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THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2025 VOL. 22 NO. 6 www.readthecitizen.com $1.00
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: All about Sunshine Week PAGES 2 & 4
ALDI a possibility for Lino Lakes, Hugo residents BY MADELINE DOLBY QUAD COMMUNITY PRESS EDITOR
Lino Lakes and Hugo residents may have a new place to shop for groceries. ISG submitted an ALDI site and building plan review to the Lino Lakes Planning and Zoning Commission, whose members unanimously agreed to send it to the City Council. The grocery store would be located south of Main Street, east of I-35E and west of Otter Lake Road in Lino Lakes, near the border with Hugo. Currently, the 28-acre site includes three existing lots. The site is zoned General Business (GB) and is guided commercial per the city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Katie Larsen, city planner, said that staff requested that the applicants submit a master plan for the site. A master plan, also known as a ghost plat, lays out the potential future development of a site. It is not the final plan. According to Larsen, the master plan shows the possibility of a medical clinic, a retail restaurant and an automotive store. “This does not mean this is how the future site is going to build out,” Larsen explained regarding the master plan. “We wanted to make sure that the
‘Bingo and Bling’
FILE
The Chain of Lake Rotary will host its annual Chain of Giving fundraiser, “Bingo and Bling,” from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Peder Pedersen Pavilion in Hugo for the Rotary’s local scholarship and international youth exchange program. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at chainoflakesrotary.com. For more information, see page 7.
SEE ALDI, PAGE 2
Liberty Classical Academy says 1 final hurdle remains to expansion plans BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
Liberty Classical Academy (LCA) says it has “identified a path forward” with May Township that will allow it to proceed with construction of the next phase of its expansion project, provided it receives the necessary permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). “This has been a long time coming, but we are excited to be able to announce this outstanding news,”
Headmaster Rebekah Hagstrom wrote in an email newsletter sent out earlier this month. LCA owns approximately 37 acres in Hugo and 45 acres in May Township along 122nd Street. LCA also leases space at the Church of St. Pius X in White Bear Lake. LCA wants to construct a 33,500-squarefoot addition to the existing school and associated parking. The stormwater management facilities and septic systems are proposed to be located in May Township.
LCA received approval of a site plan and conditional use permit (CUP) from the city of Hugo, but May Township denied the CUP for the stormwater management facilities and septic systems. Last September, LCA filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against May Township for enacting an interim ordinance for a moratorium on the establishment of institutional and nonresidential uses and any facilities within the Rural Residential (RR) zoning district.
“While May has verbally acknowledged certain conditions under which LCA may move forward, May is simply acknowledging the law as it stands — not compromising its position for agreement,” said LCA Attorney Brandon Carmack. “We are negotiating formal resolution of the case with May; until that negotiation is finalized — and likely even thereafter — we will not be able to comment on the SEE LIBERTY CLASSICAL, PAGE 11
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“We now have three hurdles down and one to go,” Hagstrom detailed in the emailed newsletter. “We have the unanimous approval from the city of Hugo, the Brown’s Creek Watershed District permit for the holding pond and now May Township is satisfied with our plan for the septic system, as well … Prayers for the final hurdle — the MPCA permit.” Press Publications reached out to LCA and May Township to find out more about the resolution of the school’s plans in May Township.