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‘GATEWAY SPECIES’: Get to know your local squirrels.

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What to expect at your local precinct caucus

2022 LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW This is the opening week of the 93rd session of the Minnesota Legislature. Members take oaths of o° ce, elect leaders and o° cers.

Learn about local lawmakers’ priorities in Press Publications’ Legislative Preview inside.

NOW IN SESSION, pages 10-11

BY CORINNE STREMMEL STAFF WRITER

LOCAL LAWMAKERS SHARE TOP PRIORITIES

Sen. Roger Chamberlain

Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn

Rep. Kelly Moller

Rep. Donald Raleigh

Rep. Peter Fischer

Sen.Jason Isaacson

Rep. Ami Wazlawik

Sen. Chuck Wiger

Renee Dietz has voted in every election since she was 18, but one aspect of the political process that remained a mystery was the caucus.

“It wasn’t until about 10 years ago that I attended my first caucus. I wanted to see how the process worked because I was getting frustrated with some of the decisions happening at the state Capitol, especially in education, so I wanted to find out how these decisions were being made,” Dietz said.

Dietz, who is now a member of the Senate 38 District committee and part of the outreach committee, wants her community to know that attending a caucus isn’t as scary as it seems.

“I always thought it was these very involved party officials, or that you needed a special invite to go, but really it’s just my neighbors, who are like-minded to me, talking about issues that are important to them,” Dietz said.

The chair of Senate District 38 BPOU (Basic Political Operating Units), Andrew Cravero, described the precinct caucus as the absolute beginning of the political process.

Though caucuses vary for each party, each caucus follows similar guidelines. Members of each precinct are invited to the caucus of their political party at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 to share their political concerns and opinions with other members of their precincts. Caucuses must happen on the same night at the same time, but will occur at different locations around the state.

SEE PRECINC T CAUCUS, PAGE 7

Legislators tell district to ‘be patient,’ ‘maybe next year’ Perhaps this year won’t be the year, but there is always next year.

On a yearly basis, Centennial staff and school board members meet with area legislators over breakfast to share their needs; in turn, senators and representatives share how the district can help them in reaching some of their goals.

Sen. Roger Chamberlain (R-Lino Lakes), Rep. Donald Raleigh (R-Circle Pines) and Rep. Nolan West (R-Blaine)

District needs

The district has five core asks of the legislators, many of which it has SEE LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST, PAGE 9

SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS

Centennial Superintendent Je˜ Holmberg welcomes area legislators to the district o° ce for the annual legislative breakfast. The goal of the event is to continue the dialogue and develop a working relationship between the district and the state senators and representatives.

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can all agree that their constituents, and district officials, may need to have patience this year, but they have high hopes for what is to become the following year.

“How can we continue to partner?

How can we build a strong school district/legislative relationships as we move forward, so at the end of the day our communities are strong?”

Superintendent Jeff Holmberg asked at the recent legislative breakfast.

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The Lino Lakes Police Department reported the following incidents: • Officers responded to a report of a possible impaired driver on I-35 Jan. 11. Officers located the vehicle and the male driver was arrested for DWI. • An officer was dispatched to a hit-and-run property damage accident on I-35W and Lake Drive Jan. 11. No suspects were identified; the accident was documented.

• Officers responded to a report of a fire alarm at a residence in the 300 block of Arrowhead Drive Jan. 11.

Office determined there was no fire and assisted in ventilating the home. No problems were found.

• Officers responded to a road rage incident in the 8000 block of Bluebill Lane Jan. 11. The incident was documented.

• An officer checked with a vehicle owner regarding a possible stolen license plate in the 2100 block of Ash Street Jan. 11. The plate was found to have been stolen at an unknown location and time. The stolen license plate was later recovered by a neighboring agency.

• An officer responded to a suspicious vehicle report at a closed business in the 700 block of Apollo Drive Jan. 11. The officer checked the area but was unable to locate the vehicle. There were no further problems.

• An officer conducted a traffic stop for multiple traffic violations in the 7100 block of I-35E Jan. 12. The adult male driver was arrested for DWI and was later charged with fourth-degree DWI. • Officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the 600 block of Marshan Lane Jan. 12. Officers determined the vehicle was in violation of winter parking and the incident was documented.

• An officer took a report of a two-vehicle property damage crash in the 1500 block of Birch Street Jan. 12.

The incident was documented, and both vehicles were driven from the scene.

• Officers responded to suspicious activity between a UPS employee and another male in a non-UPS vehicle in the 2200 block of Clearwater Creek Court.

The officer determined both individuals were UPS employees and were exchanging packages for MDAN delivery. ads to run ONE TIME, the • Officers responded to assist officers in another jurisdiction on a warrant arrest in the 200 block of Twilite Terrace Jan. 12. The male suspect was taken into custody.

• Officers located an injured deer in the 600 block of Town Center Parkway Jan. 13. A possession permit

was issued to a Lino Lakes resident, who took the deer.

• An officer received a report of a vehicle that was unlocked and tampered with in the 7100 block of Snow Owl Lane Jan. 13. The incident was documented; there is no suspect information.

• An officer took a report of a gas drive-off at a gas station in the 7000 block of 21st Avenue South Jan. 13.

The investigation is ongoing.

• An officer responded to a theft report in the 7000 block of 21st Avenue South Jan. 13. The investigation is ongoing.

• Officers observed an injured deer on the roadside in the 500 block of Main Street Jan. 13. A deer possession tag was issued to a local resident.

• An officer responded to a single-vehicle property damage crash in the 6000 block of Otter Lake Road Jan. 14. The incident was documented. There were no injuries, and the vehicle was privately towed.

• An officer received a driving complaint on Lois Lane and Marilyn Drive Jan. 14. The officer located the vehicle and spoke with the driver regarding the complaint.

• An officer responded to a trespassing report in the 200 block of Plum Lane Jan. 14. The officer issued a citation to the suspect for trespassing.

• An officer responded to a call of a vehicle stuck in the snow, off-road, in a residential area in the 1100 block of Holly Court Jan. 14. The driver of the vehicle was located and the officer talked with them about their driving conduct.

• Officers received information of illegal dumping that occurred at a location in the 300 block of Carl Street Jan. 15.

• Officer responded to a radio call of an intoxicated driver at a local business in the 7500 block of Lake Drive. Jan. 16. The driver was located and ultimately arrested for DWI. The driver was later transported to jail and charged with DWI-related violations.

• Officers and fire personnel responded to a local business on a fire alarm in the 7000 block of Lake Drive Jan. 16. Upon investigation, it was found there week beginning was a problem with the fire 1/23/2022 suppression system in the building.

• An officer located a vehicle in the ditch in the 900 block of Birch Street Jan. 17. The driver was subsequently arrested for DWI.

JANUARY 25, 2022

The Centennial Lakes Police Department reported the following incidents: • Officers were dispatched to the 1900 block of Main Street in Centerville Jan. 12 for an individual passing counterfeit currency. An adult female was subsequently arrested for possessing counterfeit currency.

• An officer conducted a warrant attempt in the 200 block of Twilite Terrace in Circle Pines Jan. 12.

An adult male was subsequently arrested on an outstanding warrant.

• Officers were dispatched to the 7000 block of Centerville Road in Centerville on the report of a disorderly male Jan. 12.

• Officers conducted a warrant attempt in the 20 block of Circle Drive in Circle Pines Jan. 13. An adult male was subsequently arrested and taken to jail.

• Officers were dispatched to suspicious activity in the 10 block of Ridge Road in Circle Pines Jan. 13.

• An officer observed a traffic violation near the intersection of Naples Street and Flowerfield Road in Lexington Jan. 13. Verbal warnings were issued.

• Officers made contact with a suspicious male in the area of Peterson Trail and Main Street in Centerville Jan. 14.

• Officers were dispatched to the 7100 block of 21st Avenue in Centerville Jan. 14 on the report of a counterfeit bill.

• Officers were dispatched to the 1200 block of Mound Trail in Centerville Jan. 14 on a report of a fraudrelated phone call.

• An officer observed a traffic violation near the intersection of Lake Drive and Lexington Avenue in Lexington Jan. 14.

• An officer was dispatched to the 8900 block of Jackson Avenue Jan. 14 on a report of trespassing.

• An officer conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of Lovell Road and Dunlap Avenue in Lexington Jan. 15. A verbal warning was given.

• Officers were dispatched to a phone call regarding a complaint of a snowmobile in the 6800 block of Beaver Pond Way in Centerville Jan. 16.

• Officers were dispatched to a report of fraud in the 1800 block of Quebec Street in Centerville Jan. 18.

Officers determined that no loss occurred and took information for a report.

Metro

Anoka County, community partners to record homelessness numbers

This year’s point-in-time count is k beginning 1/23/2022 scheduled for Jan. 26

Each year, the Heading Home Anoka Housing Collaborative (HHAHC), with support from Anoka County, conducts a point-in-time (PIT) count of people who are experiencing homelessness –– both sheltered and unsheltered.

This information, which is solicited by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is important when it comes to procuring both federal and state funding that is used to reduce homelessness in Anoka County.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic,

Metro the PIT count has been conducted

differently over the last several years.

Last year, the unsheltered portion of the count was not completed.

Recognizing the importance of having that data for this year’s count, HHAHC and its partners decided to modify how this portion of the count is accomplished, while keeping volunteers as safe as possible from COVID-19.

This year’s PIT count is scheduled for Jan. 26. Instead of having volunteers fan out across the county at several locations to

survey individuals experiencing homelessness, HHAHC and Anoka County will leverage existing resources and partnerships to complete surveys that are as accurate as possible, given the circumstances.

Anoka County Human Services staff, area police departments, homeless shelter providers and other participating entities will review their caseloads and identify individuals and families who are homeless at the time of the PIT count.

Experienced outreach teams will survey those individuals who may be living outside. Those participating in

the count have been trained on how to fi ll out surveys, and some individuals have also agreed to be point persons to do surveys with individuals who call in to receive services Jan. 26.

Conducting this survey amid a pandemic is complicated and challenging, but it’s vitally important to accurately assess the number of people experiencing homelessness in the area so Anoka County receives adequate funding to help those who are struggling to find and retain stable, affordable housing.

Contributed by Anoka County

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3

CITY BRIEFS Vaquero Management terminates purchase agreement

Council to consider Lake Amelia Woods final plat

LINO LAKES — The City Council will consider the final plat for Lake Amelia Woods Monday, Feb. 14, after the Planning & Zoning Board recommended approval.

Tom Budzynski, of TJB Homes Inc., proposes to subdivide two existing parcels into four 10-acre rural lots for the purpose of constructing four new single-family homes. The subject site is located east of Amelia Lake and is 40.85 gross acres as measured above the ordinary high-water level (OHWL).

It should be noted that the lots will have limited ability to construct accessory structures, decks and additions due to floodplain, wetland buffers, topography and required OHWL setbacks.

LINO LAKES — Vaquero Ventures Management LLC has terminated its purchase agreement for approximately 2 acres of undeveloped land located south of American Legion Post 566 in Lino Lakes. The property, which is known as Lot 12, Lot 13, Block 2 of Carole’s Estates, is located off of Lake Drive near 77th Street West.

Back in June, the City Council approved an ordinance for the sale of land for $525,000 to the developer. At the time, Vaquero Ventures Management did not have any specific plans for tenants, but Community Development Director Michael Grochala said it would likely be an auto parts retailer and possibly up to two other users.

According to the city’s weekly update, Vaquero Ventures Management elected to not move forward with the agreement at this time. City staff is proceeding with completion of the roadway plans (relocation of 77th Street) and will continue to pursue development opportunities for the site.

Centerville will field proposal from Max Storage Enterprises

CENTERVILLE — The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing for a site plan review and conditional use permit (CUP) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, at City Hall.

Max Storage Enterprises LLC is requesting a site plan review and CUP to construct and operate two 10,400-squarefoot buildings for maxi-storage facilities to be located in the Royal Industrial Park, located at 2010 Fairview Street in

Centerville.

Each building is proposed to have eight bays, each of which will provide approximately 20 feet by 50 feet of storage, or 1,000 square feet. The construction of the buildings would be phased; upon full lease of the fi rst building, the second building would be constructed. The property is currently zoned I-1 (industrial).

The commission will ultimately make a recommendation (for approval or denial) to the City Council following the public hearing.

Max Storage Enterprises LLC would like to construct and operate two 10,400-square-foot buildings for maxi-storage facilities to be located in the Royal Industrial Park, located at 2010 Fairview Street in Centerville.

CONTRIBUTED

Tom Budzynski, of TJB Homes Inc., proposes to subdivide two existing parcels into four 10-acre rural lots for the purpose of constructing four new single-family homes. The subject site is located east of Amelia Lake and is 40.85 gross acres.

CONTRIBUTED

STUDENT NEWS The following local students were named to the Dean’s List or received academic honors at a college or university for the 2021 Fall semester: Central Lakes College: Cody McKinney of Lino Lakes.

College of St. Scholastica: Hailey Beck, Grace Johnson, and Gracie Menke, all of Circle Pines; Kaitlynn Moore and Ella Sullivan, both of Lino Lakes.

Dakota State University: Tyler Roman of Lino Lakes.

Iowa State University: Jamison Murphy of Circle Pines; Laura Branch, Daniel Cassidy, Joseph Cassidy, Leah Gebeke, John Gray, Frank Matti, Kristine Murphy, Nathan Reff, Rachael Walcheck, all of Lino Lakes.

University of Vermont: Adeline Cota of Circle Pines.

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire: Madeline Westerham of Circle Pines; Allison Crowl, Andrea Gessner, Claire Goodreau, Amanda Granquist, Abby Holmes, Ella Kemper, Leah Korkowski, Malorie Miller, Erin Muenzer, Bethany Peterson, Mikayla Poppe, Sarah Spaulding, and Erik Stone, all of Lino Lakes.

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay: Jenna Guyer of Circle Pines.

University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point: Samuel Barrett of Circle Pines; Jadyn Clarner of Lino Lakes.

Northern State University: Dylan Eckart of Circle Pines.

University of Wisconsin-Stout: Olivia Blossom, Aidan Brausen, Rachel Johnson, Malorie Mackie, Liam McGreal, John Mulvihill, Abigail Peterson, Nate Rewald, Jack Roeber, and Justin Sierakowski, all of Circle Pines.

Olivet Nazarene University: Savanna Driskell of Lino Lakes.

Wheaton College: Eric Barnes and Jessica Stenvig, both of Lino Lakes.

Normandale Community College: Emily Danielson and Andrew Kittelsen, both of Circle Pines.

Shenandoah University: Noah Ratgen of Lino Lakes.

University of Iowa: Maisy Dockendorf, Cecilia Shearon, and Jessica Dang, all of Lino Lakes; McKenna Keen of Circle Pines.

completion; Logan Mercado of Circle Pines, Bachelor of Science, marketing; Dominik Routhe of Circle Pines, Bachelor of Science, economics; Amanda Deutsch of Lino Lakes, Bachelor of Science, biology; Amy Dickerman of Lino Lakes, graduate certificate, teaching English as a second language; Maria Graff of Lino Lakes, Bachelor of Science, alcohol and drug studies, cum laude; Melanie Haas of Lino Lakes, Associate in Arts, liberal studies; Rheanna Hendrickson of Lino Lakes, Bachelor of Science, elementary education, magna cum laude; Elizabeth Klein of Lino Lakes, Bachelor of Science, marketing; Jara Quarve of Lino Lakes, Bachelor of Science, RN Baccalaureate completion; Jack Rosenberg of Lino Lakes, Bachelor of Science, earth science, summa cum laude; Chong Thor of Lino Lakes, SPEC, educational leadership; May Thor of Lino Lakes, SPEC, educational leadership.

University of Iowa: Derek Bettendorf of Lino Lakes, Bachelor of Business Administration, finance, Dean’s List.

The following local students graduated from a college or university in the 2021 Fall semester: Minnesota State University-Mankato: Tonicia Maleski of Circle Pines, Bachelor of Science, RN Baccalaureate

University of Minnesota-Crookston: Xuan Quang Huynh of Lino Lakes, Bachelor of Science, information technology management.

CORRECTION a Dream” speech in August 1963, and he was assassinated in spring 1968.

We apologize for the error.

FUNERALS — CREMATION — PREPLANNING

SCHOOL BRIEF Financial aid webinars available for students preparing for college

The Office of Higher Education, the Minnesota Department of Education and the Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) are hosting a webinar series that will discuss financial aid for families and students as they prepare for college.

The five-session series will run Feb. 8 through March 1. Participants who

attend four out of the five scheduled sessions will be eligible to win a $500 scholarship. Webinar topics range from completing the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) to searching for scholarships. For information about Minnesota’s financial aid programs, visit https:// www.ohe.state.mn.us/ or call the state’s financial aid hotline at 651-6420567.

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The contributed article, “Things you may not know about Martin Luther King Jr.” contained an error.

It should have stated that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have

4

I

OPINION

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JANUARY 25, 2022

Public notices are vital

n 1789, the Acts of the First Session of the U.S. Congress required all bills orders, resolutions and congressional votes be published in at least three publicly available newspapers. The purpose of public notice is to display information in places where the public is likely to see it or “take notice.”

Transparency is crucial for our school boards, city and township councils and county boards. In the past 50-plus years our family has owned and operated local papers serving Ramsey, Washington and Anoka counties, our reporters have written tens of thousands of stories people rely on and take notice.

Community newspapers have held public schools and local governments accountable for more than 200 years. This does not mean elected officials are up to no good. The majority are in it for the right reasons.

They work hard to serve our communities and they are transparent with their decision-making, but there still needs to be an element of accountability.

Cities and schools are often the largest employers and operate huge taxpayer Publisher’s budgets. Elected board members and council members have a lot of control.

View There are times they need to answer questions from a journalist about variCarter ous issues. They also need to know their Johnson local paper is watching. Members of the public, most who can’t possibly attend all local government meetings, rely on the newspaper to watch and ask questions. The public can also ask questions, debate issues, and promote dialogue about important local topics through letters to the editor.

Each year people question why the newspaper should have the responsibility of publishing legal notices. It’s the law for local governments and schools to notify the public. Putting information on the internet is not a notification, because the internet is intent driven. If you don’t know the city is going to buy land, widen or open a road, change a law or take your land, then you don’t have a reason to search the internet. We recently reported two members of a local city council would like to eliminate the checks and balances provided by public notices. I suppose the result of no public notices is it would be easier for local officials to pass new ordinances or motions with little objection from the public, because the public wouldn’t know.

In the state of Minnesota, newspapers are required to bid legal notices. The public notice rates are low and a small part of the revenue of our newspaper. Public notices are a very small budget item for local governments, as well. Our readers need to know removing public notices from the newspaper, which some council members are advocating for, would not provide any significant savings but would allow city hall to operate without checks and balances and public transparency. Additionally, cities covered by a legal newspaper typically have better bond ratings – or borrowing costs – better than those without a partner holding them accountable.

Allowing a city to produce its own public notices and put them up on its website, as some are advocating, is like the old adage of “the fox guarding the hen house.”

We all know the internet is not a safe and stable place for legal notices. We’ve all experienced a website 404 error or clicked on a link or agenda only to find a broken link. Or, even worse, when a city official changed the information online without telling anyone.

Additionally, when a public meeting is broadcast live via a cable station or online, those watching may not get the full scope of the meeting. Often conversations happen before and after the meetings, which can violate open meeting laws. All of our staff have witnessed firsthand violations of open meeting laws, and in some cases have called out groups and even taken them to court.

In many meetings, journalists are often the only consistent outside person there. If you eliminate the requirement for public notices you eliminate the checks and balances our Founding Fathers knew is needed. Let’s keep encouraging transparency like our Founding Fathers had designed it, and keep public notices public and published in an audited and legal community newspaper.

Carter Johnson is publisher of Press Publications.

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Seeing increase in unemployment fraud

T

he recent weeks have once again seen an increase in unemployment fraud calls to our office. Individuals are stealing identities to claim monetary unemployment benefits from the state, and victims are finding out once they are notified by receiving a letter from the state of Minnesota, or their employer.

In fact, some Cops estimates suggest that Corner up to 7-10% of James Stuart Americans are affected by unemployment fraud each year.

Some of the ways identity thieves obtain your information are through data breaches (both accidental and intentional), phishing schemes, stealing physical materials from you (wallets, mail, etc.), and by viewing private data over an

unsecure internet connection. Once a thief obtains your private information, they sometimes use it to create an imposter unemployment insurance account in your name with the intention to steal money from the Unemployment Insurance Program.

If you do receive a letter or call about your identity being used to claim unemployment, you should be aware of the following: • You won’t know you are a victim of the scam until you receive a letter from Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) stating that they created an account for you, or they are denying your claim.

• If you are working, report the fraud to your human services department to document the incident.

• Contact DEED and let them know this is fraud – DEED. CustomerService@state. mn.us or call 651-259-7114.

• Make a report with your local law enforcement agency.

• Review your credit report and

possibly freeze your credit.

Your bank may offer free monitoring tools.

• Change passwords on your email, banking and other personal accounts.

While employers and individuals who are victims of unemployment fraud are not required to pay back benefits obtained due to the fraud, being a victim could mean your personal information is at risk of more fraud. Additionally, you may have a more difficult experience obtaining legitimate unemployment benefits if the need arises.

If you are aware or suspicious that someone may be committing unemployment fraud, or that you are victim of unemployment fraud, you can fill out an anonymous form online at www.uimn.org/fraud-report, or call the non-emergency line at 763-427-1212 to make a report with the sheriff’s office. Your safety and well being remain our priority!

Sheriff James Stuart, Anoka County Sheriff’s Office

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Hockey Day Minnesota headed to north metro

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Stop in schools, slow it in society

Health care workers around the country are reporting they are contracting COVID —not from their jobs, but from their kids’ schools.

What angers me about all of this is, we have always known (and often called) schools and day cares the incubators of sickness, as the snotnosed kids wipe on their hands and shirts and wrestle each other or openly cough.

We all talk about how we get sick the first month of school without fail. That there is now a DEADLY disease being spread in this manner with little more than a casual mention in our schools is infuriating. That people are resisting combating this spread over largely political affiliation is just flat-out insanity, especially coming from the self-proclaimed “family values” group.

They are putting money over lives. They know it. We know it. They do their mental gymnastics to obfuscate it, but we see right through it. Stop it in schools, and we slow it in society so we can get back to normal.

We are in the fight of our lives against an adversary that will kill up to a million of us by year’s end while many within our walls thwart the effort to save our lives. A patriot puts country over self. Many have forgotten this.

It’s official: White Bear Township is slated to host Hockey Day Minnesota in 2023.

The decision was announced at Saturday’s conclusion of Hockey Day Minnesota 2022 in Mankato. Mankato was originally slated to host the 2021 HDM with White Bear Township on tap for 2022. Since the event was not held in 2021 due to the pandemic, it was Mankato this year and White Bear in 2023.

It is a prestigious achievement to join the list of hockey-prominent communities that have hosted the event since 2007.

“They don’t just hand this out,” said Corey Roberts, who was part of the group leading the effort to get the town chosen as a host site. “There has to be a lot of interest from the community, and there has to be lots of hockey history and tradition there.”

Hockey Day Minnesota is a joint effort of Fox Sports North and the Minnesota Wild on one end, and the local community and a group representing it on the other end.

The site chosen for the games, Roberts said, are two soccer fields in Polar Lakes Park in White Bear Township.

Roberts owns The Minnesotan, an apparel store downtown White Bear Lake. He played hockey for Forest Lake, and his father, Mick, was a center in White Bear Lake’s region runner-up team in 1958.

He wanted to fi nd a way to “get involved in the community,” and with his hockey background, he decided to throw the town’s hat in the ring for

Kyle Roggenbuck Blaine

COMMUNITY BRIEF Masons now accepting fundraising applications

Forest Lake Masons Lodge No. 344 is now accepting applications from charitable organizations to participate in one of the three community support fundraising events planned for 2022. The Masons have had a long history of fundraising for cancer research, youth programs and families in need locally through pancake breakfasts. Historically, donations have been in between $1,000 to $6,000 per event.

In 2021, the Forest Lake Masons distributed over $10,000 of support in the community. The Masons currently have over 110 members from Forest Lake, Hugo, Lino Lakes, Centerville, Scandia, Wyoming and Columbus. Organizations from Forest Lake and surrounding areas can fill out an application online at http://forestlakemasons.com. All applicants must be received by March 1.

Hockey Day Minnesota. Site exploration started in 2017.

The puck is now in White Bear Lake’s zone, so to speak, after getting the nod.

“Once FSN and the Wild grant a host city, then everything relies on the local community, and the biggest piece to handle is the fi nancial piece,” Roberts said. “They will offer some guidelines, but the community has to raise the money.”

In addition to constructing an outdoor rink with plenty of seating, the hosts must provide elements of the Minnesota Hockey Day experience such food trucks, beer garden, a bonfi re pit and merchant booths.

White Bear Lake played in the 2009 event, losing to Duluth East 6-3 at Xcel Energy Center.

(It was moved inside that year due to poor outdoor ice.) This would be the Bears’ fi rst appearance since then.

According to the Minnesota Wild website, White Bear’s festivities will be part of a daylong television event broadcast on Bally Sports North, designed as a celebration of the game from peewees to pros. Proceeds of the event will benefit White Bear’s Area Hockey Association in an effort to grow the game through youth hockey.

The date of the 2023 event, schedule, and other details will be announced at a later date.

Editor’s note: This article by Bruce Strand was originally published July 22, 2020, and has been updated.

WEEKLY WAG Boomer is described by his foster dad as a “Velcro dog.” He really likes his people. Boomer has no awareness of personal space and is a great cuddler.

This nearly 70-pound lug truly believes that he is a lap dog.

Boomer, a pit bull terrier mix, is almost 2 years old. He arrived at Ruff Start Rescue from a local pound and is friendly with all people. He is also social with other dogs and enjoys playing with his foster siblings.

Boomer knows his basic commands and is eager to learn

PET MEMORIAL

The death of your beloved pet leaves a heartache no one can heal. Their love leaves a memory you immortalize forever by publishing a special tribute as an Obituary or in Memoriam.

Share your cherished thoughts so they live on forever.

$25

5

READ REUSE RECYCLE

1 column x 3” ad. Your obituary will appear in our classified section under “Pet Obituary” Your ad will appear in the White Bear Press, Vadnais Heights Press, Quad Press, Shoreview Press, The Lowdown and The Citizen.

Call our Classified Department 651.407.1220 or email classified@presspubs.com

[Think GREEN]

more. He is a good listener.

Boomer is a gentle giant and his foster calls him the full package: a great loyal companion and a playful love bug. Boomer is looking for love, safety and commitment from a forever family, and he’ll love hard right back. If you are interested in adopting Boomer and would like to learn more about him, please fill out an application at www.ruffstartrescue.org. Once your application is received, Ruff Start Rescue will contact you as soon as possible.

If every person takes one small step toward being more conscientious of the environment, the collective effort will change the planet.

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DĂƐƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƵƐ͊

Church Directory

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Find the church that fits our needs

Join Us for Mass

171 Elm Street • Lino Lakes, MN • 651-784-3015

724956

Mass Times: Saturday at 5:00 pm Sunday at 8:30 am and 10:00 am

“Because we’re in this together.”

Sunday Mornings: OUR SAVIOR S LUTHERAN CHURCH

Service times are subject to change during the coronavirus crisis. Contact your local church or check church web sites for service time and online service information.

Call 763-784-1607 for Together Times

3860 Flowerfield Rd, Circle Pines togetherplacechurch.org | facebook.com/togetherplacechurch

Church is not a place; it is who we are.

Once we realize this, we can be the church anywhere.

Pastor Mollie Dvorak • stmarkcp.org – ELCA

Family Worship Sunday 10:00 AM

719229

Worship with us virtually and in person!

Worship time: Sundays at 9:30am Education/Fellowship Time: Sundays at 10:45 All Are Welcome! stmarkcp.org

TOGETHER PLACE CHURCH …

in person 8:45 & 10:45 am Visit our website to stream online worship services

719230

“Growing Together in God’s Love to Serve Others”

9185 North Lexington Ave. | 763-784-1971 | oursavioronline.org

To make changes or to advertise here, call at 651-407-1200.

696493

St. Mark Lutheran Church

1 North Road, Circle Pines 763-784-2558

712741

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6

QUAD COMMUNITY PRESS

WHAT’S HAPPENING

ONGOING EVENTS HISTORIC COURTHOUSE GUIDED TOURS When: 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday through

Sunday, through Jan. 31

Where: Washington County Historic Courthouse,

Pine and Third Streets, Stillwater Details: Short introductory video followed by a tour of the courtroom, 1900s county jail, and exhibitions.

Hear stories of the building’s construction and the people who worked there. Free; donations accepted.

Contact: 651-275-7075 or co.washington.mn.us/hc

WATER STREET INN’S WINTER RIVER-SIDE ICE SKATING RINK When: 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily through February Where: Water Street Inn, 101 Water St. S. Details: Free skating for all ages in downtown

Stillwater. Bring your own skates. Schedule subject to change Contact: 651-439-6000 or discoverstillwater.com

www.presspubs.com

games. Refreshments served. News members welcome; annual dues $10.

Contact: 651-592-0369 or barbconnelly1958@yahoo. com

CRIBBAGE When: 12:45 p.m. Monday,Feb. 28; the 4th Monday of

JANUARY 25, 2022

Where: Lowell Park, Stillwater Details: Event features a variety of hot air balloons,

fi repits, ice sculptures, music and more. Most activities free. Adult Pond Hockey Tournament Friday-Sunday.

Contact: facebook.com/fi reandicepondhockey

every month

CANDLELIGHT WALK

Works building, 6900 137th Street N. Details: Senior citizens from Hugo and surrounding area are invited to an afternoon of cribbage. Coffee and refreshments served.

Contact: 651-429-4413

Details: Two mile roundtrip walk along the Gateway

Where: Rice Lake Centre, east end of Hugo Public

CURRENT EVENTS LUNCH AND TABLE GAMES When: noon Wednesday, Jan. 26 Where: Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, 3676

When: 5-8 p.m. Friday, Jan 28 Where: Gateway State Trail, park at Wildwood

Elementary School

Trail lit by luminaries. Bonfi res on both ends of the lit trail section; hot chocolate, cider and marshmallows available at Stillwater Road end.

Leashed dogs welcome.

Contact: 651-231-6968 or Linda.Radimecky@state. mn.us

HISTORIC WINTER ICE CREAM SOCIAL When: noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29 Where: Lowell Park, Stillwater Details: Washington County Historical Society

When: 12:45 p.m. Feb. 3 & 17; the 1st and 3rd

Centerville Road, Vadnais Heights Details: Bring a bag lunch and play table games with friends. Coffee provided.

Contact: 651-204-6000 or cityvadnaisheights.com

Where: Rice Lake Centre, east end of Hugo Public

SNOW DAY

holds an old-fashioned ice cream social with free ice cream and root beer floats. Chili and coffee available for nominal fee.

Contact: 651-439-5956 or wchsmn.org

When: 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29 Where: Wargo Nature Center, 7701 Main St., Lino

LUNAR NEW YEAR WITH PETITE CONCERTS

HUGO SENIOR CITIZENS PLAY ‘500’ Thursday of every month

Works building, 6900 137th Street N. Details: Games begin at 12:45 p.m. Refreshments and coffee served. All senior citizens from the area invited.

Contact: 651-592-0369 or barbconnelly1958@yahoo. com

Lakes

Details: Participants of all ages will have a chance

When: 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21; the 3rd Monday of

to enjoy a variety of activities such as snowshoeing, ice fishing, kicksledding, fat tire biking, winter crafts, live animals, and more. Free, but registration required.

Contact: 763-324-3350 or anokacountyparks.com

Where: Rice Lake Centre, east end of Hugo Public

FIRE AND ICE WINTER SOCIAL

HUGO SENIOR CLUB every month

Works building, 6900 137th Street N. Details: Short meeting followed by afternoon of

When: noon-10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28, Saturday, Jan.

29, and Sunday, Jan. 30

When: 10:30-11:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 31 Where: Hardwood Creek Library, 19955 Forest Rd.

N., Forest Lake

Details: Celebrate the Lunar New Year with an

informal; and interactive concert for newborns to preschoolers. Registration required.

Contact: 651-275-7300 or washcolib.org

SHOREVIEW COMMUNITY GARDEN CLUB When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2 Where: Shoreview Community Center, City Council

Chambers, 4700 N. Victoria St.

Details: Master Gardener and Photographer.

PUBLIC NOTICES • PUBLIC NOTICES ANOKA COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT

PUBLIC NOTICE The Anoka County Parks and Recreation Department hereby gives public notice of its intent to aerate four Anoka County lakes to prevent winterkill of game fish. The County intends to use mobile systems which may be used at any time. The aeration systems will cause areas of thin ice and open water that fluctuate greatly. The aeration systems are intended to be used on Centerville Lake, Coon Lake, Martin Lake, and Peltier Lake. If there are any questions concerning these aeration systems, please contact Quinn Palar, Anoka County’s Natural Resources Specialist, at 763-324-3413.

WARNING! STAY CLEAR OF DESIGNATED DANGER AREAS!

business licensing, fees and deposits related building activities, fees for sign permits, development fees including fees in lieu of park dedications, planning and zoning fees, and fees for services including supplying copies and maps, and fees for vacation of streets and easements.

Section 2.

This section authorizes this summary of the ordinance be published in lieu of the entire text of the ordinance.

Section 3.

This section provides that the ordinance is effective on publication of this summary.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the City Council has by at least a 4/5 vote, approved this Public Notice.

APPROVED this 12th day of January, 2022.

Published one time in the Quad Community Press on January 25, 2022.

CITY OF LINO LAKES ANOKA COUNTY, MINNESOTA

Published two times in the Quad Community Press on January 18 and 25, 2022.

CITY OF CENTERVILLE ANOKA COUNTY, MINNESOTA

SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE #122, SECOND SERIES NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, on January 12, 2022, Ordinance #122, Second Series, entitled “AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING A FEE SCHEDULE FOR 2022” was adopted by the City Council of the City of Centerville, Minnesota.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that, because of the lengthy nature of Ordinance #122, Second Series the City Council has directed that a title and summary be prepared for publication pursuant to Minn. Stat. 412.191, Subd 4.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that a complete, printed copy of Ordinance #122, Second Series is available for inspection by any person during regular office hours at the office of the City Clerk, 1880 Main Street, Centerville, MN, or will be mailed to anyone requesting it by telephone (651) 429-3232.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the general purpose of the ordinance is to adopt fees and charges for various purposes.

Section 1.

This section adopts fees and charges including fees related to garbage/ utility account certification, utility rates and charges, animal licensing, burning permits, fees for use of right-of-ways and excavations in streets, fees for

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS WATER TOWER NO. 2 REHABILITATION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that bids for the construction of Water Tower No. 2 Rehabilitation will be received online through QuestCDN vBid™ until Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 11:00 am local time. Immediately following expiration of the time for receiving bids, representatives of the City of Lino Lakes will publicly view bids at an online bid opening meeting. Those interested in viewing the online bid opening are welcome to join the meeting by logging on to https://zoom.us/join or calling 301-715-8592 and entering Meeting ID 982 7751 9357 and Passcode 175842. The as-read online bid results will be available at www.questcdn.com following the bid opening.

The Project includes the furnishing of all labor and materials for the Water Tower No. 2 Rehabilitation. The existing tower is a 1 million gallon hydropillar water tower constructed by Pitt-Des Moines (PDM).

The provisions of MINN. STAT. 16C.285 Responsible Contractor are imposed as a requirement of this contract. All bidders and persons or companies providing a response/submission to the Advertisement for Bids of the City of Lino Lakes shall comply with the provisions of the statute.

Information and Bidding Documents for the Project can be found at www. questcdn.com. Bidding Documents may be downloaded from the website for a nonrefundable fee of $45 by inputting Quest project #8097637 on the website’s Project Search page. The website will be updated periodically with addenda, lists of registered plan holders, reports, and other information relevant to submitting a Bid for the Project. All official notifications, addenda, and other Bidding Documents will be offered only through the website www.questcdn. com. Neither Owner nor Engineer will be responsible for Bidding Documents, including addenda, if any, obtained from other sources.

The City Council reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive any bids received without explanation. No bid may be withdrawn for a period of 60 days. For all further requirements regarding bid submittal, qualifications, procedures, and contract award, refer to the Instructions to Bidders that are included in the Bidding Documents.

DATED: January 10, 2022

BY THE ORDER OF THE CITY COUNCIL s/s Rick DeGardner, Public Services Director, Lino Lakes, MN Published two times in the Quad Community Press on January 18 and 25, 2022.

CITY OF LINO LAKES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Planning & Zoning Board of the City of Lino Lakes, Minnesota will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Lino Lakes City Hall, 600 Town Center Parkway, Lino Lakes, Minnesota, to consider the following: • Rehbein’s Black Dirt º PID #24-31-22-24-0009 º Conditional Use Permit for Earth Moving and Land Reclamation For further information regarding the above items, please contact City Engineer, Diane Hankee, at 651-982-2430.

Anyone wishing to be heard regarding these items will be given the opportunity at the time of the hearing. If you have any questions or need special accommodations, please call 651-982-2400.

Julie Bartell, City Clerk Published one time in the Quad Community Press on January 25, 2022.

Michelle Mero Reidel will speak on “Photography In Your Garden.” Learn how to take amazing Photos of your garden in all types of weather conditions, seasons, and backgrounds etc. Public welcome.

Contact: 651-484-4341 or sandilauer@comcast.net

BEAR’LY OPEN COMMUNITY DANCE When: 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4 Where: White Bear Country Inn, Details: Dance to the music of Wild Cat Combo while

raising money for the food shelf. Hors d’ Oeuvres and cash bar available with specialty drinks, fundraising games and prizes. Tickets $10 each.

Contact: bearlyopen.org

BEAR’LY OPEN XV When: 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5 Where: White Bear Lake at Ramsey County Beach Details: Play golf on frozen White Bear Lake using a tennis ball and anything that can propel it – golf clubs, hockey sticks, tennis rackets, etc. Groups encouraged to dress in costume. Sponsor tents back this year with activities and treats. Tickets $35 each. Fundraiser for the White Bear Lake Food Shelf also includes online auction.

Contact: bearlyopen.org

STORY STROLL When: 10:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, Feb. 5 Where: Lake Elmo Park Reserve, 1515 Keats Ave. N. Details: Take a walk while reading “The Snowy

Day” by Ezra Jack Keats. Hot cocoa and prepackaged s-mores available following stroll. All ages. Snow shoes and sleds welcome. Free.

Contact: co.washington.mn.us/parks

BUILDING WITH BRICKS When: 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5 & 26 Where: Hardwood Creek Library, 19955 Forest Road

N., Forest Lake

Details: Drop-in event for children ages 4-12 to make

creations with the library’s Lego collection.

Contact:

651-275-7300 or washcolib.org/events

MIDWINTER FAMILY FUN When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5 Where: Belwin Conservancy, 1553 Stagecoach Trail

S., Afton

Details: View the stars and moon with Minnesota

Astronomical Society members, meet a raptor, and enjoy arts/ecological activities and a campfi re with s-mores. $10/car.

Contact: 651-436-5189 or belwin.org

JANUARY 25, 2022

QUAD COMMUNITY PRESS www.presspubs.com

7

CENTERVILLE TIDBITS • The townhouse development expected to take over Block 7 in downtown Centerville has now taken a giant step toward reality, after the City Council at its Jan. 12 meeting approved two important actions. Before completing the formalities, however, the developers, Centra North LLC, named the development “Sorel Quarter.”

Council unanimously approved the preliminary plat and associated findings, as well as the preliminary conditional use permit for a planned unit development and associated findings. Sorel Quarter will consist of 26 townhouses in six buildings on 1.61 acres of eight city-owned lots on Centerville Road between Sorel and Heritage Streets. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the actions with minor revisions and under three conditions. Detailed civil, landscape, lighting and other required plans must be submitted, reviewed and approved by the city engineer, city planner, public works and public safety officials. The applicant must also receive approvals from other agencies with jurisdiction over elements of the plat, including the Rice Creek Watershed District, Anoka County and other agencies.

The commission must have final architectural review authority.

“Everything came together without a lot of comment and input,” Council Member Michelle Lakso said. “I’m impressed with the details, and I’ve learned over the years to get those hammered out. (Sorel Quarter) is high quality and a good use of a rather small space.”

• Centerville has long been attentive to fi xing possible misunderstandings in its ordinances, and is amending ordinance 121, second series, dealing with amendments to the land dedication ordinance. The commission also conducted a Dec. 7 public hearing on this item. The proposed language revisions are to add a clarification to the propriety

of land dedication/park dedication fees and payment. This amendment is long overdue, City Attorney Kurt Glaser said, and it will assist and clarify for developers what their obligations are in paying these fees.

• In pursuit of yet more clarity, the city conducted the fi rst reading for ordinance 120, second series, sign ordinance by conducting the fi rst reading of those changes. The commission held a public hearing Dec. 7 on revised language for signs that include “Main Street Commercial” and/or “(B-2)” in four sections throughout the ordinance.

This adjustment will make the sign ordinance applicable to new zoning districts the city has adopted over the past few years, Glaser said in his temporary role during the absence of City Administrator Mark Statz.

• A second reading is designed to give the public notice that an action is coming up, Glaser said, which is why council conducted that extra reading of the 2022 fee schedule and its summary for publication. It is also an opportunity to make any minor changes in the middle of the extra reading. “I’m unaware of any changes during my half hour as city administrator,” Glaser said, “so it is the same version as last meeting.”

Following a Dec. 8 public hearing, council directed city staff to increase the storm water management fee from $9.77 to $10.26, and the modifications were made.

• Besides fulfi lling duties of elected office, council members wear other hats, most notably the mayor, who also wears the city’s official weed inspector hat. Council traded hats and shuffled chairs slightly in assigning extra duties for 2022. As he is already mayor, D. Love can’t also be acting mayor. That job will go to Council Member Russ Koski.

Other notable changes include Love’s departure from the Centennial Fire District Steering Committee. Koski and Council Member Steve King will

take over that role. Koski and Lakso will join the Planning Commission.

Love, Glaser and Lakso will make up the new Personnel Committee.

• Centerville will participate in the national multibillion dollar settlement against the three large opioid distributors and opioid manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson.

The city had until Jan. 26 to formally state its participation to share the funds, which will be used to subsidize Centennial Lakes Police Department operations combatting the effects of drug abuse caused by opioid use.

The funds are expected to become available next year.

• The city will continue to receive prosecution tools and retain court data services by signing on to the court data services subscriber amendment in the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s joint powers agreement. The renewed contract will ensure that the city prosecutor will have continued access to computer systems used to investigate and prosecute offenses.

• City Administrator Mark Statz will remain in that role for at least one more year, after council approved his successful performance evaluation and gave him a raise. The salary for Statz has been increased to $125,000 for 2022.

• Centerville is home to a multitude of high-quality public and private schools from which parents can choose for their children, as well as homeschooling families. Therefore, council proclaimed the week of Jan. 23-29 as School Choice Week.

The proclamation states that the city recognizes the important role an effective education plays in preparing all students in Centerville to be successful adults and that all children in the city should have access to the highest quality education possible. A quality education is also critically important to the economic vitality of the city and vibrancy of the community, the

PRECINCT CAUCUS: ‘Very grassroots practice’ FROM PAGE 1

This year, the Republican caucuses will remain in person, but the Democrats will offer a contactless caucus where members can still attend in person but send in electronic resolution forms if they’d rather participate remotely.

Andrea West, the chair of Senate District 38 for the DFL, explains that caucuses are much more of a casual event than many people expect.

“The caucus is a very grassroots practice. It’s quite literally a meeting with neighbors about what you want to see happen in your community, and you

get an idea of which candidates are there to represent you,” West said.

Attendees can expect to show up to their party’s caucus, sign in, socialize with members of their party, vote on precinct officers like the chair and co-chair and propose resolutions to be considered by the party.

Anyone over the age of 18 is allowed to propose resolutions. Topics that are discussed at the caucus will eventually be brought to the Democratic and Republican conventions in the spring.

“I would tell people to not be intimidated by

the process. We use all these fancy words like precincts and BPOUs, and that can sometimes be confusing,” Cravero said.

For those attending a caucus for the fi rst time, West recommends going with a neighbor or a friend to make the process a little less intimidating.

Similarly, Cravero suggests researching the issues you care about ahead of time and doing some reading on each of the candidates in attendance.

Attendees can choose how much or how little they want to participate in their local caucus and still leave

knowing they’ve done their part in the political process.

“I remember the fi rst time I went to a caucus, I did a lot of observing, but by the time I attended the second caucus, I actually brought forth a resolution, which helped me learn a lot about the political process.

It’s everyday people who just want to get involved. It’s all about getting to be heard and bringing up issues that are important to you,” Dietz said.

Staff Writer Corinne Stremmel can be reached by emailing lowdownnews@presspubs.com or calling 651-407-1226.

CAUCUS LOCATIONS Caucus locations for these parties are the same for all areas:

Legal Marijuana Now Party

Please contact party for caucus location.

Additional information: Party Caucus will be held virtually in 2022.

Grassroots - Legalize Cannabis Party

Falcon Heights City Hall 2077 Larpenteur Avenue West (Philando Castille Memorial Ave.) Falcon Heights, MN 55113

Quad Area Republican Party

Centennial Middle School 399 Elm St. Lino Lakes, MN 55014

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Centennial High School 4757 North Road Circle Pines, MN 55014

proclamation states.

• Centerville’s mayor is current president of the League of Minnesota Cities, and five leaders of that organization paid a visit to City Hall during the meeting to recognize and thank Love for his work as an inspirational president of the League.

“He is a great ambassador for the city and outstanding leader in the League,” said Brad Wiersum, mayor of Minnetonka and past League president. “It’s my honor to serve Centerville and the League,” Love said. “You get out of it what you put into it.”

• Many trees in Eagle Park need to be cleared for the health of the remaining trees and the tidiness of the park. However, council unanimously tabled action on a project that would remove 83 trees from the park until Statz returned for further discussion. At its Jan. 5 meeting, the Parks and Recreation Committee recommended awarding the contract for clearing the trees to Langer’s Tree Service of Hugo for approximately $7,000, using money from the parks maintenance fund.

For another $4,650, the company would also grind out all the stumps left from the 83 trees. “If you’re going to get rid of all the trees, you might as well go all in and get rid of all the stumps,” Junior Council Member Danny Peterson said.

• Keep an eye out for the possibility of upcoming council meetings to revert to remote format, due to current omicron conditions. Council discussed legal issues of returning to remote meetings, such as what would constitute a quorum, what constitutes adequate meeting notice and who could declare the remote meeting status.

As it stands now, the council next meets in person at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, at City Hall, 1880 Main St. Loretta Harding

Centerville Skate Night

SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS

Skaters of all ages enjoy ice skating, hockey, sledding and warming up by the fire during the city of Centerville’s Skate Night event at Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park. Another Skate Night is scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. at the same location Saturday, Feb. 12.

SPORTS AND OUTDOORS

8 QUAD COMMUNITY PRESS

www.presspubs.com

JANUARY 25, 2022

Boys Basketball: Centennial loses to No.1 Park Center and Maple Grove Top-ranked, undefeated Park Center visited Centennial on Tuesday, Jan. 18, and handed the Cougars a 66-31 loss. The Cougars welcomed the challenge.

“We approached it just like any other game. Night in and night out, we have to play well in this conference,” coach Spencer Waldvogel said. “We continue to go into games with a never back down attitude, and we did that. It was exciting to play a team like Park Center and get after it.”

Cody Pennebaker tallied 17 points and Braeden Carrington 13 for the Pirates,

who led 40-23 at the half and held the Cougars to eight points in the second half. Ty Burgoon led Centennial with seven points.

The Cougars (3-9) lost to Maple Grove 68-51 there Friday evening. Senior guard Reese Neudahl sank 28 points, shooting 10-for-21 from the field, including two 3-pointers, while snagging five rebounds.

Taiden Johnson netted nine points.

Maple Grove (6-7) had 11 players score, led by Peter Norby with 13.

Bruce Strand

BRUCE STRAND | CONTRIBUTED

Centennial guard Ty Burgoon looks for an opening, guarded by Park Center’s Cody Pennebaker.

Girls Hockey: Cougars fall to section rival Crimson, beat Chisago Lakes

Girls basketball: In nail-biters, Cougars beat Pirates, lose to MG The Centennial Cougars are 7-9 after splitting a pair of close games last week.

The Cougars edged Park Center 64-63 there Tuesday, Jan. 18, their fourth straight win, then lost to Maple Grove 48-46 at home Friday.

Against Park Center, the Cougars led 30-12 in the first half, then had foul trouble and shot poorly. The Pirates sank five 3-pointers in the second half to push ahead 59-56. The Cougars regained a 61-59 lead on a put-back by Marisa Frost.

Park Center tied it with two free shots.

In the last minute, Haley Mulberry made two of four free shots and Camille Cummings made one of two for the winning margin. The Cougars were just 8-for-20 from the line in the second half.

Frost and Sydney Kubes netted 15 points each and Cummings 12 for the

Cougars. KJ Tharp snagged 10 rebounds.

For Park Center (5-9), Vanessa Saidu sank 16 points and Helen Ben 14.

Maple Grove (11-4) led the Cougars 44-39 with 45 seconds remaining. Kubes sank a 3-pointer with :20 left. The Crimson went up 46-42 on two free shots with :15 left. Cummings hit another three at :05, making it 45-44. Maple Grove sank one of two freebies with 2.2 left, and Frost’s shot from mid-court hit the backboard.

Jordan Ode netted 13 points and Kyla Overskei 10 for the Crimson. Cummings notched 14 points and seven rebounds, and Kubes had 12 points and seven rebounds, for the Cougars.

The Centennial Cougars lost to Maple Grove 2-1 in overtime, in a conference matchup of two top Section 5AA contenders, Tuesday, Jan. 18, then tripped Chisago Lakes 4-2 Saturday, both at home.

After two scoreless periods, Kelsey Olson scored for Maple Grove 6:24 into the third, and Centennial (13-7-1) got an equalizer from Ella O’Hearn with 1:04 left. Tia Rice won it for the Crimson (125) just 31 seconds into overtime. Cougar goalie Kaitlin Groess foiled 29 shots and Crimson goalie Dani Strom stopped 20.

Against Chisago Lakes (10-101), O’Hearn, Megan Goodreau and Olivia Wlaschin gave the Cougars a 3-0 lead. After the Wildcats pulled within 3-2, Noelle Hemr got the clincher, an empty netter with 51 seconds left.

Lauren O’Hara assisted on three goals and goalie Anna Peterson made 20 saves. Danielle Burgen and Brooke Klemz scored for the Wildcats.

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Boys Hockey: Centennial loses to top-ranked Andover 7-4, tie Elks 2-2 the third. Elk goalie Sam Stockman made 40 saves, and Jack Fuller had 27 for the Cougars. Centennial killed seven of eight power plays by the Elks.

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Camille Cummings, a returning all-conference player for the Centennial basketball team, has been the Cougars dominant scorer as a senior.

The 5-foot-8 guard is averaging 19 points and 4.4 rebounds, and has nailed 31 three-pointers.

She was averaging 22 points before the Cougars started getting more balanced scoring. Cummings averaged 11.6 points last year on a 21-2, state semifinalist team. “Camille has had to carry us on her back at times,” coach Jamie Sobolik said. “She is so quick off the dribble and is able to score from anywhere on the court, in a variety of ways. She went through a stretch early on where it seemed like she couldn’t miss.” Cummings had 781 career points entering this week.

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Van Tassel the other. Cade Anderson also scored.

Andover got two goals each from Brooks Cogswell, Cayden Casey and Logan Gravink.

Centennial and Elk River scrapped to a 2-2 tie there Thursday evening. Andrew Foss tallied both goals for the Elks (10-6-1). Van Tassel tied the score 1-1 in the second period and Brock Carlson tied it 2-2 at 7:10 of

CENTENNIAL BASKETBALL

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Week*

The No. 1 ranked Andover Huskies turned back Centennial 7-4 on Saturday on the Huskies rink, dominating the last two periods. Andover is 9-0 in the Northwest Suburban and 15-2-1 overall. Centennial is 11-3-1 and 6-2-1.

Centennial was 3-for-5 on power plays against Andover, with AJ Carls getting two of those and Owen

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LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST: District, legislators share priorities for this session and next FROM PAGE 1

requested for years, including: • Ensure that educational funding basic formula includes inflationary adjustments; • Ensure property tax equalization between school districts to provide funding formulas does not disproportionately impact school districts and the student experience; • Create a funding formula that works toward fully funding special education.

New topics this year include:

• Utilize a portion of state budget surplus to equalize funding to districts that did not receive comparable funding from federal (COVID-19) funding; • Authorize school districts to assess and recover all applicable costs of fulfilling public data requests.

Executive Director of Business Services Patrick Chaffey shared some statistics: • The basic formula has not kept up with inflation.

There is a gap of $1,593 per student, or about $11 million annually.

• Centennial would have received an additional $12 million in funding, if it had received $2,093 per student, closer to the state average. Instead, it received $270/per student, ranking at 316 out of 329 districts.

• Centennial is close to the state average in terms of its current operating levy revenue per pupil, but district taxpayers pay more. A taxpayer that owns a $200,000 home on average paid $432 in property taxes in 2021 compared to $604 paid by a taxpayer that owns a $200,000 home in the Centennial district.

• Last year the district paid a cross-subsidy of about $4 million for special education, which has historically been closer to $5 or $6 million.

Rep. Raleigh inquired about the number of staff openings in the district. Director of Human Resources Dan Melde explained that the district needs 10 to 15 more paraprofessionals, two to four people in food service, and 10-15 in Kids Club (before and after school program).

In addition, the district is facing a shortage when it comes to substitutes. Thankfully, Melde said the district currently has an average 70 to 75% fill rate when it comes to subs, but in a non-pandemic year, the district is used to that number being closer to 90%.

“Some districts are being forced to go to distance learning because of staff … We have been scrambling like everyone else, but we are able to keep our doors open, “ said Centennial School Board Chair Suzy Guthmueller. “Not saying it isn’t without a lot of pain, because our staff has put in a lot of extra hours …

Everyone is working together to do this. Everyone has been putting their heart and soul into it.”

District officials are hopeful legislators can make some refinements to data practices requests so the district is able to recoup some of its costs. Circle Pines City Administrator Patrick Antonen agreed that something needs to be done on that front, as the cities are experiencing the same increase in requests.

Legislators’ thoughts

Sen. Chamberlain, who has served on the K12 committee for most of his time in office, said last year they had a “simple plan” — added money to the formula and limited mandates. This year, he wants to do much of the same, but it will be difficult.

“It is not a budget year. Please do not get your hopes up for money. It is a political year as well as a redistricting year. It’s just a very difficult time,” he said.

A goal needs to be getting students, at all grade levels and of all demographics, back to 90% proficiency when it comes to reading. “After the two years of crap that

PHOTOS BY SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS

Sen. Roger Chamberlain (R-Lino Lakes), Rep. Donald Raleigh (R-Circle Pines) and Rep. Nolan West (R-Blaine) can all agree that their constituents, and district o˜ cials, may need to have patience this year, but they have high hopes for what is to become the following year.

GRAPHS CONTRIBUTED

The amount of federal (COVID-19 funding) Centennial is quite a bit less than surrounding districts.

Superintendent Je° Holmberg shares some district highlights with the legislators. Also pictured is Centennial School Board Chair Suzy Guthmueller.

you all have been through, I don’t know why we would add anything to your plate until it is stabilized and our kids are all reading where they should be,” he said.

Rep. West explained that even though the state currently has over double the largest surplus it has ever had, that doesn’t mean that all of the problems will magically go away — in fact, he said, sometimes it causes more problems.

“This year it’s going to be bloodshed and fighting,” West said. “It is going to be really rough. We are probably going to have to leave most that money on the bottom line purely because it’ll get pushed to the end because of negotiations and divided government. When something gets pushed to the end only a smidgen gets done …” he said. “I’m very optimistic about us actually being able to move that. Usually I give you a very sad song about (how) we are going to fight for equalization, but there are winners and losers and the winners far outnumber losers. This gives us an opportunity to kind of put that on its head.”

Raleigh described the surplus as distracting. “When you have this type of a surplus, it gives people a false sense that there’s so much money that we can do just about everything … There is going to be a lot of things that are going to be asked of us,” he said. He noted

This chart from Schools for Equity in Education (SEE) shows that the basic formula has not kept up with inflation. There is a gap of $1,593 per student, or about $11 million annually.

Centennial would have received an additional $12 million in funding, if it had received $2,093 per student, closer to the state average. Instead, it received $270/per student, ranking at 316 out of 329 districts.

that a big need right now in many of the Quad area communities is water quality and treatment.

He encouraged the district to continue communicating with legislators, but to understand that they have “a limited amount of levers they can pull.”

Said Raleigh, “The legislative outlook that I would project for the next two to four years is one of patience.”

Managing Editor Shannon Granholm can be reached by emailing quadnews@presspubs.com or calling 651-407-1227.

DNR BRIEFS DNR seeks public input on deer population goals

Beginning this week, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is asking for public input on deer population goals in 28 of 130 deer permit areas (DPAs).

The DNR establishes deer population goals — how much of an increase or decrease is desired in a deer population in a particular DPA — as part of managing the state’s wild deer. Population goals established in this process will provide direction for management in each goalsetting block for a 10-year period, with a midpoint

review at the five-year mark.

Goal blocks and the DPAs that comprise them are established based on similar habitat, land uses, deer populations and deer hunter distribution.

Online feedback is open now and will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 13. Participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire and indicate whether the deer population in a particular area should increase, decrease or stay the same—and provide their rationale. Webinars will present information about each goal-setting block, seek participant input and allow

DNR wildlife staff to answer participants’ questions.

Details about each goal block, how to participate in the process, the webinar schedule and how to access the questionnaire are listed on the DNR’s website mndnr.gov/mammals/deer/ management/population. html.

DNR seeks to fill 200 paid summer internships

The Minnesota DNR is looking for passionate and dedicated students interested in learning more about possible careers with the DNR through paid summer internship opportunities.

DNR summer interns will not only gain valuable experience and training, but also will help the agency create a healthy, sustainable and livable Minnesota for future generations. The internship opportunities are located throughout the state and run the gamut of agency operations — including fisheries, forestry, park operations, invasive species watercraft inspection, communications and more.

Interns work 20 to 40 hours per week and receive a competitive wage of $15 an hour. Fulfi lling an academic requirement or receiving academic

credit is a requirement to be considered for a DNR internship. To apply, visit the state of Minnesota careers website mn.gov/careers. In the “external applicants” box, select “search for jobs now.” Enter “intern” into the keywords field on the job search page and select “Natural Resources Dept” in the “Agency” column on the left side of the page. Choose the internship(s) of interest and click the apply button to submit an application.

Applications will be accepted through Feb. 7. Positions will start in May and June and last until August or September.

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2022 LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW: Elected o˜ cials share goals and priorities FROM PAGE 1

Rep. Donald Raleigh (District 38A, R) Phone: 651-775-1687 Email: donald@ donaldraleigh.com

Each year, around this time, politicians are asked to share what their priorities will be for the coming year. They are asked what legislation they want to champion or what wrong do they want to make right. Social media Rep. Donald Raleigh and the constant barrage of headlines have set a harsh tone here in Minnesota, and across the country. But, I want to assure you, we live in an amazing state, with awesome people, and every day we are surrounded by miracles.

Yes, there are issues we need to address, but not everything is a crisis. If you listen to the headlines, or follow the Twitterverse, or turn on your television you will miss the real picture, what is actually going on. We live in the most amazing time in history. We have the ability to travel anywhere on the entire planet. We have the sum of all human knowledge at our fingertips on the internet. What was a science fiction fantasy just 50 years ago is now commonplace.

Over the next few months there will be headlines, and tweets, and posts and talking heads, trying to outrage you and influence you to believe that we are beyond hope. That is a lie.

We live in a time and place where anything is possible. We just have to stop being outraged at everything and start believing in ourselves again. We built this state and this country. It was us. And we can do even better if we choose to.

In the House of Representatives, I will be working toward helping our communities with water and sewer infrastructure projects. When you turn on your faucet, it should be safe and clean. I want the same thing to be true when you walk in our parks and in our neighborhoods. I also plan to work hard on providing tax relief for Minnesotans who are overtaxed as evidenced by the state’s historic budget surplus.

Let’s stop all the outrage at everything and get back to providing safety, security and confidence in our communities. Together, we can build the next generation of miracles. I believe in us, let’s get to work.

Rep. Ami Wazlawik (District 38B, DFL)

Phone: 651-296-3018 Email: rep.ami.wazlawik@ house.mn Given the many challenges we’ve faced over the past two years, one of my top priorities remains helping Minnesotans get through the pandemic.

We need to make sure all Minnesotans, but especially students, workers and small Rep. Ami Walzawik businesses, have the tools they need to recover and rebuild.

With a projected positive budget balance of $7.7 billion, we have the resources to make a difference in peoples’ lives. I’ll keep fighting for investments in our youngest Minnesotans. Ensuring families can access affordable child care and early learning opportunities will have a big impact on the next generation and will help our community and state thrive. I’ll advocate for expanding access to paid family and medical leave as well. Minnesotans should be able to welcome a new baby, care for their children, or help aging parents without risking economic instability.

Ensuring that residents are safe in their communities will continue to be a priority. I’ll work with my colleagues to help provide communities with effective tools to reduce crime and to ensure that we’re holding those who commit crimes accountable for their actions.

As vice chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, I’ll continue my work to protect Minnesotans and our environment from toxic chemicals, ensuring that current and future generations have clean air and safe drinking water.

Last, but not least, we hope to pass a strong bonding bill that will create good-paying jobs and help repair and improve our roads, bridges, public safety facilities and more. I’ll advocate for investments in critical infrastructure projects and

important resources like parks and trails, colleges and universities and community centers. The projects in our area will be a top priority of mine.

I’m eager to hear your thoughts, ideas and feedback as I prepare for the 2022 legislative session. Please feel free to contact me by email or phone (listed above).

Sen.Roger Chamberlain (District 38, R)

Phone: 651-296-1253 Email: Sen.Roger.

Chamberlain@senate.mn I have three top priorities: education, public safety and cost of living. In addition, we need to better support our most vulnerable citizens in long-term care and group homes.

Sen. Roger Chamberlain

Empowering Parents, Going Back to Fundamentals in Education

Parents are a child’s fi rst and most important teacher. They must be included in curriculum decisions and have the freedom to choose the best school for their child.

• Too many children are not reading at grade level.

That’s a failure, and correcting it must be our top priority. I will propose increasing and expanding the proven, successful LETRS training program that has improved literacy here and in other states.

• Supporting and empowering parents and educators. We will offer proposals to increase education transparency and protect parents’ rights, remove unnecessary burdens placed on teachers and allow for more innovation and flexibility.

Addressing Rising Crime Rates and Keeping Minnesotans Safe

Every Minnesotan deserves a safe community to call home. Victims of crime deserve to know law enforcement and prosecutors will hold criminals accountable: • We will improve efforts to recruit and retain police. That starts with strong support for law enforcement. Local leaders play a critical role in this too — criminals are emboldened by a lack of police support and anti-police rhetoric.

• Criminals are also emboldened when prosecutors let them off with a slap on the wrist. We will work to rein in prosecutors who ignore the law and let criminals back on the street.

• We will continue to strengthen penalties against criminals, so Minnesotans can feel confident and safe in their homes and at their workplaces.

Helping Minnesotans With the Impact of Historic Inflation

Working Minnesotans are struggling with the costs of daily life in the face of record inflation, supply chain issues and economic uncertainty.

• I will hold the line on wasteful, unnecessary spending increases.

• Tax increases are off the table, including the regressive gas tax.

• I will push for broad, significant tax relief that puts money back in your pocket, including eliminating the tax on Social Security income.

• I will support policies for reliable and affordable energy across the state.

Rep. Kelly Moller (District 42A, DFL)

Phone: 651-296-0141 Email: rep.kelly.moller@ house.mn Minnesotans have persevered through a great deal of adversity over the past two years. While our state is experiencing economic recovery, the challenges related to the pandemic continue. This Rep. Kelly Moller session, I’ll be committed to ensuring students, workers, families and small businesses can turn the corner. With a $7.7 billion positive budget balance, we have the opportunity to make a big difference in people’s lives.

Ensuring people can be safe in their communities will once again be a priority, and I’ll work to give communities, police officers and prosecutors the tools they need to reduce crime. The gun violence epidemic, in particular, requires our attention, and I’ll continue to advocate for my Extreme Risk Protection Order legislation, which would allow court orders to temporarily restrict access to firearms for someone who is proven to be a danger to themselves or others.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on all of us, and many of our students are still struggling with mental health concerns. We all need to work together to ensure young people are supported at home as well as at school. While we need to continue funding for school-linked mental health services, I’ll renew my push for a mental health specialist position at the Minnesota Department of Education. This position would serve as a resource for schools across the state to develop and share resources, tools and best practices and implement a comprehensive, evidencebased approach to suicide prevention.

I’m also hopeful we can deliver a robust package of capital investments in public infrastructure across the state. Locally, I’ll be advocating for improvements to trails around Mounds View High School in Arden Hills Late last year, lawmakers visited the site and heard from many students about how dangerous the area is for walkers and bikers. I’ll also be working alongside local leaders in Shoreview, Arden Hills, and North Oaks to deliver funding for a new Lake Johanna Fire Department Headquarters. The new facility will strengthen the department’s emergency fi re and medical response and provide enhanced health and safety spaces for the fi refighters.

Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn (District 42B, DFL)

Phone: 651-296-7153 Email: Rep.Jamie.BeckerFinn@house.mn My top priority this legislative session will be doing all I can to make sure everyone in our community is healthy and safe. First, we need to address the ongoing pandemic and the crisis it has caused in our health care system, as well as with Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn our schools and child care providers. My decisions as a legislator on how to best support those most affected by the pandemic will continue to be driven by conversations with those most impacted in our community, like our frontline workers, families and seniors. In regards to frontline workers specifically, what I’ve been hearing is that these workers need financial support, and for us to all take steps to slow down this pandemic by getting vaccinated (including boosters!) and wearing masks when around people outside our households.

Second, I am taking steps to make sure that everyone in our community is safe. These steps include authoring legislation to address gun violence with a focus on making sure that we keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them, including children. I will also seek out and support increased investments in community violence prevention efforts and youth intervention tools. In addition, I will continue to support local governments and law enforcement with the tools they need, like my bill to allow cities to crack down on hotel properties that allow criminal activity to thrive.

Finally, I will continue to work with my colleagues to address the mental health needs of people in our state. The stress and trauma of the last two years has exacerbated problems in an already barely functioning mental health “system.” Now is the time to finally address these needs, to increase access to this necessary health care and take better care of our friends and neighbors.

Sen. Chuck Wiger (District 43, DFL)

Phone: 651-770-0283 (call or text) Email: Sen.Chuck.Wiger@ senate.mn 1. COVID-19: combat and recover Safety and keeping the state open are my priority.

We should: • Work with public health and the private sector • Provide objective, reliable Sen. Chuck Wiger information • Funding for vaccines, testing, personal protection, economic recovery and mental health services.

Ongoing efforts by frontline workers are deeply appreciated, but we need bipartisan agreement regarding their bonus pay.

2. Education: stabilize funding, reduce mandates The challenges facing our students, families, teachers and staff have grown. We must stabilize funding, increase mental health support, reduce mandates and increase staff diversity. Focus on

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recovery, respecting one another and civility.

Remember, students are our future.

3. Bonding/infrastructure: clean water, higher

education, housing, highways, public safety

We need a bonding bill addressing the great needs in our communities and state. As a member of the Senate Capital Investment Committee, my priority is clean water projects, higher education, housing, highways and public safety.

Local proposals I will author include the White Bear Lake public safety building, facility maintenance funding for Century College, the Birchwood lift station for waste water processing and more. Additional money is available thanks to the recent federal infrastructure bill.

4. Public Safety: support bipartisan e˜ orts to improve safety Public safety is on the minds of many, and people need to feel safe. Governor Walz recently appointed a bipartisan group to help address this. I look forward to hearing recommendations from the Governor’s Council on Justice Reinvestment that we can enact this year.

5. Eliminate racism: work together

As our communities, state and nation grow in diversity, it’s imperative that government, the private sector, all of us, work together to eliminate all forms of racism.

6. Social Security: eliminate state tax

I continue to support removing the state income tax from Social Security income. Seniors worked very hard, and deserve the exemption as provided by most states.

My upcoming committee assignments include: E-12 Finance and Policy (Ranking Member/Minority Lead), Local Government, Veterans & Military Affairs, and the Capital Investment Committee; Subcommittee on Mn Water Policy, Legislative Coordinating Commission.

Sen. Jason Isaacson (District 42, DFL)

Phone: 651-296-5537 Email: Use form available at https://www.senate.mn/ members/email-form/1231 Education Our students, parents, teachers and staff have faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They have all had to make tremendous sacrifices, and juggle between remote Sen. Jason Isaacson learning and being safe in the classroom. What’s clear is, every student deserves a world-class education, no matter their zip code or what they look like. With a large surplus, we must fully invest in our students to help them recover from the effects of this pandemic and to ensure they can learn safely and effectively.

We must also address our chronic underfunding of schools, including investments in mental health supports and equity initiatives like increasing the number of teachers of color.

Bonding/capital investment Traditionally, the even year of a biennium is focused on a bonding bill. Bonding is the best tool we have to create jobs and strengthen our public infrastructure by investing public money into public works. This can include roads and bridges, water infrastructure, and our colleges and universities just to name some examples.

For this year’s bill, I will be pushing for two local projects: a new Fire Department Headquarters for the Lake Johanna Fire Department, and for new multiuse trails near Mounds View High School.

What makes bonding unique is it is the only bill that requires a supermajority, which means any bill must have bipartisan support. I am optimistic that by the end of this session, we will have passed a strong bill that truly invests in our state.

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Climate change/ environment Climate change is an existential threat to our way of life in Minnesota, and we must take bold action to address it. I will work with my colleagues to push for initiatives that can move us as quickly as possible off of fossil fuels and towards clean and renewable energy, investments in public transit, and incentives for electric vehicles. We must also take steps that protect our air and water, including stronger regulatory actions and better standards that will reduce the amount of pollutants in our environment.

Rep. Peter Fischer (District 43A, DFL)

Phone: 651-296-0563 Email: Rep.Peter.Fischer. @house.mn The 2022 Legislative Session begins on Jan. This year, I will continue to work on protecting our state’s natural resources and environment, including the many different animals and species that call Minnesota home. I’ll continue to Rep. Peter Fischer advocate for ensuring our water quality is protected from pollution, and expand the use of renewable energy.

We must also promote high-quality affordable housing opportunities for all Minnesotans and those who may be housing insecure. Having worked with youth experiencing homelessness for over 14 years, this is an issue I will work tirelessly for.

We also must take steps to address the ongoing pandemic, particularly in the realm of education. Our teachers’ mental health has been tested the past 23 months, with previous sacrifices such as purchasing their own classroom equipment, working late hours, and responding to the needs of large class sizes being exacerbated by the pandemic. We must do our part and fully fund public education, and give thanks to the teachers out there.

‘Gateway Species’: Get to know your local squirrels

BY CORINNE STREMMEL STAFF WRITER

When you look out in your backyard and spot the unmistakable bushy tail darting across the lawn, you may not realize it, but you’re getting a look at an important member of Minnesota’s ecology. Squirrels’ friendly dispositions offer more than just a chuckle for us backyard observers: watching squirrels is a helpful way to learn about our environment and instill an appreciation for nature.

As Scott Noland of the Minnesota DNR explained, “They’re kind of a gateway species into the environmental world that people get to see pretty frequently.”

Gray, red, fox, two species of flying squirrels and ground squirrels can be found yearround throughout the state.

While gray squirrels are probably the ones you’ve seen digging up lawns and misappropriating birdseed, here’s a short guide to spotting each of the six different species found in Minnesota.

The Eastern gray squirrel is the most common squirrel seen in the northeast metro. They’re known for their bushy tails, which are about 8 to 10 inches in length, or roughly the same length as their bodies. The gray squirrel can be spotted in hardwood forests, wooded parks and residential areas.

Gray squirrels are some of the few animals that thrive in areas where houses break up natural woodlands.

The flying squirrel is more elusive than the other species.

This nocturnal squirrel can “fly,” thanks to a fold of skin spanning from its front to

hind feet. When their legs are outstretched, their skin turns into a planing surface that allows them to take “flight” as far as 50 feet. There are two species of flying squirrel in Minnesota: the Southern flying squirrel and the Northern flying squirrel. They can be spotted by their brown bugeyes, olive-brown backs and white bellies, and their silky soft fur.

“We do get some calls about them in the northeast metro.

People will call in and say they saw a flying squirrel, which is really cool. Some people might see them if they’re doing tree removal or they’re just seeing them during their dawn and dusk hours,” said Noland.

The fox squirrel isn’t as common as the gray squirrel, but they make themselves known by their large size. Fox squirrels can weigh up to 3 pounds and range from 20 to 24 inches in length. Their tails measure about 10 inches in length. Fox squirrels can be found in the northeast metro, but they’re most common in the western part of the state.

The red squirrel — otherwise known as the pine squirrel — is Minnesota’s noisiest species of squirrel. These squirrels have a tendency to chatter while humans are nearby.

They have a rust-red back and tail and a white belly.

The name “pine squirrel” comes from their habitat of coniferous woods throughout the nation’s snowbelt and into the mountainous regions of Canada.

The 13-lined ground squirrel is commonly known as the Minnesota gopher. These ground squirrels can be spotted skittering across the state’s

grasslands and have taken over agricultural lands as well. The eponymous squirrel has exactly 13 stripes on its back and has golden fur, just like its famous namesake, the University of Minnesota’s mascot, Goldy Gopher.

These six species have a number of ways to make it through the harsh Minnesota winter.

To preserve energy, they limit their time of activity in the winter. They don’t hibernate like other animals, but they tend to stay within the confines of their nest when the temperatures drop.

“During the really cold times, they’ll stay up in their nest with other squirrels so they have additional body heat,” Noland said. Like humans, squirrels will shiver when they’re cold.

Their layer of thick fur also helps them stay warm in extremely low temperatures.

In autumn, squirrels begin building up their fat reserves and collecting and storing their food for the winter in tree cavities. Noland explains that to humans, it might feel like squirrels don’t have enough food to survive the winter.

“We tell folks there is plenty of food for them in the natural environment for these critters to live here. That’s how they’ve been able to survive.”

Backyard feeding has led to an abundance of squirrels in the metro, but Noland recommends keeping wildlife wild. However, if you do have the urge to feed your backyard residents, it is best to research your city’s ordinances before feeding.

Squirrels remain prolific in the northeast metro and, unlike other wildlife in

PHOTOS BY MN DNR | CONTRIBUTED

Flying squirrel

Eastern gray squirrel

Red squirrel

Minnesota,there haven’t been any disease-related incidences in the squirrel population. Since squirrels thrive in urban and suburban environments, there are plenty of opportunities for humans to learn more about their 13-lined ground squirrel fellow Minnesota residents.

“It’s a way that people are learning about them and instilling a kind of value and Staff Writer Corinne land ethic and concern, plus an Stremmel can be reached at interest in wildlife too,” Noland lowdownnews@presspubs.com noted. “And of course, they’re or 651-407-1226. pretty fun and comical too.”

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Rentals/ Commercial EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY, all real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians; pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law.

Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD toll free: 1-800-669-9777.

The toll-free number for hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

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ROUTES AVAILABLE FOR WHITE BEAR PRESS: Rt 116 - N of Cedar – E of Rt 124 – N of Birch to E of Bellaire Hazel Rt 118 – S of Martin Way – E Rt 125 – N of Cedar to W of of Bellaire McKnight Rt 123 – S of Cty Rd F to W of Rt 232 – N of 96 to W of 2nd McKnight Ave Other Routes available, call our Circulation Dept. at 651-407-1246.

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JANUARY 25, 2022

QUAD COMMUNITY PRESS www.presspubs.com

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Weather tidbits

Brought to you by WeathermanWatson.com Congratulations! By the end of this forecast period you've made it past two of the three core winter months! There's no sugar coating it, it's been cold. After only two sub-zero days in December, we've already tallied 14 this January. Add, odd as it sounds, 14 is the average number of below zero days for January. We've missed out on large snowfalls and instead have been visited with lighter snowfalls. We experienced a series of Alberta Clippers this past weekend totaling about 3 inches of dry fluff snow. My seasonal snowfall stands at 31". Warmer temperatures ahead for February! Side note: My 2022 weather calendar is out! Check my website for more info. WeathermanWatson.com or call me at 651.206.5364.

Frank Watson is a local Meteorologist who operates a weather station in White Bear Lake.

Weather data and observation are from his weather station and trips around the area. Frank can be found on the internet at WeathermanWatson.com.

WEEKLY AVERAGES JAN. 26- FEB. 1 High 25° | Low 7° | %Sun 53% | PCP 0.19”

Wed Jan. 26 22°/ 21°

Thu Jan. 27 26°/ -6°

Fri Jan. 28 16°/ -3°

Sat Jan. 29 20°/ 12°

Sun Jan. 30 22°/ 10°

Mon Jan. 31 26°/ 16°

Tue Feb. 1 27°/ 10°

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QUAD COMMUNITY PRESS www.presspubs.com

15

CENTENNIAL SCHOOL BOARD SNIPPETS • The school board is back to six members, after Robert (Bob) Vollbrecht was selected by the board to fi ll a one-year term left vacant after the resignation of Stephanie Carlson. The seat will be up for election in November.

• School board members now have their designated roles for 2022; Suzy Guthmueller will serve as chair, Chris Bettinger as vice chair, Sue Linser as clerk and Tom Knisely as treasurer. Kathryn Timm and Vollbrecht will be directors.

• The board’s appointments for 2022 have been made, some of which include: – Rupp, Anderson, Squires & Waldspurger P.A; Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney; Knutson, Flynn & Deans; Dorsey & Whitney as legal counsel – Wold as architect – Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich and Co. (MMKR) as auditor – Baker Tilly, Baird, PMA, PFM and Wells Fargo as financial advisors – US Bank, PFM, 1st Resource Bank, PMA, Wells Fargo, Zions Bank and Computershare as official depositories – Quad Community Press as official newspaper • The meeting schedule for 2022 has been set. Visit www.isd12.org/about/school-board/school-boardmeeting-calendar for more details.

• Interim Superintendent Jeff Holmberg has a positive mid-year evaluation from the school board and has entered into a contract to serve as the district’s superintendent through the 2025 school year. Guthmueller explained that Holmberg is doing a great job, and she was especially impressed with all of his work on the ongoing strategic planning process. “You are doing an excellent job,” she said. “We are more than happy with the job you are doing and we are very excited about offering you this contract and the fact that you want to be here.” Holmberg responded, “Ever since I have come into this district, I’ve just been really struck by the people in the communities — people really supporting education and focusing on what is best for the kids. I could not be more excited to be working with you, with our administrators, teachers, staff and our community in moving this district forward. It’s a tremendous honor, and I’m very humbled. I’m going to work extremely hard on behalf of the students.” Holmberg will have another evaluation at the end of the year.

• The school board will not increase its compensation for 2022. The only change to the compensation plan will be the adding back in the vice chair position.

• A contract settlement has been reached for Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Jody Josephson. Director of Human Resources Dan Melde explained that her contract aligns with previously settled individual contracts, which includes a 2% salary increase for 2021-23 and a health insurance increase of 4% in year one and a 2.5% increase in year two. Josephson will also

PHOTOS BY CARTER JOHNSON | PRESS PUBLICATIONS

New school board member Robert (Bob) Vollbrecht takes the oath of o˜ ce via videoconference.

Six CHS seniors, including Theo Carlson, Ainsley Greve, Nicholas Hinds, Andrea Hoglund, Amara Patel and William Stockdale-Green have received letters of commendation through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Of the 1.6 million high school students who took the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) this past year, over 50,000 students qualified for recognition for National Merit Scholarship program.

Seniors who score in the top 3 to 4% receive letters of commendation. Pictured above is William Stockdale-Green.

receive the school board meeting stipend.

• The Centennial School Board has adopted a resolution in support of the Congressional Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Full Funding Act. The act was fi rst enacted in 1975 to help ensure that all students with disabilities have access to a free appropriate public education. With the enactment of IDEA, Congress committed to fund up to 40% of the additional cost of special education, but the current federal investment is less than 14%.

According to the resolution, the Centennial School District has over a $4 million gross crosssubsidy for fiscal year 2020, which is one part of the statewide cross-subsidy that was more than $673 million (and expected to grow to $806 million by 2025).

• Centennial schools continue to feel the impact of staffing shortages. “While Centennial is faring better than most districts, we do have to do daily problem-solving,” Holmberg said. “It is something we are paying attention to, and will continue to pay attention to going forward … Our focus is in-

Centennial School District continues to get closer to completing its strategic plan This February, March and April, community members will be invited to attend various planning sessions.

The district has collected more than 1,600 secondary student survey responses (middle school and high school), more than 1,000 responses from parents/families and approximately 350 responses from staff.

“We are bringing the focus group info and survey data together to further refine and set that expectation for the daily desired experience,” Superintendent Jeff Holmberg explained. “The team has some homework … We are going to develop theory of action around on how we want to bring this daily desired experience to fruition.”

The district plans to hold a couple of strategic plan sessions in February. The fi rst one will held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 8, and will help develop/ redefine the district’s mission, core values and vision along with the strategic directions of the operational plan.

The Centennial School Board takes time to recognize the four foreign exchange students studying at CHS this year.

Pictured is Alvaro Galopa Llopiz of Barcelona, Spain. Pictured below is Mafalda Dias of Lisbon, Portugal.

Another session will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, and will focus on redefining the strategic roadmap based on community and staff feedback before board review and approval.

In March, the district plans to hold a session (date and time to be determined) on the school board’s three-year work plan (areas include district policy development, operational oversight and long-range planning, board self-governance and development, superintendent relations and development, and public engagement).

In April (date and time to be determined), the district will hold a School Board Structures, Practices and Governance session to assess and refine board structures of meetings, workflow and committees to best implement its threeyear work plan and operate as a governing board.

Shannon Granholm

CHS senior Andrew Meng is recognized for earning a spot as a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Meng is one of around 16,000 students nationwide to be named a semifinalist, after scoring in the top 1% on the PSAT exam.

person learning five days a week.”

The next school board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 28, in the district office.

Shannon Granholm

School Board approves superintendent contract The Centennial School Board has appointed Jeff Holmberg, interim superintendent of schools, as the district’s superintendent. Holmberg’s new contract will go into effect July 1, 2022.

“The school board has been very impressed with Jeff’s work during the past five months while in the interim superintendent position. He’s spearheading the district’s strategic plan, which will pave the way to build upon the legacy of this district,” said Suzy Guthmueller, school board chair. “Jeff’s leadership will help ensure the district moves forward to creating great educational experiences for students,” she added.

“I am struck by the supportive people in the Centennial School District. I could not be more ecstatic lead to our schools,” said Holmberg said. “This is a tremendous honor, and I will continue to work on behalf of our students.”

Holmberg was appointed interim superintendent of Centennial Schools in July and comes to the district from recent administrative positions at Prior Lake – Savage Area Schools.

Holmberg’s contract runs through the 2024-25 school year.

Contributed

QUAD COMMUNITY PRESS

JANUARY 25, 2022 www.presspubs.com

COMMUNITY BRIEF CAEF now accepting grant applications The Centennial Area Education Foundation (CAEF) is currently accepting grant applications for educational programming in the Centennial School District. During its 2021 CAEF grant cycle, the organization awarded more than $22,000 in grants to programs that supplemented the educational experience in the community.

Applications must be submitted by midnight Feb. 28. Applications can be completed online at www. caefoundation.org.

CAEF is also currently accepting grants for Power of Centennial (POC). POC is a group made up of community members that meet twice a year to fund supplemental educational programming in the Centennial School District. Each community member commits to donating $100 annually, which provides a unique opportunity to see how combining donations can make a big impact on the community. (POC grants awarded are typically less than $1,000.)

The POC application cycle has moved from May to March in hopes of giving teachers and staff a longer window to use funding during the remainder of the current school year. Grant applications will be accepted through March 1.

Only nonprofit programs, events or organizations serving the Centennial School District of Lino Lakes, Circle Pines, Centerville, Lexington and Blaine will be considered.Baby it’s Cold Outside.

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