WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 120 NO. 2 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS : Danielsons competing on golf tours. PAGE 10
Red pines browning after summer hail showing similar symptoms caused by the same storms, according to the Minnesota DNR.
BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Pine trees turning brown after hailstorm strikes earlier this summer should be assessed carefully, according to foresters with the Wisconsin and Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources. Following heavy winds and hail in June and July, conifers in the Horse Creek area are showing signs of diplodia, a fungal disease that causes the trees’ needles to turn red or brown, said Wisconsin DNR forester Paul Heimstead. Other trees in the storm path, including red pines in Minnesota near Hugo, Scandia and Marine on St. Croix, are
‘In the four or five square miles around Horse Creek many trees are not coming back.’ Paul Heimstead DNR Forester
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Following heavy winds and hail in June and July, pines trees are showing signs of diplodia, a fungal disease that causes the trees’ needles to turn red or brown.
Town of Osceola board worries legislation would threaten local control BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
The Town of Osceola’s board of supervisors has approved a letter to Representative Adam Jarchow (R-Balsam Lake) and Senator Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) opposing the proposed Homeowners Bill of Rights (HBOR) in its current form. Jarchow and Tiffany introduced the legislation in June saying, “the creep of overbearing government at all levels has imperiled property rights and homeownership.” The package calls for limits to property taxes, streamlined permitting processes for broadband companies, increased protection against eminent domain and takings caused by regulations, and reduced regulations around buying homes, among other measures. Joined by Representative Rob Brooks (R-Saukville) in July, they added two more bills to the list. LBR 2630 would, among other things, allow property owners to SEE LEGISLATION, PAGE 8
The hail damage gives the diplodia fungus, which is already present on the pines, an opportunity to infect the shoots with blight, browning the outer limbs.
A forester with the Minnesota DNR, Jeff Wilder, said many of the trees there are likely to survive as long as there is adequate precipitation. “A lot of the brown is very noticeable because it’s on the tips of the limbs, but the lateral branches down the limb are still green,” he said. Damage may have been more severe in Wisconsin, where DNR forester Heimstead was less optimistic. “In the four or five square miles around Horse Creek many trees are not coming back,” he said. “We’re exploring salvage operations. For folks on the outskirts of the storm with less than SEE PINES, PAGE 8
One coach, eight attendees, 32 pieces BY JORDAN JANTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
If you’re looking for the Osceola Public Library’s new chess club, head to the table where enthusiastic voices are discussing chess openings, strategies and rules. The club, launched at the beginning of the summer, has grown from one attendee to several. Jonathan Kahn started the chess club to give back to the community in Osceola. “I moved to Osceola quite recently after years of wanting to live in a rural area close to natural beauty — I love to bike and hike,” he said. “I feel so appreciative for the quality of life I have found here in Osceola and the friendliness of the people I have met that I really wanted to give something back to the community. I thought that creating a chess club was a good way to
JORDAN JANTZE THE SUN
Pictured are Austin Nichols, Jac McDonnel, coach Jonathan Kahn, Andrew Jantz and Kendra Bantz.
do that. The staff at the Osceola Public Library helped me to start the club and continue to be tremendously supportive.” Kahn got interested in chess
when he was a child. “When I was 11, I went to a boarding school in England — somewhat similar to SEE CHESS, PAGE 9
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