COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2016
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 33 NO. 12 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
RIVER TREK: Part 6, Trego to Whispering Pines. PAGE 7
St. Croix river struggles to handle heavy rains
Scandia family adopts handmade skin care company BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
Two years ago, the McHugh family might never have guessed they’d be handcrafting soaps, lotions and bug sprays on a Scandia homestead near the St. Croix. Back then, the McHughs – Laura, Patrick and daughters Stella and Hazel – lived in St. Paul. In fact, not too long before, Laura McHugh had co-founded a chemical-free hair salon, The Apiary, on Grand Avenue. The fledgling salon used and sold natural products, including a skin care line handmade in River Falls by Casey McGee of Mirasol Farm. Although McHugh was a Mirasol devotee – none of its products irritated her sensitive skin – she was happy enough to keep it on the shelf, allowing the recipes for McGee’s salves and soaps to remain a mystery. But change was in the air. After 12 years in the city, the McHughs had begun to crave rural surroundings. “We wanted the girls to go to a smaller school, to be immersed in nature and live more sustainably,” SEE MCHUGH FAMILY, PAGE 2
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The McHugh family: Laura, Patrick, Stella and Hazel. After moving to Scandia a year and a half ago, the McHughs have adopted a natural skin care company, Mirasol Farm Organics, formerly headquartered in River Falls.
Historic bridge project develops JESSICA ANDERSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Since April of this year there has been an ongoing project to discover the history of a bridge in Marine. The bridge runs underneath Judd Street and is believed to have been part of a military road. Fitzie Heimdahl, the initiator of the project, offered an update on the project’s progress July 14 at the Marine City Council meeting. At this point the site has been exposed so that many of the remaining stones are visible. Heimdahl stated that
the group is “on the research phase” now that there is a better visual of the site. “Linking history, it’s the first step to historic preservation,” he explained. So far the Minnesota Historical Society has been matching city funds contributed toward the project. According to Heimdahl, they plan to continue that support as the project develops. However, the council voiced some concerns about proceeding. Lon Pardun brought up his concerns first asking
Heimdahl, “Are we going to get a scope? Can you tell us where you think this is going to go?” The council seemed in agreement that a meeting to discuss a more detailed planned timeline would be appropriate.
Other Business: • The building for the antique pumper is complete. • Andy Kramer of the Village Center Committee has identified 46 historic spots in the community. • There may be a grant available to get bicycle
racks in town; the council debated if they would be useful. • The work on the loop trail is expected to be complete by the end of the summer. •The School Property committee is hoping to have an appraiser check out the property in late September. • A new law passed on “drop homes” is requiring Minnesota cities to allow trailers and other smaller living spaces to remain temporarily on residential properties. However, it seems many cities are opting out.
DNR will hold muskie-stocking meeting BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold a public meeting to discuss its muskellunge-stocking proposal for Big Marine Lake. At the meeting, the agency will address comments and concerns expressed by residents, lake associations and government bodies during the proposal’s public comment period last August through January. The meeting is scheduled for August 3, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Scandia Community Center (14727 209th St. N.).
The DNR announced last fall that it planned to stock Big Marine and three other Minnesota lakes with muskie this year, part of a long-term plan to increase opportunities to catch the trophy species across the state. The proposal has been unpopular with locals, who believe the predator species will resort to eating pan fish for lack of preferred forage in the lake, among other concerns. After joining forces with other groups affected by the muskie-stocking plan, the opposition caught the attention of legislators, who wrote a bill to halt the intro-
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duction of muskie to new waters for four years. The House amended its version of the bill to limit stocking only in the six candidate lakes named in the DNR’s plan. The legislative session ended in late May with a number of unsettled issues, including the Game and Fish bill of which the stocking ban was part. Since the legislation did not pass, DNR staff announced plans to move forward with the plan. In addition to attending the meeting, written comments can be sent to TJ DeBates, 1200 Warner Road, St. Paul, MN 55106, or by phone at 651-259-5770.
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SUZANNE LINDGREN | COUNTRY MESSENGER
After cresting Saturday, water levels had begun to decline Sunday morning at Log House Landing but were still remarkably high, covering most of the sign near the launch. BY TOM STANGL TSTANGL@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
A 10-13-inch rainfall event that ranged from north of St. Cloud to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan July 11 and 12 resulted in widespread flooding on the Namekagon, Kettle and Snake rivers, tributaries of the St. Croix River. By Sunday, the high water crests on the St. Croix had moved through Stillwater. The National Park Service on Wednesday closed all landings on the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers until further notice. The increased flow of the Kettle and Snake rivers in Minnesota and the Namekagon caused numerous high water marks and dangerously swift flows. Mike Griesinger, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, explains that a warm front anchored Monday over an area ranging from Wilmar, Minn. through Osceola and north to Danbury created “perfect conditions” for a widespread heavy rainfall event. The warm front kept drawing up warm and humid air from the south and did not clear out until a cold front pushed it south on Wednesday. The meteorological term used to describe a line of thunderstorms that are unable to move through and continue to develop is “training.” The storms on Monday night continued to redevelop, causing the high rainfall amounts. The St. Croix river crested July 13 in the Burnett County Village of Danbury at 8.5 feet. The
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