16 THE LOWDOWN
JULY 2021 www.presspubs.com
Developer announces tenant for downtown project BY SHANNON GRANHOLM LEAD EDITOR
HUGO — A 7,000-square-foot restaurant with a 2,500-square-foot patio overlooking Egg Lake may be coming to downtown Hugo. The developer of the project, Dennis Properties, announced last week that it has entered into a letter of intent for leasing the restaurant and patio to Patrick Conroy. Conroy, a Hugo resident, owns 11 restaurants in the Twin Cities, including Muddy Cow, Muddy Chicken, Mad Cow and MC’s Tap House. “We are a family-friendly establishment where good food and family fun are served daily,” Conroy said. “We look forward to broadening our dining services with youth sports and other community organizations around Hugo.” The City Council approved a purchase agreement for $1 for the city-owned prop-
erty across Highway 61 from City Hall last December. At that time, the plan included 89,000 square feet of building space with 200 parking stalls. Some key features of the project could include a downtown pier and a pedestrian-friendly Main Street. “We are very excited that Patrick Conroy will be opening a restaurant in downtown Hugo. We believe his concept is a great fit with the project, and we have no doubt this will be a very successful location,” said Denny Trooien, CEO of Dennis Properties. Dennis Properties is working with SRF Consulting to assist with planning and permitting and with Collage Architects for the design of the buildings and the site. The Downtown Hugo proposal is still in the planning stages, and needs to go through a myriad of approvals and permits. The development would likely be built in five phases, with the first phase to include the restaurant. Trooien said
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Here is an architect’s rendering of what downtown Hugo may look like by 2022.
construction is expected to begin later this year and be complete in 2022. Community Development Director Rachel Juba said Dennis Properties has not applied for any land use approvals as yet, but is working on a plan and meeting with various entities.
“This is an exciting and ambitious project” Trooien said. “We’re going to do this right and when we’re done these buildings will look very historic.” Lead Editor Shannon Granholm can be reached at 651-407-1227 or quadnews@presspubs.com.
Good Samaritans perform random acts of kindness
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The Forest Lake Area Good Samaritans at one of their cleanup events in April. Founder Mike Kaiser is holding their Community Involvement award the group received in March. BY NOELLE OLSON STAFF WRITER
While taking a morning run through Forest Lake after a stormy night four years ago, financial adviser Mike Kaiser had an inspirational idea. “I noticed a bunch of trees and branches down and thought to myself, ‘It would be fun to randomly show up at someone's house and clean up their yard and say, ‘It's on the house,’” Kaiser said. And that's just what he did. He went home and told his wife, Sonja, about getting a group of volunteers together to help with the cleanup from the storm. She loved the idea, so her husband sprang into action. “I went and posted on Nextdoor and asked if anyone would be interested in helping out, and 37 people responded — and that's how it all started,” he said. The Forest Lake Area Good Samaritans group was established with Kaiser as the founder of the group. Jackie Loose was one of those people who responded to the Nextdoor post. “I went to the first meeting and I’ve been hooked ever since,” she said. She is currently a board member and the treasurer of the group. When Kaiser’s longtime friend Melissa Lundmark heard about the group, she said she definitely knew she wanted to join. She is now the vice-president of the nonprofit organization. “I remember one time when my youngest son Chase, who was 16 at the time, came with me to volunteer and he wasn’t having a very good morning. But when we left the job he said, ‘Mom, that really feels good, doesn’t it?’” Lundmark said. This inspired one of the group’s slogans, “It feels good to do good.” The group doesn't have a hard time finding people in need. They find projects through social media, the news and members of the community.
“What we’ve found out is that a lot of people don’t like to ask for help, so neighbors or family members will contact us if someone needs something done,” Lundmark said. The group has been growing and helping people not only in Forest Lake, but in the cities of Wyoming, Columbus, Stillwater, Hugo and surrounding communities throughout Washington County. The organization relies on funding through sponsors and fundraisers that include a winter plunge and raffles, but they mostly rely on their volunteers. “It’s a good way to meet your neighbors. You not only get to keep your city clean, you get to meet people that you normally wouldn’t get to meet in your daily routine,” Sonja Kaiser said. “We give free T-shirts to all our new volunteers who come out to help, and so far we’ve given away at least 300 shirts. Also, after our cleanup events, the volunteers get a free lunch provided by the Forest Lake Lions,” Kaiser added. Back in March, the Forest Lake Area Good Samaritans received a Community Involvement award from Community Thread. The nonprofit also launched a “March into Spring” event, where they challenged people to perform a random act of kindness for someone every day for 31 days. “One of the challenges was a gas pump giveaway, where I paid for a lady’s gas with our Good Samaritan debit card,” Kaiser said. “I filmed the whole thing live on Facebook, and Jackie called me and said, ‘I can clearly see our PIN number when you punched it into the pump.’” Needless to say, the PIN number has changed. The group is part of a “cleanest city in America” competition that began with the city of Salisbury in Maryland. Now, there are approximately 35 cities throughout the country who participate in the “just for fun” competition. With the help of 55
volunteers in April, the group collected 187 bags of trash in two hours and was consequently crowned the cleanest city in America. Group members were featured on KARE 11 News. Since the organization began, group members have left May Day baskets and plants on random people's doors throughout the community. “It’s just great seeing their faces, and they are so thankful,” Lundmark said. “We now donate a plant each month to the Cherrywood and Birchwood senior centers (in Forest Lake),” Kaiser added. The group has attracted the attention of the Forest Lake Police Department, Mayor Mara Bain, Fire Chief Al Newman and other city officials who are very supportive of the nonprofit’s cleanup efforts. “The city is using us as a resource now if someone needs something,” Kaiser said. The next cleanup event will take place right after the Forest Lake Fourth of July celebration on July 1-4. Kaiser wasn't certain of the exact date at press time but noted that people can find that information on the group’s Facebook page. The group is always looking for sponsors, volunteers and anyone who needs a helping hand. “It’s nice when they sponsor or volunteer, because they feel a part of it and it becomes a part of them,” Loose said. Part of the mission of the Forest Lake Area Good Samaritans is to create a stronger community through doing good deeds for its neighbors and help spread kindness to surrounding communities. “It's really about doing something nice for someone else — pay it forward,” Kaiser said. For more information on the Forest Lake Area Good Samaritans visit its Facebook page or website at goodsamaritansfla.com.
Forest Lake Area Good Samaritans volunteers Antonio Pleitez, Mike Kaiser, Kathy Garry and Melissa Lundmark wearing their “Pay it Forward” t-shirts.
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This graph shows how many days it would take for the entire world to receive a random act of kindness if everybody who received one random act of kindness and reciprocated with three acts of kindness.
SOME OF THE GOOD DEEDS PERFORMED OVER THE YEARS BY THE FOREST LAKE AREA GOOD SAMARITANS: • Gave financial assistance to a single parent of two special needs children, one in the middle of an extended hospital stay. • Moved a man from Chisago to Forest Lake. • Replaced broken blinds in a veteran’s home. • Shoveled snow for those who needed help. • Provided financial assistance to a family suffering the loss of a child who was struck by a snowmobile. • Worked with the watershed district to paint warnings by storm drains to protect the lakes from problem discharges. • Performed yard work — mowing, raking and clearing overgrown paths for a neighbor. • Painted a deck. • Raised money to help purchase hearing aids. • Helped families with auto repairs. • Provided transportation. • Replaced a furnace and fixed two roofs. • Assisted four families involved in house fires with gift cards and cash donations.
