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New trails planned for bikers/walkers
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Manitou Days Manitou Days kicks off this week. See page 6A for details on the festivities, which include the parade and beach dance on Friday, community garage sale, fishing and sandcastle contests and picnic on Saturday, All-America City history presentation next Monday and more.
by Debra Neutkens Regional Editor WHITE BEAR LAKE — If non-motorized trails are on an agenda, chances are Mike Brooks is present to step to the podium. His mission: Make the city more bicycle friendly. "It's vital to our future," said the Fourth Street resident, who co-founded a local citizen's group called NE Communities Bike Walk. Brooks was on hand June 9 when the City Council voted on its nonmotorized transportation plan map. He told the council his hope is for "greater connectivity" in the city. "We need to make a concerted effort to get this right," Brooks said. "It's a huge economic and social advantage to the city as we move forward. Let's have broader discussion about what being a bike friendly community means for us." Ramsey County is in
Marketfest The opening night of Marketfest is 6-9 p.m. Thursday, June 18. Over 40 food vendors and over 100 merchant and community group booths will line the streets of downtown. Ride — a blues/r&b band — performs on the gazebo stage and the Drama Queen band will perform pop and rock covers on the Third Street stage.
Township cleanup White Bear Township’s spring cleanup day is 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 20 at Otter Lake Elementary School. Town residents can dispose of electronics, appliances, furniture and other unwanted items (see ci.white-bear-township. mn.us for a list or call 763784-2104). Proof of residency is required.
the process of creating a county-wide map of biking and walking trails and asked the city for an updated version of its municipal plan for incorporation into the map. Public input was gathered at a Feb. 18 community-wide open house, which happened to fulfill a Comprehensive Plan goal to list routes people would like to see built. Part of the city's 2030 Comprehensive Plan, Brooks said, is to provide alternatives to automobile traffic and encourage non-motorized transportation for people of all ages. Many thoughtful comments were received, noted Associate Planner Samantha Crosby, and staff was pleased with the overall results. Much of the input focused on larger projects, such as South Shore Boulevard, Otter Lake Road and the Bruce Vento Regional Trail. There were also comments on areas outside the city's jurisdiction.
The draft changes to the trail map are shown in the graphic on page 7A. City Council approved the map, which staff will now forward to Ramsey County. Recommended changes on the draft map include: • Adding a proposed sidewalk on Myrle Avenue from Hidden Hollow Park to County Road F. • Adding a proposed sidewalk along Elm street between White Bear Avenue and Willow Avenue to serve a route to school. • Adding a proposed onroad bike lane to Division Avenue for better access to schools. • Adding proposed mixed-use trail on Otter Lake Road between Fourth Street and Otter Lake Elementary. In staff's opinion, this is a mapping oversight, as there is a mixed use trail on Otter Lake road both north and south of that segment.
Trails/see page 7A – Photo courtesy of Mark Trockman at trockstock.com
State Champs
Bacon lover scouts, ranks and sells unique favorites
News inside See inside for the following news items: Bald Eagle Island sale still hasn’t closed, White Bear Lake Area High School and Century College partner on remedial math and reading classes and 2015-16 budgets set for the Mahtomedi and White Bear Lake school districts.
White Bear Lake players, from left, Hunter Peters, Matt Swanson and Connor Dehnert celebrate during the Class 3A boys lacrosse state finals against Bloomington Jefferson Saturday at Minnetonka High School.
by Kristine Goodrich Editor
Weather Tidbits
Week of June 17 - 23, 2015 Weather tidbit: The Summer Solstice occurs at 11:38am on Sunday, June 21, when the sun's rays are directly over the Tropic of Cancer. We'll experience 15 hours and 34 minutes of daylight. Dawn breaks that day at 2:52am and dusk's last light occurs at 11:54pm. Year Ago this week: Rain totals 2.76 inches on June 18-19. Tornado near Swift (Benson Co.) June 19.
Weekly Averages High Low %Sun PCP 80° 60° 64% 1.12” (More weather on sports page)
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Bacon lover Jon Jakoblich rates each brand of bacon he samples against four criteria: flavor, fat-to-meat ratio, saltiness and shrinkage. His bacon-reviewing blog has evolved into a multifaceted website where fellow pork enthusiasts can find bacon news and tips and purchase mail orders from four small meat producers. “I'm educating the public about good-quality meats and connecting them with vendors,” said the White Bear Lake resident. A custom of stopping at meat markets during his travels inspired Jakoblich to launch baconscouts.com in May 2013. He blogged about the markets he visited and gave each a rating after he tried a few of its varieties. To date he's rated 21 bacon producers across the Midwest on a five-point system in four categories. Bernie's Fine Meats in Port Washington, Wisconsin so far holds Jakoblich's highest ranking. His blog also contains posts on a variety of bacon topics. The latest entry explains the science of shrinkage. “Bacon that shrinks significantly during cooking is either very fatty or it was cured with high water content,” he wrote. “High heat during cooking also plays a factor ...” Another entry recommends baking bacon in the oven instead of frying it in a pan. In the oven is quicker, less messy and tastes better, Jakoblich contends. Baking was recommended to him by Shawn Smith, the owner of Eat! @ Banning and Fifth (a downtown White Bear Lake restaurant). After trying out a few variations to baking methods, he posted step-by-step instructions on his blog, including a recommendation not to preheat the oven. “After making my way through many pounds of the delicious meat candy, I've developed a foolproof method to cook bacon to perfection each and every time,” he wrote. Baconscouts.com also contains a listing of bacon festivals across the country. Jakoblich has attended a few himself.
See page 2B
Tired of Lyme by Debra Neutkens Regional Editor
– Photo by Paul Dols
Jon Jakoblich displays a plate of bacon he has just prepared at his home in White Bear Lake. The website also has companion Facebook and Twitter pages that alert followers about new content and offers on the site. Last year Jakoblich began working to make baconscouts.com also an online marketplace. Establishing a Web store that automatically sends purchase orders to his partners was a longer process than he anticipated, he said. It went live this winter with its first partner: RJ's Meats in Hudson, Wisconsin. Products from Nolecheck's Meats in Thorp, Wisconsin and Woods Smoked Meats in Bowling Green, Missouri were added this spring. A store for new partner, Grand Champion Meats of Foley, was expected to go live this week. “I've created an online meat mall,” Jakoblich said. This online mall isn't cheap. The price tag for bacon is $18 per one-pound or $13.50 per 12-ounce package. That includes shipping if buyers live in the Midwest and order at least two frozen packages from the same company.
Bacon/see page 7A
People with Lyme disease don't look sick. But for some chronic sufferers of the tick-borne disease, getting out of bed is a challenge. White Bear Lake restaurateur Kate McKeague is sadly familiar with the debilitating illness. She was diagnosed with Lyme disease three years ago. On the bright side, The Station Pub manager has learned to navigate its symptoms through a strict dietary regimen and long-term an-
tibiotic treatments. Before the diagnosis, McKeague said, she could barely function. "I started getting sick in summer of 2012," McKeague recalled. "I had horrible fatigue, muscle pain and weakness, and trouble with my hand motor skills. I had brain fog, which is typical of Lyme disease. I saw different doctors but no one could figure out what was wrong. My blood work looked normal, a test for Lyme came back negative.
Lyme/see page 7A
– Submitted photo
Local restaurateur Kate McKeague “takes a bite out of Lyme.” It’s part of a campaign she says is starting up on Facebook to raise awareness of the disease.
HOURS: MON - FRI 7:00 am - 6:00 pm • SAT 7:30 am - 2:00 pm • SUN CLOSED Patio Open! “IF WE PLEASE YOU, TELL OTHERS. IF NOT, TELL US.”
Father’s Day Brunch & Dinner June 21st
651-483-2601 www.venburgtire.com
3001 Hwy 61 N. Maplewood, MN 55109
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Local • Reliable • Safety Minded
Reservations Required • Large Parties Welcome Monday Night: 35¢ Wings & Beer Special Taco Tuesday 5-9pm • $1 Tacos Must be 21 years or older • No takeout
KARAOKE Friday 9 pm - Close 2999 Hwy. 61 N. Maplewood | 651.482.0384 | www.guldens61.com