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‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM:’ Brings puckish humor to Lakeshore Players PAGE 8
Get ready for a preview detour BY LORETTA HARDING CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Mahtomedi Avenue Improvement Project doesn’t officially begin until the summer of 2027. At that time, all of Mahtomedi Avenue from downtown Mahtomedi to the border with Dellwood will be completely torn up to install a boulevard the city can call its own. However, residents, motorists, postal service employees and others will receive a preview of what the disruption will bring, starting this week and lasting into November. City Engineer Nick Guilliams recently gave a presentation of upcoming work at a City Council meeting and answered questions. Mahtomedi Avenue will be reduced to one lane from Ash Street to Locust Street during that period, and the intersection of Mahtomedi Avenue and Hickory Street will be completely closed for one week. During the past year, the city’s engineering firm, WSB, has been working with private utility companies to relocate utilities that conflict with the city’s proposed improvements. The utilities include Xcel gas service and Xcel Energy Electric. Other utilities, such as cable and telephone located on the electricity poles will also be impacted. The gas main is a major utility that needs to be relocated in advance of road construction. Here is how work will affect traffic up and down Mahtomedi Avenue for the next three months: • Gas facilities exist on the west side of Mahtomedi Avenue from Ash Street to Hickory Street. The southbound lane of Mahtomedi Avenue will be closed, and only the northbound lane of Mahtomedi Avenue will be open to traffic • Gas facilities exist on both sides of the road
Swinging summertime music returns
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Members of the Moonlight Serenaders play during a previous Pops on the Porch event at the historic Fillebrown House in White Bear Lake. The late summer tradition, featuring classic big band standards in an outdoor setting, returns to Lake Avenue from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20.
SEE MAHTOMEDI AVE., PAGE 11
White Bear Schools to launch only student-run credit union branch BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
SEE CREDIT UNION, PAGE 20
SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
White Bear Lake Area High School students Amiya Scott-Waddington and Louie Blomgren are two of four interns selected to be student tellers for a new partnership between the school district and Royal Credit Union.
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White Bear Lake Area High School will be the only school in the state this school year to offer a student-run Royal Credit Union branch to students. Royal has operated its School $ense program for over 30 years in Wisconsin, but is looking to get the program up and running in Minnesota. Royal previously had a school site at Eden Prairie High School, but it is no longer operating. White Bear Lake Area High School marks the 31st school site. “We have a huge commitment to financial education and working with schools,” said Deb Paulsen,
Royal financial education supervisor. “White Bear Lake has been a really great partner for us … so it was a natural evolution to partner more with them on some of the things that we have expertise in.” The partnership between the credit union and school district took off a couple years ago through the launch of the Test Drive Reality Fair, which gives high school students a real-life simulation of money and finances and lets them “test drive” their future to see what it takes to make it on their own. Four students from the district were selected for
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