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PUBLIC NOTICES: County publishes forfeiture list PAGE 11-13A
Music center coming to Arts District corner BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER
WHITE BEAR LAKE — The Arts District is getting a new addition as the corner of Hwy. 61 and Eighth Street sees at least its third iteration. Construction starts summer 2022 for the McNeely Music Center, a state-of-the-art facility that will offer lessons, recording capabilities and performance space. The downtown site, platted in 1871 as a single-family residence, has been the address for several businesses over the last 150 years. Most recent was a 1998 Re/Max realty office that was demolished last week to make way for the center. It would have been cost prohibitive to retrofit the building to the center’s high-tech acoustic requirements, so the decision was made to bring it down. Press archives contained a similar story when realty office’s predecessor was razed on that corner. The city lost a small piece of history, the piece read, when a wrecking crew demolished the long-vacant Doerer’s Grocery.
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Mother’s Day flower collection While it was raining outside, Jake Gibbons and his mother, Shirley, were able to stay warm and dry while gathering flowers recently inside a local greenhouse. Gibbons, a 1st grade teacher, was getting help from his mother collecting plants that he wanted to use for a Mother’s Day project with his students. This year Mother’s Day is May 8 and does not coincide with the annual fishing opener in Minnesota, which is Saturday, May 14.
SEE MCNEELY MUSIC CENTER, PAGE 8A
Changes to Purple Line route under consideration Plans for the proposed METRO Purple Line, a new Bus Rapid Transit line in Ramsey County, are getting another look. Project staff are considering ending the now 15-mile line somewhere along County Road E, between Highway 61 and Interstate 35E in Vadnais Heights or at the Maplewood Mall Transit Center. Both options would include offering connecting bus service between the Maplewood Mall Transit Center and downtown White Bear Lake. Keeping the
route as planned, with the northern end in downtown White Bear Lake, is also being evaluated. The suggested modifications are in response to a White Bear Lake City Council resolution that requests the Purple Line not enter city limits. Options were discussed April 29 at the Purple Line’s first Corridor Management Committee (CMC) meeting. The committee includes elected and appointed officials from project partner
agencies and was formed to advise the Metropolitan Council and Ramsey County on the design and construction of the Purple Line. Ramsey County Commissioner and committee member Victoria Reinhardt called the meeting “productive.” “We discussed viable options that I believe will meet the transit needs for all partners,” she said. Committee member Bill Walsh, a White Bear Lake council member, had
this to say: “This is really good news from the Met Council. They are listening to the citizens of White Bear Lake who don’t believe the Purple Line is a good fit for our city.” More information and ways for the public to share feedback will be available this summer. The current timeline calls for construction to begin in 2024 and continue into 2026. Compiled from Metro Transit release
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