WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 119 NO. 17 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola girls basketball wins season opener. PAGE 8
Sing-along in St. Croix Falls BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
Connection within the community is an important aspect of rural areas and over the past seven years Dresser resident Lia Falls has created and grown a technique of bringing people together through singing. She feels that singing is deeply important to our culture, that it connects us, and she’s not alone. She hosts a community song circle on the second Sunday of every month. The events take place at the St. Croix Falls Library from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and consist of songs Falls has picked up over her life time. “They’re songs I’ve collected over the years, some are chants, some are seasonal.” Falls also welcomes new songs shared by participants. The music varies according to Falls, but what doesn’t is who can participate. “I’m very intent on having a place where anyone can come to sing. … Most peo-
ple sing in church and if they don’t go to church, they don’t sing with other people. With the advent of recorded music, the point of view is that you have to be a professional to sing. That’s a new idea. The older idea is that we sang together to knit people together,” Falls stated. It’s also not a religious group, “there’s no dogma.” These events are a way of encouraging and celebrating singing for its own sake and what it can do for people. “I remember driving home after my first song circle filled with a deep sense of joy I had not felt for many years. I continue to feel that sweetness every time I’m in the circle” stated Ann Halla, a resident of Luck, Wis. The group frequently has 12 to 14 guests, but Falls holds the circles no matter how many people arrive. Singing isn’t even required; Falls said “you might think it’s so beau-
JESSICA ANDERSON | THE SUN
Being able to spend time on our frozen lakes is a perk of the cold climate in which we live, but safety should not be taken for granted.
A Midwest winter tradition BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
Being Midwesterners we know that frozen lakes and frigid temperatures are not going to keep fishermen from their fish. It’s likely you know someone who is chomping at the bit to get out on the lakes now that ice has appeared on them, but this attitude can be dangerous: frozen lakes aren’t the safest of places. Because this autumn has been so abnormally warm ice will not have built up on the lakes at the rate to which many of us are accustomed. Due to fluctuations like this ice fishing simply can’t follow as strict of a schedule that other hunting and fishing seasons do. Many people wonder “When is ice safe?” and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) has a response. “There really is no sure answer. You can’t judge the strength of ice just by its appearance, age, thickness, temperature, or whether or not the ice is covered with snow. Strength is based on all these factors – plus the depth of the water under the ice, size of the body of water, water chemistry and currents, the distribution of the load on
SEE SONG, PAGE 13
COURTESY OF KATHLEEN MELIN
The song circle meets the second Sunday of every month at the St. Croix Falls library.
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the ice, and local climate conditions.” However, the department does provide general guidelines to help us be safe on our frozen lakes. When looking at the thickness of the ice, two inches or less is not safe even to walk on, four is okay for ice fishing and other activities only on foot, five inches can hold a snowmobile or ATV, eight to twelve a car or small truck, and twelve to fi fteen a medium sized truck. But again there are other factors, for example if the ice you’re measuring is white/snow ice, which is cloudier, formed from compacted snow, and therefore more porous, these measurements need to be doubled. Ice also does not freeze uniformly, especially on larger bodies of water. It can even be affected by schools of fish, which according to the DNR, can bring warm water from lower levels of the lake up to the surface, thinning the ice where it rises. Occurrences such as this make it dangerous to travel quickly on the ice. “If you must drive a vehicle, be prepared to leave it in a hurry—keep windows down and have a simple emergency plan
of action you have discussed with your passengers. … Even at 30 miles per hour, it can take a much longer distance to stop on ice than your headlight shines. Many fatal snowmobile thoughthe-ice accidents occur because the machine was traveling too fast for the operator to stop when the head lamp illuminated the hole in the ice” stated the DNR. They also recommend wearing a floatation device under winter clothing, unless you are inside an enclosed vehicle, and carrying ice picks. Winter clothes are very heavy when wet and the extra buoyancy may save your life if the ice breaks. “It’s amazing how difficult it can be to pull yourself back onto the surface of unbroken but wet and slippery ice while wearing a snowmobile suit weighted down with 60 lbs of water. The ice picks really help pulling yourself back onto solid ice.” Being able to spend time on our frozen lakes is a perk of the cold climate in which we live, but safety should not be taken for granted, they can also be a dangerous place. If it ever gets cold enough, have fun and be safe out on the lakes.
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