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Forest Lake Times
Rangers move on to Section 7AAAA finals
Boys basketball defeats Duluth East, Andover en route to championship game against Coon Rapids On Feb. 6, the Andover Huskies stormed back to clinch a one-point victory over the Rangers, ending a score of 66-67. When the Rangers faced the Huskies once more in the Section 7AAAA semi-final game on Saturday, March 9, they put together another 66 points, but this time ended the game 10 points ahead of the Huskies. That sweet revenge now sends the Rangers on to the section championship game against...
High schoolers hope to bring change to mental health issues
Area students’ mental health better than state average; students still struggling In light of a mental health crisis, some Forest Lake Area High School students have rallied to help students feel more open, connected and safe when talking about mental health, especially following the pandemic when the situation plummeted to new depths. “I think it was probably just as important before, but I don’t think people took action as much...
Forest Lake council debates how to spend state dollars for first responders
City street projects chosen for this year The city is in discussion with its fire and police chiefs about the use of about $918,000 of state dollars after last legislative season’s bill that gave cities funding amidst the first-responder hiring crisis. The city initially heard proposals from the two chiefs that included items to help the departments. After hearing the proposal, the council discussed how else the funds could be used, such as financial incentives for officers or firefighters or the hiring of a community...
Girls basketball falls in section quarterfinal
After finishing the regular season on a high note by winning nine of its last 12 games, the Forest Lake girls basketball team saw its season end on Wednesday, Feb. 28. The No. 5-seeded Rangers went on the road for its Section 7AAAA quarterfinals matchup against the No. 4-seeded Blaine Bengals and ultimately fell just short of advancing to the Section 7AAAA semifinals round, narrowly losing 49-43. Senior guard Cassidy Pitzl led the Rangers in scoring with 15 points, while sophomore Kendal Damon added the next-highest scoring output for her squad on 14 total points. As its season concluded, Forest Lake put together a 14-12 overall record on the 2023-24 campaign after finishing 10-17 the previous season.
Jamison Livermore snags top-15 finish at state
Sophomore diver improves over his 23rd place at state last year After barely missing the cut in the diving preliminaries a season ago, sophomore diver Jamison Livermore returned to state diving action and placed 15th in this year’s Class AA Swim and Dive championships. Last year Livermore earned his first career state berth and recorded a 23rd-place finish on a 138.25 score, three spots behind clinching a semifinals spot. Livermore...
Trio of Rangers earn state medals
Team falls to juggernauts Mounds View, Hastings in first state appearance since 2020 A trio of Rangers claimed third-place medals at the Class AAA state meet. Seniors Mark Rendl and Parker Lyden, along with girls wrestler junior Nas’Jarae White, all clinched the white ribbons around their necks at the state individual meet held on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2. After ultimately qualifying seven total individual wrestlers and its...
Boys basketball falls to CDH in final regular season game
The Forest Lake boys basketball team lost a heartbreaker in its final home game of the season on Thursday, Feb. 29, falling to top Suburban East Conference team Cretin-Derham Hall by a final score of 85-81. On a night where the seniors of the Rangers boys program were honored and recognized, the Rangers didn’t give the win to the SEC’s No. 1-team easily, only losing by 4 in a game that went into double overtime. ...
Owen Waldoch breaks all-time scoring record
Forest Lake boys basketball star shooter Owen Waldoch had a monumental career night on Wednesday, Feb. 21. In a home Suburban East Conference matchup versus East Ridge, the senior accomplished a rare and renowned feat: becoming the all-time leading scorer in the history of Forest Lake basketball. The center hit his 1,447th point at roughly the seven-minute mark of the second half on his 21st point of the game, breaking the Ranger career record of 1,446. By the end of the night, his career total...
Five boys wrestlers receive state berth
After clinching this year’s section team tournament for the first time since 2020, five individual boys wrestlers are headed to the 2024 Class AAA state individual competition after the section individual tournament held on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Anoka High School. Defending 2023 state champion Forest Lake senior Mark Rendl will return to the Xcel for the individual tournament after dominating the 285 class with a big win over an opponent from Champlin Park. The berth is Rendl’s third-straight after taking third place two years...
Briefs: boys hockey, girls basketball end season at sections
Rangers boys hockey Following an up-and-down campaign, the Forest Lake boys hockey season ended in the first round of the 7AA quarterfinals in a matchup with Rock Ridge on the road. The Rangers rallied back after being down 3-1 in the opening frame to tie it back up at 3-3 before the game’s conclusion. The boys ultimately fell by a final score of 4-3 in a game that went to a total of four overtime periods before Rock Ridge tallied its final goal. Goals were...
Rangers gymnastics takes fourth in Class AA state action
Senior Anna Philipson takes second in All-Around The Forest Lake gymnastics team took home a fourth-place finish at the Class AA state team event on Friday, Feb. 23, at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in downtown St. Paul. The Rangers had a total of 144.425 points and placed just 0.025 points behind third-place Hopkins. Cretin-Derham Hall/Minnehaha Academy/Mounds Park Academy took second with a 144.9 score, while Lakeville South blew away the competition...
Columbus Council extends timeline of application process
City unenthused by establishing municipal marijuana marketplace The Columbus Council updated its application review policy by extending the evaluation timeline to any planning commission item that needs a public open forum to improve workflow and communication between the council and planning commission. This shift was brought up at the council meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 14, and approved at the joint meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 21, despite some initial planning commission...
Council expedites administrator interview
It was just Monday, Feb. 12, when the Forest Lake City Council approved management consultant Bart Fischer of DDA HR to begin the search process for the city’s next administrator after the council parted ways with Patrick Casey. The decision was made on Monday, Feb. 12 after hearing from representatives from Baker-Tilly, Forest Lake-based Express Employment, and GovHR USA, in addition to DDA, whom the city had already contracted with late last year to consider the city’s positions and staffing needs. But as interim City...
Forest Lake native turns 15 years old – in leap years
Rondi Pepin now thinks of her special birthdate as a fun conversation piece Sharing a birthday with a holiday can be seen as an annoyance or a joy – sometimes both. Having a birthday that lies on Feb. 29, a date that only happens once every four years, can be a challenge as well as fun, like it has been for Forest Lake graduate Rondi Pepin. “This year, I get...
NLA student is one of 40 to receive MSHSL ExCEL Award
When North Lakes Academy junior Brenna Theisen found out she was one of 40 recipients in the state to receive this year’s MSHSL ExCEL (Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership) Award, “it was surreal,” she said. “I started to get teary-eyed,” Theisen said when she heard the news. The award honors students who are nominated by a teacher and coach for being active students and leaders in and outside of...
Columbus lobbies to alleviate financial burden of state program
Before Sen. Michael Kreun was elected to represent Blaine, Columbus, Ham Lake and Lexington, Columbus Mayor Jesse Preiner gave him a tour of the city. During that tour, Kreun learned about the city itself, projects and financial burdens – one of which is the Metropolitan Fiscal Disparities program. “My overall thought was, how do we kind of help these small cities that are being impacted by the inequities in the formulas through no fault of their own? And that’s how I saw Columbus’ situation,” Kreun...
FL Nordic and Alpine ski teams see state action
After clinching a state berth with a second-place finish in the Section 7 tournament, the Forest Lake girls Nordic ski team placed 11th at the state tournament, held at Giants Ridge in Biwabik over a two-day stretch on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 14-15. The squad had roughly a week’s worth of time to rest and prepare for the state tournament, where Forest Lake’s girls Nordic, along with and boys’ team sophomore Jonas Hebert, compete in the final stages of what has been a strange 2023-24 season due to the weather. ...
Sports Briefs - Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024
The Forest Lake boys basketball team picked up a 64-57 Suburban East Conference win over Mounds View on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Later that week on Friday, Feb. 16, the Rangers snagged their third win in a row after beating Irondale by a final score of 75-49. The boys’ next matchup took place on Wednesday, Feb. 21, against East Ridge in a contest that was not yet completed by press time. Girls basketball The Forest Lake girls basketball team earned its third- and fourth-straight wins in the previous week by beating both Mounds View and Irondale on Tuesday, Feb. 13, and Friday, Feb. 16, respectively. The girls’ final regular season showdown took place after press time on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at East Ridge.
Ranger dancers improve on state floor
Forest Lake dance team’s jazz routine came in last at state, but saw score improvement In front of a crowd of thousands at the Target Center, the Forest Lake dancers showcased their Section 3AAA runner-up jazz routine to “Got It In You” by Banners during the state dance tournament on Friday, Feb. 16. But despite the large venue, the team just felt the presence of each other. “[What] we really...
Gymnastics clinches state berth
Four individuals also to compete at state The Forest Lake gymnastics team entered the 2023-24 season with hopes and expectations of staying healthy and taking the necessary steps toward making a competitive run for the Section 7AA championship. After finishing fourth in both the Suburban East Conference and in the section tournament a season ago, the Rangers captured the section championship, qualifying as a team for the state gymnastics meet for the first time since 2021, as well as sending four gymnasts to the individual...
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Forest Lake Times has been serving Forest Lake, MN since 1902. Published Thursdays by APG of East Central Minnesota with 24/7 local coverage found online at forestlaketimes.com
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