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WHITE BEAR LAKE CONSERVATION DISTRICT: Ice in again PAGE 2
Community development gives annual report BY NOELLE OLSON EDITOR
CONTRIBUTED
Local band Freedom Train held a reunion after 53 years. The band started in 1969 and ended in 1971. Pictured in the front row from left are Joel Carlson and Louie Tuccitto. (From left in back) Myke Golben, Robin Cantor, Mark Larsen, Mark Heille, Donnie Frank and Dave Metz.
Local band reunites after 53 years BY NOELLE OLSON EDITOR
While babysitting his granddaughter, Louie Tuccito was showing her an old directory of North St. Paul High School. It sparked him to look up his old band members. “Our band was called Freedom Train and we were around from
1969 to 1971,” Tuccito, of Vadnais Heights said. “I was curious, and I missed them.” The band included Tuccitto, drums; Donnie Frank, guitar and vocals; Joel Carlson, keyboard; Mark Heille, bass and vocals; Mark Larsen, trumpet; Myke Golben, saxophone and keyboard; Robin Cantor, trumpet and trombone; and Dave Metz,
guitar and vocals. Frank went to Cretin High School, Heille to Mounds View High School and the others went to North St. Paul High School. Tuccitto was on a mission to reunite the band for a get together. He did some digging and made some calls. He reconnected SEE FREEDOM TRAIN, PAGE 7
Local Alumna makes way to the stars BY NOELLE OLSON EDITOR
CONTRIBUTED
Heidi Dierssen, class of 1985 Valedictorian at White Bear Lake High School.
SEE WHITE BEAR ALUMNA, PAGE 14
SEE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, PAGE 9
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Heidi Dierssen may not be an astronaut, but she is the project manager for SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 launch scheduled for Feb. 6. According to Dierssen, a professor of Marine Sciences at the University of Connecticut (UConn), PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) is a NASA Earth observation satellite mission. It will make global ocean color measurements to provide extended data records on ocean ecology and global biogeochemistry — carbon cycle — along with polarimetry measurements to provide extended data records on clouds and aerosols. “The ocean, scatters light back out a bit so you can see the color and the greener the ocean is, the more plant life there is,” Dierssen said. “The
bluer, the brown or the more sediment or milk chocolatey kind of thing we see is reflected light from the sun that's actually gone through the atmosphere and then enters the very surface of the ocean and scatters back.” There are approximately 100 people on Dierssen's science team. “What they do is they say the ocean is going to look like this from space and then what can we say about
Vadnais Heights Community Development Department plans and maintains safe, sustainable, livable neighborhoods for residents. and encourages highquality development which strengthens local economy and improves quality of life. The department's responsibilities include building safety inspections, economic development, planning, zoning and housing. “Our department has three full time positions,” said Nolan Wall, planning/ community development director said. “Their work is outstanding and continues to be and will be in for the foreseeable future as long as they're with us.” Wall said major construction projects completed in 2023 include Buerkle Hyundai remodel, new dealership Luther Cadillac, Barnett Auto expansion and Helene Houle Medical Center expansion. Approved and still under construction projects in 2024 include the following: • Ansel Residences — 176-unit market rate apartments • Big Wood Brewery • Bluebird Grove — 21lot single family home development • Mondella Shores — 42-lot single-family home development • Vincent Estates — 22-unit twin-home development • Midwest ENT —
Expansion • Kwik Trip — Expansion • Connexus Energy Substation — Expansion • Luther Subaru — Expansion • T-Mobile cell tower at VHES — Reconstruction “Last year, we had just over 2,100 total permits, which is up pretty significantly from 2022 of almost 1,800,” Wall said. “The overwhelming majority is building permits.” According to Wall, zoning permits are handled by the planning division. Typically, they have to deal with accessory buildings, driveways, fences, signs and zoning letters, which is mostly part of a transactional process involving private property. Also, there needs to be some level of certification from the city that they're they're in compliance with zoning regulations. “We had 88 of those permits in 2022 and we processed 78 of them last year,” Wall said. “The breakdown is pretty well distributed between signs, fences and driveways. And just to clarify on driveways, we do require a zoning permit for any driveway improvement, we don't actually charge a fee if you're simply just picking up the pavement, whatever pavement that is and putting it back down within the same footprint. We only charge if you're making an
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