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Pushing for return of Blue Heron Days BY CADEN CHRISTIANSEN PRESS INTERN
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Muddy mosh pit melee Above: Participants in the Tough Mudder competition make their way through a series of mud-filled trenches. Thousands of athletes from around the state and region ran along obstacle filled routes through the rolling hills at Wild Wings of Oneka Hunting Preserve in Hugo. Some of the obstacles the runners encountered included the Kiss of Mud, Blockness Monster, Quagmire and Mudderhorn. Versions of the event are held across the United States and Canada. The Twin Cities installment of the event returned after a one year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At left: Jackie Meyer gets a surprise helping hand from a fellow Tough Mudder participant while attempting to climb out of a slippery mudfilled trench. Find more photos at presspubs.com.
Lino Lakes Blue Heron Days is looking to make its return in 2021 after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The city of Lino Lakes was forced to shut down its parks and recreation programming in 2020, which resulted in a loss of resources that the city usually uses to support the event. Because of a lack of staff in 2021, the city had planned to cancel the entire event for a second straight year. But City Council members, the Quad Area Chamber of Commerce, and other community groups are stepping up, so Blue Heron Days may be held in 2021 — later this month — after all. “I really didn’t want to lose that for our community,” said Lino Lakes City Council Member and parade Committee Chair Dale Stoesz. “If you lose it for two years in a row, it would be harder to come back in the third year.” Earlier this year, Stoesz gained approval from Anoka County to shut down Lake Drive for the parade, but a city permit for the event was still pending as of press deadline last week. Stoesz said he has received a verbal commitment from the city that the permit will be approved, but the
SEE TOUGH MUDDER, PAGE 8
SEE BLUE HERON DAYS, PAGE 11
Council discusses next steps for recreation and community center BY SHANNON GRANHOLM LEAD EDITOR
LINO LAKES — Although the City Council wasn’t quite ready to pull the trigger on beginning the estimated six-month period it will take to get the former YMCA building up and running as the Lino Lakes Recreation and Community Center, city staff has received some direction as to what management model the council might want to pursue
and to begin exploring possible partnerships further. The council officially accepted the 73-page feasibility study report from Isaac Sports Group (ISG) last month. The study identified a few management options for the facility. These included a totally outsourced management model, a citymanaged model, or a hybrid of the two. Council members shared their thoughts and concerns
regarding those options at a lengthy work session last week. “We need to get to a point where we decide what we want to do. We know it is going to take six months to open the facility, and there are times of the year that would be better to open,” explained Community Development Director Michael Grochala. He noted that ideally, the facility would open to ring in the
new year, and with that, capture members who set New Year’s resolutions. “We certainly want to make the best decisions for the right reasons to support the community.” Council Member Michael Ruhland said, “Let’s go for it with the hybrid model.” He did note he wants to make sure the city is able to switch to the city-managed model should it need to down the road, and that city staff
should be mindful of that when entering into contracts with partners. Council Member Christopher Lyden said, “I’m with Mike. Full speed ahead with the hybrid (model).” Council Member Dale Stoesz said he liked the idea of the city retaining management, but he understood the value of the hybrid model. He said he would also like to see the SEE COMMUNITY CENTER, PAGE 8
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