The highlight: Teachers will receive a 1% raise in year one of the contract and a 1.25% raise in year two. The teachers will also receive step and lane increases.

The Union-Eagle will have a complete story in the May 31 issue of the paper.

Or Eurasian watermilfoil, spiny waterfleas or any other Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend, advises the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

For this weekend and entire summer, the agency has considerably ramped up its boat inspections, enforcement efforts and educational campaign to prevent the spread of invasive zebra mussels and other AIS.

“This weekend is the start of the summer water-recreation season in Minnesota, and we need everyone’s cooperation to protect our waters,” said DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr. “While the DNR is devoting more resources than ever to this problem, it takes only one careless act to infest your favorite lake or river forever.”

This weekend, 100 watercraft inspectors will be stationed around the state, checking boats for AIS and advising water users of laws and practices that will keep invasive species from spreading. The DNR will also deploy 14 decontamination units at various water bodies around the state. The agency will concentrate inspectors and decontamination efforts at high-use water bodies that are currently infested with AIS.

“This goal is to ensure that all watercraft users in Minnesota are complying with state laws and are cleaning all aquatic plants, animals and mud from their watercraft, draining all water and leaving their drain plugs out,” said Heidi Wolf, DNR watercraft inspection program coordinator.

DNR conservation officers will also be actively checking watercraft users this weekend to make sure they are following state AIS laws. Results from enforcement efforts this spring indicate about 16 percent of watercraft users are violating state AIS laws.

One common violation is failure to keep a boat or livewell drain plug out and other water-draining devices open while transporting a watercraft. The law is designed to ensure that no water, which can carry microscopic invasive species like young zebra mussels, is being transported to other water bodies. The fine for not keeping a drain plug out is $50. It will increase to $100 on July 1, along with other AIS fines.

The DNR’s education campaign has increased significantly this year. The number of AIS billboards along major highways throughout the state has increased to 47, while the agency has increased its TV, radio and print media advertising on AIS and continued providing AIS prevention grants to many local organizations. The DNR recently began a new partnership with the Explore Minnesota Tourism to promote AIS prevention within the tourism industry.

Aquatic Invasive Species laws

Under state law, boaters must also:

• Clean visible aquatic plants, zebra mussels and other prohibited species from watercraft, trailers and equipment before transporting from any water access.
• Drain water from bilge, livewell, motor, ballast tanks and portable bait containers before leaving water accesses or shoreline property.
• Keep drain plug out and water draining devices open while transporting watercraft.

Also under state law, it is illegal to:

• Transport aquatic plants, water or prohibited invasive species such as zebra mussels or Eurasian watermilfoil.
• Dump live bait into state waters, on shore or on the ground.
• Launch, or attempt to place, watercraft, trailers or equipment with aquatic plants, zebra mussels, or prohibited invasive species into any state waters.

More information, including a new 25 minute video called “Aquatic Invasive Species, Minnesota Waters at Risk,” is available online.

Zimmerman used a five-run fifth inning to pull away from Princeton. With the win the Thunder and Tigers split their 2012 season series with each team winning on the road. PHS defeated Zimmerman 6-2 on April 24th.

The Tigers broke a two-game losing streak, in which they had managed a total of five hits, by shutting out Cambridge-Isanti 3-0 in game one of a doubleheader on May 18 at Solheim Field.

Zack Ludwig got the start for PHS and the righty was in control of the Bluejackets lineup from the beginning. The junior did not allow a runner to reach scoring position until Ryan Epsen led off the seventh inning with a double.

He also helped his own cause at the plate – with a little help from Louie Servaty. Ludwig walked and singled in going 2-3 on the night, but Servaty was the courtesy runner who came across the plate for a pair of runs as the result of Ludwig’s efforts.

After sitting down the ‘Jackets in order in the top of the first, Ludwig led off the Tigers’ half with a walk. Dalton Mattson moved him to second with a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt and left fielder Brennen Godeen scored Servaty with a double to give the Tigers the early lead.

Ludwig set down the first seven batters he faced and allowed only two singles through six innings pitched. A main component of his success on the evening was his ability to work ahead in the count.

“Coach really stresses getting ahead (of batters),” Ludwig said after the game. “Every batter wants to look at one or two to see what the pitcher’s got so it’s important to get that first one over.”

The Tigers scored twice in the bottom of the third inning to complete the game’s scoring. After a single by Ludwig, Mattson again put down a terrific bunt to advance courtesy runner Servaty to second base. After Godeen lined out to right field Tiger second baseman Dan Voce smacked a double to plate Servaty and make the score 2-0. Third baseman Dan Muench followed with an RBI single to give PHS a 3-0 lead that Ludwig and a very solid Tiger defense had no trouble holding.

“Hopefully, we keep playing well and keep on hitting,” Ludwig said. “It’s nice to have a game like this here at the end of the season.”

As the game ended the clouds moved in and lighting could be seen in the distance. As the field was being dressed for game two the weather turned sour and the tarps were placed on the field. The storm passed quickly, however, and the teams played game two. The Tigers fell 8-7 to the Bluejackets in game two, a polar opposite of the pitchers’ duel in game one.

After the split with Cambridge-Isanti the Tiger baseball team stood at 5-14 with one game remaining on the schedule before the postseason.

But on Thursday, May 17 the Tigers worked some magic on the Magic of Monticello, earning a 4-3 win in non-conference tennis action.

As the Tigers have so many times this season, they swept the singles competition while falling in all three of the doubles matches.

Isaiah Mayerchak kept his unbeaten streak alive, defeating Monticello’s Erik Hammil 6-1, 6-1 in the number one singles match.

Isaiah’s brother Thomas was absent from the line-up, so Jordan Rosevold stepped into the number two slot, earning a 6-0, 6-2 victory over the Magic’s Zac Meierhofer. Josh Norman, who had a big win last Monday at St. Francis, continued his winning ways, defeating Cole Guimont 6-2, 6-2. Jason Friend stepped up into singles action to defeat Monticello’s Chase Olson 6-2, 6-4.

In doubles play, the team of Jack Finck and Noah Bauer lost 5-7, 1-6 to the Magic’s Jack Fair and Ethan Pauley. Sam Heggam and Tyler Rohweder lost to Cody Black and Brian Peterson 3-6, 1-6.

In number three doubles, it was Princeton’s Tyler Leverty and Keenan Hansen falling 1-6, 2-6 to Jordan Karjala and Aaron Stone.

Mikayla Brooks has emerged as one of the top girl golfers in the Granite Ridge Conference.

The conference has been dominated by St. Cloud Cathedral all season long, and the top five golfers in the conference who all hailed from Cathedral were named to the all-conference team based on their conference average. Those girls were Cathedral’s Greta Egerman with a conference average of 43, followed by teammates Lucy Gaetz (43.56), Kelsey Osendorf (44.67), Erin Stockler (45.11) and Ann Berdan (46.11).

Taking the first all-conference honorable mention spot was Princeton’s own Mikayla Brooks, who proved to be the top non-Cathedral golfer in the Granite Ridge Conference with a conference average of 47.00 just four strokes off the top average of 43.00 earned by Egerman.

Princeton’s Becca Maus, Bri Dorr, Kaylee Koski and Raegan Anderson did not have season averages that qualified them for all-conference consideration.

Milaca- May 15

Mikayla Brooks tied for second place with Greta Egerman of St. Cloud Cathedral, with both girls shooting 40s at the Granite Ridge Conference golf meet May 15 at Milaca. Kelsey Osendorf of Cathedral was the meet medalist with a 38.

Kaylee Koski shot a 45 for the Tigers, with Becca Maus’ 51 and Bri Dorr’s 54 rounding out the top four.

The girls combined for a team score of 190, good for second place at the meet and 30 strokes behind first-place Cathedral’s 160.

Milaca shot a 208, Foley a 211 and Mora 227 to round out team play.

Cathedral- May 16

St. Cloud Cathedral claimed the top five slots in the May 16 Granite Ridge Conference meet at Wapicada Golf course in Sauk Rapids.

Princeton’s Mikayla Brooks and Milaca’s Olivia Wolbert’s score of 99 tied for sixth place. Cathedral’s Lucy Gaetz was the meet medalist with an 83.

In team play, Cathedral took first place, turning in a 350 on the day. Princeton was 97 strokes behind with a 447, good for fourth place in the five-team field. Mora shot a 522.

Brooks’ 99 was followed by fellow Tiger Kaylee Koski, who shot a 106 on the day. Raegan Anderson shot a 109 and Becca Maus, a 133.

Milaca, May 17

The Princeton girls golf team combined for a second-place finish Thursday, May 17 at Milaca.

The girls’ combined score of 211 only trailed Cathedral’s 173, a team that put four golfers in the top five.

Lucy Gaetz of Cathedral was the meet medalist. She turned in a meet-low 41. Teammates Greta Egerman (43), Kelsey Osendorf (44) and Erin Stocker (45) finished out the top four. Milaca’s Ali Prince was fifth with a 47.

Princeton’s Mikayla Brooks was seventh with a score of 50. Teammate Kaylee Koski was a stroke behind with a 51.

Rounding out the field of play for Princeton was Raegan Anderson (53), Bri Dorr (57) and Becca Maus (63).

The team score moved Princeton past Mora into fourth place in Granite Ridge Conference team standings.

Boys Golf

Foley, May 17

The Princeton boys golf team turned in a score of 170 to finish fifth among seven teams on Thursday, May 17 in Granite Ridge Conference golf competition at Foley.

The winning team was St. Cloud Cathedral. Little Falls finished second at the meet.

Connor Whitcomb was the top finisher for Princeton, turning in an impressive 37 on the day. Silas Reek shot a 43 and Korben Weidenboren and Ben Pauley were two strokes behind with 45s. Hunter Bies rounded out Princeton’s top five with a 46. Brendan Carlson finished the day with a 49.

A day earlier, the Tigers traveled to Elk River to participate in the Elk River Invitational.

The event was a combination scramble, scrumble and combination shot tournament. The boys finished in the bottom half of the competing teams.

The Panthers lost 14-1 in the season opener to East Bethel, lost 12-5 in Princeton to St. Francis on May 9, and then lost 13-3 to the Rum River Bandits of Cambridge on May 16 at Solheim Veterans Field.

The Panthers had nine errors in the Rum River game.

“Right now it’s just a matter of getting everyone back that is going to play, and getting people at their regular positions,” said co-manager Curt Wilson.

Acknowledging that he had never seen a Princeton team with nine errors, Wilson says there’s nowhere to go but up.

“I don’t have unreasonable expectations,” Wilson said. “Right now we’re trying to find guys who are committed to being there on a regular basis.”

Wilson and Eric Deglman, both mainstays during the glory years of the Panthers, are co-managers, while Jules Zimmer and Bob Beattie are coaches for the team, a job they have both done before.

Some of those who haven’t played yet are Josh Ludwig, slated to be No. 1 in the pitching rotation; Jordan Neubauer, the team’s regular catcher the past couple years; Kyle Norman, a 2011 PHS grad who played community college ball in St. Cloud this season; and Joe Swanson, the Cambridge grad who has been one of the team’s most dependable pitchers the past few seasons.

Sam Keeler, a Foley grad, will also be around as an infielder.

Other new players are Nick Mensen of Coon Rapids, Sam Solberg from Cambridge (and Itasca Community College) and Mike Bergin of Cambridge, a pitcher.

But there were six Princeton grads in the starting lineup vs. Rum River last week.

Next game for the Panthers is at 7:30 on June 2 in Quamba.

St. Francis

Josh Hanus, a 2011 PHS grad, started on the mound and he, Eric Ostmoe (a Panther regular the past two years) and Josh Vickers, a 2010 PHS grad, each pitched three innings in the 12-5 loss.

St. Francis had 12 hits and six walks. The Saints led only 6-5 after five innings but tacked on five runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

Mensen had two-run homers for the Panthers in the second and fourth innings and Tyler Bialucha, a PHS grad, had three hits.

Rum River

Only five of the Rum River runs were earned because of the nine Princeton errors.

It was 9-0 after the top of the third and the Bandits cruised to an easy win.

Mensen and Mark Beattie, a Panther veteran, each had two hits and Jesse Zimmer, another Panther veteran, drove in two runs.

Mensen had the only extra-base hit, a double.

The Tigers fell to the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets 13-3 in six innings.

The game remained scoreless through the second inning until the Bluejackets turned on their offense. Cambridge-Isanti went on to score two runs in the second inning, leading the Tigers 2-0.

It took the Tigers another inning to finally get their swing down. Chelsea Lindquist, Josalynn Scott, Charity Hanson and Maggie McLaughlin all batted .500 on the night. Scott hit Princeton’s only triple and also scored one of their three runs.

The Tigers scored one run in the fifth inning, still trailing the Bluejackets 2-1. In the sixth inning Princeton managed to tack on two more runs. Unfortunately Princeton’s two runs were countered by the Bluejackets’ five. Cambridge-Isanti’s last five runs enacted the ten-run rule at the end of the sixth inning.

Princeton will finish the 2012 regular season with a record of 4-15. The Tigers traveled to Anoka Tuesday for play in playoff action. You can find results online at www.unioneagle.com.

Caitlin Reeves sets new school record

By Tim Kloncz

The Princeton girls track team did what a lot of teams hope to do, they accomplished their goal that was set at the beginning of the season by  winning the Granite Ridge Conference Meet.

And they did it convincingly, winning by 24.5 points with 34 of their total points coming from picking up fifth- to eighth-place points.

“Track and field truly is a team sport,” coach Tom Ostroot said with a smile on his face. “The girls scored in all 18 events and, more importantly, scored multiple athletes in many events! Our top athletes did what was needed by placing in the top spots, earning big points, and then we did what championship teams need to do – pick up points in all events.”

Even though track and field is a team sport, we cannot forget to mention the accomplishments of the top athletes. At the top of the list for the girls is Caitlin Reeves, she earned double conference champion titles by winning both the 1600 and 800 meter runs and she anchored the third-place 4×400 relay team. “This is a feat that only a spectacular athlete like Caitlin could accomplish,” Ostroot complimented, “and along the way she shattered her own school record in the 1600 meter run (5:24.72) with a new record of 5:17.81!” Throw specialist Jadyn Bonasera dominated the discus event with her throw of 124’2” and Taylor Laabs topped the triple jump field with her final jump of 33’3”. “This meet was a great culmination of our conference schedule and a great lead-in to the Section 7AA Championship Meet held in Princeton on May 30 and June 2,” Ostroot said.

The boys also had a great conference performance according to Ostroot.

“All year we knew scoring points in the Granite Ridge would be an arduous task, but, as always, they found ways to score points. Our lone all-conference athlete, Brian Kunz, accomplished that win with a third-place finish in the 800 meter run,” he said.

The strength of the Princeton distance runners was seen again at this meet: third place in the 4×800 relay, Chase Arens placing fourth in the 3200 meter run and Carl Wold with a fifth in the 800 meter run. Other athletes with a big day were Chase Lindenfelser with a fourth-place finish in the 300 hurdles, fifth-place in the 110 hurdles and a member of the 4×400 relay team. Rylan Erickson picked up points in all four of his events: fourth on the 4×400 relay, sixth in long jump, seventh in the high jump and eighth in the 400 meter dash.

Girls Team Results: 1st Place-Princeton 136.75, 2. Zimmerman 112.25, 3. Foley 108, 4. Little Falls 106, 5. St. Cloud Cathedral  94.25, 6. Mora 78, 7. Milaca 62.75.

Girls Individual results

4×800 Meter Relay 4. Princeton (Ashley Urman, Kaitlin Kittock, Emily Kruschek, Breanna Schultz) 10:43.55

100 Meter Hurdles 2. Katie Bialka 16.40

100 Meter Dash 7. Alicia Lipka 13.54

4×200 Meter Relay 2. Princeton (Katie Bialka, Alicia Lipka, Anna Oakes & Maddy Wood) 1:50.68

1600 Meter Run 1. Caitlin Reeves 5:17.81 – school record, 5. Melinda Meyer 5:37.70

4×100 Meter Relay 5. Princeton (Mariah Albrecht, Naomi Kolhoff, Samantha Janssen & McKayla Aubrey) 55.38

400 Meter Dash 2. Madelyn Wood 1:02.74, 3. Anna Oakes 1:03.32

300 Meter Hurdles 2. Katie Bialka 46.17, 5. Brooke Jorgenson 51.22

800 Meter Run 1. Caitlin Reeves 2:24.75, 6. Melinda Meyer 2:35.69

200 Meter Dash 5. Anna Oakes 27.42, 7. Taylor Laabs 28.47

3200 Meter Run 6. Ashley Urman 12:29.14

4×400 Meter Relay 3. Princeton (Maddy Wood, Caitlin Reeves, Mariah Albrecht, Alicia Lipka) 4:22.15

High Jump 6. Ashley Urman 4-08.00, 7. Megan Moore 4-06.00

Pole Vault 5. Amanda Groebner 8-00.00, 6. Jordan Bloomquist 7-00.00

Long Jump 7. Taylor Laabs 14-05.00, 8. Brooke Jorgenson 14-04.50

Triple Jump 1. Taylor Laabs 33-03.00, 6. Molly Savage 30-05.50, 8. Kaitlin Kittock 28-05.00

Discus Throw 1. Jadyn Bonasera 124-02, 8. Jesse Peterson 76-05

Shot Put 4. Jadyn Bonasera 34-11.00

Boys Team Results: 1. Little Falls 210.5, 2. Foley 114, 3. Zimmerman 99, 4. Mora 96, 5. St. Cloud Cathedral 82, 6. Princeton 53, 7. Milaca 38.5

Boys Individual Results:

4×800 Meter Relay 3. Princeton (Brian Kunz, Chase Arens, Nicholas Langenfeld, Carl Wold) 8:47.69

110 Meter Hurdles 5. Chase Lindenfelser 16.64

4×200 Meter Relay 5. Princeton (Ryan Beeuwsaert, Spencer Hensley, Nicholas Johnson, Bailey Carlberg) 1:46.91

4×100 Meter Relay 5. Princeton (Ryan Goor, Matt Girtz, Kirk Ringey, Travis Pope) 49.03

400 Meter Dash 8. Rylan Erickson 56.30

300 Meter Hurdles 4. Chase Lindenfelser 41.87

800 Meter Run 3. Brian Kunz 2:09.80, 5. Carl Wood 2:13.75

3200 Meter Run 4. Chase Arens 10:28.82, 7. Ryan Yonak 10:56.89

4×400 Meter Relay 4. Princeton (Rylan Erickson, Brian Kunz, Carl Wold, Chase Lindenfelser) 3:46.45

High Jump 7. Rylan Erickson 5-06.00

Pole Vault 5. Travis Pope 10-06.00

Long Jump 6. Rylan Erickson 18-04.00

Team Conference Champions: 

136.75 points- Princeton Girls

Individual Conference

Champions:

Girls All-Conference Athletes:

Caitlin Reeves: 1600 meter run- 1st, 800 meter run-1st

Taylor Laabs: Triple Jump-1st

Jadyn Bonasera: Discus-1st

Katie Bialka: 100 hurdles-2nd, 300 hurdles-2nd

Maddy Wood: 400m dash-2nd

Anna Oakes: 400m dash-3rd

4×200 Relay-2nd—Katie Bialka, Alicia Lipka, Anna Oakes, Maddy Wood

Girls Honorable Mention:

1. 4×400 Relay-3rd—Maddy Wood, Alicia Lipka, Mariah Albrecht, Caitlin Reeves

2. 4×800 Relay-4th—Kaitlin Kittock, Breanna Schultz, Emily Kruschek, Ashley Urman

3. Jadyn Bonasera: Shot Put- 4th

4. Melinda Meyer: 1600m run- 5th

5. Brooke Jorgenson: 300 Hurdles-5th

6. Anna Oakes: 200m dash-5th

7. Amanda Groebner: Pole Vault-5th

8. Ashley Urman: 3200m Run-6th, High Jump – 6th

9. Jordan Bloomquist: Pole Vault-6th

10. Molly Savage: Triple Jump-6th

Boys All-Conference Athlete:

Brian Kunz: 800 meter run-3rd

Boys Honorable Mention:

1. 4×800 Relay- 3rd—Brian Kunz, Chase Arens, Nicholas Langenfeld, Carl Wold

2. 4×400 Relay-4th – Chase Lindenfelser, Rylan Erickson, Brian Kunz, Carl Wold

3. Chase Lindenfelser: 300 hurdles-4th, 110 hurdles- 5th

4. Chase Arens: 3200m run-4th

5. Carl Wold: 800m run-5th

6. Travis Pope: Pole Vault-5th

7. Rylan Erickson: Long Jump-6th

The city council approved an agreement close to two months ago that would allow wastewater discharge from the USDP plant’s mixing operation to go into the city’s wastewater plant after preprocessing by USDP, if it met certain specifications. This would be a limited amount of no more than 2,000 gallons per day as part of a trial period.

The agreement’s specifications spell out how much of various components in the wastewater will be allowed to go into the city wastewater plant, since too much of certain components such as phosphorous could overburden the city plant and actually shut down its processing.

USDP began sending preprocessed wastewater to the city wastewater plant on April 30 this spring and the city halted it on May 5 after the amount of phosphorous content was too high, according to city public works director Bob Gerold, who oversees the city’s wastewater plant. The high phosphorous content was the main problem, Gerold said, indicating that there were other content issues, though not as big as the phosphorous one.

USDP officials have been seeking a way, for nearly two decades, to send all its plant wastewater to Princeton’s processing facility, rather than having to haul the wastewater someplace else for disposal.

Finally, USDP began working some months ago on building a preprocessing plant that, according to City Administrator Mark Karnowski, relies on microbes to break down the wastewater components. The city’s wastewater plant uses microbes to do the same but it can only handle so much wastewater enriched with a high BOD, which stands for biological oxygen demand. The higher the BOD number, the more processing it takes to break the wastewater down to where it can be discharged into the environment.

Odor issue one day

A wastewater issue at USDP became especially noticeable in the main industrial park where USDP is located, on May 7. That was the day that nearby industry, Glenn Metalcraft, reported to city police a pronounced odor coming from USDP. A Princeton city police officer talked to a manager at the USDP plant, and according to the officer’s report, the problem had to do with USDP wastewater. The officer then wrote NFAT on the complaint report, which stands for no further attention.

But there certainly will continue to be attention paid by Gerold and the samplers of any wastewater that USDP should send to the city wastewater plant in the future, Karnowski and Gerold have made clear.

Gerold said that the city relies not just on USDP’s lab tests but also takes its own samples and runs the samples through another lab.

It is unknown when USDP might be given the green light to try the discharge again. But one thing is for certain, according to Karnowski: USDP will have to first work out any problems it may be having with its preprocessing facility before it can send more liquor-mixing wastewater to the city.

The Union-Eagle contacted USDP Executive Vice President Todd Guisness for comment and Guisness deferred questions to USDP’s Director of Operations, Jon Nordman. Nordman had not replied in time for this story’s deadline.

Princeton High School sophomore Mikayla Brooks is the school’s top-rated golf player in 2012 and last week was named honorable mention all-conference in the Granite Ridge Conference. As a matter of fact, she was the top-rated golfer in the conference aside from five St. Cloud Cathedral golfers. She has played in eight conference meets to date and has a nine-hole average of 47.0.

Mikayla didn’t follow a traditional route to becoming a golf standout. She is following in the footsteps of her grandmother Donna Brooks, a two-time club champion at the Princeton Golf Course.

“My grandma plays golf all the time and I thought it would be cool to try it,” Mikayla said.

That was back when she was in fourth grade.

Now as a 10th grader, she is confident in saying that her decision to take up her grandma’s game was a good decision.

Mikayla got her start in golf by playing in a junior league in Zimmerman. As a seventh grader she joined the varsity team at Princeton High School and has become the girls team’s top golfer.

She credits her success to playing with a lot more patience.

“I try to do the best I can and lead the girls by example by trying my best at every meet,” Mikayla said.

Her goal for this season is to make the cut and advance to the second day at the section meet, which begins May 28. The section finals are May 31.