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TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016 VOL. 34 NO. 32 www.presspubs.com $1.00
POWER OF CENTENNIAL: Chooses two grant recipients PAGE 2
Minnesotans get proactive to stop emerald ash borer BY JACKIE BUSSJAEGER STAFF WRITER
SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Author and illustrator Derek Anderson gave children the opportunity to compare what he looks like now with what he looked like in his kindergarten school picture. Anderson visited the Northtown Library and Rum River Library May 25 for Ten Pigs Traveling Show.
Author and illustrator visits the Anoka County Library
BY SHANNON GRANHOLM STAFF WRITER
BLAINE — Preschoolers and their parents kicked off summer reading by learning about stories, characters and illustrations on Wednesday, May 25 at Northtown Library in Blaine. Author and illustrator Derek Anderson brought his Ten Pigs
Traveling Show to both the Northtown Library and Rum River Library. “It is to show them that literacy is fun; that's what it is all about. We talk about what a story and a character is, and we just try to have a great time,” Anderson said. Anderson, who is originally from Ames, Iowa, now lives in the Twin
Cities with his wife. During the show he explained what makes a story and a character as well as what his job as both an author and illustrator entails. “I have the greatest job in the world,” he said. Anderson and Northtown librarian Dana Neigman acted out a silly SEE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR, PAGE 10
Hot Rod Wake BY DEBRA NEUTKENS EDITOR
When Lynn Michels' husband died last October, she knew he'd appreciate a gathering of street rods at his wake. She also knew he'd appreciate having the 1923 T-bucket parked inside the funeral home. The roadster was special to James Michels, who died at age 57 on Oct. 12, 2015. His friends restored the car just for him and sick though he was, the Maplewood firefighter
drove it around the State Fairgrounds during his last Back to the '50s car show. Michels didn't actually plan his funeral before he died, but his wife of 26 years had it covered. "He loved Halloween, so it was the right time of year," Lynn said. "And we had a car show for him because he was avid about going to car shows on a weekly basis in our 1948 Pontiac." Lynn wished to celebrate her husband's passing in a "don't cry over me because I'm gone; but party with
me because I had one heck of a life" kind of way. That sentiment melded perfectly with renovations at Mueller Memorial in White Bear Lake. The once traditional mortuary, built in 1954 on Bald Eagle Avenue, underwent a major rebirth last year based on public perception of the funeral profession. It's all about making funerals your own. Gone are the dark, windowless rooms and over-stuffed furniture. In its place are features
WHITE BEAR LAKE – According to arborists Justin Bence and Nate Shaw of Davey Tree Expert Company, you never really know whether or not your tree is infested with the invasive beetle emerald ash borer (EAS). As it becomes spring, the beetle is entering its breeding season, and the effects of infestation may be more visible in neighborhood trees as the greenery—or lack of—begins to show. Eleven Minnesota counties, including Anoka, Ramsey and Washington, currently have a quarantine in place to prevent the spread of EAB. The quarantine bans the transport of any EAB insects, all wood or parts taken from ash trees and even firewood made from any hardwood tree from crossing county borders in an effort to control the swiftly spreading pest. Ash trees are prevalent in Minnesota, especially because they flourish in this climate and are good low-maintenance shade trees. They were a popular choice for replanting common areas after Dutch elm disease decimated the elm population, Shaw said. Now that EAB is beginning to eradicate local ash trees, maple is a common choice for public spaces and residential areas. However, choosing many different kinds of trees to plant rather than just one or two will ultimately be the best protection for tree health. “Tree variety is very important,” Bence said. “You don't see many varieties, but they're definitely beneficial to have.” As homeowners and cities begin to replace the damaged ash trees, Bence recommended maple, honey locust, hackberry and swamp white oak as a few potential replacements. There are three major signs that strongly
that funeral director Scott Mueller describes as "White Bear's newest bar in the last place you'd expect." The metamorphosis is the result of a patented research study by OlsonZaltman Associates called ZMET (Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique) that drew out the "unconscious metaphors and cultural archetypes that Baby Boomers associate with funeral homes and its services."
Justin Bence and Nate Shaw, arborists from Davey Tree Expert Company, stand near one of many ash trees located in Podvin Park in White Bear Lake.
SEE HOT ROD, PAGE 11
SEE EMERALD ASH, PAGE 20
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