN 55025.

See Full Post >>

Vernet “Jackie” Schroeder, age 89, of Forest Lake and Alexandria, passed away on February 20, 2017.
A private service for immediate family will be held. Inurnment Faith Lutheran Columbarium.

See Full Post >>

A local grandmother’s ambitious endeavor to facilitate her granddaughter’s love of nature has since turned into a Caldecott-nominated children’s book titled “The Little Woods Runner.”
Colleen Barksdale, whose first literary endeavor was an autobiography titled “Nakedness: Covered in Blood,” is a retired Minneapolis teacher and current Forest Lake resident. She and her husband often host their four grandchildren at their country home. One of those children in particular, Dajahnae, loved nothing more than to stomp through the woods during her many visits to the Barksdale home.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“At first, we were a little shocked because Dajahnae was a city girl with very little nature experience, but every time her grandpa asked what she wanted to do, she begged to run in the woods,” Barksdale said.
Eventually, spring time came around and Barksdale knew that the woods would be too overgrown and full of ticks come summer and Dajahnae’s running through the woods would have

See Full Post >>

Submitted photo
Wyoming Police Sgt. Lance Beardsley (pictured with Wyoming Director of Public Safety Paul Hoppe, left, and Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer, right) was honored Feb. 9 at a state patrol ceremony in Vadnais Heights with a life-saving award for a June 22, 2016, incident in which he saved a suicidal man from jumping off the Viking Boulevard bridge into oncoming traffic on Interstate Highway 35. According to police, the man was preparing to jump as Beardsley spoke to him and tried to coax him away from the edge of the bridge. When the man made an attempt to leap off the bridge, Beardsley lunged toward him, grabbed him and prevented him from jumping.

See Full Post >>

Running Aces Casino & Racetrack has selected Leah Bedford and her father Ronald Dosedel as the winning artists for the new commissioned artwork to go in the High Limit Room. The piece involves an arrangement of painted wood pieces. In order to complete the Minnesota Made theme Running Aces is embracing, Leah and Ronald invite the community to get involved by donating a piece of wood that can be added to the artwork.
“We are excited to continue our efforts of staying local and hiring an artist team that embraces the community,” President and CEO of Running Aces Taro Ito said in a press release. “This new piece will be a great addition to our card room and will also tie in the elements of our local partners and the community into the building.”broadstreet.zone(48036);
The public is invited to be involved with the creation of the art piece that will represent the

See Full Post >>

Here is the first clue for the FLake Festival 2017 medallion hunt. The clues will be posted each day at 3 p.m. at The Forest Lake Times’ website and at www.ci.forest-lake.mn.us.
The 2017 City Medallion Hunt is here
Do you wonder which direction you should veer,
As you search for the prize?broadstreet.zone(48036);
We have no snow, so white will not be seen.
Instead you will be looking for green
and hopefully clear blue skies.

See Full Post >>

Submitted photoAlex Biedny and Sara De Sobrino are pictured here at the sectional debate tournament. Biedny placed third and De Sobrino took home second. The placings earned them both a trip to the state competition.
Forest Lake Area High School’s debate team placed well against their competition at the Congressional Debate Championship and section tournament recently held at Eagan High School and East Ridge High school, respectively.
The Congressional Debate Championship took place Dec. 2 and 3, and sophomore Matthew Strupp placed ninth out of 55 participants in the novice division. Senior Sara De Sobrino also took ninth out of 24 participants in the varsity division.
The debate team continued to stay strong at the section tournament, where senior Alex Biedny placed third and De Sobrino took second. Both Biedny and De Sobrino earned the right to compete at the Minnesota State High School League State debate tournament at the University of Minnesota

See Full Post >>

Local resident Dianne Finnemann is attempting to return an American Legion hat to the family of its owner, as well as uncover a bit of forgotten history about Post 225. Finnemann recently purchased the hat from an antique shop in White Bear Lake. The owner told her he’d purchased the hat at an estate sale (when the sale occurred is unknown) on the northeast corner of Forest Lake (which lake is not certain). The hat was in the garage attic of the home, near memorabilia, including helmets, from World War I and II. The stitching in the front of the hat indicates that it was made no later than the early 1970s, possibly significantly earlier, and the patch connotes 20 years with the local post. Finnemann was unsure of the exact meaning of the police pin affixed to the hat; her queries among longtime Legion members have thus far proven

See Full Post >>