"Wayzata Today" - Tuesday, Jan. 15: Pond hockey tourney coming to Lake Minnetonka

Today well be taking a look at some of the things happening in Hennepin County and a neighboring Lake Minnetonka Community.

• In todays edition of the Sun-Sailor, my colleague Sally Thompson has two feature stories about the Hennepin County Commission, District 7 seat.

First, Sally spoke with outgoing Commissioner Penny Steele, who after four terms in office decided to leave the position to focus on her new business, Penny Steele Custom Cakes.

Steele opened the business in October in Medina and said shes looking forward to the challenge of running a new business.

The new business will also allow Steele to spend more time with one of her sons who is an art student that helps her create some of the cakes.

• Replacing Steele will Plymouth resident and former state legislator Jeff Johnson.

Johnson told the Sun-Sailor that while Hennepin County has a number of different challenges facing it then the legislature does, the bottom line is the same making the most of taxpayer dollars.

Johnson said that just as he did in the legislature he will demand accountability and efficiency within a humongous beuraucracy, creating a budgeting system that is based on measurable outcomes rather than simply numbers served.

Johnson was elected by voters to replace Steele in last Novembers election.

• Also appearing on our website mnsun.com and in select Sun-Sailor publications this week is a story by Excelsior Community Editor Mike Hanks about the inaugural Pond Hockey North American Championship, being held on Excelsior Bay this weekend in conjunction with Arctic Fever.

The tournaments organizers Denny Loving of Chanhassen and Jay Lundberg of Minnetonka came up with the idea of holding a pond hockey tournament in Excelsior about four years ago after seeing the success one had in Western Canada.

The duo decided to take a wait and see approach to the tournament, before finding out just a month later that plans were underway for the inaugural U.S. Pond Hockey Championships to be held in Minneapolis.

The tournament has caught the attention of Fox Sports North, which signed on as a title sponsor for this year and organizers expect the tourney to increase in size every year as the Minneapolis tournament consistently has a waiting list.

More information can be found at www.pondhockeynac.com

And now for the weather underground.com weather update:

Tonight will be clear with lows between 20 and 25 below zero.

On Friday well see a little break from the bitter cold with highs between 5 and 10 ABOVE zero. There is a 20 percent chance of snow in the afternoon, however.

Friday night the warm streak will continue with lows around 5 above, with a slight chance of freezing drizzle and snow in the evening and again after midnight.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Arctic Fever
• Lake Minnetonka
• Exclesior Bay
• Denny Loving
• Jay Lundberg
• Penny Steele
• Jeff Johnson

[lakeweeds]

thanks for posting that video