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RAMSEY COUNTY: Closes Shoreview library branch on Fridays PAGE 16
‘Blue Sky Connie’ says goodbye to ‘village’ after 45 years BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
CONTRIBUTED
The Northernettes will go to two international competitions this season, one in Gdnask, Poland, in January and a second in Turku, Finland, this February.
Local skater looks ahead to international competitions The synchronized skating season is underway, and the Northernettes Synchronized Skating team is preparing to head overseas. The team will be in Gdnask, Poland competing for the Hevelius Cup from Jan. 15 through Jan. 17 and will go to Turku, Finland on Feb. 7 - 8 to compete for the Marie Lundmark Trophy. Press Publications recently sat down with Shoreview skater
Audrey Lee to learn more about her and what she is looking forward to most for the remainder of the season. Audrey Lee Q. What town are you from and what year in school/district do you attend? A. I’m from Shoreview, and I am a junior at Mounds View High School.
Q. How long have you been skating? A. My older siblings did hockey and figure skating, so I’ve been on the ice for as long as I can remember, pretty much since I could walk. I started formal figure skating lessons when I was 5 years old. SEE NORTHERNETTES Q&A, PAGE 16
After 45 years of turning hard work into bright days, Connie Burda-Nicholson — better known around Deluxe Corporation as “Blue Sky Connie” — is set to retire in January, leaving behind a legacy of positivity, mentorship and teamwork that began on the night shift in 1981 and grew into a career that touched nearly every corner of the company. Burda-Nicholson grew up in Vadnais Heights in the home her father, Stanley Burda, built. She still resides there today with her husband, CONTRIBUTED Connie’s first badge. Wally. Before graduating from White Bear Lake High School in 1979, she credits her Graphic Arts I, II and III classes she took for the reason she secured the job at Deluxe. It was during those courses that she learned about offset printing and 35-mm photography. “When I came to Deluxe, I knew how to burn plates. I knew how to run presses. I had all of that background just by taking it in high school,” she recalled. “If it wasn’t for the background I had from the White Bear School District, I probably never would have landed this job.” A friend of hers worked at Deluxe and encouraged her to apply. At the time, Deluxe had a “Blue Book” that laid out the company’s benefits. She brought the book home to show her parents. “They couldn’t believe all of the benefits,” she said. SEE ‘BLUE SKY CONNIE’, PAGE 15
Vacant Mounds View School Board seat to be filled this month The Mounds View Public Schools School Board has received 16 applications to fill the remainder of a term that expires on Jan. 3, 2028, following the resignation of former board member Jonathan Weinhagen. The applicants are: • Pamela Anderson, New Brighton • Jake Burhnding, Arden Hills • Claire Dawson, Roseville • John Hakes, Shoreview
• Corbin Hilgeman, Mounds View • Cameron Japuntich, Shoreview • Andre Koen, Mounds View • Suzanne Ludwig, New Brighton • Rachel McIver Morey, New Brighton • Rich Priore, Arden Hills • Thomas Robideau, Shoreview • James Schneider, Shoreview • Andy Tilstra, Shoreview • Patrick Varro, Shoreview • Laura Wake Wiesner, Mounds View
• Joshua Wing, Shoreview Public interviews will take place Thursday, Jan. 15, and Tuesday, Jan. 20, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the board room at the Mounds View District Center, 4570 Victoria St. N., Shoreview. The school board will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, for a special meeting of the board to vote on the candidates for the appointment. A candidate will be selected at the conclusion of
the meeting. The meeting is open to the public. The appointed candidate will be announced during the Tuesday, Jan. 27, regular school board meeting. The appointed candidate will be sworn in as a board member at the board meeting scheduled for Feb. 10. For more information about the process, go to www.mvpschools.org/board.
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