Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018 VOL. 120 NO. 47 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Kids fishing derby keeps ‘em casting. PAGE 10
Deer Lake Winery opens BY MARA MARTINSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
After dreaming of opening a winery of their own for years, Cheryl and Keith Johnson have made it happen. The Deer Lake Winery will hold its grand opening on June 23. The Johnsons have been growing grapes for 15 years and making their own wine for 10. Their vines come from the original Elmer Swenson vineyard. Swenson worked with the University of Minnesota years ago and developed vines that would withstand long, cold winters. The Johnsons stared all their vines from Swenson’s cuttings. The winery’s selection includes Swenson Red, Osceola Moscat Somerset Blue, Kay Gray White, Edelweiss, Prairie Star and several more. The winery is in the beginning stages of selling its own wine. In about two months, the Johnsons will be able to offer customers wine fermented on the premises with grapes sourced from other vineyards. Next year, they plan to offer wine from organic grapes grown on site. The Johnsons planted their first vines 15 years ago and another crop four years ago. “I have been dreaming about this for a few years,” Cheryl explains. “I like making wine and love being around people.”
Trail plan committee sets timetable BY TOM STANGL
TSTANGL THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
The committee tasked with developing comprehensive use plans for the Stower Seven Lakes State Trail and Polk County segment of Cattail Trail held their second meeting June 12, using the opportunity to flesh out a public questionnaire on the uses of the trails and setting the date and rules for a public hearing. The committee was created by a resolution from the Polk County Board of Supervisors in March. The board’s Environmental Services Committee is in charge of developing the plans. Members of the Trail Planning Subcommittee are: Brad Olson – Chair, Jon Fogelberg, Doug Johnson, Brandon Whittaker, Rick McGuiggan, Katie Bruns and Ronald Minnick. The first meeting of the subcommittee was held June 5. The group, with the help of County Planner Tim Anderson, has adopted ground rules of four points for all discussions. The rules are: Start and end on time, civil communications, people first and get the facts. Committee meetings run for 90 minutes. Committee members were to bring questions that could be included in a questionnaire that will be available online and in paper form. Questions were given to the staff to include. Fogelberg had contacted the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to get a copy of the questionnaire the department has developed for trail use. The committee agreed that county staff would develop a questionnaire, including
Cheryl Johnson of Deer Lake Winery planted her first grapevines 15 years ago with cuttings from Elmer Swenson’s vines. Swenson was an Osceola farmer renowned for breeding cold-hardy grapes. The winery’s grand opening is June 23.
The couple met in Amery while attending the Amery High School. Since then, Cheryl has spent 25 years working as a chiropractor in St. Croix Falls, and Keith as a carpenter. In fact, Keith built most of
the winery that, as the name suggests, is nestled near Deer Lake in St. Croix Falls. “Keith is so talented in his building abilities that he can create just about anything I come up with,” Cheryl said. “I have always loved
designing, so this is my creation from inside my head. It has my favorite color, teal, splattered everywhere.” Although the winery is smaller than others in the area, the Deer SEE WINERY, PAGE 11
Pedal Power: Teens invited to bike trip, maintenance class
A group of area organizations are partnering to host a bike trip for teens ages 13 to 18. Pedal Power participants will bike the Stower Seven Lakes State Trail from the Nye trail access parking lot to Amery and return to Nye. The route for the 22-mile round trip will be completely off roads. Once in Amery, participants will have a meal at Farm Table Restaurant with food from local farms and have a book discussion on “Lumberjanes” by Noelle Stevenson. Copies of the
book are available at all sponsoring libraries. This event is a partnership between the Amery, Dresser, Osceola and St. Croix Falls public libraries, CyclovaXC and Amery PowerUp. PowerUp, a community-wide initiative to make it easy, fun and popular for youth to eat better and move more, will provide bikes, helmets and prizes. CyclovaXC, a bike, ski and running shop in St. Croix Falls, will host a “Basics of Bike Maintenance” class. The class will be
NEWS 715-294-2314 editor@osceolasun.com
held at the St. Croix Falls Public Library on Wednesday, June 20 from 5 to 7 p.m.
EVENT DETAILS h l 14, 2018 (Rain i date d When: July July 28, 2018), 2 to 7 p.m. Where: Stower Seven Lakes State Trail, Nye parking lot How to register: This event is open to all youth 13 to 18 years old. To register, call the Amery Library 715-268-9340 or find it online at www.amerylibrary.org.
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SEE TRAIL, PAGE 11
Trail discussion framed Minutes of the June 5 meeting of the trail planning committee show a focus discussion of trail experiences that was facilitated by County Planner Tim Anderson. From the minutes of the first meeting: Think back to the last time you were recreating on a trail, name one activity you participated in on the trail? Snowmobiling; Horseback riding; Running; Biking; ATV/UTV riding; Not a trail user. What are other activities you observed other people participating in on the trail? Walking; Snowshoeing; Cross country skiing; Dog sledding; Fat tire biking; Pulling Kayaks; Horseback riding; Snowmobiling; ATV riding; Hiking; UTV riding; Search and rescue training; Running; Marathon training. What do you find enjoyable about trails? Wildlife; Scenery; Meeting people; Bird watching; Trail maintenance; Camaraderie; Going from point “a” to point “b”; Going out to eat; Visiting different places; Geocaching; Traveling long distances/touring; Social event; Good signage and maps; Clean bathrooms. What do you not find enjoyable? Trail users not spending money locally after using trail; Trash along trail and having to pick it up; Violators; Rough trails; Lack of signage; Sometimes too much noise when you want quiet . What concerns do you have about how trails are used? SEE DISCUSSION, PAGE 11
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