COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2016
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 33 NO. 06 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
GATEWAY TRAIL: DNR and trail association plan extension to Scandia. PAGE 5
Lack of volunteers raises concerns for Scandia EDA BY KYLE WEAVER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
For more than two months, the City of Scandia has been looking for a volunteer to serve on its Economic Development Authority. With the city having difficulties filling the vacancy and three of the committee’s most ardent supporters having relocated—Scandia residents Tom Triplett and Sally Swanson moved away and then-Scandia Administrator Kristina Handt is now employed
‘Pause button off’ for Big Marine muskie stocking plan BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
in Lake Elmo—there seem to be questions whether the city having an EDA is still desired. “Tom was really the driving force behind it,” council member Chris Ness said during the council’s June 1 meeting. In May, one former council member, John Lindell, spoke against the EDA briefly during a public comment period. There are certainly others in Scandia who are hesitant at the idea
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said it will move forward with its plan to stock muskellunge in Big Marine and other lakes after a bill that would have stopped the plan failed to pass by the end of the state’s legislative session. “Now we are taking the pause button off,’’ DNR Regional Fisheries Manager Henry Drewes of Bemidji told the Star Tribune last week. The stocking plan, adopted in SEE MUSKIE, PAGE 2
US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
The plan to stock muskellunge in Big Marine and other lakes is back on after a bill that would have stopped the plan failed to pass by the end of the state’s legislative session.
SEE COUNCIL, PAGE 6
4-H youth to transform neglected land “Learn by Doing” is a slogan for 4-H clubs in Minnesota, and on Sat., June 18, youth from the Soaring Eagles 4-H Club will put that motto into practice. The 4-Hers will be joined by other youth in 4-H from Chisago and Washington counties as well as youth and adults from the local community to plant a 400-square-foot native wildflower demonstration garden at Goose Lake Farm Estates, located on Oren Road and Olgilvie Avenue in Scandia. The installation is part of a larger 1.7-acre pollinator planting sponsored by the Soaring Eagles. The Pollinator Park will include 44 prairie species, at least three of which will bloom each season from spring through fall. The wildflowers have been chosen to attract pollinators and provide critical habitat for pheasants. During the spring and
Giants of the prairie
SUBMITTED
A solitary bison on the Belwin prairie, its summer home. BY ANGIE HONG CONTRIBUTING WRITER
As we lie on our backs in the grass, the warm September sun overhead makes me drowsy. The prairie rises up on either side of the trail, hiding us almost completely from anyone more than a few feet away. Little bluestem, turkey’s foot, bee balm, coneflower – the tall grasses and flower stems wave in the breeze. He tickles my nose with a seed head SEE BISON, PAGE 2
summer months, native wildflowers are important for pheasants to survive because the chicks depend on them for protection from avian predators and to attract insects for food. Pollinators, likewise, depend on wildflowers for a reliable source of nectar and pollen, and for nesting habitat. On June 18, youth will have an opportunity to participate in four educational activities taught by local residents, with expertise in a selected topic including: • monarch butterflies by Janie O’Connor, • pollinators’ impact on the food chain by Misha Lang, • insects and storm water management by Jessica Wyn Miller, and • beekeeping by 15-year old 4-Her and beekeeper, Sophia Nienaber. After the educational SEE POLLINATOR PARK, PAGE 2
COURTESY SOARING EAGLES 4-H
A map of the Pollinator Park planned by the Soaring Eagles 4-H Club, Friends of Scandia Parks & Trails and other volunteers. The yellow outline is where the prairie will be located. The group has also planned a closedloop trail (shown in blue) to allow people to explore the prairie without damaging grasses and wildflowers.
ENT Specialist joins OMC Ear, Nose and Throat specialist Derek Schmidt, MD, of HealthPartners Medical Center, has joined the medical staff at Osceola Medical Center. For more information talk to your health-care provider or call OMC at 715-294-2111.
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