COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 37 NO. 28 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
NEWS: CARES Act funds will help Scandia. PAGE 7
Enchanting forest returns to Gazebo Park Enchanting Forest in Gazebo Park is a community project for the businesses and community in Marine on St. Croix and surrounding area. Trees are purchased and decorated on Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) and enjoyed through the month of December. Twenty-eight beautiful trees from St. Croix Valley Trees will be available for purchase beginning Monday, Nov. 16, at Marine General Store for $30 each. Consider sponsoring a tree for a local business. First come, first served so get in on the fun early! Tree decorating day is 9 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 28. All trees must be lighted (battery operated lights with a timer work the best!) and decorations must be non-breakable and secured tightly to branches (think pipe cleaners or bread ties). Fun will be had at this family friendly, safe-distancing event!! Holiday music, bonfire and maybe even an appearance by Santa!! Decorations must be taken down the first week of January 2021. Contact Gwen Roden with questions at mgs101judd@msn. com.
May Supervisors finally take action on violations BY LESLIE MACKENZIE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SUBMITTED
Time finally ran out on the 2004 conditional use permit (CUP) May Township issued to the Arcola Mills historic property. After 16 years of repeated attempts to work with the Arcola Mills Foundation to remove unsafe buildings from the property, the May Board voted at their Nov. 6 meeting to rescind the CUP to operate the site for public or private events. Three of the Foundation’s board members attended the meeting to report on progress the new board had made, both in preventing access to the dangerous buildings and in demolition. One building has already been removed. Board member Fitzie Heimdahl said they were waiting for a bid from Better Futures MN for disassembly and recycling of materials from three non-historic cabins, asbestos abatement was completed on one cabin, and a demolition permit was secured for one cabin. Funds are in hand to pull three more permits, but the group still needs to fundraise for the cost of the work. A fourth cabin presents a greater challenge. The group met with a state archeologist to discuss ways to preserve the foundation and chimney of the former lumber mill building while the newer Mill Cabin built on top of it is removed. The board
2019 Enchanting Forest. SEE MAY TOWNSHIP, PAGE 2
Nail biter in Marine on St. Croix Mayor race BY JASON SCHULTE EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
The race for Marine on St. Croix mayor was about as close as one could get. Unofficial results from the Minnesota Secretary of State website, showed challenger Kevin Nyenhuis defeating incumbent Glen Mills 262-260 with one write-in vote Nov. 3. The results aren’t final, however, as Washington County has notified Marine on St. Croix staff that the appeals court decision on ballots mailed on or before Election Day only applied to the presidential race.
This means that ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10 will still be counted in local races. If any of these ballots were from Marine residents, there is a possibility that the results of the local election could change. The county will hold absentee ballot board Tuesday, Nov. 10, to count any additional ballots, and will publish updated results that day after 5 p.m. The city council has the chance to look different as well as Lon Pardon and Wendy Ward garnered the top two votes. Pardon finished with 315 votes, compared to Ward’s 280. Bill Miller had 276, while Larry Martin finished
with 87. Pardon and Miller were incumbents.
Maefsky reelected to another term as Scandia Mayor Christine Maefsky was reelected to another term as Scandia Mayor Nov. 3. The incumbent defeated challenger Randall Simonson 1,643-964 according to the Minnesota Secretary of State website. Heather Benson and Steve Kronmiller were elected to the City Council. Benson finished with 1,141 votes compared to Kronmiller's 1,114. Greg Amundson had 1,026 votes. James Gribble had 543, while Christopher
Johnson had 334. Kronmiller was an incumbent, while Benson was a challenger. She will replace Chris Ness, who chose not to seek reelection. In comments to the Messenger, Benson said the following: “I am honored that the residents of Scandia have chosen me to serve on the council, and look forward to working for them for the next four years.” Kronmiller’s response talked about practicing open, honest, ethical leadership over the next four years. His goals include reliable, high speed Internet for every home and business; SEE ELECTION RESULTS, PAGE 8
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