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Township resident required to prove citizenship BY LOGAN GION CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Astrid-Ira McCarthy, a White Bear Township resident, recently received a letter from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) giving her an Alien Registration Number, or A-number—a unique, nine-digit number for non-citizens who are applying for immigration benefits. Astrid found this confusing because she has been a U.S. citizen for at least 25 years. Astrid, formerly known as Nisha Adamietz, entered the United States in 1989 when she was six months old. Her parents adopted her from Calcutta, India, through Hope Adoption and Family Services, now called EVOLVE Family Services, in Oak Park Heights. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 automatically made Astrid a U.S. citizen 25 years ago. A homeowner for over 15 years, Astrid has lived in White Bear Township with her wife, Lex McCarthy, since 2022. “I have a social security number,” Astrid exclaimed. “So there’s really no reason for this to be happening.” “We just updated it when we got married,” Lex added. “We went to the federal office, and everything was fine. They accepted the name change and everything.” Even more strange is that Astrid had requested a replacement citizenship document from USCIS last December. “We went to USCIS on Dec. 20, so this was before the administration change,” Astrid recalled. “I have my appointment, they do my biometrics. They do not take my fingerprints.” During the appointment, the USCIS employee informed Astrid that fingerprints were not needed because Astrid already showed up in their system as a citizen. “[Lex and I] breathed a sigh of relief, and she says, ‘We’re going to mail it.’ Five or six months go by, and instead of my citizenship documents, they instead send something saying I
Full-circle farewell
PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED
Graduates celebrate a historic milestone at White Bear Lake Area High School Stadium — the district’s first outdoor ceremony since 1983. As the last class to experience both North and South Campuses, the Class of 2025 marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter as the first to graduate from the unified grades 9–12 high school building. Students will now embark on their next adventure, whether that’s continuing their education, going right into the workforce, enlisting in the military, or traveling the world.
MNRecyclery: Giving back bikes for a greater purpose to different organizations and schools. Currently, the shop donates to White Bear Lake, Mahtomedi, Roseville, Mounds View and Columbia Heights schools, and to Solid Ground and Victims of Torture Center in St. Paul. Kapaun began working as a volunteer and took over the role of shop head from White Bear Lake resident and MNRecyclery founder Jim Muellner shortly after. “I’ve always
BY ERIK SUCHY STAFF WRITER
At MNRecyclery, Lynn Kapaun is looking for two qualities for those who want to become bike-fixing volunteers: dedication and mechanical aptitude. “That’s probably the two biggest things,” he says. Kapaun, a Vadnais Heights resident, runs MNRecyclery, a bike repair shop that remodels old bikes and donates them
SEE CITIZENSHIP, PAGE 10
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ERIK SUCHY | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
MNRecyclery is a White Bear Lake-based bike repair shop that remodels old bicycles and donates them to different organizations and schools.
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3634 Scheuneman Rd. • White Bear Lake • 651-426-4640
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SEE MNRECYCLERY, PAGE 8
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been a person to volunteer my entire life. I truly enjoy doing what I’m doing. I never expected it to get this big and do it this long.” The shop has 11 rotating volunteers who fix bikes from Monday through Thursday; some occasionally work on Friday. According to Kapaun, when the shop was initially formed, volunteers averaged fixing
3634 Scheuneman Rd. • White Bear Lake • 651-426-4640
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Some restrictions may apply. WBC110 Exp.7/31/25
3634 Scheuneman Rd. • White Bear Lake • 651-426-4640
Some restrictions may apply. WBC105 Exp.7/31/25
3634 Scheuneman Rd. • White Bear Lake • 651-426-4640
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