A pair of peregrine falcons has an active nest and is tending eggs on the popular Minnesota DNR FalconCam at www.dnr.state.mn.us/features/webcams/falconcam/index.html. This spring, the webcam has captured this pair of falcons demonstrating courtship displays and creating a nest in the gravel. Their first egg could be seen April 11 and the second egg April 13. Falcons typically lay eggs in 48-72 hour intervals. A peregrine falcon clutch can contain anywhere...

Feature Coon Rapids girls golf senior captain Sophia Meyer Start in golf “I started golfing when I was 10 with my dad; he got me interested in the sport.” Enjoy most about sport ...

One of the first signs of spring is near, as the North Artists Studio Crawl takes place Saturday-Sunday, May 4-5 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The North Artists Studio Crawl has 25 artists this year that will be exhibiting original artwork in seven open studios in the north suburban communities of Anoka, East Bethel, Ham Lake, Nowthen and Oak Grove. Watch for signs to direct viewers, and a printable map is available online at www.rumriverart.com/north-studio-artists-crawl/. Maps are located at each studio, and Rumriver Art Center. ...

For the second time in three years, it’s a spring dinner theater special at Legacy Christian Academy, as the high school puts on its final weekend of “12 Angry Jurors” April 26-27. The play, an adaptation of the film “12 Angry Men,” is an intense, provocative production, with the timing fitting perfectly for this year’s cast. “A few factors went into the decision for producing ‘12 Angry Jurors’ as our...

The news is out and the play is in. Coon Rapids High School Theater brings “Newsies” to the stage for its spring musical April 26-28 and May 2-4. “Shortly after we closed ‘Beauty and the Beast’ last spring, we made the decision to produce ‘Newsies’ this season,” director Karla Haij said. “What we didn’t know and couldn’t have known is that this year, unions, strikes, workers’ rights would be a...

Carter Amelse homered, drove in three runs and earned the win in relief to help power Blaine baseball to a 9-6 win against Anoka April 18. Derek Schlomann went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, Wilson Guse had a pair of hits and knocked in two, Tori Barsness scored three runs, and Ethan Pettis picked up a pair of hits. Delivering two hits apiece for the Tornadoes were Jackson Provoncha, Evan Freking, Brayden Cherrey, Sam Poser and Clay Bernard. Drew Law homered and Wyatt...

Feature Fridley baseball senior captains Josiah Kozicky and Evan Hinnenkamp Josiah Kozicky Start in baseball “I was 4 years old when I started playing baseball. I started playing wiffleball in my backyard when I was little and I think I...

Columbia Heights High School Theater students will be performing “The Day the Internet Died”, in the CHHS Performing Arts Center on April 26, 27 and 28. On a sunny day in the town of Bloomington, a devastating occurrence happens. No, it’s not famine, or floods, or loss of your basic rights. The internet has gone down! And it will continue to be down! For a week! A whole week! Pandemonium! ...

Minnesota Soccer Group announced the second iteration of the Minnesota Super Cup will begin in May and run through the end of July. Established in 2023 to unforgettable success, the Minnesota Super Cup features six clubs from across the state in a World Cup-style tournament that brings together the best of the pre-professional soccer landscape. This year’s tournament will feature teams from Duluth, Minneapolis, Rochester, St. Paul, St. Croix and Stillwater, and the fixtures will take place across the state to encourage and engage as...

Anoka Middle School for the Arts Theater will perform Disney’s “Newsies Jr.” in the Fred Moore Campus Auditorium from April 19-28. This inspiring musical, designed for middle school performers, is based on the 1992 Disney film “Newsies” and the 2012 Broadway production. The cast and crew, comprising over 70 talented students, are led by Adam Blumberg (director), Terrell Beaudry (vocal director), and Jenny Pennaz (choreographer). Adam Blumberg, the show’s director,...

Feature St. Francis softball senior Kara Schwintek, who has helped the Saints surge to a 6-0 start to the season. Start in softball “I started playing baseball at the age of 5. Long before playing, I was running around the field with my dad and brother. Sports were a part of my childhood growing up,...

Have a seat and be our guest. A tale as old as time unfolds for Spring Lake Park High School Theater, as they put on “Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical” April 19-20 and 25-28. The musical is one of the most well-known around, yet requires a deep, powerful group to pull off. This...

Northern Starz Center for the Performing Arts in Ramsey’s Musical Conservatory Program debuted the production of “Chicago Teen Edition” April 18, with performances continuing through April 25. The students in the cast, grades 6-12, have been part of the Northern Starz inaugural Musical Theatre Conservatory Program. The program started in November and is an educational performing arts program composed of students from several different school districts. “Theatre for Life” is...

St. Francis softball continued its fast start to the season, outslugging Robbinsdale Cooper 22-0 April 13 to improve to 6-0. The Saints got two hits apiece from Kara Schwintek, Alexa Skogquist, Addy Halland, Myana Kiser, Molly Hanson, Emerson Markas, Taleeya Draack and Sydney Borchert, with Schintek hitting a homer. Chloe Christie went 4-for-4 and scored three runs, while Pacey Olson had three hits and drove in five to power Coon Rapids to an 8-1 win over Elk River April 11 as the Cardinals improved to...

Nine area high school seniors from participating schools were named Minneapolis Athena Awards winners for the 2023-24 school year, including: Andover’s Morgan Miller, Anoka’s Kaelyn Nelson, Blaine’s Hannah Claussen, Columbia Heights’ Thanh Truc Mai, Coon Rapids’ Casey Beck, Fridley’s Sophia Jensen, St. Francis’ Josie Lupinek, Spring Lake Park’s Brianna Nusbaum, and Totino-Grace’s Caylin Cantwell. The Athena Award is given to “one senior female athlete from each participating school who has distinguished herself in special individual athletic achievement or superior achievements in one or more sports.” ...

Minnesota’s popular stream trout season opens Saturday, April 13, with quality fishing opportunities in every region of the state. Brook trout and splake fishing also open April 13 on Lake Superior and its tributary streams. Trout anglers can find information on Minnesota’s trout streams and lakes on Minnesota DNR’s website at www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout/index.html. Anglers will find helpful learning guides and fishing tips tailored to each of Minnesota’s six trout fishing regions. Anglers can also access StreamFinder at www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout/map.html, which provides anglers with a description, species list,...

CTN Studios, the city of Coon Rapids’ cable TV network, will provide production services for all 75 St. Paul Saints home games at CHS Field, St. Paul, over the next two seasons. A contract with the Saints covering 2024 and 2025 was approved by the Coon Rapids City Council March 19. This is not a new agreement. CTN has had a production services contract with the Saints since 2007 with...

A year after releasing his debut novel thriller, Fridley’s Nicholas Grady is back with a suspenseful sequel, as “Under the Water: The River Holds Many Secrets” gets set for release April 30. Taking place one year after the events of the first novel in the series, “Under the Water” features a series of surprises, thrills and action as it winds along the river parkways of Minneapolis. From the book: The...

Feature Blaine boys tennis senior captains A.J. Fedor and Peter Andrews A.J. Fedor Start in tennis “I started youth tennis right around the age of 4 or 5. My parents both played tennis and my dad is a coach, so...