Serenity Boike of Big Lake is a mover and a shaker.

She likes to help people and have fun.

The Big Lake eight-year-old was in her perfect element Saturday, helping to raise money for the Parker family, burned out of their home in the tragic fire that took three lives of its members in April.

   The stage for Saturday’s fun was K & J Refuge in Orrock. An estimated couple hundred well-wishers and supporters walked through the doors during the four-hour fundraiser, they report.

And when the counting was done, the Boikes estimate about $2,400 was collected for the victim family.

   Central to the fundraiser was Serenity’s lemonade stand, where she sold cookies and bracelets in addition to the cool drink. By the time the celebration was over, Serenity had collected $600 alone at her lemonade stand.

“She’s normally quiet and shy,” says her mother, Cassie. But it’s a different story when she puts the pedal to the metal.

Central to the success of the fundraiser was solicitation of unique items supporters could bid on. They had many unique items, Cassie reported. 

“We spent about six weeks, going to businesses and groups for items.”

Among the items to wage on? A Farrell kickboxing package - a $600 package.

A front porch Minnesota Wild sign. Wild hockey stick and “real cool” five gallon tickets with personalized messages and lights inside.

There were a ton of gift cards, she reported, and a special gift from a Rogers Vet, who carved an American flag in wood and torched it for special effect. 

“The wall-hangings were pretty hot items,” too, Cassie said.

She reserved a special thank you to the Elk River Lions Club, who do the charitable gambling at K & J’s. They handed over a $1,500 check to the family.

   With proceeds from previous fundraisers at her Eagle Lake Road curbside by Serenity, the total for the Parker family is now $3,500.

Saturday’s affair drew the attention of a Twin Cities TV station, which interviewed Serenity and Seth Hansen, assistant chief for the Big Lake Fire Dept. Hansen was one of the troops who went into the family home back in April to help save the two older children.

The Parker family was present at the fundraiser. Young Avery, who survived the fire, was present, along with her mother and grandmother. Her brother, Evan, did not attend.

The week’s excitement wasn’t over for Serenity.

Word of her special deeds for the family spread to Lower town St. Paul and the home of the St. Paul Saints professional baseball club, where Serenity was featured to throw out the first pitch before their game Tuesday.

She’s also pretty active around home and school, her mom reports. Serenity plays hockey, is in dance and the Girl Scouts. The business and good deeds tend to fit her well.

   “We have 32 new teachers and our staff is excited for the new school year,” exclaimed Big Lake School Supt. Steve Westerberg.  “Our teachers are coming in next week to learn about our new curriculum and assessment tools.

   “Because of additional state Alternative Delivery of Specialized Instructional Services (ADSIS) funding,” continued Westerberg, “we’ve been able to add three literacy specialists and one behavior interventionist.”  

   “One of the literacy specialists and the behavior interventionist will be at Liberty Elementary School,” noted Executive Director Dr. David Bernard of the school’s Teaching & Learning.     “The other two specialists will be at Independence Elementary STEM School and Big Lake Middle School (BLMS).  These specialists will provide targeted assistance for students to read at grade level.

   “We are also adding several targeted reading intervention supports for students in grades K-5,” continued Bernard.  “These include Words Their Way, Class DIBELS, System 44, PRESS, and Sonday System .”

   Transitional Kindergarten: Liberty Elementary has added a section of transitional kindergarten designed to provide students with targeted academic, social, emotional and behavioral supports to ensure their success. 

   Project Lead the Way (PLTW): Liberty and Independence have expanded their PLTW launch course to support Science Technology Math Engineering & Match (STEM) programming.  Middle School will expand their STEM program. 

   Big Lake High School (BLHS) is now a national PLTW high school.  This partnership will expand BLHS’s regionally recognized apprenticeship program.  BLHS has also added an additional PLTW course.

   1:1 Chromebook Pilot Program: BLMS will be piloting an in-school 1:1 Chromebook program.  Each student will be assigned a Chromebook at the start of the school year to support personalized learning and increase student engagement.

   Writing Courses: BLMS has added two writing courses to increase its literacy programming and develop stronger writing and reading skills to help students become more fluent and confident writers.

   Advanced Placement (AP) English Course: BLHS has added an AP English course. The rigorous course design will prepare students to potentially earn college credit at the end of the school year.

   Financial Literacy: As part of the recently approved graduation requirements, a new financial literacy course is being offered for all sophomore students at BLHS.  The requirement aligns with feedback from BLHS graduates and best practices to support career and college readiness.

   STAR 360 Math and Reading Assessments: Students in grades 1-10 will be assessed on grade level performances expectations for math and reading. The fall assessment period will be used to identify targeted instructional needs in math and reading for students.  It will monitor student progress and identify instructional interventions that will support student learning and instructional planning.

   STAR360 assessments align with MN Academic Standards and can serve as an indicator of students’ performance on MN Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs).

   The Freedom Rock will be for real - and it will be coming to Big Lake’s downtown Veterans Memorial Park in 2021.

   That was the message of Karen Blake and Linda Paulson to the Big Lake City Council Wednesday.

   They received council endorsement to go ahead with the project and to act as depository for future donations to help cover the cost of the approximate $20,000 budget to make the park addition complete.

   No timetable has been set to get the funding program in the works, the ladies noted.

   But, they shared exciting news with the council.

   Owners of the Martin Marietta Quarry Park in Waite Park have donated the rock for the program.

   And, funding for the transport of the rock to Big Lake have been assumed, too.

   “There’s been a great response to this project,” said Paulson. “The Cemtra; M<ommespta Arts Bpard reports this will be the first of many (like) art projects in the region.”

   The rock will become part of the national Freedom Rock Tour, and similar art developments across the nation are being formed as The Freedom Rock Tour. Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota are the first states to have Freedom Rocks.

   It will be set on a place already designated at the park.

   Blake and Paulson reported there will be no sponsoring organization; rather, they are leaving it up to personal donors to help cover budget costs.

   Their organization is being called “Citizens for the Big Lake Freedom Rock.”

   (The accompanying Freedom Rock photo is an example of the art which will be placed on Big Lake’s rock.)

   The rock, by the way, will be massive. It will be in the 10-footx 10-foot range.

   Its placement and development will be coordinated through the Big Lake Public Works Dept., managed by Director Michael Goebel. He also spoke Wednesday, noting their involvement in the program.

   The city and Big Lake Beyond the Yellow Ribbon committee was instrumenta; in developing the existing park features. Approximate cost for that work was $85,000, of which the great majority has been received in donations, largely from the Big Lake American Legion, and from individuals.

   Industrial Plat

   The council gave unanimous approval to  preliminary plat, variances and ordinance amendment for a 40-acre plat on the far east end of Marketplace, bordered by the Hwy. 10 overpass and the BNSF tracks.

   The developer, LGL Real Estate Investments Development, will be designing spaces for start-up industrial firms.

   Treatment Plant Work

   The council approved the bid of Wenck and Associates for engineering work on proposed 2020 street and utility improvements.

   Wenck’s bid for the work was $312,493. Other bidders were Hankanson, $239,500, and BMI, $407,694.

   The council accepted the higher bid of Wenck, based on their history of working together, and incomplete bid package of the Hankanson firm.

   Streets designated for 2020 improvements will include Hennepin Ave., Nicollet Avd., Shady Lnne, Edgewater Place, Red Oak Drive, Westwood Drive, Highland Ave., Lake Ave., Oak Ave. and Oak Street.

   Work is also proposed forEuclid Ave., Leighton Drive and Circle, Oak Circle, Maple Lane, Norwood Drive, Sherburne Ave., Powell Street, Will Street and Powell Circle.

   Estimated construction cost is $3.5 million.

 Sherburne County is developing a plan to implement its Geographic Information System (GIS) into more and more departments throughout the county.

  At a county board workshop in August, Public Works Director Andrew Witter and GIS Coordinator Brett Forbes outlined the plan for the commissioners.

  “We thought it would be good to put together a three-year strategic plan - what our strengths are, what are weaknesses are and where we’re going,” said Witter. “We really didn’t want to extend it out much further than three years at this point. It’s a quickly evolving market. There’s probably going to be new technology and new data and new types of GIS applications that are not available now.”

 GIS is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes. GIS reveals deeper insights into data, such as patterns, relationships, and situations -helping users make better informed decisions. The county’s maps have layers of information that allows different viewers to not only pinpoint a location, but find other important information.

 Since the creation of the GIS Division in Public Works in 1998, Public Works has succeeded in creating, developing and growing the county’s GIS infrastructure and has succeeded in supporting the needs of users within the county. 

 GIS currently plays a major role in four county departments: Public Works, Planning & Zoning, Assessor and Administration. It is instrumental in the everyday operations of each department for things like roads and address points for emergency management; access permits; land use maps; parcel assessments; surveying; voting locations and census updates.

  Although the county’s GIS has become increasingly useful, demand for GIS services and mapping requests increases, and new methods need to be developed to meet the expanded needs.

  The purpose of the three-year GIS strategic plan is establish a mutual framework for county departments and promote GIS programs and initiatives.

  Forbes said one of the goals is to work more with cities and townships to gather and share their information. He said currently GIS relies on other  county departments to relay their department data. Under the strategic plan, GIS will take the initiative to get information and set policies that will improve services internally and for all stakeholders.

  Some of the recently completed projects include a Right-of-way program where applicants can view potential issues on a map and mitigate them during the initial application, reducing time spent on revisions; the Report a Concern program where the general public can make a report for things like potholes, accidents and the location of roadkill; the Daycare Finder, which allows users to search for licensed daycares.

  Forbes said there are 18 other GIS projects in progress or planned, which will take approximately 3,500 hours to complete.

  Witter said the three-year strategic plan is something completely new, and will evolve over time.

  “In our research about who else has done something like this, we had a very difficult time finding any public GIS plans,” he said, “even nationwide.”

Over 70 adults and children joined the staff of Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) as they celebrated 75 years of working with landowners to implement conservation practices to protect our natural resources at Discovery Day recently at Sherburne History Center in Becker.

Staff and area experts focused on five areas of conservation that participants spent around 20 minutes in each station.

Aquatic invaders, forestry, native plants, sustainable produce and soil health

   “At my station on aquatic invaders”, explained Sherburne SWCD Water Resources Tech Dan Cibulka, “I had 20 plants that grow in our area lakes.  

   “Only two of them, “ Cibulka continued, “ are non-native: curly leaf pondweed and Eurasian water milfoil.  Our area lakes associations are controlling these non-native invaders fairly well.  We want to avoid getting the starry stonewart that is found in lakes in nearby counties.”

   Participants at the native plant station were able to hunt for native plants and insects at the Sherburne History Center grounds, play Plinko and paint a rock organized by District Tech Franny Gerde.  She also had a display on the long roots of some native plants.

   District Tech Miranda Wagner reviewed the importance of soil health by sharing how rainfall affects the watershed.  Sherburne County Parks Coordinator Gina Hugo instructed participants on trees in the county. Local farmers shared information about their sustainable produce operation. 

   Sponsors such as Gretchen Venske and Becky Pollard of Friends of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge let the participants touch pelts of beaver, coyote and fox that roam the Refuge.

   Participants enjoyed pizza and a pollinator ice cream sundae after learning about the honey bee.  Many of them explored the various exhibits at Sherburne History Museum.

  Event sponsors included Sherburne SWCD, USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Friends of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, Sherburne County, Sherburne History Center, and Farm Friends Barn.

   “In late 2018 the Sherburne SWCD was awarded Outstanding Conservation District in the state,” proudly noted Administrative/Marketing Assistant Andie Bumgarner.  “So celebrating 75 years of conservation work with our landowners has been great!“At our fall meeting we’ll recognize the volunteers, name the conservation operator/land-owner of the year,“ Bumgarder concluded,” and again celebrate our years of conservation work in Sherburne County.”

  Seventeen members of the 4-H Refuge Rangers will be bringing their award-winning 4-H projects to the Minnesota State Fair next week, hoping to win state ribbons.

   “Any 4-H project who received a blue ribbon from Sherburne County Fair is eligible to go to the state fair,” explained 4- H Program Coordinator Danielle Ganje,  “but the judge makes a line-up or ranked list of qualifiers. 

   “Then the member gets to choose if they accept that trip,” added Ganje. “They can only go with one animal project and one other individual project.” 

  The Refuge Rangers winning the purple or highest ribbon at the county fair and heading to the state fair are Olivia Bond of Becker with her goat, Corrine Gallagher of Elk River in aerospace, Samantha Mekeland of Clear Lake in fishing sports, Bailey Muehlbauer of Becker; who attends school in Big Lake with her pig and Blazden Mueller of Big Lake in vet science.

   Refuge Rangers receiving lavender or the second highest ribbons at the county fair and competing at the state fair are Avery Anderson of Big Lake in wildlife biology, Olivia Bond in exploring animals and Kami Janssen of Becker with her horse.

   Rangers with blue ribbons and heading to state fair are Emilia Bond of Becker with rabbit, Kurt Haugen of Elk River in photography, Kyle Haugen  of Elk River in indoor gardening, Samantha McCormack of Big Lake with her rabbit, Kayla Meyer of Becker in photography,  Bailey Muehlbauer in photography, Taylor Muehlbauer of Becker who attends school in Big Lake in performing arts, Blazden Mueller with her goat, Dashton Mueller of Big Lake with her rabbit and Eve Otteson with her horse.

   “Our members with livestock will be at the state fair Aug. 22-25,” informed Refuge Ranger leader Sherry Muehlbauer, “with the others coming Aug. 29-31.”

  Older youth in the club wrote a six-minute Share the Fun skit reenacting the TV show “Explore America” but focusing  on Minnesota and 4-H. They received a purple ribbon at the county fair and will perform at the state fair at 6:30 pm Aug. 30.  Youth performing in the skit include Kayla Meyer, Bailey and Taylor Muehlbauer, Blazden Mueller, Connor Shafer of Clear Lake and Abigail Schaufel of Big Lake.  

    (EDITOR’S NOTE: Kevin Staples of Big Lake has taken long trips on motorcycle to the upper regions of the continent over the past three summers. He left for the Arctic Ocean in early June, returning last month. Following is the first of three reports from him about his travels.)

  I have been riding and racing motorcycles since I was a teenager (25+ years). I always enjoyed taking off in the fall and riding around the United States but I was more committed to road racing until I retired my racing leathers in 2007. Having my summers open more, I started going on long rides during the spring and summer as well.

  My rides always had me dealing with finding somewhere to eat and sleep. There were many days cut short because I didn’t know if there was going to be a vacancy at the next town when I got there. After a ride to Newfoundland in 2016 and the trip revolving around the next hotel I could find, I knew how I traveled was going to take a dramatic change.

  When I got back from Newfoundland, I found an adventure motorcycle (Yamaha Super Tenere) with 4,300 miles on it. Perfect!! Over the winter, I took the bike apart and put it back together. Part was to inspect everything and part was to fully understand the bike.

  In 2017, I took my first ride to the Arctic Circle and got to Inuvik, North West Territory (NWT), Canada. Canada was finishing the last 100 mile stretch of road to connect Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk (Tuk), Canada. It was to be the first public road going to the Arctic Ocean and was expected to be finished fall 2017.  I made it to Inuvik but the road to Tuk was not opened yet. I was so taken by everything I was seeing and knew this wouldn’t be my last time going.

  In 2018, I went back but had a lot of rain and mud. I refused to wait for the rain to pass and damaged my bike. I had to turn around at Ross River, Yukon (900 miles short of Tuk) because of this. 

  Now in 2019, I planned on leaving earlier and without a schedule or deadlines. This trip was like no other I have been on. I was on the road for 5 weeks, one day of rain, one night in a hotel and one night with a bear wanting in my tent as I slept. It truly was an adventure.

  I left on June 06, 2019. I took mostly secondary roads to see and explore as I went. I wanted my vacation to start from day one. As I went, I met all amazing people who were very helpful and full of questions. It was wonderful talking with everyone I met. Looking back, the people were more breathtaking than the scenery I saw.

  On my third day, I was headed for Wyoming to ride Bear Tooth Pass but rain and 45° moved in. I decided it was time for a hotel and let the rain pass. At check-in, I told them I might be there most of the next day waiting for the weather to improve. I woke to clear skies and never had more than a light drizzle or 5 minute rain over the next five weeks.

  I entered Canada at Porthill, Idaho on June 10 after riding several gravel roads that were a great warm-up to what I was going to see.

Riding thru Icefields Pkwy, Banff and Jasper national parks are always beautiful but I was looking for more rustic roads so off I continued north. 

  I got to Watson Lake, Yukon and stopped again at the Sign Post Forest. I wanted to check on the sign for Big Lake, MN that I put up in 2018 and it was holding up nicely. From there, I had several different routes I had planned depending on the weather. With clear skies, I went with my primary plan and headed north on the Robert Campbell Hwy (#4). I went north about 70 miles to Nahami Range Road that went to Tungsten, NWT. It was a road I saw in the past rides but not much chatter on the adventure riding forums about the road. 

  The first half was just another dirt road with nothing but a lot of tree, open areas and large wildlife. About 30 miles in, I saw an old cabin on a lake. I assume it was a hunting cabin but nobody had been there in some time so I put my tent up for the night. 

  As I continued on in the morning, the second half of the road was something. There were very steep mountain climbs with a single path cut in the side of the mountain. One of those roads where you don’t want to move over to the edge but hug the inside of the mountain wall. The road was 120 miles long and I never saw another car. At the end of the road, there was a tungsten mine and was private property. This unknown road to me didn’t disappoint.

  I got back on Robert Campbell Hwy and continued north to Ross River, Yukon for fuel and a ferry crossing. I missed out on riding the North Canol on my 2017 and 2018 trips and I was really looking forward to riding it with all I heard about its remoteness and scenery.  It’s a dead end road that’s 150 miles long with no gas, electric or any other conveniences. You are on your own except for the half dozen trucks/ bikes you might see.     

  On my two day trip on the road, I saw 4 trucks and no other bikes. My first night, I camped at Dragon Lake (about 70 miles in) and had the lake to myself. I got up in the morning, made some breakfast overlooking the lake and began my trek to the end. I was able to get to the NWT border traveling at 30 MPH in the best of times. 

   After I crossed into NWT, all brides have deteriorated and new ones are not being built. As you get to a river, you walk the river looking for the best path to cross and check the depth of water. I got across two rivers okay but there were two remaining rivers that were flowing too fast and deep from the spring melt so I turned back. I got to the rivers that I already checked and crossed so I just went for it. I got across the first river without issues but the second river had a bolder I needed to stay to the one side of. I didn’t get over far enough and caught the bolder on the wrong side. I couldn’t back up so I moved forward into deeper water. I continued but the bike started to get stuck.      This side of the river had  a lot of sand and I needed to get towards the middle of the river to get on a rock bottom. I was now getting close to my waist deep in the river. I had to push hard, let the clutch out, move 4-5 inches and grab the brake (motorcycles have all hand controls). I then took a step with one foot, got secure, then the other foot. Again push the bike, another 4-5 inches and repeat. I heard the exhaust was going under the water but knew my air intake was high enough so I just had to keep from stalling the motor. I continued this process and got my bike across. I got my bike on shore and put on the side stand. I was trembling.

 After studying specifications and maps prepared by Township Engineer Ross Abel of Landform in Elk River, Big Lake Township Supervisors approved seeking bids for two projects.

   The first project will replace drain tile in Meadowbrook.  Previous quotes for the Meadowbrook project came in too high last month, so the project has been modified.  No driveways will be disturbed and sod will be used to replace homeowners’ lawns. 

   The second project will minimize ice build-up at 159th St. & 227th Ave., near Birch Lake.  This project is similar to what was done at 224th Ave.  “This will confine winter icing to a smaller area,” assured Ross.

   “We also did some build-up of the roads with the current overlay project to reduce winter icing”, added Supervisor Larry Alfords. 

   The board also approved payment for the Central Mississippi Regional Planning Partnership (formerly Hwy 25 Coalition).  Alfords, who serves as treasurer for the partnership, noted they are now studying growth patterns of the area.

   Supervisor Larry Alfords reported that Treasurer Ken Warneke and he met with a resident regarding his culvert.

   Treasurer Brenda Kimberly-Maas thanked West Sherburne Tribune for their coverage of the Minnesota Association of Townships (MAT) District 7 meeting at the township.  Chair Bruce Aubol added that MAT even added the Tribune photos and article on their Facebook page.

  Supervisors were informed of Sherburne County Assessor Greg Olson’s retirement Aug. 28 after 28 years of service.

 The start of the school year is less than two weeks away, and county officials, school personnel and law enforcement want to make sure everything runs smoothly.

  A group of over 70 stakeholders gathered Wednesday in the commissioners’ boardroom at the Sherburne County Government Center for the annual Countywide Safe Schools Meeting.

  Every school in the county was represented, as well as Health & Human Services (HHS), the sheriff’s department, the county attorney’s office and members of the Substance Use Prevention (SUP) Coalition. 

  They were all there for one purpose; to discuss issues that affect students. And the biggest issue is the use of harmful substances, especially vaping, or the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs).  Amanda Larson of HHS spoke about the T21 initiative to change the legal age for purchasing tobacco-related products from 18 to 21 years in Sherburne County.

  She said nearly all tobacco users start using before age 21. And since the teenage frontal cortex in the brain is still not fully developed, teens are more susceptible to addiction.

  Larson said the number of teens smoking traditional cigarettes is not as prevalent as before. But the use of e-cigs is increasing exponentially, and it is causing health issues.

   Nicotine in the e-cig pods is equivalent to 40 to 90 cigarettes, said Larson. Teens are inhaling THC and many different chemicals through the e-cigs.

  Larson said HHS just received a health advisory regarding severe lung disease among young people from vaping.

  “So the health clinics, the hospitals are seeing an uptick on kids coming in from vaping - shortness of breath, fever, cough, gastrointestinal issues, headache, dizziness, chest pain, because they’re vaping who knows what.”

  Larson said tobacco use in Minnesota rose for the first time in 17 years in 2017, and a youth tobacco survey showed tobacco use in Sherburne County was 10% higher than the statewide average. That’s a good reason to consider a T21 ordinance.

  In 2015, Edina was the first city in Minnesota to raise the tobacco-purchasing age to 21. Ottertail was the first county in Minnesota to pass a T21 ordinance. 

  “Since March there have been nine counties that have passed T21 ordinances and a number of  different cities,” she said. “So I really think that the landscape around us is changing.”

  Assistant County Attorney Victoria Powell said not only are there health factors involved with vaping, but legal issues, too. 

  “With the law changes, with the amount of THC in cartridges, it could be a felony offense and kids  don’t realize it,” she said. If you bring a kid to court on an e-cig with (high levels) THC, that’s a felony drug charge just like any other felony drug charge.”

  Alicia Maxwell of the SUP spoke about some of the initiatives their group is doing. She showed an educational YouTube video about vaping, which is targeted for kids and parents alike.

  There were a number of other speakers during the meeting, covering topics such as truancy prevention, community health improvement, sex trafficking and mental health  - all focusing on services and resources to help youth. Each offered their contact information to school representatives.

The Big Lake City Council got its first look at a proposed 2020 preliminary budget when meeting last week in workshop session.

Finance Mgr. Deb Wegeleben addressed general fund and enterprise fund budgets, spending only 20 minutes on the

proposals.

 At Mayor Mike Wallen’s suggestion, the council will designate a special session to go through the numbers.

   The Big Lake City budget is expected to get bigger in 2020 and it will be primarily fueled by the rising net tax capacity, based on increasing valuation of taxable properties.

   First, the tax issues.

   The proposed tax levy for 2020 is projected at $4,565,953, an increase of $236,543 over the current year.

   The tax rate, however, is projected to decrease to 51.222%, compared to 52,429 this year.

   Three funds are financed by taxes.

The general fund of $3,221,819 will be an increase of $343,373 over 2019;

The debt levy of $1,214,134 will be a decrease of $106,830.

   And the EDA (economic development) levy of $130,000 will be the same as this year.

How do these levies impact on property taxes?

 A residential property with a 2020 assessed value of $216,000 would see an increase of $5.57 per month in city taxes. This is due to an eight percent increase in property values. If there were no increase in property values, then that property owner would see a decrease of $1.80 per month for the city portion of his taxes.

   Commercial property valued at $1 million would see a decrease of $2.27 per month in city taxes.

   Tax revenues would comprise 59% of the proposed budget.

The city expects local government aid from the state in the amount of $716,611, which will only be used for equipment and other one-time purchases if it becomes available.

   The city is projecting revenues from the construction of 50 homes each year; valuation received from building beyond that level is available for funding other programs, such as street improvements, or debt reduction.

   The city is expecting only $450,000 in transfer from the liquor store to the general fund; in 2019, it is $600,000.

   Promotion programs at the store have eaten into some of its net revenues.

General Fund Budget

   The proposed general fund budget for 2020 is $5,281,655, an increase of $424,457. The projected unassigned balance (rainy day) for 2020 will be 57.75% of the 2020 proposed budget.

   About $192,000 is proposed for wages and benefits for possible new positions.

   Health insurance premiums and wage increases to existing staff are expected increase.

“We have more children coming, “ exclaimed City of Big Lake Recreation Coordinator Corrie Scott at Wednesday’s Farmers Market at Lakeside Park.  “Last year we have 366 youth participate in the Power of Produce program for children age 3-12 and this year we’re almost at 500 already.  

   Once registered, each child receives $2 in tokens every week to buy fruits or vegetables they want.  Sponsors of the Farmers Market provide funds to reimburse the vendor.

   “My kids love to pick out their own food,”   Tracy Petro of rural Big Lake said as they stopped by Scott’s booth to sign in and get their tokens.

   At Wednesday’s Farmers Market, six vendors and eight community organizations officials talked about their products and services.  The mayor, council and department heads of Big Lake were available to listen to resident concerns.

   “We’re the oldest ones selling at over 80 years old,” noted Grace Tuttle of Grace’s Goodies in Big Lake. “I’ve made a dozen pies and half were gone in the first hour.” She and her husband Bob, who sells handmade wood products, used to sell at Becker and Maple Lake but only come to Big Lake now.

   Lylee and Nao Vue of LV Garden in Big Lake enjoy bringing their vegetables to Big Lake Farmers Market “as we have lots more room here.  We go to Elk River’s Market too, but it’s crowded there.”

   Colette Warner of Clear Lake shopped at Big Lake’s Farmers Market because of the nice drive, easy parking and more relaxed atmosphere as she purchased chicken breasts from owner Al Feldeverd of Oak Park Farm.

   Sherburne County Health and Human Services were encouraging parents to have child and teen checkups and were providing additional tokens for fresh fruits and vegetables.  

   Farmers Market continues through September from 3-6 pm Wednesdays with the senior citizens receiving $3 in tokens on the second Wednesday and kids day on the third Wednesday.

   Sponsors of the Farmers Market include Big Lake Spud Fest, CentraCare Health-Monticello, Climb Theatre, Compeer Financial, Connexus Energy,   Minnesota Limited and Old National Bank.

  Although Sherburne County fared relatively well from this year’s Legislative Session, the state will suffer from a lack of transportation funding for road improvements.

   That was the message from former MICA Executive Director Keith Carlson to the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners Tuesday.

  Each year, MICA - the Minnesota Inter-Counties Association, compiles a report based on the decisions state lawmakers made, or didn’t make. The report offers conclusions about how those decisions will affect counties and their citizens.

   “This was a pretty good years for counties, especially Sherburne County,” said Carlson. “You’re looking at a $426,000 increase in county program aid for 2020.”

   He said there will be   reduced cost-shares to the county for those receiving chemical dependency treatment and the counties dodged a new payroll tax when a bill to start a state-paid sick leave program didn’t pass.

   Carlson said the counties avoided any potential cost shifts in the area of medical assistance or MNCare  because the 2% provider tax that was scheduled to sunset in December was repealed.

   He said commercial and industrial properties can look forward to a 1.6% decrease in property taxes due to a state reduction in the state property tax levy.

   But he said the bad news was no new transportation funding.

   “There was no increase in the gas tax. No increase in registration fees. No sales tax increase in the Metro area for transit and unfortunately, no new funding in Greater Minnesota for transit.

   MICA Transportation representative Steve Novak said lawmakers couldn’t agree on transportation funding, so the status quo is pretty much what Minnesota will see.

   “In the end, transportation was allocated $93.5 million for general fund appropriations,” he said. “Unfortunately, none of it went to building roads and bridges.”

   The bulk of the money went to resolving the ongoing issue with the state’s vehicle licensing and registration system known as MNLARS.

   Novak said Gov. Tim Walz agreed with the Republican Senate to try get a get a private contractor to resolve the issue.

   “So the biggest portion of the transportation money, $55 million, will go towards that contract,” he said, “along with $13 million for reimbursement to various deputy registrars who suffered loses because of the inability of the system to respond.”

   The rest of the money went to a dedicated revenue flow for Metro mobility in the Twin Cities.

   Novak said the failure of the legislature to increase transportation funding is the result of partisanship. He said the new governor and Democratic House passed a proposal that included increases in the gas tax, license tab fees and sales tax.

   “If that had become law, it would have been one of the most significant  increases in traditional funding for roads and bridges in the history of the state,” he said.   “However, that proposal was countered by the Republican Senate, who based their proposal on the work they had done 2017 when they controlled the legislature.”

   Their proposal relies on auto parts sales tax, which will provide about $114 million in additional revenue in the coming year, said Novak.

   “Leased vehicle sales tax revenue will provide some modest increases and a new small bridge fund will have an increase of $13 million,” he said.

   Under the Corridors of Commerce Program within the trunk highway category, there will be a $25 million per year increase over two years.

   “That’s it for transportation funding,” said Novak. “As was mentioned by Keith, all of the major categories of historical funding gas tax, sales tax, etc., did not prevail.” 

There are indications student enrollment at Big Lake Schools is on the upswing.

   That was the message conveyed by school officials to the Big Lake Board of Education at their monthly meeting Tuesday.

   Early registrations have the elementary schools looking at hiring an additional kindergarten and fifth grade teacher.

   Liberty Principal Caryl Gordy reported there are presently 234 youngsters expected for kindergarten classes, up by about 10 from a year ago.

   No other enrollment figures were reported - officials will know the totals when students begin classes in September.

   “The numbers are looking up,” said Supt. Steve Westerberg. “We’re very hopeful for the beginning of the school year.

   Big Lake Schools concluded the past year with about 3,000 students. In 2006, prior to the Depression, the district student population was 3,650 and plans were being studied - with additional growth - a third elementary school might be built.

   But that didn’t happen - and the district has been in declining enrollment since.     

   By state aids formulas, each student enrolled at the school provides about $8,000 of income to the district.

   Principals have been busy hiring teachers during the past month. They include Rachel Bassingthwaite and Emma Bruce, Liberty teachers; Sarah Fisher, Liberty education assistant; Peter Hayes, BLHS teacher; Deanna Hernandez, Liberty literacy interventionist; Rachel Johnson, Independence teacher; Brooke Lehna, Liberty teacher; Penny Loso, BLMS office assistant; Jeanine Salisbury, Independent teacher; Annamaria Todd-Dylla, Liberty teacher; and Kayley Walkley, reassigned to Liberty teacher.

Other Reports

   Logan Midthun, activities director, met with the board to review his new coaches and event directors policy manual.

   He reported the district has 104 coaches and event directors; of which 28 are head coaches.

Facilities Update

   T. J. Zerwas, new grounds and facilities manager, met with the board to explain progress in parking lot and drive paving, roofing at Independence and installation of new windows at BLMS. 

   Some new flooring has been done at the high school.

   He expects work, with the exception of some sodding and seeding, to be concluded in time for school startup.

   “We’ll be all wrapped up,” he said, referring to the paving, roofing and building work.

The Produce Garden

   Evan Scales, Big Lake Scout who has accomplished the new produce garden behind Liberty School, met with the board to give a final report.

   The work was done to fulfill requirements for his earning an Eagle Scout badge. 

   He reported with the assistance of a number of fellow Scouts and district personnel, the project went well - and produce is being harvested.

   The garden program will be included in the district’s health and wellness programs.

(Submitted Story)

 Over the past week, several locations in Big Lake, Zimmerman, Orrock, and rural Sherburne County Roadways have been hit with individual(s) throwing screws and nails in the driving lanes. 

  This has caused damage to a variety of vehicles including one of the BLPD squad cars. 

  “We are working diligently to try to identify those responsible for this disgusting act, including reviewing video from adjacent businesses,” says Investigator Rich Berg. 

  “As of today, we have received 39 reports of screws/nails that caused damage to tires on vehicles. If your vehicle was damaged in the City of Big Lake, please make a report online so we are aware of it. You can do this at: http://biglakemn.org/449/Make-a-Police-Report .”

  They also welcome information from anyone who has knowledge of the suspects in this case. Contact Berg: rberg@biglakepolice.com or 763-251-2987.

  “We come every year to the Block Party”, noted Erik Haselius of Big Lake while he joined his sons at bowling.  “It is cheap entertainment.  We were outside first with the mini-golf and when it gets warm, we come in to bowl.”

 “We had a larger crowd this year at our Block Party Saturday,” noted Dr. Kristi McAlpin of Big Lake Area Veterinary Hospital and chair of the Big Lake Chamber’s Block Party Committee as she and her family volunteered at the food booth.  “We started a few hours earlier and that helped our food sales too this year.”

   New activities at the Block Party were classic cars sponsored by Dan’s of Big Lake, yoga with Mandi of Create and Connect Studio sponsored by Anytime Fitness, an inflatable BB gun range of Boy Scouts sponsored by MPI-Manufacturing Partners Inc. of Becker and an epic war fight sponsored by The Wave Youth Center.

   “We’ve had more girls trying out our inflatable BB gun range than boys,” exclaimed Bill Blackhurst of the Boy Scouts.  Landon Cross of Big Lake proudly showed off his score results.

   Big Lake Fire Dept. volunteers joined in the fun of the water fight.  In addition to helping the youth throw water balloons in a slingshot, they got each other wet as well!

   “I’m getting a lot wetter than I planned but the weather is great for this,“ said Amy Cross, simply observing the water fight as her daughter Allie sprayed her with water!

   “We couldn’t hold this event without the support of McPete’s, Coborn’s, all our sponsors and volunteers!” concluded Dr. McAlpin.  “It truly is a fun event!”

  The Sherburne County Health and Human Services Dept. has initiated a drive to outlaw tobacco and related sales to persons under 21.

The Big Lake City Council got to hear their presentation in workshop session last week with Amanda Larson, manager of public health and economic supports division of the H&HS department.

   Larson emphasized the motive for raising the legal purchasing age to 21 would be to deal with rising school tobacco and related items use.

   Keeping purchases out of the hands of older teens would restrict the social passing of tobacco, she said.

   She acknowledged the problem with student use continues to grow, noting a recent conversation with BLHS Asst. Principal Angie Folch.

   Folch reported the school staff is regularly making bathroom calls to ensure students are not using.

   And most people using tobacco have acquired the habit by age 21, Larson said.

   She also reported 70% of adults using tobacco favor the new age limit for purchases, many saying they wished to quit.

   She visited the council only for information purposes, indicating an action on the part of the county board would be implemented.

Larson reported nine Minnesota counties, including Benton, have already set their tobacco purcbase age at 21 years.

Larson last week held a seminar on safe schools for about 70 members of county school districts last week, addressing tobacco and other issues.

Department Reports

Following their workshop, the council heard several department head reports.

   Ken Halvorson, BLFD chief, reported the department had 20 calls for service in July, of which 14 were in the city, five in Big Lake Twp. and one in Orrock Top.

   He reported bout 400 turned out for their annual fundraiser dance and newly-hung banners recognizing firefighters with 20 years service has been well-accepted.

   “We want to thank everybody in our community,” he said, for their support.

   Police Chief Joel Scharf reported 1,450 calls in July, or 47 per day. They handed out tickets for 13 DUI, 20 for driving after revocation and seven for assault.

   They had 62 arrests and 130 citations given out. They made 61 vehicle stops during the month.

He reported Big Lake remains a safest city in its population class, ahead of Orono, Becker, Elk River and others.

   They have had 3,515 indidents on average, compared to 5,809 for the state average. 

   The incidents are Level I and Level II, for crimes against persons and crimes against property, respectively.

   He also reported good turnouts for the eight block parties at Nighty to Unit.

   Finally, safety yard signs are being handed out to remind drivers of children with the startup of a new school year.

   Jared Voge of the engineers department reported Crossings Phase II is now under construction. It is the apartment buildings next to Cherrywood.

   He also reported 2019 street renovations are underway, with the overlay over the three-mile McDowall trail to begin after Labor Day.

   Michael Goebel, public works director, noted 280 took part in the Aug. 3 Graniteman competition at the park. It will be held again Aug. 1, 2020.

Xcel Utilities

   In a final action at their meeting, the council granted an easement to Xcel Energy to extend a larger gas main on city property from Lake Street South along Humboldt Ave. to Co. Rd. 43. It is part of work that includes a new line extension westerly to Becker.

   The Sherburne County Highway Dept. is discussing developing a system-wide strategy for including right-turn lanes and bypass lanes as part of resurfacing projects on county roads and intersections.

   During a workshop with the county commissioners Tuesday, Public Works Director Andrew Witter said previous county board direction has been for staff to include the lanes only when property could be acquired through a willing sale for the resurfacing/paving projects, and using the eminent domain process for appropriate lanes with full reconstruction projects. 

   Witter said in the past they’ve approached property owners and asked if they would be a willing seller, and if they agree, the county would go forward with the project.   He said it currently takes six months to design a project, which can be done during the winter. The construction can take six months during the summer. 

   But that timeline would change if the county had to use the eminent domain process.

   “If we were to move forward with condemnation on resurfacing projects it would add about a year to that process,” he said.

   Witter said there are 38 resurfacing projects on the county’s five-year capital improvement plan. If the county had to  use condemnation on each one, it would add an additional 38 years total.

   Commissioner Felix Schmiesing said the discussion came about because he requested that the county add bypass lanes on Co. Rd. 8 near White Farm Estates because of increased traffic.

   But he said that didn’t mean all resurfacing projects should automatically require bypass and turn lanes.

   “I think we should be able to handle this on an individual basis,” he said. “I’m not looking for us to change our overall policy. I’m looking us to be able to react when we see a  problem and to fix it. I don’t think you hold up the whole project for it, but if you recognize an issue or a problem, we should have a way for this board to do something about it.”

   Commissioner Tim Dolan said the board should be part of the process instead of setting a new policy. 

   “We’ll take a look at the project,” he said. “I think the board wants to weigh the cost and benefits. If it’s additional cost that we choose we want to incur, that’s on us from a budgetary standpoint.”

   The board directed Witter to come up with some criteria his department would use to determine when turn lanes and bypass lanes are necessary. They also asked for number of projects that might be affected by such criteria. Those will be discussed at a future workshop.

   The Pebble Creek Men’s Club and Pebble Creek hosted the Jr. Club Championship August 17 at Pebble Creek Golf Club.   Spencer Hinrichs of Big Lake took an early lead and never looked back, shooting 73 to win his second consecutive Jr. Club Championship.   Austin Seavert finished second, shooting 81 and Zach Stanz shot 83 edging out Isaac Flicker to finish thirdrd

   Avery Johnson carded a 58 over nine holes to win the girls division.

   In the 14 and under boys division, Dylan Sauer fired a 46 over nine holes to win.    

   Elliot Ginter shot 62 to take second and Carson Schwarzkopf took third with a 77.

   Greg Mattson opened the seconnd round of the Pebble Creek Mens Club Sr. Championship with a 33 on the front nine and held on to shoot a two-day total of five over par to win the title of Sr. Club Champion August 17-18.

   In the net divisions, Bill Riddering closed strong, shooting a net 68 on the final day to win the first flight with a four-under 140.  Mattson finished second and Ray Sauer finished third with a two-over 146.

   Jim Anderson blew away the field, shooting a net 61 on day two to win the second flight with a two day total -14.  

   Warren Johnson used consistent 69, 68 to finish second in the net division at seven under and Noel Martin won a tie-breaker over Brian Dingmann at -4 to finish third.