WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2016
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 118 NO. 52 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Braves head into final weeks. PAGE 11
Crews recover body lost in surging St. Croix BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Small step taken toward updating timeworn highway facility BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
The body of Andrew Remley, a 26-year-old Chisago City man who fell in the St. Croix River July 15, was found last Friday afternoon, according to the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office. Search crews found Remley’s body shortly after 3 p.m. just south of Rock Island, which sits Andrew Remley north of the Franconia landing. Remley had reportedly fallen from an angled rock while taking pictures with his girlfriend and two children in Taylors Falls the previous Friday evening. The river’s waters were unusually high and fast due to heavy rains and flooding earlier that week in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. An initial search the evening of July 15 was suspended after nightfall due to the dangerous waters. Searchers returned the next day, but called off the search around noon because of continued rough water.
Polk County’s Depression-era highway department building has been called obsolete, inefficient and even potentially dangerous. But is it time for a new one? County Administrator Dana Frey thinks so. In June he formally recommended replacing the structure, and says the county has been paying off enough debt to do it without raising taxes. A committee established July 19 will consider the options for potential improvements, from building from scratch on a new site to doing nothing. On that committee:
POLK COUNTY
Polk County’s highway department building was built in 1933. The county’s administrator, Dana Frey, has called it obsolete, inefficient and potentially dangerous.
Dean Johansen, current chair of the county board; Chris Nelson, a building contractor new to the county board this year; Craig Moriak, a building inspector and county board member; Jay Luke, chair
Making the earth-friendly move to recycle water bottles and soda cans at Osceola events could get a little easier if villagers get behind a resident’s recent proposal. Earlier this month, Barb Wetzel asked the Osceola Village Board to encourage groups applying for special event permits to supply recycling stations at events. “If we’re really promoting our location on the beautiful St. Croix River, we should also be promoting practices for a healthier earth in our own village,” Wetzel wrote in her proposal. Polk County offers free use of recycling bins and bags for both public and private events (users sign an agreement and leave a security deposit, which is refunded when the bins are returned).
JESSICA ANDERSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Wetzel believes the county’s receptacles, with clear plastic bags and lids sized to accept only bottles and cans, will stand out as a visual reminder to recycle. “Even though Waste Management provides extra recepta-
‘If we’re promoting our location on the beautiful St. Croix River, we should also be promoting practices for a healthier earth.’ Barb Wetzel POLK COUNTY RECYCLING
Polk County offers recycling bins free of charge for residents to use at events. Barb Wetzel thinks the receptacle’s design, easily identifiable as a recycling station, will serve as a visual reminder to recycle bottles and cans.
cles, many, many recyclables are deposited in the gray bins rather than the green ones,” she wrote. Wetzel also noted that service groups might be interested in reSEE RECYCLING, PAGE 15
On Aug. 1 a golf tournament will be held by the employees of the Polk County Sheriff’s Department in honor of Michael Seversen, a law enforcement officer who was shot and paralyzed while on duty 25 years ago. In 2014 Seversen passed away due to ongoing health issues caused by the 1991 event. Throughout the past two years the Michael Seversen Memorial Scholarship Committee has given “about $7,000 in scholarships to graduating High School seniors who are going into careers in either law enforcement or medical related fields,” according to Peter Johnson, Polk County’s sheriff. He also shared that “these are two career fields that Mike himself wanted to support because of the support he received from them during his life after he was shot.” All of the profits made from the upcoming golf tournament will go to the scholarship fund. The tournament begins at 10 a.m. on Aug. 1 at Krooked Kreek Golf course in Osceola. The participation fee is $70 and includes 18 holes of golf, a cart and dinner afterwards. In addition there will be door prizes and drawings. Johnson added, “We also want the public to know that even in these seemingly turbulent times, the men and women of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office not only serve them during our working hours, but we continue to work at giving back to our community. This scholarship is just one of those ways.”
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Golfing for a cause
Every can counts BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
of the Public Safety and Highway Committee; and John Bonneprise, a veteran board member who served during the county’s last building
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