Lions Park Warming House is open! The ice on the pleasure rink is ready for skating. Public Works staff is continuing to make fresh ice on the hockey rink.

Warming house hours:

Saturday, Sunday & Holidays: 12:00-9:00

Monday - Friday: 3:00-9:00

Developing Lake Elmo's Property Numbering System

John Day was the head of the Committee that took on the house numbering system. "There was already a Washington County system in place that had been worked on for several years," Kelly Brookman said. "Lake Elmo decided to adopt the system."

The overall system starts at the state capitol and goes all directions. North and south are alphabetically named streets, and east and west are numbered. From Freeway 94 (formerly Highway 12) there is 10th Street North and 10th Street South. The system covers all of Washington County. Lake Elmo, all north of Highway 94, begins at Ideal with street names continuing alphabetically to the east, all the way to the St. Croix River."

Lake Elmo's Uniform Street Naming and Property Numbering System agreement was put in place on December 7, 1971. It was signed by Washington County and the Village of Lake Elmo, Calvin J. Brookman, Mayor, and Donald Mehsikomer, Clerk.

Brookman continued, "It was a good system. When it was originally put in place, you could tell by the number exactly where a building was. For example, the Brookman dealership number was11144 Stillwater Boulevard. This means that it is 11 miles from the capitol. Tenth Street North is one mile north from Freeway 94. For the fire department, if you give them an address such as 3385 Lake Elmo Avenue North, they know exactly where that is and how far away it is from the fire department.

It was controversial at first, because places that already had street names and numbers had to change in order to conform to the system, but people eventually accepted that. The street signs were put in by the city and the county, and a while after the system started the fire department bought 700 sets of house numbers to sell to residents of Lake Elmo to put on their houses, at $2 apiece."

Source: Memories of Lake Elmo, collected and authored by Gloria VanDemmeltraadt.

(Photo courtesy of " TwinCities.com", PioneerPress)

Next week at the Lake Elmo Library

For more information please click here EVENTS

Sweetheart Snow Moon

Ski, bike, hike event at Lake Elmo Park Reserve Feb. 10

Washington County Parks invites everyone to enjoy a night of outdoor recreation under the full February snow moon at Lake Elmo Park Reserve 6 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10.

Events will be at the Nordic Center. From the Nordic Center Trailhead, cross-country skiers will have access to four-plus miles of groomed classic and skate ski trails illuminated by LED lights. Also accessible from the Nordic Center, a 1.2-mile LED lighted trail loop open to hiking, snowshoeing, and leashed dog walking for this one night only, as this is normally a lighted, groomed ski trail and not accessible to non-ski activity.

The Eagle Point Trailhead adjacent to the Nordic Center will be open to accommodate fat tire biking along the 2.5-mile Big Bluestem Trail. This trail will not be illuminated except by moonlight, so headlamps and bike headlights are recommended to assist navigation.

The Nordic Center will serve as the event hub and host an outdoor bonfire and free cookies and hot cocoa to all guests. Diro Outdoors, a Stillwater company, will offer snowshoe and fat tire bike equipment to demonstrate for free. Register for time slots on the company website at www.dirooutdoors.com/.

This event is free with a valid park vehicle permit ($7/day or $30/annual); all skiers ages 16 and older will need a MN Ski Pass ($6/day or $20/annual). Both permits are for sale at the park office. Washington County Parks does not provide rental equipment; check out Joe's Sporting Goods or 45 Degrees for equipment rental needs.

Note that snowshoeing, hiking, and dogs are permitted on the groomed ski trails for this one night event only. Trail maps for the event will be available at the Park Office and the Nordic Center. Washington County Parks can be reached at 651-430-8370 or parks@co.washington.mn.us.

DNR Forestry Stewardship Cost Share Program

Do you own woodlands in rural Minnesota? Are you looking to practice good forest stewardship on your land? If so, there is money available to share the costs of your woodland projects.

The DNR's Private Forestry Management (PFM) cost share program provides money for non-industrial private landowners to practice good forest stewardship on their land. A forester works with the landowner and develops a specific project plan to accomplish their goal. The landowner does the work themselves or hires it out to a contractor. After the work is completed and approved by the forester, the landowner receives a payment that should equate to roughly 50% of the cost to install the project.

Some project examples include tree planting, bud capping, crop tree release, tree tube installation, invasive species removal, oak wilt control, wildlife habitat improvement, and forest road rehab. This year we will also be offering a payment to any landowner who gets a new, or updated, Woodland Stewardship Plan prepared for their property.

Taking care of your woodlands benefits all Minnesotan's by:

Enhancing recreational opportunities such as bird watching, hunting, and fishing.
Improving and protecting water quality.
Enhancing wildlife habitat.
Supporting a healthy forest products economy.
Providing clean air.

More information: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/foreststewardship/index.html

Interested in Serving on a Committee?

The City of Lake Elmo is accepting applications from residents interested in serving on a City committee. Current committees are:

Environmental Committee
Finance Committee
Human Resources Committee
Maintenance Advisory Committee
Public Safety Committee

Information on each committee and an application form can be found under the "Government" tab on the City's website: www.lakeelmo.org