COUNTRY
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2019 VOL. 36 NO. 06 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
STATE BUDGET DEAL: Representative Dettmer weighs pros and cons. PAGE 5
Young man’s love for river will flow on CONTRIBUTED SCANDIA-MARINE LIONS
Pietro Di Lorenzo was a nature lover. In March, the son of Marine residents Gene and Loralee Di Lorenzo died unexpectedly at 26 years old. To recognize his love of the St Croix River, the Di Lorenzo family created a fund for his memorials, the Pietro Hanka Di Lorenzo St. Croix River Conservancy Fund. Shortly before the fund was created, William O’Brien State Park had let the Scandia Marine Lions know they were open to donations to the children’s area of the Visitor’s Center. Loralee Di Lorenzo is a Lion and the club wanted to do something in Pietro’s honor, so revamping the children’s area became a happy coincidence of efforts to bring Pietro’s fund to the park through the Lions. Pietro Hanka Di Lorenzo’s memorial fund purchased nature-themed games, books and toys. The Lion’s club assembled the gifts and a group of Lions and Pietro’s family and friends installed them at William O’Brien on May 24, 2019. “Pietro enjoyed the visitor center every week in the winter when we cross-country skied,” said Loralee. “He was an avid naturalist as a child and maintained his love of the outdoors through fishing and
PAUL HUGO FARMS WMA
Birch and aspen are two tree species declining in Minnesota due to climate change. The University of Minnesota has created a woodland management field guide, “Climate Change Field Guide for Northern Minnesota Forests,” to help foresters and woodland landowners understand how climate change might impact different kinds of trees and forests (forestadaptation.org/ MN_field_guide).
If those trees could walk Managing woodlands for a changing climate BY ANGIE HONG EAST METRO WATER
GENE DI LORENZO
Lions Doreen and Tom Kapfer preparing reference books.
boating as an adult. He filmed nature in his career as a videographer and had recently obtained an FAA drone license to enhance his work. We are pleased to support children’s love and exploration of nature in this beautiful park along the St Croix River. Please visit, learn and enjoy.” Further gifts were
spurred by this event, to be coordinated by Sean Hoppes, interim park naturalist. Hoppes expressed gratitude on behalf of the park. “We are delighted to have these interactive items donated in memory of Pietro,” he said. “About 65,000 park visitors use the Visitor Center each year, and many will have a deeper
park experience because of this generous gesture. Kids will read nature stories in a play tent surrounded by a simulated camping experience, and older children and adults will look up plants, fungi, insects and critters they saw in the new guidebooks. There are nature games SEE D ILORENZO, PAGE 2
Potter donates time, talent to folk school CONTRIBUTED MARINE MILLS FOLK SCHOOL
Learning that you have a secret admirer can cause your heart to skip a beat and put a bounce in your step. For a new organization trying to make a go of it with not enough time in the day and limited financial resources, finding out a secret admirer wanted to help could make its leaders jump for joy. That is what happened when Connie Helke, renowned local potter, reached out to the Marine Mills Folk School, a traditional arts and crafts learning center in Marine on St. Croix.
SUBMITTED
Teacups in Marine on St. Croix potter Connie Helke’s distinctive style. Helke will teach a ceramics class to benefit Marine Mills Folk School in June.
“Connie called to say she wanted to offer a beginning class, for those interested in working with clay,” noted Robin Brooksbank, a
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member of the folk school programming committee and board. “Knowing how valued her work is, there was no question that people would welcome the chance to spend time with her. When she then said she loved the idea of a folk school in the area and wanted to support Marine Mills Folk School by donating all the proceeds, we were blown away.” Helke’s class was promoted on the school’s web site and almost instantly was sold out. “We worked up our nerve and asked Connie if she’d consider repeating the class, due to the
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SEE POTTER, PAGE 2
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Deep in the heart of Ecuador’s Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, the trees are slowly walking – very, very slowly. In pursuit of better living conditions, the trees grow new roots that stretch across the forest floor and gradually pull the rest of the tree along behind. These so-called walking palms might only move 2 to 3 centimeters per year, but they’ve been known to travel as far as 20 meters (65 feet) over time. Here in Minnesota, maple trees are also on the SEE TREES, PAGE 2
‘We have to make the investment’ Congressional subcommittee talks internet BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
On a typical day inside his Franconia Township warehouse, Matt Crescenzo would be designing and building automated machines such as his Star Lab CNC plasma machine. But May 30, the owner of Bulltear Industries paused regular business to SUBSCRIPTIONS 651-433-3845 office@osceolasun.com
testify before District 8 Representative Pete Stauber and others on Congress’s Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure. If he had to start the company again, he reported, he wouldn’t do it in rural Minnesota. Even with the best internet service available, and in spite of the accompanying $277 monthly bill, calls are dropped and his modem must be rebooted frequently. Lack of internet is hindering business SEE INTERNET, PAGE 5
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