WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 121 NO. 26 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola wrestlers compete well at Durand. PAGE 9
Beauty school dropout founds rebel skin care line BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
FILE PHOTO | THE SUN
A boy with a balloon jet pack paints a rock at Rhubarb Days 2017. The future of Osceola’s kick off to summer and the library’s seasonal reading programs is in question.
Could be goodbye for Rhubarb Days, Movies Under Stars
With a love for hands-on activity and a natural rebellious streak, Amber Ascheman never felt particularly well suited for the classroom. “I hate school,” she says. “I am a person who can’t sit still for more than 10 minutes at a time. I have to be doing. I have to be moving. The classroom, I just couldn’t do it.” Her shirt is hand-painted with the phrase “Tru Drop Out.” True beauty school dropout, that is. It’s an identity she’s come to embrace. It’s been a decade since Ascheman started to move toward organic food and skin care, less out of a sense of obligation
than defiance. “I started looking into eating better when I could afford it,” she says. “Then I realized since I was into skin care and makeup that the stuff I was putting on my skin was full of chemicals. I started researching the chemicals themselves and thought, ‘Oh my goodness. I’m putting this on my skin, and on my son’s skin.’ “If a product has more than five to 10 ingredients in it, something is wrong. We’re putting things that make motor oil, petroleum, on our skin. Our skin is our largest organ, so that was really scary.” Determined to change course, Ascheman started reSEE SKIN CARE, PAGE 20
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Skin care with a side of attitude. After a decade of making lotions and other products for herself, her family and friends, Amber Ascheman launched a skin care line, Beauty School Dropout Organics.
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Starting this year, the Osceola Public Library will no longer plan and host Rhubarb Days and Movies Under the Stars, Library Director Kelly McBride announced last week. According to McBride, the decision was prompted by a reassessment of the library’s direction and role in the village and its move away from Mill Pond Park. “A few years ago the library board took a hard look at the Rhubarb Days and Movies events and had a difficult time figuring out how these programs fit into the mission of the library,” she said. “As a result, some changes were made. Again, the library board and library staff have evaluated these events to determine whether they fit. As it turns out, they no longer do.” McBride invited other organizations to host the events. “These are great community events,” she said, “but it’s time the library ‘pass the torch.’ Library staff will be happy to share the troves of information we have from previous years with anyone who is interested in keeping these events rocking.” Another organization, Community Homestead, expressed interest in helping organize Rhubarb Days. And the Osceola Area Lions Club still plans to hold its Duckathlon rubber duck race, a signature event of the day. The announcement came the final week of McBride’s tenure as library director. Rebekah Palmer is now serving as interim library director.
Farmer group leads the way protecting local, regional waters BY GREG SEITZ ST. CROIX 360
In the rolling country of western Wisconsin, north of New Richmond, fields of corn and soybeans are interrupted by woods, water, and homesteads. It’s also the location of a groundbreaking effort to balance the farming business with beloved lakes and rivers. The pastoral scenes don’t give many clues to the complicated connections between the farms and the waters, but the issue of runoff, nutrient pollution, SEE GROUP, PAGE 13
SUBMITTED
Eric Wojchik, Polk County conservation planner, and Farmer Council members Lee Carlson, Timm Johnson, Scott Carlson, and Brad Johnson.
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