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by John Weins



The last race for the month of June proved to be exciting for the 332 racers who came from all directions in Minnesota plus States in the East, South and West, and Cambodia to test their racing skills. In addition, several hundred came to play the county fair type games and hula hoop and dance contests. When you add in the great food available on the street, it is a great afternoon of family fun.

Pre-race activities take center stage and a number of young people assist with the various dance contests. The Chicken Dance Singers included Felicia and Sara from Longville, Alex from Anoka, and Erin from Milaca. The YMCA Dance leaders included: Caleb and Samuel from Urbana, Ohio; Madison from Noble , Okla.; and Liz from Hebron, Ind.

Twelve resorts participated in the Resort Turtle race in what has been deemed The Battle of the Resorts. The resorts included: The Longville Inn, Woman Lake Lodge, Timber Trails Resort, Mascot Resort, Little Boy Resort, Broadwater Lodge, DOK Holiday Resort, Thunder Lake Lodge, Pine Ridge Resort, Family Tradition Resort, Kee Nee Moo Sha Resort, and In The Wilds Resort. The winner was 8 -year-old Lucy Yzaguirre from Minneapolis, Minn., who with her family were vacationing at Mascot Resort on Webb Lake.

Outlasting all of the 332 racers were five-year-old Autumn Kloss from Duluth, Minn., who was crowned the Grand Winner and 11-year-old Andrea Doty from Savage, Minn., who was crowned the Grand Slowpoke winner.

The winner of four free tickets to Valley Fair was 10-year-old Wylie Phillips from Little Canada, Minn.. The tickets are provided by BL Broadcasting in Brainerd, Minn. BL Broadcasting operates B 93.3 Country; WJJY, The Power Loon, Cool 103.5; KVBR AM RADIO; and The FAN at 1380 AM.

The largest group of volunteers in Longville produced another great afternoon of fun for the family. Ryan and Marisa Skajewski and Michaela Macfarlane helped Pat Boen with judging. Pat Boen represented Gallery of Homes. Rose Franta, Stan Johnson, and Dodee Colberg registered racers. Sue Meyer and Sara Felton sold tickets and souvenirs. Kathy Sweeney, representing Woodland Insurance , and Jan Helmer, and Dick Kruger, representing Gallery of Homes, managed the prize table. A group of real estate agents from Gallery Of Homes plus community volunteers were game operators. The Gallery of Home agents included: Dan Pflugshaupt, Mark Ruyak, Dave Owen, Sean McDonald, and Tim Paulsen. The community game volunteers were Elsie and Dennis Hagen, Chuck Colberg, Lisa Garbe, Tyler Hoyt and Adam Searcy. Gordon Atzen, assisted by Bill Newell, popped the corn. Dave Wodrich and Stan Johnson were street monitors. Set-up and tear down was handled by Steve Shallbetter, Don Shurtleff, Bob Carey, Tony Ozark, and a great team from Camp Olson. Announcing duties were handled by John and Sandy Weins and Steve Shallbetter. Helping the turtle vendors was Morgan Welk.



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