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TEACHER OF THE YEAR: Six finalists named PAGE 3A
Trial date set for lake lawsuit BY DEBRA NEUTKENS REGIONAL EDITOR
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Egg-collecting efficiency Children rush out onto a field covered with treat-filled eggs during the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Community Park in Vadnais Heights Saturday, March 19. According to a parent who used a stop watch to time the event, a wave of 7 to 9-year-old participants completely scooped up hundreds of eggs in 51 seconds.
ST. PAUL — Unless something changes this legislative session, the lawsuit over the elevation of White Bear Lake will go to trial: March 6, 2017. The clock is ticking. At a March 14 status hearing before District Judge Margaret Marrinan, parties in the lawsuit acknowledged it was unlikely the Legislature would fund a feasibility study by Aug. 1 to implement a conversion from groundwater to surface water for six cities in the northeast metro. The August deadline was part of the settlement agreement between the plaintiff, the White Bear Lake Restoration Association and an intervenor, the White Bear Lake Homeowners Association, and the defendant, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and intervenors White Bear Township and the city of White Bear Lake. The agreement put the lawsuit on a three-year hold while stipulating certain conditions and deadlines. One was the feasibility funding by Aug. 1. Missing that first deadline means the stay will be lifted and the lawsuit will go to trial. White Bear Lake City Attorney Roger Jensen said everyone at the hearing agreed that key date would not be met. “The judge recognized it was unlikely funding would occur,” Jensen said. “She also said it was partially due to the fact there is a competing augmentation bill pending in the Legislature.” There’s another wrinkle in the trial timeline. By law, Judge Marrinan is forced to retire when she turns 70. That will be August of 2017. If she is going SEE LAKE LAWSUIT, PAGE 9A
New record for ice out You heard it here first. Well, second, if you were at Benny’s Barbershop. The “ice lady,” Jan Holtz Kraemer, declared ice out on White Bear Lake March 16. It’s a new record. The old record was March 19 in 2012. According to Kraemer, who took over the ice watchman duties from barber Benny Schmalzbauer in 2001, said the rain and wind made short work of the remaining ice. “It’s no surprise with this warm weather,” she said. Kraemer walked to the tip of Manitou Island on Wednesday and could not
see ice, so she drove to St. Germain bay near the Dellwood peninsula, as the barber taught her, to make the final assessment. The ice historian dutifully calls Benny’s Barbershop first, as is tradition. “They need something to talk about while they’re cutting hair,” she said, noting that the White Bear Press is her second call. Only a week ago, there were vehicles on the ice, added Kraemer. The latest ice-out date remains May 4, 1950. Last year the lake was ice-free on April 2. Debra Neutkens
Mahtomedi Go Round revisits history 10-mile bike/walk trail loop copies Grand Rounds concept BY DEBRA NEUTKENS REGIONAL EDITOR
Who knew? There is a wealth of historic and scenic points in Mahtomedi and Willernie that a “10-mile total adventure” trail system will cover. Still in the planning stage, the effort is under the auspices of the Mahtomedi Area Green Initiative, according to resident Steve Wolgamot. The group has been working on outdoor and environmental projects for years. “I am a Johnny-come-lately to the issues of bike/walk paths and trails,” he said. “A number of Mahtomedi leaders, dating back
to the 1980s, have been responsible for putting together some remarkable parks and trails.” Called Mahtomedi Go Round after the Grand Rounds trail concept in Minneapolis, the integrated figure-8-shaped trail plan will give the city more identity, Wolgamot noted. “There is amazing history in our city. This is a route that uses not just trails and sidewalks, but streets. It goes to parks, beaches, churches and schools in the city. Nearly all Mahtomedi businesses are on or within a few steps of the route.” According to White Bear Lake trail advocate Mike Brooks, the Grand Rounds concept of inter-
connected trails and parks goes back to the late 1800s and Horace Cleveland, a prominent landscape architect. Minneapolis has been very successful in increasing trail and path use with the concept and promoting the city, he said. There are still parts and area of trail yet to complete, but the accompanying map demonstrates an available route through beautiful parts of Mahtomedi and Willernie, Wolgamot said. “It is a work in progress, but will, we hope, prove useful in letting people know more about SEE MAHTOMEDI TRAILS, PAGE 8A
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