Editor’s note: The weekly “Prior Lake in the Past” column contains summary excerpts of news items published in the Prior Lake American during the same week 60, 40 and 20 years ago. We hope our readers enjoy remembering those who are mentioned from years past, and this feature provides historical perspective about how much the community has changed over the decades.

Prior Lake American

Published 60 years ago

November 16, 1965

First concert of school year: The Prior Lake High School music department scheduled its first concert of the year for Nov. 22 in the school auditorium. Kenneth Ziemann, band director, announced that the program will feature four performance groups that are part of the junior and senior high bands. The finale of the program was to include a combined band and choir performance based on “America the Beautiful.”

Irv and Donna are cooking: Irv and Donna’s Cafe on Central Avenue in downtown Prior Lake, formerly the site of Town Treat, was opened for business. Mr. and Mrs. Clemens were the proprietors and the menu was to feature a lunch special and short orders. The facility planned to eventually include a jukebox to entertain the young people in the area. Menu options were to be featured in Prior Lake American.

Hunters hit their targets: A few local hunters demonstrated their skill of hitting their target and brought home a variety of wild game. Jim Schrank and Jerry Mahoney, both 13, were first on the scene to bring their deer to Monnen’s Locker for processing. Dave Battis, 14, was duck hunting, bagged four Bluebills with only one shot, along with three ducks. Tommy Craig bagged a Canadian Honker that had a wing span of over four feet on Spring Lake.

Published 40 years ago

November 18, 1985

Ask for the ID: Local residents were advised by police to ask supposed census-takers for the Prior Lake School District to show their identifications. The department received several reports from residents who indicated people came to their door after 10 p.m. and said they were working on behalf of the district, but hesitated to show identification. Further investigation showed those individuals were not listed on the district’s roster.

More time needed: Freddie’s on the Lake, the city’s only waterfront bar-restaurant, was granted another two-week extension for work that was supposed to have been done in July. Owner Fred Schweich had purchased the business from previous owner John Schumacher. The city had earlier granted several other extensions to the business.

Lake level on the rise: The board of the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District opened Prior Lake’s outlet in the hope of maintaining steady lake levels throughout the winter and to avoid spring flooding. Higher than normal rainfalls in late August and early September caused Prior Lake’s level to rise. Reconstruction work had been done over the summer months to repair the erosion damage that occurred in the previous year.

Published 20 years ago

November 19, 2005

New elementary school planned: Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools Superintendent Tom Westerhaus announced at a board meeting that the district had contracted with Evergreen Land Services to assist with its search for land in the south part of Savage which would be used to build another elementary school within the next few years. The district had previously discussed purchasing land from Prior Lake Aggregates, but determined the property would not be available in the timeline needed by the district to construct another school.

Young swimmer earns conference title: Laker eighth-grader Linay McCrady captured the Missota Conference title in the 500-yard freestyle swimming competition with a winning time of 5 minutes, 32.66 seconds. Prior Lake swimmers finished in third place overall, with only 10 points separating the top three teams in the conference.

Five-year-old is a hero: Isaac Pomrenke played a crucial role in saving his father following an ATV accident that happened near the family’s Credit River home. The five-year-old youngster, who had been learning numbers with his mom, called 911 after he found his dad pinned beneath a four-wheeler in their yard and unable to lift his head. The boy went back in the family’s home, called for help, returned to his dad and put the phone in speaker mode so dispatchers could talk to him until emergency responders arrived.