COUNTRY
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019 VOL. 36 NO. 29 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
LAND: Yard waste site opens in Hugo. PAGE 6
Stillwater mountain bike team takes its third state championship
May Township board hears gravel road woes
BY MATT ANDERSON EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
For their third consecutive year, the Stillwater Area High School Mountain Bike Team won the Minnesota State Division 1 Mountain Bike Championship Oct. 26-27 in Mankato. If this wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, the team also claimed the highest cumulative points to win the Overall Division 1 Team Championship for the bragging rights of the number one team in the state of Minnesota. The National Interscholastic Cycling Association has organized programs for 38 states, of which Minnesota claims the 2nd largest with over 1000 athletes. The Stillwater Mountain Bike SEE TEAM, PAGE 2
BY MATT ANDERSON EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
CHRIS LEMME
Max Smitten, of Marine on St. Croix, and the Stillwater Mountain Bike Team took their third State Championship Oct. 26 -27 and claimed the highest overall points for best team in the state.
Tis the season for lutefisk Scandia’s annual dinner Nov. 21 BY MATT ANDERSON EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
Lutefisk. Some have never heard of it, but those who have are often on one of two sides: love it, or hate it. No matter what, the cold weather means the traditional Scandinavian tradition of a Lutefisk dinner in Scandia is coming, and Mark and Carol Rossi are preparing to make this unique cuisine for the event. “It’s been about 15 years that we’ve been making lutefisk for the dinner in Scandia,” says lutefisk chef, Carol Rossi. “I grew up in a household with it, but I never had to try it
because my mom didn’t like it. But, she did cook it for my dad and my grandpa. It’s been more of our adult lives that we’ve been enjoying it.” “I have a certain remembrance of my dad and how he used to like it,” says Mark Rossi. “So, that’s just one of the reasons that I still like to eat it.” So, what exactly is lutefisk and why is it such a divisive food? “It’s just codfish and what makes it lutefisk is the process,” says Carol. “It was used back in the day by the Scandinavians to take on ships for protein, so they dried it by hanging it out on racks in the coastal areas SEE LUTEFISK, PAGE 2
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Nearly a dozen May Township residents attended the Board of Supervisors meeting Nov. 7 to discuss the significant deterioration of Keystone Ave., Kirby Ave., and 130th Ave. The concern of grading frequency, quality of gravel used and alternative solutions were all discussed. “It came to my attention that, besides our road, Keystone and Kirby were having issues,” said resident, Rebecca Swanson. “I went out and walked and drove those roads and counted the potholes. On Kirby, I literally counted 295. On Keystone there were over 200. That’s what brought us here tonight. We’re just wondering what we can do to prevent this from happening again.” Part of the issue, according to residents, is the quality of the material used on the roads. At the time, May Township relied on Dresel Contracting for their gravel which may have been using subpar material. “The stuff Dresel laid down for you is ‘goose dung,’” said another resident. “Once water hits it it’s terrible. The base that was laid down there is just terrible.” “You’ll be pleased to know that we didn’t use Dresel this year,” said chairman Bill Voedisch. “We did use them in 2018, but this year and moving forward, we used all our gravel from the Miller gravel pit. So, that change has been made.” “I appreciate the change, we needed change, but our road we’re literally walking in with rubber boots on,” replied the resident. “In fact, Marv, who you just mentioned, said that this is the worst road in May Township. This is 2019, this isn’t the 1940s.” One possible solution discussed in some detail later in the meeting is the use of a product called Base One, a liquid aggregate surface stabilizer applied to the gravel that is intended to improve stability. “The counties we visited applied Base One at the same time they applied their gravel,” said Voedisch. “The end result creates a pretty tight surface. We will be attending a presentation on December 12 from the company who makes Base One and we should have a better idea and some financials after that time.” In the interest of fixing the road issues as quickly as possible, board supervisor, John Pazlar, addressed the concerns of the attendees. “I’ve been on the board nearly 20 years and I don’t think I can recall this level of complaint about our roads, so clearly there is a serious level of defect here,” he said. “The science aside, I don’t think you guys care how we do it, just so long as it gets done. We’ll have our engineer look at right away if it’s not frozen, and we can certainly put you first on the list
Scandia’s annual traditional Lutefisk dinner is coming November 21 to the Scandia Community Center.
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