Category: The Latest From Forest Lake Times

The City of Scandia’s winter recreation skating programs begin in January.
The six-week Learn to Skate program is structured to teach recreational skating to children of different abilities and is taught by a trained coach. The program, for beginners, is directed at children who have little or infrequent skating experience. More advanced skaters would work on a variety of skating skills.broadstreet.zone(48036);
This year, Scandia will continue to offer the six-week pleasure skating program. A volunteer adult will be available to provide supervision and guidance while the participants enjoy practicing their skills.
Pre-registration is required and classes will fill up quickly. Registration forms and detailed information about the programs can be found at www.ci.scandia.mn.us. For more information, call the Scandia city office at 651.433.2274.

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New socks are rarely donated to homeless shelters and other organizations that help those in need, but they are one of the most requested items by those groups. To remedy this situation, Socktober, a nationwide movement where individuals, organizations, and communities hold sock drives for local charities, was born. Socktober was launched by Kid President creator Brad Montague four years ago. It’s a movement to get kids and grown-ups to help the homeless in an easy, fun way.
This year, the Forest Hills Golf Club participated in Socktober. As a membership, they collected 243 pairs of socks during their annual Member Appreciation Forest Fest Event.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“It was great to see so many of our members up at the club and participate in the Socktober sock drive,” Forest Hills President Brad Holzinger said in a press release. “It was a fantastic evening for our membership and we are thrilled that 243 pairs of

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Photos by Cliff BuchanThurnbeck Farm was founded more than 120 years ago. The farm, now ceasing its turkey operation, has been an economic staple of Columbus for decades, and the Thurnbecks who farmed it have been community pillars in both Columbus and Forest Lake for generations.
Darrell Thurnbeck knows full well the ups and downs of farming. It’s part of his family history.
Thurnbeck, 72, and his sister, Diane Rueb, 76, grew up on the Columbus farm 4 miles west of Forest Lake hearing stories of the Armistice Day blizzard of Nov. 11, 1940, when the family’s turkey flock was nearly wiped out by the sudden and fierce storm that struck with little notice. The family, desperate to save some of the flock, sheltered 200 birds in the farm home.broadstreet.zone(48036);
In 1991, the Halloween blizzard hit Darrell Thurnbeck’s turkeys with a cruel blow. As the late fall snowstorm pounded the area with more

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Third grade students from Linwood Elementary School are getting to know what life would be like if they lived in Finland. They are participating in a year-long cultural exchange with a third grade class at Aittakorpi Elementary School in Kotka, Finland.
During the school year, both third grade classes will learn about students in Finland through exchanging boxes of items, including art projects, representing their country and state. They will also send emails and possibly video chat.
Sue Mullen, one of the third grade teachers at Linwood, said her classes are already collecting items to send.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“One student immediately checked out books on Finland and began practicing some Finnish words,” she said in a press release. “They are very excited!”
To kick off the exchange, Finnish school principal Pekka Posti and three of his teachers, Ville Vahvanen, Anni Rantanen, and Maija Kuitunen, visited Linwood Elementary on Oct. 26 to see the school and classrooms.

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Photo by Ryan Howard Brian Patterson hard at work in Diamond Find, his longtime jewelry business at The Plaza in Forest Lake.
In the early morning hours of Oct. 16, burglars forced their way into The Plaza building next to Lakeside Memorial Park. Scaling the stairs, they broke the lock on the door to longtime jeweler Diamond Find, pried open the display case, and grabbed as many pieces of jewelry as they could quickly get their hands on before dashing out of the building once again. In all, they grabbed about 300 to 400 pieces, costing the business, after insurance, about $54,000.
“They were in and out in less than a minute,” Diamond Find owner Brian Patterson said.broadstreet.zone(48036);
Now, the jeweler has launched a GoFundMe campaign in an attempt to stay open, as the burglary came around the same time as he learned that The Plaza owner Gaughan planned to use his current

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Ben Utecht has written a book about his life as a college and professional football player who suffered five major concussions. He has surprising advice for parents of youth football players.
Utecht, whose concussions slowly are eroding his memory, believes boys should not play tackle football until they are in ninth grade.
His book, “Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away,” details his love of football, despite the injuries it caused, and his deep love of family and his amazing effort to preserve his most precious asset: his brain.broadstreet.zone(48036);
In talks throughout the country, Utecht advises parents: “Speaking as a parent, I would like to consider a later entrance age for children into contact sports like football … and in return follow the National Football League’s example of creating a national first-through-eighth-grade, highly competitive, noncontact football league.”
He goes on to stress that such a noncontact football league could prevent seven years of

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Photo by Jason DeMoe
Chocolate chip was the flavor of the day as students were presented with cookies and a message about drugs and alcohol use from members of the Most FL healthy choices coalition.

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Andrew and Angela Morrow of Lindstrom announce the birth of their daughter, Kassidy Olivia Morrow, on October 6, 2016 at Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming. She weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces and was 21 inches long.
Kassidy is welcomed by siblings Brittany, Dominic, Elliott, Isabella, Colton, Grayson, Spencer and Prescott.

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Mitzi J. LeVesseur, age 49, of Forest Lake, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 2, 2016.
Mitzi was born, September 17, 1967 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Kenneth and Lois (nee Gilbert) LeVesseur. She graduated from Forest Lake High School, Class of 1985 and went on to further her education at St. Catherine’s. She worked as a medical transcriptionist for a short period of time.
She is preceded in death by her mother, Lois, in 2011.
She will be deeply missed by her father, Kenneth; sisters, Jacquie LeVesseur-Lewis, Kimberlee LeVesseur; five nephews; three nieces; other family and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, December 9, 2016 at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake. Visitation one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Interment at Twitchell Cemetery, Lino Lakes. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the American Diabetes Association. Online condolences may

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Loving Husband, Dad, Grandpa, Son, BrotherDavid Kryzer, age 67 of Forest Lake, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on December 1, 2016 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Dave taught 7th grade science for 33 years in the Forest Lake School District. He was an avid gardener, fisherman, hunter and nature lover.
Preceded in death by son, Ryan; father, Joseph; brother, Richard.
Survived by wife, Molly; children, Brendon (Shelly), Maggie (Adonay) Urbina, Carly (Rupa); eight grandchildren; mother, Eileen; brothers, Tom (Lori), Bruce (Lorena); sister-in-law, Moira Scupion; many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Visitation 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, December 6th at Roberts Family Life Celebration Home, 555 SW Centennial Dr., Forest Lake. Mass of Christian Burial 11 a.m. Wednesday, December 7th at Church of St. Peter, 1250 S. Shore Dr., Forest Lake with visitation from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at THE FUNERAL HOME. Private interment at Calvary Cemetery, Forest Lake. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to

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