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WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2026 VOL. 131 NO. 39 www.whitebearpress.com $1.50
TOP ACADEMIC ACHIEVERS: Mahtomedi, White Bear Lake seniors recognized PAGES 11 & 16-17
Voting begins: Best of contest is here The nominations are in, and voting is open for Press Publications’ annual Best of 2026 the Press Readers’ Choice contest. Community members of the Press will vote for a wide variety of their favorites, including restaurants, doctors, schools, artists, services, events and New categories much more. • Sweet shop This year’s contest features • Chicken wings more than 149 categories, in• Brat/hot dog cluding eight new categories: • Mocktail sweet shop, chicken wings, at a bar or brat/hot dog, mocktail at a restaurant bar or restaurant, meal for • Meal for the the money, apple orchard, money electrician company and • Apple orchard dispensary. • Electrician The contest helps recognize company exceptional businesses, Press • Dispensary Publications General Manager Patty Steele said. Winning a badge adds credibility to a business for someone making a buying decision. “Six years strong and readers still love to vote for their favorites in the local communities, and businesses love to be recognized by their customers,” Steele said. “It’s also a great guide for our readers to take a look at the top three and decide to try somewhere new they might not have otherwise tried.” The contest continues to gain popularity each year. Voting is available 24/7 on the Press Publications website at presspubs.com/white_bear/bestof. Each reader may vote once per day. Voting ends at 5 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 2. Winners and finalists will be recognized in a special section the first week of October. Winners will also be posted online.
BEST White Bear Lake Vadnais Heights
Fridays with Firefighters
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
White Bear Lake Firefighter/Paramedic Alex Weil helps Kacey Roth direct a high pressure flow of water toward a target during a recent Fridays with Firefighters event. The next installment of the family-friendly summertime program is scheduled for 10 a.m to noon Friday, July 10.
A painting a day: A lifetime of painting with Frank Kuettel BY GRAHAM JOHNSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SEE FROM LOGOS TO LANDSCAPES, PAGE 10
ROSEANNE TRIPI | CONTRIBUTED
Frank Kuettel poses alongside his great-granddaughter Aria with floral watercolors in his studio.
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It all started with the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. A nun noticed a then-sixth grade Frank Kuettel’s drawing of Columbus’ three ships on the blackboard and told his mother he had a gift for drawing. Eight decades later, Frank continues to draw and paint each and every day with the paintings stacked six-deep against the walls of his apartment, at the landings of his New Perspectives home in White Bear Lake, in two separate storage units, and in the homes of his children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren.
Frank’s works are mostly watercolor views of forests, north shore landscapes, mountains, streams and flowers in anatomical detail from beneath the watchful gaze of a portrait he painted of his now late-wife, Nancy. “I find painting very therapeutic,” said Frank with a shrug about the habit. Frank took art classes on the weekends after being pointed out by the nun. He would eventually go on to graduate with a fine arts degree from what is now the Minneapolis College of Art and Design before launching into a career of commercial art across some the biggest companies in Minnesota like 3M, the St. Paul
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