Gov. Mark Dayton has proposed a vigorous funding budget for education for the next two years. It’s a proposal that deserves serious consideration by state lawmakers.broadstreet.zone(48036);
The proposal includes money for additional pre-K scholarships and student support staff, funding of the special education cross subsidy, funding to offset increases in district contributions to the teacher retirement fund, as well as several smaller provisions for targeted projects.
The cornerstone of the proposal is an increase in the general education per-pupil formula of 2 percent for each year of the biennium, a total of $371 million. These are the dollars needed to maintain the current programs in which students are enrolled. In actual dollars, the proposal would add $121 in per-pupil funding in the first year and an additional $124 in the second year of biennium. The per-pupil funding amount would increase from the current $6,067 to $6,312 in fiscal year 2019.
The basic funding
Category: The Latest From Forest Lake Times
Girls hockey to challenge Elk River for section championship
Madi Nolan takes aim with her game-tying shot in the third period.
Although the Forest Lake girls hockey team had beaten Grand Rapids/Greenway 6-0 on Jan. 14, head coach Todd Gutterman said he expected a much stronger challenge when the two teams met in a Section 7AA semifinal match on Feb. 11. He also predicted that one goal would separate the two state-ranked squads.
It turns out, Gutterman knew what he was talking about: The Rangers took an early lead, the Lightning stormed ahead in the second period, and the Rangers tied things up with a stunning third-period goal before winning the game in overtime, 5-4.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“(GRG) is a great hockey club,” Gutterman said. “I’m very proud of our kids; we persevered.”
Freshman Brooke Remington and junior Kayla Kasel scored first-period goals to put the Rangers up 2-0, though GRG’s Ty Bischoff pulled one back late in the period. Ranger goaltender Josie Bothun and
Police discussion continues
Photo by Ryan HowardAn overflow crowd watched the Forest Lake City Council’s Feb. 13 meeting from a city hall hallway as residents and the council discussed the city’s contract law enforcement evaluation process.
The Forest Lake City Council chamber overflowed again Feb. 13 as the body discussed and approved its contract law enforcement evaluation guiding principles.
The principles were passed more or less as discussed at the council’s Feb. 6 work session. They include tenets on public engagement and weighing the possibility of contracting with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement on the basis of service delivery and budget impact comparisons with the Forest Lake Police Department.broadstreet.zone(48036);
The changes that were made included the addition of more aspects of law enforcement to the list of what will be benchmarked and the addition of a council intention to conduct a statistically valid poll of residents regarding the evaluation once the city receives
Linwood praises deal to get van
Amy Doeun
Linwood Reporter
At the Jan. 24, meeting of the Linwood Town Board, Supervisor Ed Kramer said: “Today at 2, the new van rolled in. (Planning Commissioner) Joe Dolphy searched for two weeks and had pretty much given up on finding one in our price range, and he found one in Oklahoma.”broadstreet.zone(48036);
The township had received $30,000 in funds from an Anoka County Community Development Block Grant to pay for a van for transportation to the senior center and related activities.
“They wanted $32,000 for it, but he gave them a sob story about the township, and he got it for $30,000,” Kramer said.
The van is a 2012 Chrysler Town and Country.
“All electrical, the ramp comes out so nice,” Kramer added.
The van has 54,000 miles on it, and Kramer thinks it would be a good idea to undercoat it because it comes from a part of the country where the roads aren’t regularly
Don’t take the system for granted
Greg Galler
Guest Columnist
It’s the day of the big game. Your team is playing its biggest rival for the championship. You’re confident and excited. But before the game starts, the officials announce that they will favor the other team to guarantee that it wins. Could you even imagine such a thing happening? Does that sound fair? How much would that upset you?broadstreet.zone(48036);
You may be surprised to learn that in some parts of the world, judicial systems openly behave in that very way.
Last week, one of the metro papers ran a short article quoting the head of China’s Supreme People’s Court stating that the idea of an independent judiciary is an “erroneous Western ideal.” He further instructed China’s judges to “draw your swords” against words or actions that run counter to the dictates of China’s Communist Party. In our analogy, that is functionally the same as sports officials saying that they will
Southwest Junior High Second Quarter A and B Honor Roll
A Honor Roll
Quarter 2broadstreet.zone(48036);
2016-2017
Grade 7
Amanda Aukes, Nicholas Bartlett, Alyssa Bergum, Aryn Blumenthal, Cole Brisbois, Marcus Bump, Erin Christiansen, Jonathon Cubus, June Darling, Adam Distler, Hugh Drinkwitz, Katie Dubois, Jill DuPaul, Noah Erickson, Andrew Erkenbrack, Jacob Ford, Nico Gallegos, Annika Gunderson, Hunter Haines, Brooklyn Hansen, Holly Hansen, Olivia Headley, Marissa Hefty, Jacob Henry, Ashton Her, Mikyla Jo Herman, Aliyah Hussein, Devin Johnson, Henry Kerkow, Emma Krause, Greta Krieger, Andrew Krueger, Dylan LaCasse, Ruby LaMere, Mary Landherr, Morgan Larrabee, Anna Luedtke, Abigail Lund, Gage Lund, Kameron Mager, Ava Malrick, Carley Martens, Destini Maslowski, Ava McCarver, Colin McGeary, Samuel Moberg, Kathryn Morgan, Sophia Nelson, Katelyn Ness, Ryan Olson, Addison Orth, Brandon Payment, Taylen Peterson, Teren Peterson, Zachary Rau, Natalie Rebelein, Andrew Reif, Thomas Schwartzbauer, Dominik Scott, Angelina Shamota, Ethan Sievers, Annabelle Stang, Hayden Swanson, Gaven Thompson, Zainab Tumli, Allie Vetsch, Ashlyn Vetsch, Sophia Villella, Emma Volkenant, Jenna Warmbold, Ashley Wert, Caige Witzel, Kylie
Mattson caps a career of service
Submitted photoFormer Wyoming City Administrator Craig Mattson oversaw many changes during his decade with the city. He retired at the end of 2016.
Amy Doeun
Wyoming Reporter
Craig Mattson was born in the Swedish Hospital in Minneapolis just after World War II. His brother had been born before the war, and his parents moved to the West Coast to build airplanes, P-38s. Though his father could have stayed out of the military because of the work he was doing, Mattson said his dad felt guilty and joined the Navy in 1942, serving for the remainder of the war. After the war, the family moved back home to the farm in Minnesota.broadstreet.zone(48036);
Mattson is a wellspring of knowledge about local history.
“My grandfather owned land that went from the Mississippi River to Earle Brown farm,” he said. “Back in the ‘30s and ‘40s, Earle Brown started the highway patrol. When he died, his land went to
Wyoming’s Fusion Designed wins green award
Submitted photosSheree Vincent’s design of a living area in a local lake home earned her a top honor in the Sustainable Furnishing Council’s #GetYourGreenOn competition.
Sheree Vincent, owner of Wyoming interior design business Fusion Designed, was one of five winners of the Sustainable Furnishing Council’s #GetYourGreenOn competition in January. The competition sought to find designers who could create tasteful designs with energy efficient and environmentally friendly components.
Vincent won the Shared Spaces $30,000 and Above Category Award with a design for a local lake home. The design included SFC products, energy-efficient windows and appliances, low-VOC paints and other environmentally conscious features. broadstreet.zone(48036);
“Going green is important to me for the same reasons it should be important to everyone,” Vincent said, noting that the clients that owned the home that garnered her the competition win were equally enthused about being earth-conscious. “The green movement in design shows that we are making an effort to ensure
Watershed to host open house
The Watershed District will be holding an open house Feb. 21. This year, members of the district want to ramp up community engagement and make sure that residents know that questions can be answered and help in protecting their water resources is available.
From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. will be a reception with snacks. A brief (15-20 minutes) overview of district activities will be presented. district managers and staff will be available for informal questions and answers with residents. Fact sheets and updates available for current projects and district lakes will also be available. From 6:30 to 6:45 p.m., there will be a volunteer appreciation for the Citizen Assisted Monitoring Program and Citizen Advisory Committee members to be recognized.broadstreet.zone(48036);
From 6:45 to 7 p.m. (or later depending on interest level) will be an overview of the watershed management plan amendment process. There will also be time for a question and answer session
Cora I. Boehm
Cora Boehm, age 95, born in Portland, Oregon, passed away on Sunday, February 12, 2017.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Josephine and Josiah Batson; stepfather, Jacob Goebel; former husband, Maurice; son, Robert; sister, Margaret DuCharme.
She is survived children, Gregory, Patricia Tietz, Linda (Harry) Haluptzok, Kathleen (Steven) LeVesseur, Mary (Mark) Pogreba, Berta; eight grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; one great-great grandson.
Cora was a former Forest Lake businesswoman, co-owner of Der Lach Haus Supper Club, artist, traveler, and decorator.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, February 16th at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake, MN 55025. Visitation will be 9-11 a.m. at Mattson Funeral Home.
Cards and memorials may be directed to Mattson Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 343 N. Shore Drive, Forest Lake, MN 55025. Online condolences may be made at www.mattsonfuneralhome.com.