COUNTRY
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018 VOL. 34 NO. 36 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
SMALL CELL TOWERS: May Township. PAGE 2
Country Messenger 2017 Year in Review
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM SUZANNE LINDGREN | COUNTRY MESSENGER
January
The bitter weather may have moved on, but it could be a sign of a colder than average season ahead.
Todd’s Home Center closes
Brrrrrrrrr. That was cold. SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
Ten degrees Fahrenheit might feel almost warm after a week in which high temperatures barely crept above zero. Although it was cold last week, the low temperatures did not break records in this region, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Borghoff. “We get a shot of cold air toward the end of
December seemingly every year,” he said. “Maybe not quite this cold, but negative 10 to negative 20. … It’s not record breaking — just the one we get a couple times of year.” Still. Since 2002, there have been only four years with overnight temperatures below zero between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. By contrast, this year overnight temperatures dipped below zero all week and daytime temps stayed in the
Also in January • Scandia couple helps children at dentist office in Belize • City of Marine determines the best use for former school property remains a school
SEE COLD, PAGE 9
Traditional Swedish Dinner continues at Christ Lutheran Church Lutefisk is still served at the Annual Traditional Swedish Dinner at Christ Lutheran Church scheduled for January 18, 2018. Serving time extends from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Continuous seating moves patrons efficiently to their table. All proceeds directly support local, national and international mission projects. All are welcome. You don’t have to be Scandinavian or wear a fancy sweater to enjoy this hearty meal. Fill your plate with the many sides that share the serving table with the ‘fisk and the meatballs. Traditional white sauce, melted butter and gravy add the touch of home. Boiled potatoes, coleslaw, pickled beets, cranberries, brown beans, lefse, rice pudding, Swedish rye bread, and traditional Scandinavian cookies will tantalize your taste buds. Generations of families have celebrated this annual “all you
Scandia residents and others accustomed to buying gas, hardware or pet supplies at Todd’s Home Center on Highway 97 had to look elsewhere after owner Todd Cunningham closed the business Jan. 1. He sold the business to Federated Co-ops, which remodeled and re-opened as a hybrid country store and Super America gas station. Cunningham opened a hardware store in Amery, Wis.
February Marine man nominated for teacher of the year Andrew Weaver, a Marine on St. Croix resident and science teacher at Stillwater Area High School, was nominated for Minnesota Teacher of the year. A colleage described him as “creative, funny, inventive and a truth-teller.”
Also in February • More hockey, less hassle — youth hockey club starts in Marine • Scandia students ‘fill buckets’ with kindness and respect
can eat” dinner. With pride they have filled their plates with Swedish meatballs and/or lutefisk. This traditional dinner has not missed a year since it began in the early 1930s. What began with a few men who missed the lutefisk served in their youth
has continued for more than 80 years. The menu at that time was Lutefisk, boiled potatoes, rye bread, doughnuts and coffee. Today the menu developed by the women in the early 1940s continues.
Marchh M Restoration Society uncovers history of forgotten bridge The City of Marine on St. Croix and Marine Restoration Society worked to rediscover the history of
SEE DINNER, PAGE 9 SEE TOP STORIES, PAGE 6
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