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VOLUME 119 115 NUMBER 27 26
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WHITE BEAR LAKE — Proponents of water conservation are invited to a special public meeting May 12 for Race2Reduce. The local nonprofit is on a mission to educate students, families and the community about the importance of preserving water resources and will use the morning event to introduce its programs and recruit volunteers. Director Paul Steinhauser started the program two years ago in the aftermath of the lake level lawsuit. “Everyone was talking about a $400 million to $600 million fix and no one was saying a thing about conservation. I took it upon myself to start this conservation piece,” recalled the Birchwood resident. “H2O for Life jumped in, they’re all about using water wisely worldwide, and we got the area chamber, two school systems
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News inside See inside for the following news stories: Grant Charter Commission wants to hold referendum in 2016, the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency (who is a WBLAHS grad) is retiring, White Bear Lake mayor receives VFW recognition and Fourth Street liquor lounge expects to open in early June.
Upcoming events See inside for info on the following upcoming events: Northeast Youth and Family Services’ annual luncheon, League of Women Voters meetings, Mahtomedi Garden Club plant sale, 5K Color Run, Century Chamber Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra concerts, resort era history presentation and fill the heart disable the label event.
and the mayors of White Bear Lake, Mahtomedi and Birchwood involved. Pretty soon we had a big collaboration and that’s how we got started.” Steinhauser is a longtime advocate for conservation. He helped found the former White Bear Racquet and Swim Club in 1988 (now Lifetime Fitness) and instituted “smart environmental practices” at the fitness club to reduce energy, water and chemical use. “Conservation has been part of my background for a long time,” Steinhauser said. Mostly, the Tuesday morning meeting is to raise visibility of Race2Reduce. It’s a three-facet program that includes a school curriculum, education aimed at adults who have ignored conservation practices, and instituting 21st-century devices and
75 cents $1.00
Race2Reduce/see page 7A
–Photo by Paul Dols
Posters designed by students are displayed in front of Patricia Hall, Paul Steinhauser and Sarah Alexander during the Water Conservation event in White Bear Lake Saturday, May 2.
Jumping Jim recalls celebrity mentor
Getting in touch with our water resources
by Debra Neutkens Regional Editor
At right: Audrey Lenz, 2, is fascinated with the water trickling through a display designed to demonstrate how water flows through various ground surfaces and into the environment during the Water Conservation event Saturday, May 2.
Public notices See page 8A for public notices. Among the notices is several White Bear Lake Planning Commission hearings, including a proposed 6,500-square foot multitenant building with drivethru near Buerkle Road and White Bear Avenue.
Weather Tidbits
Week of May 6 - 12, 2015 Weather tidbit: Yawn, yawn, boring, boring until Sunday evening! It’s been a pretty uneventful several weeks. This Spring has ¿nally become more interesting. Read more in Sports...
The event, located outside White Bear Lake City Hall, featured a variety of informational demonstrations and displays related to water use and conservation. Native plants for home rain gardens, compost bins and rain barrels were also available for local residents to purchase.
Year Ago this week: A mild and wet period. Four good rains totaled 1.34 inches with the heaviest, .55 inch, on May 12.
Weekly Averages High Low %Sun PCP 67° 46° 57% 0.89”
- Photo by Paul Dols
Vacancy filled in police ranks
(More weather on sports page)
by Debra Neutkens Regional Editor
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WHITE BEAR LAKE — It’s been a busy 18 months in the police department, according to the chief. Police Chief Julie Swanson said the department is finally filling its second administrative vacancy after the retirement of one captain and her promotion to chief. Captain Dale Hager was hired a year ago for one of those open positions and he has done a good job fitting in, she said. The newest member of the administrative team is Captain Phil Henry. He took his oath of office April 28 before the chief and City Council after a four-month process that started last December. The city received applications for the captain slot from very qualified candidates, Swanson said. Applicants went through an essay portion, oral board and, ultimately, a final interview with the chief and city manager. The recommendation to the civil service commission was to promote Henry.
munity service officer, a public safety dispatcher and was sworn in as a police officer in 1997 shortly after turning 21 and getting married. He was promoted to sergeant in 2011. “Phil is a fair, compassionate and patient leader. He’s worked with the reserve unit for 20 years and has hired hundreds of volunteer police reserves,” Swanson said. “He has field-trained a large majority of our current officers, including me.” One thing the chief said she learned from Henry during a traffic stop was how to treat people fairly. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia College. While attending Concordia in St. Paul, he was also awarded an exemplary student award in 2014, which was only given to a select few students. – Photo by Debra Neutkens After taking the oath of office, Captain Phil Henry was sworn in Henry, who was accompanied by his wife Michelle and three chilon April 28. dren, said he looks forward to the “The captain is not a new face to challenge and opportunity of the the city,” Swanson said, “although new position. He’s also looking forpeople may not recognize him since ward to working normal hours. he’s spent his entire career on the “I’m sure my family looks forward night shift.” to it too,” Henry added. Henry started in 1995 as a com-
When Jim Brunzell graduated from White Bear Lake High School in 1967, he never dreamed his career would take him into the pro wrestling ring. That journey into the pseudo-reality wrestling world began with a phone call in 1972 from his friend Greg Gagne, son of the legendary heavyweight wrestler Verne Gagne. His dad was holding a wrestling camp, Greg said, and Brunzell was invited. The two had met as freshmen football walk-ons at the University of Minnesota, Gagne as a quarterback, Brunzell as a split end. Gagne ended up transferring to Wyoming but Brunzell stayed with the Gophers until his junior year when he left for the semi-pros. He tried out with the Washington Redskins in 1971 but failed to make the team. He was going to return to school when he got the call from his friend Gagne. The camp was a wrestling who’s who, Brunzell recalled, and included Kenny Patera, a weightlifter who had just competed in the Munich Olympics; Khosrow Vaziri, who went on to become the “Iron Sheik”; and Ric “The Nature Boy” Flair. “That group spawned a lot of talent,” Brunzell said. “We went on for 25 years at wrestling events around the world.” Most of those years were with the American Wrestling Association, based in Minneapolis and owned by Verne Gagne. The showman, businessman and mentor to Brunzell died April 27 at the age of 89. “He had a big influence on my career,” said Brunzell, who was known as “Jumping Jim” for his lofty drop kick.
Jumping Jim/see page 7A
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