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VOL. 39 NO. 49 www.quadcommunitypress.com $1.00
FALL HOME IMPROVEMENT: Bonus section inside
Results in for community survey, district looks ahead BY SHANNON GRANHOLM LEAD EDITOR
The results are in. The Centennial School District has now had time to digest the school culture survey results from the spring. Interim Superintendent Jeff Holmberg has made some recommendations, which the school board will consider later this month. Last June, right before school was out for the summer, students in grades 9-11, district staff and Centennial families were invited to participate in a brief online survey that asked about school culture. Well over 2,300 people participated — 1,341 families, 779 students and 215 staff. There were some questions about the validity of the data gathered, as some community members were able to fill out the survey more than once. Mike Christensen, director of technology, explained that both students and staff were only able to take the survey once. However, for the family survey, it was possible that someone could fill out the survey more than once. Christensen did say the participation for this survey was similar to “high-interest” surveys the district has done previously. “We have had family surveys in the past with 1,200 responses ... This was in the ballpark of what we would expect,” he said. Holmberg added, “It’s largely a perception survey … It is not a scientifically grounded survey. It is people giving their perception of the questions that were listed.”
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Motor city meet up Dozens of hot rod and vintage car owners gathered recently in the early evening sun outside Cowboy’s Saloon during the 4th annual car show that was one of the featured events during the Lexington Fall Festival. According to organizers, the purpose of the festival was to bring together local businesses and citizens of all ages to encourage a spirit of pride, a sense of community and an atmosphere of community celebration. Find more photos online at presspubs.com.
SEE SCHOOL CULTURE SURVEY, PAGE 8
Grow systems designed by growers, for growers BY SHANNON GRANHOLM LEAD EDITOR
When Chris Ellis was searching for a warehouse facility to develop his indoor grow system, he stumbled across an apple orchard — the rest is history. “Rent on a warehouse is ridiculously expensive,” Ellis explained. “I was looking around at different properties available, and then this popped up and I asked Shelli,
what do you think about getting an orchard?” The husband and wife visited the property and immediately knew they had to have it. They purchased Applecrest Orchards, located at 7306 24th Ave. N. on the border of Hugo and Lino Lakes, in November 2019. A couple of months later, Chris officially launched his “day job” side of the business, AI Grow. AI Grow is a new division
of Ellis’ company Assured Integration, which he began in Georgia in early 2017. He was traveling a lot for work, mainly to Minnesota and Wisconsin, so the couple eventually decided to relocate to Minnesota. “The purpose is to perfect the growing environment and make it accessible for all people wanting to grow food or any sort of crops,” Ellis explained. “You take the process out of it. The whole
point of automation is so the grower can actually focus on the plant itself and not worry about timing, watering, lights, humidity. What we have found is that every grower has their own secret recipe. They know how to do what they do best.” Ellis has a team of 10 electrical control engineers, software developers and master growers. The SEE AI GROW, PAGE 9
SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Chris Ellis, founder of AI Grow.
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