Category: The Latest From Forest Lake Times

Terry Traver
Scandia Reporter
As the public forum to discuss the Log House Landing ramp drew near, the dispute over the city’s approach to the project continued at the Scandia City Council work session on April 5. Mayor Christine Maefsky and Councilmen Steve Kronmiller and Robert Hegland weren’t in support of funding a rebuild of the Log House Landing ramp area, while Councilmen Chris Ness and Jim Schneider defended the previous council decision to rebuild and remodel the ramp to include being used for boats and trailers.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“I don’t have an issue with leaving the ramp alone,” Ness said. But it will come back again and again until it is closed.”
An open forum to give the public an opportunity to express their support for one of four options for the site is set for April 25.
The options are to leave the ramp as it is with no changes, move ahead with the plan

See Full Post >>

Precious Husband, Father, Grandfather & FriendDavid Bannick, age 63, of Forest Lake, formerly of St. Paul, entered into the presence of the Lord on April 23, 2017.
Preceded in death by his parents, Matthew and Luella.
Survived by his devoted wife, Diane (nee Perron); children, Shelley (Dan) Hanson, Tracey (Chris) Anderson, Dana (Brian) Wanschura, and Chad (Kortney); adoring grandchildren; siblings, Virgil, Maxine McNamara, James (Mary Beth), and Robert (Shirley); nieces, nephews, and countless friends and family.
Longtime employee of BGK Finishing Systems. David was a Bible scholar who had a passion for sharing and teaching the Gospel.
Funeral service 11 a.m. Friday, April 28 at FIRST EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH, 2696 Hazelwood St., Maplewood. Interment Roselawn Cemetery. Visitation 4-8 p.m. Thursday at MUELLER-BIES FUNERAL HOME-LINO LAKES, 7050 Lake Dr. (Hwy. 23), and from 10-11 a.m. Friday at the church.
MUELLER-BIES 651-784-3390
www.muellerbies.com

See Full Post >>

Beloved Sister, Aunt, Godmother & FriendMaureen Sullivan, age 80, of Forest Lake, passed away unexpectedly on April 24, 2017.
Preceded in death by parents, Daniel and Louise; twin sister, Marlene Salverda; brothers, Daniel and Timothy; sister, Beverly Stehr; and niece, Joy Salverda.
Survived by siblings, Duane (JoAnn), Myron (Donna), Gary, Ruth, John, Patrick (Cheryl); brother-in-law, Bill Salverda; and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral service 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 2 at MUELLER-BIES FUNERAL HOME-ROSEVILLE, 2130 N. Dale St. at County Rd. B. Interment Elmhurst Cemetery. Visitation from 4-8 p.m. Monday and 10-11 a.m. Tuesday. Memorials preferred to Como Friends.
MUELLER-BIES FUNERAL HOME
651-487-2550 www.muellerbies.com

See Full Post >>

Six days after a well-attended open house on the Washington County Sheriff’s Office proposal for contract law enforcement in Forest Lake, the City Council voted April 24 to hold a work session and special meeting May 1 to further explore the topic with the hope of making a final decision on the issue. The vote was 3-2 in favor of the setting the meeting, with Councilwoman Mara Bain and Councilman Husnik voting against out of concern that not enough questions about the proposal and contract would be able to be answered before that date.
The Forest Lake City Center was packed during the April 18 open house as community members read information about the proposal and shared their thoughts with council members (read more about the details presented during the open house in the April 20 story “Open house digs into police proposal details” or online at tinyurl.com/krhr5n8). Though residents who

See Full Post >>

Each of the last two years, the Forest Lake girls golf team has won both the Suburban East Conference and Section 7AAA championships. At the Class AAA state championships, the Rangers finished sixth as a team in 2015 and moved up to second in 2016, with only Edina ahead of them.
Photo courtesy of TLC Digital ImagesThe Rangers lost three of their state players from last year, but return a strong group that will be favored to make a third trip to the championship.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“My top three are returning,” head coach Andrea Brischke said. “We’re extremely excited about the year.”
From the state team, seniors Maddy Messin and Hannah Kohls are back, as is junior Maija Tanberg, the reigning SEC champion.
The 2016 junior varsity team dominated its opposition, providing Brischke with plenty of options for filling the varsity openings.
Early favorites to contend for varsity places include senior Emily Edstrom, senior Anna Schmidke, sophomore

See Full Post >>

Photo courtesy of TLC Digital Images
The Forest Lake boys golf team is always one of the Suburban East Conference’s best: In the previous 12 years of head coach John Buck’s tenure, the Rangers have never finished lower than fourth in the league and have won the championship five times.
“We’re always able to be in the running for the conference and sectional titles,” Buck said. “Our conference is always tough.”broadstreet.zone(48036);
2016 was something of a down year for the team, placing fourth in the SEC and third in the section. For the first time since Buck took charge of the team, no Ranger advanced to the state tournament.
As they look to reverse their fortunes in 2017, the Rangers will rely on three seniors for leadership. Derek Odland and Jared Hunt played on the sectional roster last year. Nick Mogren was the best player on the JV team a year ago and will

See Full Post >>

Photo by Brad Asplund
In their last go-around as members of the Eastern Minnesota Athletic Conference last year, the North Lakes Academy softball team won the conference title.
This year, the Huskies will not only move to a new league – the Twin Cities Athletic Conference – but also to a new home, the Columbus City Fields.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“We’re very excited to have a new partnership with one of our supporting communities,” head coach Christopher Stewart said.
Many of the Huskies’ old EMAC rivals also made the move to the TCAC, so the schedule will feel familiar.
The new home field, however, will bring a few exciting opportunities. The Huskies will not only serve as hosts for the first-ever TCAC tournament in mid-May, but they will also host their own all-day tournament this Saturday, April 22, another program first.
The tournament, which begins at 10 a.m., will see the Huskies matched against St. Paul Humboldt, Chesterton

See Full Post >>

Photo by Brad Asplund
The North Lakes Academy baseball team only won one game in 2016. The Huskies will look to increase that number as they contend with their first season in the Twin Cities Athletic Conference – though, unlike with some other sports, that move will give the Huskies a schedule that will be largely unchanged from years past, featuring familiar opponents like Liberty Classical, Nova Classical, and PACT Charter.
“We’re looking to improve this year,” first-year head coach Forrest Florczak said. “We have a couple of guys returning who are looking pretty solid, and some young guys coming up who are looking sharper and sharper every day.”broadstreet.zone(48036);
Senior pitcher and infielder Jeremy Knutson, who has committed to play college ball for Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, will be the key player on this year’s team.
“He’s been hitting it hard in the offseason, putting more velocity on his fastball,” Florczak

See Full Post >>

Photo by Brad Asplund
When head coach Chelsie Thielen started the North Lakes track program five years ago, there were only six athletes on the team. The school had a dearth of equipment and had to practice when and where it could.
“I forgot to bring the shots to the first meet, if that’s any indication,” Thielen said.broadstreet.zone(48036);
This year, the roster lists 22 athletes.
There is still no track on the North Lakes campus. The Huskies practice off-campus on a cinder track – a surface that was considered obsolete for high-level use by the late 1960s. The program pays to utilize the track at Chisago Lakes a few days out of the season.
“We have high aspirations of getting high jump and long jump pits,” assistant coach Tom Lutes said. “There’s a lot of things we’d like to have if we allow ourselves to dream a little bit. In the meantime, we’ve become very

See Full Post >>

File photo
Forest Lake synchronized swimming coach Laura Davison has been involved with the team for 20 of its 24 years. Davison was a swimmer on the team when it was inaugurated in 1994, and apart from a four-year layoff for college, she has been an athlete or coach ever since.
In that time, the Rangers have developed into one of the state’s best programs and become a fixture at the state meet: A year ago, the Rangers placed third overall.broadstreet.zone(48036);
“We’ve been consistently in the top three in the state behind Wayzata and Stillwater,” Davison said.
The Rangers have already contested three figure meets, where swimmers perform individual maneuvers for judges and score points toward a team total. The Rangers defeated Columbia Heights and Osseo-Maple Grove, and took a one-point loss to Stillwater.
“We lost, but if you look at the top 20 places, we took 12,” Davison said.
With the figure portion of the

See Full Post >>