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RELAY FOR LIFE: 25 years of coming together PAGE 9A
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Water levels have been high this summer.
Lake level lawsuit going to court of last resort BY DEBRA NEUTKENS EDITOR
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Friendly orca sighting An inflatable orca toy was sighted mingling with the swimmers cooling off in White Bear Lake at Memorial Beach Thursday evening, July 18, during the near record-breaking streak of hot and humid days last week.
ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to review the Court of Appeals decision in the lake level case. The White Bear Lake Restoration Association (WBLRA) and the White Bear Lake Homeowners' Association Inc. petitioned the high court in April after the Court of Appeals overturned a ruling that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) violated the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act in managing groundwater pumping permits. The majority opinion by the appeals panel focused on a procedural issue. Two of
the three judges agreed that the district court erred by allowing respondents' claims to proceed under a statute that pertained to civil action when a different statute provided “the proper remedy for challenged actions” regarding a DNR permit. In her order signed July 16, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea granted the petitions filed by the WBLRA, plaintiff in the seven-year-old lawsuit, and the homeowners' association, plaintiff intervenor. The request by the DNR, the City of White Bear Lake and White Bear Township for conditional cross-review was denied. SEE LAWSUIT, PAGE 8A
White Bear Schools bond would be biggest in state history BY SARA MARIE MOORE VADNAIS HEIGHTS EDITOR
WHITE BEAR LAKE — At its July 15 meeting, the school board unanimously approved a big ask — a $326 million bond referendum — to be on the ballot this fall. If passed, it would be the largest in state history, confirmed Greg Abbott, Minnesota School Boards Association
(MSBA) communications director. MSBA has a record of passed and failed school bonds dating back to 2000 on its website. The largest bond passed was by Anoka-Hennepin School District for $249 million in 2017, according to MSBA records. The district is using the money to renovate five high schools and build two new elementary schools. White Bear Lake Area Schools plans to build one new elementary school in
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Hugo, expand North Campus to house all high school grades and construct upgrades at all other schools with the $326 million. The plans include the relocation of Sunrise Park Middle School to South Campus. Sunrise would become an early childhood center, transition center and senior center, and would house district offices. The vacated District Center, where
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the district offices are currently, would be an expansion for Central Middle School. Oneka Elementary in Hugo would become a K-5 school and Hugo Elementary would become an early childhood center. Districtwide safety and security improvements, as well as flexible learning spaces, are also part of the plans.
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SEE SCHOOL BOND, PAGE 8A
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