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VOL. 42 NO. 29 www.quadcommunitypress.com $1.00
OPINION: Local letters to the editor. PAGE 5
Residents divided on proposed development
Centennial grad: 1st job to forever career In 2020, right when the pandemic hit, he came back to where it all started — Circle Pines. After about a year, the restaurant sold to new owners and some of the upper management left. “I had the opportunity to take over, and I have been here ever since,” said Lee, who is the store’s general manager. “I was really impressed with how the Henrys ran their company,” Lee explained. “They took more pride and care in their people. The benefits are great, too, but one of the main reasons I stayed is because of how they treat their people.”
BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
SEE CENTENNIAL GRAD, PAGE 2
MELISSA CARLSON | CONTRIBUTED
Senior Elle Hinds plays Ariel and senior Nathan Rowe plays Prince Eric in Centennial High School’s upcoming production “The Little Mermaid” May 1-5.
High School dives ‘Under the Sea’ period of time,” said co-director Mary Rudquist. “These students have grown up with the movies and the musical, and they absolutely love it, and it means a lot to them. It was time for us to do the show here.” Co-director Eric Webster added, “The music is beautiful. The story of love is timeless and beautiful.” There are 41 actors in the show as well as 36 students involved in
BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
Centennial will continue its underwater theme. Last month, the middle school performed “Finding Nemo JR,” and now the high school is set to perform “The Little Mermaid” May 1-5. “(The) Little Mermaid is already a classic in a very short
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the booth, costumes and set crew. Several Centennial alumni are also involved in the show. “Once you are in the program, you are in the program. We try to keep everybody coming back,” said Brandy Eckman, vice president of Centennial Theatre Booster. “Especially, if they are in the business, it helps them be a pro.” SEE MUSICAL, PAGE 15
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Centennial grad Tanner Lee is the general manager of the McDonald’s in Circle Pines.
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Whether Lino Lakes should welcome over 450 families in a proposed development known as Madinah Lakes continues to be a big topic of discussion throughout the Quad area. Recently, it was standing room only as residents and nonresidents voiced their concerns or support for the proposed development. Zikar Holdings is proposing to build Madinah Lakes on land located approximately 1.5 miles east of Lexington Avenue on the south side of Main Street (County Road 14), near the city’s border with Blaine. The 156-acre development would include apartments, townhomes, villas, single-family homes of all sizes and senior living homes; a park pavilion, soccer fields and tennis courts; restaurants/coffee and retail shops; day care and banquet facilities; and a $15 million, 40,000-square-foot masjid, or mosque. Resident Luke Walter described one resident’s support of the project at the last open mike as a “performance.” “The sad truth is that those supporting this development want to paint a narrative of hate and hostility in the hope that people will fear to voice their objections. Our objections are reasonable, and we won’t be silenced,” he said. Walter added that some of those objections include speed and density of development, infrastructure, parking, as well as possible strain on schools, police and fire. “I have lived in Lino Lakes for seven years, and watching our community become more diverse has been a wonderful thing to see. But diversity means diversity,” Walter said. “Marketing this development to a single demographic will result in that target audience exclusively, or as a sizable majority, being the ones buying or living there. It is a recipe for division.” Architect Dean Dovolis spoke on behalf of Zikar Holdings. He addressed some claims he had seen circulating on a flyer. “The development is less dense than all the surrounding developments. The lots are larger, the lakes and parks are bigger,” he explained. “It would add about 10% of the population; so would every other development that is being proposed here.” As far as pressure on the schools goes, he pointed out the fact that the district already has open enrollment in place. And for diversity, the development would be open to anyone, he noted.
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BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
When Tanner Lee was 15, he started his first job working at the McDonald’s in Circle Pines. Now at the age of 26, he still works there, although his role has changed. “One of my neighbors worked there and referred me,” Lee recalled. Lee graduated from Centennial High School in 2015. He worked in Circle Pines until 2017, when he started to move around to different McDonald’s locations, including White Bear Lake, Edina, Hopkins and Minneapolis.
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