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NEWS AND VIEWS: Latest city happenings PAGE 20
White Bear Lake High School hosts 36th MLK Holiday Breakfast BY MAYA BETTI NEWS INTERN
White Bear Lake Area High School will be a northeast metro satellite site for the 36th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 19, bringing together students and community members for a locally planned program alongside a livestream of the Minneapolis event. The annual breakfast, hosted by General Mills in support of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), will be broadcast from the Minneapolis Convention Center to satellite locations across the region. The local White Bear program and panel discussion were planned by students from the high school’s Black Student Union (BSU) in partnership with three local churches. Attendees are expected to include members of the White Bear Lake Rotary Club, Many Faces White Bear Lake, the White Bear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and local public officials, including Minnesota Senator Heather Gustagason, Mayor Mary Nicklawske and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. According to the site co-lead, Heidi Vlasak, the event is expected to draw 300 to 350 people. This year’s theme, “Making a Career of Humanity,” is inspired by Dr. King's message: “Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.” The breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. with welcoming remarks from Vlasak, followed by an opening song.
PHOTOS BY PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Hundreds of White Bear Lake Area High School students staged a walk-out and protest march to City Hall and along Highway 61.
High school students find unity in walkout BY SHANNON GRANHOLM AND MAYA BETTI MANAGING EDITOR AND NEWS INTERN
High school students are sharing their voices following the killing of
SEE BREAKFAST, PAGE 14
Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Hundreds of White Bear Lake Area High School students walked out of classes at noon
Friday, Jan. 9 and into the streets of downtown last Friday to protest recent ICE operations in the Twin Cities metro area. Press Publications randomly asked four
students who participated in the walkout if they would agree to being interviewed. These students (two boys and two girls) are not identified SEE WALKOUT, PAGE 7
Mahtomedi’s Birkeland earns 2nd trip to Olympics Giorgia Birkeland, Mahtomedi 2020 graduate, will compete in her second Winter Olympic Games in speed skating in February. Birkeland made the USA Long Track Team in Team Pursuit Skating, in which two teams of three skaters each combine to cover a specific distance. They will compete in Italy in February. Birkeland, incidentally, was born in Italy. In the 2022 Olympics, the White Bear Lake native competed in the Mass Start event in Beijing, China. “As she enters her second Olympic Games, she looks to solidify her legacy in the sport with the women’s team pursuit,” stated Team USA’s press release in their Jan. 6 announcement of the 13 members of the Olympics lineup.
TEAM USA PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED
Giorgia Birkeland will compete in Team Pursuit at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Athletes qualified through a matrix of performance criteria for direct nomination and performance at the team trials at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee from January 2-5. Birkeland also just missed qualifying in the 1,500, placing third. Speed skating at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games will take place Feb. 7-21 at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium. The opening ceremonies will be held Feb. 6. In the 2024 World Championships, Birkeland placed fourth in Team Pursuit and ninth in the Mass Start semifinals. In 2023, she earned bronze with Team Pursuit. She has been a member of the Long Track National Team since 2020, living and training in Utah, where she moved immediately after graduation from MHS.
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