show notes

Central Minnesota lakes have already seen ice out this spring but northern Minnesota lakes still largely have it. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON this week. The state of Minnesota is just over 2 weeks away from the fishing opener.

A Chipotle and Starbucks are coming to Sartell. Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum confirmed the news with me on WJON this morning. Those two franchises will be locating in the River Crossing development along Highway 15 and country road 1 in Sartell.

Graduates and families of graduates can get very excited about the announcement of students' names during graduation ceremonies. Because of this Tech and Apollo High Schools have traditionally asked families and students from applause and outbursts while names are announced so all names can be heard and for the process to proceed in a timely fashion.

During the summer months St. Cloud Schools often have planned maintenance and improvement projects. St. Cloud School Superintendent Willie Jett joined me on WJON today. He says they have planned HVAC work scheduled for Apollo High School this upcoming year and an improved entrance at North Junior High.

April 17-23 is national volunteer week. St. Cloud organizations are recognizing volunteers this week. Jennifer Wucherer is the RSVP Director, she joined me on WJON this week.

St. Cloud District 742 students have an opportunity to explore careers. Gail Cruikshank, Talent Director from the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation and Laurie Putnam, Assistant Superintendent District 742 joined me on WJON today.

The city of St. Cloud hasn't given up on the possibility of draw strings for the clear/white compost city bags. Maintenance Supervisor for St. Cloud Public Works Dan Legatt joined me on WJON. He says they are always looking for vendors who offer draw strings for their compost bags because he knows they are popular.

The past 2 years had been challenging for all schools and that includes the St. Cloud Catholic Community School system due to the pandemic. Cathedral Middle School Principal Erin Hatelstad and Cathedral Activities Director Emmett Keenan joined me on WJON today.

Property values have been on a steady rise in the St. Cloud area. Stearns County Assessor Jake Pidde joined me on WJON. He explained how property values are determined. Residential properties are grouped into townships and cities and they take it a step further and group them into neighborhoods and locations based on property type.

Gas prices in the St. Cloud area have come down a bit in the last week. St. Cloud State University Economist King Banaian joined me on WJON this week. He says President Biden's decision to release 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is reducing the price of gas at least in the short term.

The St. Cloud metro area had 2 drive-in movie theaters. The Cloud Drive-In was located in Waite Park in the approximate area where Parkwood 18 is now. The address was 1531 Division Street in Waite Park. The drive-in opened June 10, 1949 and accommodated 389 cars with 1 screen.

For the past 2 years St. Cloud Hospital and CentraCare has been busy with COVID-19 patients. This week according to CentraCare spokesman, Dr. George Morris, St. Cloud Hospital has just 10 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and just 1 person in the ICU/Critical Care unit.