A slew of emergency vehicles rushed to the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and Northwest Fourth Avenue shortly after 6 p.m. after a three-car crash that left the involved vehicles severely damaged. When The Times was on the scene, it appeared that the vehicle occupants had already been extricated from the vehicles, but according to Forest Lake police, one person was transported to Regions Hospital with serious injuries (but was expected to survive) while two others had less severe injuries and were transported to Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming.broadstreet.zone(48036);
Roughly 15 emergency vehicles were counted at the scene of the crash around 6:30 p.m. Law enforcement had blocked both north and southbound Highway 61, though southbound drivers were being diverted to a side street that quickly brought them back onto 61 south of the crash.
One passenger car involved in the crash ended up in the ditch between the north and
Category: The Latest From Forest Lake Times
Man killed in snow plow accident
A 60-year-old Forest Lake man was killed the day before Thanksgiving after he was run over by a snow plow truck in Roseville.
According to law enforcement, Kirk Almendinger was also plowing snow in a separate truck in a FedEx parking lot on Long Lake Road in Roseville Nov. 23 around 4:20 a.m. He got out of his truck to talk to Ronald Chrast, the man he was plowing the lot with, and when the men finished talking, Chrast reportedly put his truck in reverse and accidentally ran over Almendinger, trapping him under the vehicle. Paramedics used a jack to remove the truck from him.broadstreet.zone(48036);
Almendinger, who was also a dentist in Wisconsin, died later that day at the Hennepin County Medical Center. A memorial service for him will be held at 6 p.m. Dec. 3 at Mattson Funeral Home in Forest Lake.
Injured vet gifted with mortgage-free Forest Lake home
Photo by Jason DeMoeStaff Sgt. Marko Milosevic walked the red carpet with his family in tow as they headed to check out their newly renovated Forest Lake home. Milosevic is a decorated war veteran with 12 tours to his credit.
U.S. Bank and veteran service organization Freedom Alliance presented the keys to a newly renovated, mortgage-free home in Forest Lake to medically retired Army Staff Sgt. Marko Milosevic and his family on the morning of Nov. 21. A large crowd of supporters and local dignitaries were gathered at the home to cheer for the family as the surprise was revealed.
“I am incredibly blown away and humbled to even have been considered for this program,” Milosevic said. “I know many people do not get a break like this, and I am hoping I can use this blessing as a platform to reach other veterans who are also healing mentally and physically.”broadstreet.zone(48036);
Milosevic was
Wyoming taps administrator’s successor
Amy Doeun
Wyoming Reporter
The first meeting of the Wyoming City Council after the election began with an emotional statement from current Mayor Eric Peterson. As Mayor-elect and current Councilwoman Lisa Iverson entered the room on Nov. 15, Peterson was quick to congratulate her. After the Pledge of Allegiance, Peterson addressed the council, employees of the city and a large group of gathered residents.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“I wish you all the best,” he said. “I want the thank the city and staff for six wonderful years. I have enjoyed working with all of you. It is up to you (Iverson) now to come up with the ideas to make the city better.”
City Engineer Mark Ericson presented a feasibility study on a new road project for Goodview Avenue, to be completed in 2017. Twenty percent of the project would be funded through assessments to area residents.
“We rated roads throughout the community,” he said. “(Goodview and 250th)
Student News
Gwendolyn Kinsman, Eino Maki, and John C. Neuenfeldt for Forest Lake earned scholarships from the University of Wisconsin Stout.
Norris Brand
Norris Brand, age 67, of Forest Lake, passed away on Nov. 26, 2016, after a courageous battle with lung cancer. Norris was born April 6, 1949 in Princeton, MN. He worked for General Mills Chemicals, Henkel AG & Co., & HB Fuller as a process engineer. Through his work, he traveled all over the world. A highlight was building an adhesives plant in China from the ground up. Norris enjoyed hunting with family & friends and went on many fishing trips. His greatest love was spending time at the family farm where he grew up.
Preceded in death by parents, Ralph & Lorine; father & mother-in-law, Tom & JoAnn Lane; nephews, Leon Butler V, Danny Butler; niece, Melissa Threlfall. Survived by wife of 46 years, Laurie; children, Tony (Tammy), Jenny (Randy) Mousky; grandchildren, Kailee & Chase; siblings, Barbara (Fred) Plese, Shirley (Walt) Molitor, Rodney Brand; brothers & sisters-in-law, Candy (Jim) Threlfall,
Dr. Kirk Almendinger, D.D.S.
Dr. Kirk Almendinger, D.D.S., age 60, of Forest Lake, died on November 23, 2016 in a vehicle related accident.
Preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Audrey (Erickson) Almendinger.
He is survived by his sons, Kade Garrett, Cole Joseph, Tryn Jordan (Eva), and Reece Taylor Almendinger; their mother, Cheryl Almendinger; brothers, Jeffrey Harold (Joanne) and Kimbal Lee (Carol) Almendinger.
Memorial service 6 p.m., Saturday, December 3, 2016 at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake. Gathering of family and friends 3 p.m. until time of service. Memorials may be directed to Cheryl Almendinger.
‘I want to make art’
Photos courtesy of John KayKay captured this stunning shot of the Grand Teton Mountain Range in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
John Kay’s fascination with the natural world has been intrinsic as far back as he can remember.
“I’ve been interested in nature my entire life,” he said. “I remember when I was just old enough to walk around our neighborhood, way back when, and birds always caught my eye. That was always my first love, along with the frogs in the pond, getting frog eggs, bringing them up in a bucket and catching bugs and putting them in jars.”broadstreet.zone(48036);
His affection for fauna, flora and landscapes budded even more after he got out of the Army in 1976. That’s when he started capturing what he saw.
“That’s kind of when I bought my first good camera outfit,” he said. “I’ve been a Nikon fan since then and I dabbled in it — nothing
A major milestone
Linda Madsen
Guest Columnist
It’s been more than a year since this community voted to approve a bond referendum for Forest Lake Area Schools. Since that time, we have been working diligently toward fulfilling our promise of providing better, safer learning spaces for all our students.broadstreet.zone(48036);
We’ve decided to call our facilities project Reshaping Opportunities for Success, and this fall, we reached a significant milestone in this work. For the first time, you can see cranes at the high school hoisting walls into place for a building addition that will include new science labs, agriculture classrooms and a greenhouse, additions to the field house and state-of-the-art learning spaces for our ninth- through 12th-grade students.
Construction on these additions will continue throughout the school year, with work continuing through the 2017-18 school year and final completion in the fall of 2018.
The work at the high school is just one piece of the project. Reshaping Opportunities
Wyoming library to host World War II interactive experience
Locals are invited to learn about WWII through the eyes of a war correspondent. Arn Kind will portray an Ernie Pyle-type news reporter who is embedded with an infantry company in war-torn France during the Allied Offensive to liberate Europe. From this unique perspective, participants see the war as current events rather than history.
This World War II Experience will take place at the Wyoming Area Library on Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m.