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VOL. 124 NO. 14 www.whitebearpress.com $1.00
BEAR’LY OPEN: Founder of fundraiser retires from board PAGE 3A
Chamber leadership transitions with familiar faces in Anoka County before landing the position in his hometown. The White Bear Area Chamber has over 400 members from 12 surrounding municipalities, said Wilson. That is many more members than there were before Snell took the lead; members tend to stick around when they see the value of the chamber, she added. “Tom worked hard,” she said. “It has grown ... it continues to each year.” Snell said he has planned interesting chamber events and meetings, discussing such topics as a
BY SARA MARIE MOORE EDITOR
Tom Snell, executive director of the White Bear Area Chamber of Commerce, will step down from his role in March and Shari Wilson, current director of marketing and member relations, will take the helm. Snell has led the chamber for almost nine years. A 1968 White Bear Lake alum, he has lived in White Bear Township most of his life. His career took a path to White Bear chamber after he started selling chamber memberships in the western suburbs. He eventually became director of the Metro North Chamber
SEE CHAMBER, PAGE 9A
SARA MARIE MOORE | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Tom Snell, left, retires as executive director of the White Bear Area Chamber of Commerce. Shari Wilson, right, will take the lead at the chamber while Snell remains part-time.
Attorneys in lake level case argue before Supreme Court BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER
A winter blast of outdoor hockey Bundled up spectators cheer on members of the White Bear Lake Orange team after Marshall Rabine scored a goal against Blaine during the 2020 Mite Winter Blast Tourney Saturday, Jan. 11 at Podvin Park. It was the first year that the youth hockey tournament, featuring teams from Blaine, Forest Lake, Mounds View and Menomonie Wisconsin, was held at the outdoor rink adjacent the warming house at Podvin Park.
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PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
ST. PAUL — As the state Supreme Court considers whether claims against the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were brought under the correct statute in the lake level lawsuit, plaintiffs in the eight-year-old case say there is a positive outcome regardless of the decision. “Because of our action, the DNR is finally paying attention to managing its (water appropriation) permits,” said Greg McNeely, chair of the White Bear Lake Restoration Association, which sued the DNR in 2012 for mismanaging permits, blaming the agency for historic low lake levels. “Win or lose, I believe our efforts have brought awareness of water conservation to the table,” McNeely added. The state’s high court heard oral arguments Jan. 6 from the restoration association’s lead attorney, Katie Crosby Lehmann, and lake homeowner’s association attorney Byron Starns. The homeowners joined the plaintiffs early on as an intervenor. The DNR was represented by Oliver Larson with the attorney general’s office. Attorneys for
the city of White Bear Lake and White Bear Township, defendant intervenors, did not speak. Plaintiffs based assertions of DNR mismanagement under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA), Minnesota Statute 116B.01 to .13. They theorized that the agency inappropriately issued permits for groundwater extraction that caused decreased water levels on White Bear Lake, which harmed the lake’s value as a recreational and aesthetic asset. The homeowner’s association asserted claims both under MERA and the common-law public trust doctrine. Both groups sought an order requiring the DNR to amend groundwater appropriation permits in municipalities within a 5-mile radius of the lake. The DNR challenged the claims, arguing they were not properly asserted under Statute 116B.03, under which the plaintiffs brought their claims, but instead fall under Statute 116B.10, which does not provide for injunctive relief. After a bench trial, the district court found in favor of