COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2017
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
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MAY TOWNSHIP: Audit report. PAGE 2
Work begins on Scandia Veterans Memorial BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
After breaking ground last Friday in Lilleskogen Park, work has officially begun on the Scandia Veterans Memorial. The project has been three and a half years in the making, according to Dave Wilson, chair of the memorial committee. “We went through a couple of different design plans and locations and finally settled here,” he explained. “We worked with the community to get design ideas … Everybody said ‘keep it simple,’ so this will be low profile and blend in well with the park.” The design calls for a granite memorial with columns of matching brown granite on either side displaying service emblems. Flanking the columns, “honor walls” will be built with paver bricks bearing the
SUZANNE LINDGREN | COUNTRY MESSENGER
Randall Simonson drives a stake at the site of the forthcoming Scandia Veterans Memorial. Ground was broken at Lilleskogen Park last Friday.
names of veterans. On Friday, Wilson said the team planned to lay the foundation footings. By the end of the month they hope to have poured concrete for the patio, which will be stained and textured. “Following that we’ll block up the two outside walls,” said Wilson. The timeline for completion depends on when the granite monument arrives and how long engraving takes. So far, the group has sold 127 bricks and has room for about 70 more. Those sponsorships are an important piece of the memorial coming to fruition. “This is a community effort,” said Wilson, noting that Roger Rydeen was volunteering his time, equipment and supplies to dig and lay the foundation, and Jeff Gacek donated fill for low spots at the site. SEE MEMORIAL, PAGE 9
Minnesota Food Association joins The Food Group BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
The Minnesota Food Association, which operates Big River Farms in May Township, is now a program of the hunger relief organization The Food Group. The administrative-level shift will not significantly change operations the MFA site in Wilder Forest, according to Lori Kratchmer, The Food Group’s executive director. “It will be 100 percent business as usual,” she said. “MFA is a pretty small nonprofit as a standalone. It gets hard to do all your administrative work well and keep programs going, so this will help them focus more on programming.” Minnesota Food Association runs a farmer-training program that helps immigrant and minority farmers launch smallscale farming businesses. The
organization also hosts a community supported agriculture (CSA) style food share via Big River Farms. The Food Group is an independent food bank in Minnesota that gathers surplus produce from local farms including Big River to broaden access to high-quality food across income levels. The Food Group (formerly Emergency Foodshelf Network) has long partnered with MFA and other local farms in its hunger relief efforts, said Kratchmer. The two organizations hope the merged business model will create a stronger local food network, getting healthy food to the people who need it. Dan Tilsen, board chair of Minnesota Food Association, said he believes the merger will increase administrative support for existing programs at Big River Farms. “This opportunity presents
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innovative ways for us to work together to become stronger in supporting local farmers and alleviating hunger in our community,” he said. “There are not many examples of food banks partnering with small-scale, sustainable farms,” Kratchmer said in a press release last week. “We’re excited to open the door to the many new possibilities this partnership will present. Our organization is very committed to equity and this opportunity allows us to work more deeply on this area as well as access and nutrition issues related to food and hunger.” According to The Food Group, the newly joined programs will “focus on breaking down the barriers that exist for small farmers to grow good food locally while also fighting the barriers that exist to getting good food to those who need it most in our community – hungry Minnesotans.”
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Chicken Dinner deemed a success
JANIE O'CONNOR
Lion Joel Johnson holds a baby at the Lions' Chicken Dinner May 6. The event was very well attended.
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
Though exact numbers had yet to be calculated a few days after the Scandia-Marine Lions Club’s Spring Chicken Dinner, club President Judy Rydeen said the event seemed a success. “We had a very good turnout,” she said. “We went through 400 pieces of chicken, so I would guess we served around 400 people.” After the chicken was gone about 10 would-be diners were turned away, Rydeen reported. Other than that, event-goers seemed happy. “They liked the food,” she said. “There were lots of kids games, plus a bouncy house, so the kids had a great time.” And the simulcast of the Kentucky Derby went off without a hitch “thanks to a very nice man from Midco,” Rydeen noted, who walked club members through set up. “It was slick as could be,” she said. “Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing that projected onto the big screen.” Taking a cue from the derby, the Lions’ event included a hat contest. “The Kentucky Derby tradition is for women to wear big fancy hats,” Rydeen explained. “So we had a contest for the best hat.” The group invited Lions from another area to judge the contest, to ensure objectivity. Roughly 10 entered the contest, according to Rydeen, lining up and turning around so all could see the hats. An exchange student from Tanzania won. The event was part of an effort to raise funds for scholarships to area students. The club does its best to award $1,000 to every student who meets their criteria. This year there were 30. “$30,000 is a goal we work on all year,” Rydeen said, “but (proceeds from the dinner) should be able to cover close to three scholarships. We got a couple of very nice donations, which helps. We’re always looking for donations to the scholarship fund. “The Lions would like to thank everybody who came and contributed to make it a success,” Rydeen continued. “And the ones who worked!” SUBSCRIPTIONS 651-433-3845 office@osceolasun.com
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