COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 32 NO. 21 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
TRIP TO NORWAY: Publisher connects with family, learns history . PAGE 6
Body found in St. Croix was missing woman
Marine residents donate heirloom art for school BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
In support of Marine Elementary School, two locals have donated artworks of historical significance, which will be up for auction at the school’s Sept. 29 fundraiser. Though he’s known for plein air paintings, Tom Maakestad has donated a block print, "Down Town Marine," which depicts the building now housing St. Croix Chocolate Co.’s retail shop. The print gives a partial view of the old lumberyard buildings. “This building has been many things to many people over the years,” said Maakestad, “a post office, the original Village Scoop, an architectural office was upstairs, [a floor] which is no longer there.” The print is part of a series of 10 block prints portraying historic sites in Marine, hand
TOM MAAKESTAD
Marine artist Tom Maakestad donated the print "Down Town Marine," which depicts the building now housing St. Croix Chocolate Co.’s retail shop, to the Marine School Association for its annual fundraiser.
carved last year in observance of the 175th anniversary of the city’s founding. Each was printed in a limited edition set of 25.
Marine documentary filmmaker Gayle Knutson has donated two pieces by once-local artists. One is a poster de-
signed by Marine artist Mark Odegard, printed in the mid 1990s to advertise Marine’s annual Fourth of July celebration.
“The unique thing about this piece is the spelling at the top,” said Knutson. “Marine is printed Marine of St. Croix. I don’t know if that was a misprint or if there is some significance.” Odegard has since moved to Minneapolis. The other is a 1977 photo of a watercolor painted by Forest Lake artist Kenneth Johnson, who is now deceased. The photo is part of a limited edition series, numbered five of 15. “Johnson signed his artwork ‘Topp’,” reports Knutson, “and that’s why you see it in the bottom corner.” When Knutson and her husband, Jim Mahers, bought a May Township home in 1994, the previous owners passed on the photo. Knutson’s friend, artist Jim Dimmers, reframed the piece and found the number sig-
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
The body found Sat., Sept. 12, in the St. Croix River near Scandia has been identified by the Ramsey Coun-
SUBMITTED
Del Monaco
ty Medical Examiner’s Office as a previously missing Maple Grove woman. Candy Belle Del Monaco, 37, was reported missing to Maple Grove police Tues, Sept. 8. Her 2014 red Toyota was found at Interstate Park near Taylors Falls the next day. An extensive ground and water search by the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office was unsuccessful. A boater discovered the body Saturday around 6 p.m. and called Washington County authorities. No foul play is suspected, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. According to the specialized news website Missing Persons of America, a Sept. 8 post on Del Monaco’s Facebook page read, “and to say goodbye is the end result. of life’s challenges and pain. for only when you drink from the river of silence shall your soul indeed sing. and god knows I love to sing … home. finally.”
SEE HEIRLOOM ART, PAGE 2
Scandia budget up 1.82 percent for ‘16 BY KYLE WEAVER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Scandia residents collectively will pay no more than $2,257,871 for infrastructure and city services in 2016. The Scandia City Council set that amount, which represents just a 1.82 percent increase over 2015, as its maximum levy amount for 2016. The amount may be decreased, but cannot be increased, before the city approves its final budget. The council also set its annual public
hearing for its budget for Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m. With an expected 4.3 percent decrease in market value, the planned budget estimates $263.59 in local tax per $100,000 in value. According to budget documents circulated at the council’s Sept. 15 meeting, the city has reduced spending in a number of areas over 2015, including an 8.69 percent cut in city office/administration costs, a 3.96 decrease in police services costs, and a 2.19 percent decrease in the parks and
recreation budget. In 2016, the city plans to purchase audio equipment for the council chambers ($8,000); breathing apparatus and masks ($98,000) and a compressor ($17,000) for the fire department; a dump truck with a plow ($200,000); and reconstruction and paving of 236th and 237th streets and Novak Avenue ($900,000) and a portion of Oldfield Avenue ($250,000). The city has a plan to reconstruct or SEE COUNCIL, PAGE 2
Free Health Seminar Topic: Snot, sneezes and yacks
With the cold and flu season coming, get your children prepared with our interactive “gross science workshop” designed for kids and their parents, October 6. Visit MyOMC.org/events or call 715-294-4936 to register, space is limited.
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