WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 118 NO. 46 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola soccer loses in sectional final. PAGE 12
Untying ‘Citizens United’ Locals join effort to overturn Supreme Court decision BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Can everyday Americans overturn an unpopular Supreme Court decision? With hope that the answer to that question is yes, two Osceola Township residents have joined a national grassroots effort that takes aim at the court’s 2010 “Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission” ruling, which freed corporations and unions
to spend unlimited outside funds on political campaigns. Since the decision, money has inundated politics from both ends of the spectrum and politicians have been forced to spend increasing amounts of time and energy raising campaign funds, leaving less time for the work of making laws – or listening to the concerns of constituents without big bank accounts. “Interest groups with money can spend as much as they like to influence elections, whether at the federal, state or local level,” explained Evan Wright, 17, to the
AMY LUESEBRINK-RAWLINGS | THE SUN
Wannigan Days
SEE DECISION, PAGE 10
Members of the St. Croix Valley Shrine Club smiled and waved from go-carts Sat. June 11, during the Wannigan Days parade.
Dresser sewer rates to increase July 1 BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Part of a national movement to get big money out of politics, Evan Wright asks the Osceola Town Board to allow constituents to vote on whether they’d like to amend the U.S. constitution.
Dresser residents can expect a slight increase in their sewer charges beginning next month, in effect an increase of $4.16 plus usage. The change is part of a series of scheduled increases approved in October 2014, after a review of wastewater utility finances and rates – which hadn’t been raised since 2008 – led the village board to revise service charges to keep up with costs. The first increase went into effect Jan. 1, 2015, establishSEE DRESSER, PAGE 24
Prior to 2015, sewer charges in Dresser had not been changed since 2008. In October 2014 the village board approved a trio of increases between January 2015 and January 2018.
Charlie Danielson to wrap up amateur career with two huge events Turns pro at the end of this month BY RON JASPERSON SPORTS WRITER
Sometimes it takes a little adversity to make you realize how much you want something. Osceola’s Charlie Danielson is on the cusp of turning pro in golf but at one time
Charlie Danielson
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he didn’t know how much the game meant to him. “I never loved golf until I had my two knee surgeries in middle school,” Danielson said. “Being away from the game for so long made me realize how lucky I was to play it.” Once he realized how much he wanted to play the sport and he recovered from the surgeries, his game went on the ADVERTISING 715-294-2314 sales@osceolasun.com
fast track towards excellence. As a freshman in high school at Osceola he made it to Sectionals but lost in a playoff to qualify for State. He then went on to win State two of the next three years, finishing second in the other season. After high school he attended college at the University of Illinois where he wanted to link up with Illini coach Mike PUBLIC NOTICES 715-294-2314 sales@osceolasun.com
Small. It was a good match for both Danielson and Small. In each year at Illinois Danielson earned All-American status including first team this year. Other awards during his illustrious college career include Big Ten player of the year and two-time winner of the Les Bolstad award which is given to the player with the lowest stroke average in
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Big Ten play. He also received the Big Ten Medal of Honor at Illinois which is earned through a combination of academics and athletics. He is a finalist for the Jack Nicklaus award and the Byron Nelson award. Before Danielson says goodbye to his amateur career he has a couple of huge events to take part SEE DANIELSON, PAGE 15
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