It’s all in the family for the Mirons of Hugo

During the first 53 years of the Princess Kay of the Milky Way competition, not one dairy princess from Washington County had earned the coveted title. That streak came to an end in 2007 when Ann Miron of Hugo walked the bandshell stage at the Minnesota State Fair as the 54th Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

With one streak broken, the Washington County run of good luck has only flourished. On Wednesday, Aug. 25, a second county resident captured the Princess Kay title.

Katie Miron is flanked by her sister, Ann Miron Tauzell, left, and Kristy Mussman, right. Ann won the crown in 2007. Kristy succeeded Ann Miron as Princess Kay of the Milky Way in 2008 and will be married in November to Katie and Ann’s brother, Paul Miron.
(Photo by Cliff Buchan)

FL woman takes 12th at world horseshoe championships

“Firm step, follow through, trust your shoe.”

Tiffany Syring has been hearing that phrase for as long as she can remember, having grown up in a family of accomplished horseshoe pitchers. The St. Paul native has excelled in the sport from a young age, placing third in the junior world championships in 1993.

Now 34 and president of the horseshoe club in Forest Lake, Syring has found her way back to the sport’s forefront. After taking several years off from professional competition to raise a family, she reached the championship round of the World Horseshoe Pitching Championships in Cedar Rapids, IA last month.

Forest Lake’s Tiffany Syring is seeded second as she heads to the state championship in Mankato this weekend.
(Photo submitted)

City, FLAAA, school district all have a role

Barring any unforeseen complications, the city, school district and the Forest Lake Area Athletic Association (FLAAA) will join forces to put the finishing touch on the area’s newest sporting venue. The wheels are in motion for an agreement which would see the Forest Lake High School building trades class construct a concessions building at the new Fenway Athletic Park near the FLAAA Sports Center.

Fenway Athletic Park will have a new concessions building by next summer.
(Photo submitted)

Charges filed in August crime spree

An overnight fire caused about $80,000 in damage to a Forest Lake house early this morning. At 12:06 a.m. on Friday, a blaze was reported at 702 Schilling Circle. A neighbor who was out walking a dog noticed the fire and pounded on the door to wake up the residents, Scott Harrer and family. Everyone made it out of the house safely.

The back side of Scott Harrer's house at 702 Schilling Circle went up in flames just after midnight Friday morning.
(Photo by Clint Riese)

For the second time in four years, lightning has struck for the Miron family of Hugo. On Wednesday night at the Minnesota State Fair Bandshell, Katie Miron, 19, daughter of Fran and Mary Ann Miron, became the 57th Princess Kay of the Milky Way. Miron, right, nearly buckled to the floor during the coronation by outgoing Princess Kay Elizabeth Olson of Hutchinson. Katie Miron is the second Miron girl to become Princess Kay. Her sister, Ann, was the 54th Princess Kay of the Milky Way in 2007. Along side Katie here are the other two finalists from the field of 12 county dairy princesses — Labecca Johnson, 20, of LaCrescent in Houston County, and Katherine Holdvogt, 18, of Freeport in Stearns County. For the next year, Katie will  become the goodwill ambassador of the dairy industry in Minnesota. She is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota studying agricultural education. The crowning of the new Princess Kay comes each year on the eve of the Minnesota State Fair. (Photo By Cliff Buchan)

Work is still underway a little over a month into the downtown roundabout project in Forest Lake.

Much of the improvements have been made to the south end of Lake Street (US-61), but some recent severe weather was an opportunity for Peterson Companies to switch from repairing the roadway to completing utility work on the west side of the portion north of the intersection.

A bird's eye view of the downtown roundabout construction in Forest Lake. (Photo By Clint Riese and pilot Paul Michaud)