Category: The Latest From Forest Lake Times

After an active campaign season for Forest Lake’s open mayoral and City Council seats, Forest Lake voters made their final decision on Tuesday. In a race defined by two distinct teams of candidates dominating the discussion, the results came back with residents split, awarding current Councilman Ben Winnick the mayor’s seat over Mark Finnemann and selecting challengers Mara Bain and Sam Husnik for the council person seats over Bruce Anderson and incumbent Councilman Richard Weber.
In results reported on election night, Winnick took home 4,605 votes (47.4 percent) to Finnemann’s 4,463 (45.94 percent). In the council races, the top four vote getters were Bain with 3,803 votes (24.14 percent), Husnik with 3,433 (21.79 percent), Weber with 2,745 (17.42 percent) and Anderson with 2,415 (15.33 percent).broadstreet.zone(48036);
When the candidates registered in August, many in the community were quick to draw battle lines on issues like approval of the current council’s budget operations and

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Incumbent Republican Congressman Tom Emmer held on to his 6th District congressional seat, handily outperforming DFL challenger David Snyder.
Emmer garnered 65.6 percent of the vote (235,531 votes) after all precincts reported in.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“I am humbled and honored to have earned the vote of confidence by the great people of Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District,” Emmer said in a press release. “I am grateful for this opportunity and will not take it for granted.”
Emmer, a former lawyer, was first elected to the seat in 2014, after serving three terms (2004-2010) in the Minnesota House. Emmer sought the state’s executive office under the Republican banner in 2010, but failed to defeat current DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. After losing the gubernatorial race, Emmer was a conservative talk radio host. He sought the 6th District seat after Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann did not seek re-election.
Snyder, a U.S. Army veteran and union iron worker, claimed 34.2 percent

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Photo by Ryan HowardThe old Crown Auto building on 12th Street Southwest may be the site of a Tim Horton’s restaurant next year.
The old Crown Auto building at 107 12th St. SW in Forest Lake will soon undergo a remodel, with a Tim Horton’s restaurant planned as one of the three building occupants.
If the Canadian restaurant chain, known for its coffee and bakery items, does end up coming to Forest Lake, it would be only the second such location in the Twin Cities metro area, after the recent announcement that another Tim Horton’s would soon open in Minneapolis’ Dinkytown neighborhood.broadstreet.zone(48036);
Dick Kvanbeck, a representative of building owner Glenborough LLC, said that he was “not prepared to announce anything officially” about any occupants of the building until agreements are finalized. However, Tim Horton’s was discussed as the proposed occupant of one section of the building during the Oct. 12 meeting of the

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Submitted photoSteve Carr was fortunate enough to run a marathon with his daughters Megan and Britta.
A deep dive into the world of competitive distance running was never something that Steve Carr planned on, but now that he is up to his neck in the sport, he would have it no other way.
“In high school, running was something I just did,” Carr said. “It was something I enjoyed and was good at, and so I kept it up.”broadstreet.zone(48036);
Carr’s running continued into college where he competed for Golden Valley Lutheran and then one summer, without really planning it, he found himself running 100 miles a week for 13 weeks.
“After that summer, I pretty much knew that this running thing was more than just a hobby, but rather a real passion,” Carr said. “Running is my church. It is where I go to be by myself and do a lot of my deep

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Fifteen years ago, Dr. Richard Ottomeyer was in the process of expanding his medical practice to include physical therapy and wanted to get the word out. That is when he heard about Business Networking International.
BNI is a referral group that has chapters throughout the U.S. and the world. Ottomeyer decided that Forest Lake needed a chapter of its own.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“Initially we began meeting with just five other business owners from the area and held regular meetings at Famous Dave’s at 7:30 in the morning. Eventually we outgrew the Famous Dave’s space as they weren’t really set up for a breakfast crowd,” Ottomeyer said. “We then spent three years at Forest Hills Golf Course and then we moved to what used to be The Laker. We bounced around a few other places after that before landing at City Hall in a meeting room. That space is really the best fit we’ve had

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Running Aces Casino & Racetrack is hosting a custom artwork contest to select a talented local artist or artist group to create an original wall installed art piece to be a permanent fixture in its High Limit VIP Area.
Running Aces is seeking professional artists age 18 and older who can bring the property’s rich history alive through a three-dimensional original piece of artwork that represents Trout Air, harness racing and/or casino gaming and entertainment. Running Aces will award the top two finalists for the design proposals with $500, and the Grand Prize winner will receive $7,777.
To enter, artists must provide the following information in a single word document and submit digitally:broadstreet.zone(48036);
• Contact information (name, email, phone, address, URL link or media link)
• A one-page letter of interest, including a description of working methodology and project proposal description of how the artist proposes to address the thematic and formal issues relevant

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Thanks to the Moscow Ballet’s innovative Dance With Us program, which casts student dancers as extras in a major performance, Forest Lake area dancers will be dancing alongside talents in a Russian rendition of “The Nutcracker” this holiday season. Dancers will take the stage at 7 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Orpheum Theater located at 910 Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis. The traveling Moscow Ballet company, now in its 24th season, includes award-winning principal dancers and, in total, a corps of about 40 dancers.

Moscow Ballet audition directors, who are also dancers in the company, travel the United States each fall before the Nutcracker tour to personally audition and rehearse aspiring student dancers. The Dance With Us program provides dancers age 7 to 17 the experience of participating in real auditions, with an opportunity to be cast, rehearse, be costumed with the company, and take the stage alongside professional dancers for a

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Hazel M. Gardner, age 96 of Forest Lake, Minnesota, died Sunday, November 6, 2016.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Minnie (Smith) Richardson; husband, Glenn Gardner; siblings, Irene Westlund, Gladys Bouley, Mylo Richardson.
She is survived by her children, Jerry Gardner, Dean (Evelyn) Gardner, Nancy (Jerry) Aljets; eight grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; other family and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, November 11, 2016 at Linwood Covenant Church, 6565 Viking Blvd NE, Wyoming. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment at Linwood Cemetery. 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.

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This page will contain updated election results for area races affecting Forest Lake, Scandia, Wyoming, Columbus, and Linwood. Results will be updated as they come in.
Forest Lake Mayor (1 of 5 precincts reporting)broadstreet.zone(48036);
Mark Finnemann: 710
Brian Hile: 97
Ben Winnick: 805
Forest Lake City Council (elect two) (1 of 5 precincts reporting)
Bruce Anderson: 485broadstreet.zone(50962);
John R. Bodine: 200
Mara Bain: 552
Thomas Glenn: 116
Melanie Castellano-Swanson: 196
Sam Husnik: 544
Richard Weber: 524
 
Forest Lake Area School Board (elect four) (3 of 21 precincts reporting)
Colleen Barksdale (withdrew after deadline): 1168
Jeremiah Boe: 1081
Julie Ann Corcoran: 1850
Julie La Fleur: 1466
Jeff Peterson: 1948
Rob Rapheal: 1629
Gail Theisen: 1954
Scandia Mayor
Randall Simonson:
Christine Maefsky:
Scandia City Council (elect two)
Lisa Crum:
Jan Hogle:
Steve Kronmiller:
Chris Ness:
Robert Pilz:
Susan Rodsjo:
Wyoming Mayor
Lisa Iverson:
Eric Peterson:
Stuart Stevermer:
Wyoming City Council (elect two)
Alex Bulmer:
Roger Elmore:
Bradlee Karan:
Tammy Liljedahl:
Linda Nanko-Yeager:
Gregory L. Nelson:
Angie Plante Schilling:
Joe Zerwas:
Linwood Supervisor B
Philip Osterhus: 457
Tim Peterson: 446
Linwood Supervisor C
Michael Parker: 403
Carol J. Searing: 487
Linwood Supervisor E
Edward Kramer (unopposed): 777
Linwood Township Clerk
Julie Dahnke (unopposed): 767
Linwood referendum on making township clerk hired position (1 of 2 precincts

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Graphic courtesy of the city of Forest LakeSubmitted graphicForest Lake’s current map of its five election precincts.
On Nov. 8, voters across America and Minnesota will make their final decision on a presidential candidate and a host of other federal, state and local positions. In Forest Lake and the surrounding area, residents have a variety of candidates to choose from; Times readers can check out past stories and read up on all the local candidates by visiting forestlaketimes.com/tag/2016-election.
All voters in Columbus, Scandia and Wyoming vote in one location in each of their cities: the Public Works maintenance building in Columbus (16345 Kettle River Blvd.), the Scandia Community Center in Scandia (14727 209th St. N.) and Maranatha Church in Wyoming (24799 Forest Blvd.). In Forest Lake and Linwood, the municipalities are broken up into multiple precincts.broadstreet.zone(48036);
In Forest Lake, there are five precincts. In Precinct 1 (west of Lake Street and north of

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