WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 120 NO. 10 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Chiefs claim top football spot in conference. PAGE 13
Could Amery oversee Stower Trail? Change in DNR partnership could shift motorized debate BY JESSICA DE LA CRUZ EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Osceola Homecoming
Autumn Timm, Arial Branum and Clarissa Nygren show their homecoming pride during the parade on the freshman class float. The parade was held last Friday afternoon.
Old hospital site captures imaginations BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Roughly a decade after the Osceola Medical Center moved to its 122-acre campus south of the village center, the building that served as the hospital’s previous home sits empty at the intersection of River Street and Third Avenue. The windows are dark, many have been boarded over, paint peels from a high exterior wall and the second “e” has fallen from the lettering above the main entrance. Concern is growing that the site has become a hazard. Last week, an Osceola resident posted
a video to Facebook expressing worry that kids are going into the building and could get hurt. Despite its apparently blighted condition, the property has captured the imagination of more than one would-be developer. Over the years, buyers have dreamt of reinventing the 4.2-acre lot overlooking the St. Croix River — though perhaps none as seriously as Bernie Desmarais. Representing a group of investors through LAD Properties, LLC, Desmarais has asked the Village of Osceola to reSEE PROPERTY, PAGE 11
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Signs at the former medical center entrance read “Closed” and “No Trespassing.” The “e” has fallen from the lettering above the doorway.
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Use of the Stower Seven Lake’s State Trail (SSLST) is under review, and now, Polk County is questioning whether or not it should even be a part of such decisions. Advocates for the Friends of the SSLST have a different idea—let the City of Amery take the reigns. Historically, a threeway relationship has existed to oversee the trail. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has contracted with the county to manage the SSLST, who in turn have offloaded almost all trail care and management responsibilities to the local, non-profit and self-sufficient Friends of the SSLST group. The discussion about whether or not the county should re-enter into a now null agreement with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been referred to the county’s environmental services committee. Back in Amery, local attorney, Jason Whitley, attended a Parks and Recreation Committee meeting on Wednesday to ask for the city’s support in offering the county a way to wash its hands of the matter. “I think that they’re looking for a way out of having to do anything
JESSICA DE LA CRUZ | AMERY FREE PRESS
Amery attorney and Stower Trail advocate, Jason Whitley (center), addressed the Amery Parks and Recreation committee on September 28. Whitley is asking for the city’s support in proposing that Amery take over the county’s role in Stower Trail oversight.
with the trail for a number of reasons,” said Whitley. “Having a new contract with the DNR outside of the assistance from the Friends group would be an extraordinary expense to them. The parks committee for the county is not capable of managing the trail, they don’t have the resources, manpower, equipment or funding.” The Friends of the SSLST, on the other hand, has all the equipment, a flush checking account, and multitude of volunteers to do all of the work, according to Whitley. Bill Zager, President of the Friends of the SSLST, says that the DNR prefers to partner with a municipality of some sort. SEE TRAIL, PAGE 11
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