Stillwater Area School District officials say they may need to look for a new site for a new Lake Elmo Elementary School because of issues regarding access to city water.

The Lake Elmo City Council met Tuesday night to review an initial sketch plan of the project, and some council members raised concerns about hooking up city water to the 47-acre parcel on the northwest corner of Lake Elmo Avenue and 10th Street North — kitty-corner to Cimarron Park, a mobile-home community in Lake Elmo.

District officials are now working with the seller of the land to extend the purchase agreement, which was set to expire on Nov. 28, for three months, to give district officials time “to collaborate with our community partners to come up with a solution that best meets the needs of our students and community members,” Superintendent Mike Funk said.

An undated courtesy photo, circa December 2021, of Lake Elmo Elementary School in Lake Elmo. (Courtesy of Stillwater Area Public Schools)

The district’s $175 million bond referendum, which will be used to fund a new school to replace Lake Elmo Elementary School, passed with 57 percent support. The school was built in 1920.

District officials over the summer entered into a $4.5 million purchase agreement for the land at Lake Elmo Avenue and 10th Street North contingent on the passage of the referendum; the undeveloped, wooded land is owned by Tom Kindler.

Lake Elmo, the fastest-growing city in Minnesota, is dealing with a multitude of water issues, including PFAS contamination and restrictions on pumping as a result of a court order regarding the water levels of White Bear Lake.

“We’ve been struggling with our water issues for a long time now,” said City Administrator Kristina Handt said. “I think that’s really important that people understand that Lake Elmo has had water issues for quite some time that we’ve been struggling with because of the White Bear Lake court ruling.”

The city enacted a moratorium on development in 2022 after the city’s request to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for an amendment to its water appropriations permit was denied in May 2021. City officials applied for the amendment to increase the city’s allowed water usage due to rapid growth — 1,400 new houses, 300 new apartment units and numerous businesses — over a five-year period, Handt said.

But DNR officials, citing the White Bear Lake court order, denied the city’s request.

That order, issued in 2017 by Ramsey County District Judge Margaret Marrinan following a trial, effectively prohibits the DNR from issuing new or expanded groundwater pumping permits within five miles of the lake. The ruling put restrictions on communities, including Lake Elmo, that use water from the same aquifer that feeds the lake. Special legislation passed earlier this year directed the DNR to provide Lake Elmo with enough water to help it meet its needs.

“We thought the legislation would help, but it’s not going to result in an appropriation that will provide for the city to continue growth and not be in violation of our permits,” Handt said. “So the City Council is now taking a closer look at developments.”

The proposed new school site is not the first proposal to come under scrutiny, she said. The council last week did not approve a proposed Bridgewater Bank and commercial development at Manning Avenue and Stillwater Boulevard, she said.

“The building that people see going on is from developments that were approved a year ago or more,” she said. “There was a subdivision that was a day care and townhomes that got held up initially, but we thought the legislation was going to help, so we let it go through, but we haven’t approved any other developments.”

City officials also have instituted a two-day-a-week watering ban, she said.

“We’re at a point where there’s nothing more that we, as a city, can do,” she said.

Handt encouraged anyone upset about the possibility of a new school not being located in Lake Elmo to contact Gov. Tim Walz or Attorney General Keith Ellison.

“They’re the ones who can advocate for us with the judge,” she said. “It’s frustrating to us that the golf courses can be allowed enough water to maintain green grass and the level of White Bear Lake can be kept artificially high, and yet we can’t get a school to serve our kids.”

Handt said city officials in June alerted district officials about concerns about limitations of water usage that are being imposed on the city by the DNR; Funk said district officials were not told about the city’s water concerns until a meeting on Sept. 15.

“The district administration would never have recommended a purchase agreement for a property that needed a well, especially with local PFAS issues, without consulting the DNR first,” Funk said Thursday. “This isn’t my first time doing this sort of stuff, so there’s no way I would have told our board, ‘Oh, I want you to spend money on buying this land, but I can’t guarantee that you’re going to have water.’”

City officials told district officials earlier this year that the 47-acre plot of land “was a solid choice, as the city administration told us we would not need to rezone, it had good road access, and we could build there with simple council approval,” Funk wrote in a letter to city officials this week. “The administration was clear that although there was a sewer hook up across the street, we would likely need to have 4/5 council approval to change the MUSA. Water was never brought up as a concern.”

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District planners were subsequently told in planning meetings in October by the city administration that they did not have the votes on the City Council to hook up to city water, according to Funk’s letter.

When Funk contacted the DNR to ask about the feasibility of digging a well at the location, Joe Richter, the agency’s district appropriations hydrologist, recommended that the district hook up to city water for the water supply of the school “due to the presence of the pollution in the groundwater in this area.”

“I believe that by hooking up to the city water supply, you would avoid possible litigation should someone claim that the quality of the school drinking water is harming the student’s health,” Richter wrote in an Oct. 23 email.

The bond referendum for a new school in Lake Elmo passed by a margin of more than 2,000 votes throughout the district. In the Lake Elmo precincts, it passed with almost 70 percent approval, Funk said.

“As it appears that the district does not have council approval to hook up to city water (which the DNR states is safest for our students), and it appears unlikely that we will gain approval in the near future, we are going to have to look at other options outside of Lake Elmo for our students, to keep with our planning timeline of opening a school by the fall of 2026,” Funk wrote in the letter to city officials this week.

“The district has until November 27th to cancel our current purchase agreement on the 47 acres,’ the letter continued. “Unless there is some movement of support to keeping a school with water (and preferably septic), I will be recommending we cancel this purchase agreement. This is a difficult recommendation to make, as the school has been part of the community for over a century. Being upfront on this issue earlier in the process would have been quite helpful.”

Funk recommends that people interested in keeping an elementary school in Lake Elmo “put pressure on their elected officials at all levels to get this thing done.”

“I am confident that if we work together with community partners in the district, we will arrive at a successful solution that meets the needs of our students, whether that is in Lake Elmo or elsewhere,” he said.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson entered Thursday’s pivotal AFC North showdown with a 7-1 record against the Cincinnati Bengals, and tight end Mark Andrews was a big reason why.

Jackson’s ability to rely on Andrews, the signal caller’s security blanket, has been crucial in games against the division rival. Andrews had scored seven touchdowns in his 10 career regular-season games against the Bengals, including one in each of his past three.

It appeared Thursday would be more of the same, as Jackson hit Andrews for a 14-yard reception on the game’s first play and later found him for a 9-yard catch in the red zone. But Andrews suffered an ankle injury on the play that knocked him out of the game — and likely will for the season — forcing the Ravens’ much-discussed wide receiver corps to step up.

That it did, helping lead Baltimore to a 34-20 win.

Odell Beckham Jr. had his first 100-yard game as a Raven, stacking a third straight impactful week after missing two games earlier this season because of injury and failing to record a catch in Week 8. Zay Flowers had a long touchdown — perhaps the most impressive by a Raven this season — called back by a questionable penalty. Rashod Bateman scored his first touchdown of the season to extend the Ravens’ lead. And Nelson Agholor was in the right place at the right time for a score of his own.

“The guys in the receivers room, we were due for a big game, so I’m just happy for all of them,” Beckham said. “There is a lot of hard work that goes into it.”

Replacing Andrews will be no easy task, but coach John Harbaugh said the effort from his wideouts is a blueprint.

“You say next man up, it’s not just the next player in that position, it’s all the men, it’s all the players stepping up and filling that,” Harbaugh said. “To replace a player like Mark Andrews, it’s going to take everybody. It’s going to take a team to do it, and our guys will be up for the challenge and up for the task, but those receivers are obviously going to be a big part of that.”

Jackson wasn’t as jovial as he’d normally be after a double-digit win over a division foe. He said losing Andrews for the season is “very tough” and acknowledged it’s a significant loss for the offense, calling the tight end the offense’s “receiver [No.] 1 sometimes.”

“That’s the guy who I entered the league with,” Jackson said. “We’ve been bread and butter, peanut butter and jelly — whatever you want to call it. It’s very tough, because that’s my boy.”

But Jackson also expressed his belief that the Ravens have the tools to replace Andrews in the aggregate. Bolstering the quarterback’s wide receiving corps was a point of emphasis this offseason, as the team signed Beckham to a $15 million contract, drafted Flowers in the first round and also brought in Agholor via free agency.

“We have guys who are going to step up,” Jackson said.

Beckham did not reach the end zone Thursday, but he led the receivers in receptions (four) and yards (116). The 31-year-old scored his first touchdown of the season in Week 9 against the Detroit Lions and found the end zone again Sunday versus the Cleveland Browns. He has more yards over the past three games (212) than he did through Week 8.

Beckham, who has torn his ACL twice, said injuries like Andrews’ are the “hardest part about this game.”

“It’s just tough, so just as brothers, you’ve got to be there for him,” said Beckham, who also left with a shoulder injury that he and Harbaugh said isn’t serious. “I’ve been through it; it’s not easy. It’s very unfortunate. It’s a big hit for this team. Mark has been an integral part of this team since [he] and Lamar have been here.

“So, we’ve just got to find a way to step up.”

Beckham’s last 100-yard game in the regular season came in October 2019 when he was with the Browns. His 116 yards Thursday were his most since October 2018 when he played for the New York Giants.

Jackson said he believes his chemistry with Beckham is on the verge of “skyrocketing,” while Beckham said Thursday was another “step in the right direction.”

The first big play from a receiver came from Flowers, whose 33-yard catch-and-run broke a Ravens rookie record. That catch was the 51st of Flowers’ season, breaking Torrey Smith’s franchise mark of 50. Flowers, who caught three passes for 43 yards, is on pace for 81 receptions and 908 yards.

The best play from a Ravens wideout Thursday didn’t count, as Flowers took a screen pass from Jackson, wove between a few Bengals defenders and outran the rest to the end zone for what appeared to be a 68-yard score. But Beckham was called for a hold, negating what would’ve been Flowers’ second career score.

“I’m still upset about the blocking [penalty],” Beckham said. “You can score all the touchdowns in the world, but we talk about that moment where you spring the block for your boy to score, your brother to score. It’s unfortunate. I was the happiest, just seeing [Flowers] on the Jumbotron, running and scoring.”

The dubious holding call didn’t hurt the Ravens, though, thanks to Agholor — and a bit of luck.

With the Ravens trailing 10-7 in the second quarter, Jackson’s third-down pass attempt was tipped into the air by a Bengals linebacker. The ball deflected right into Agholor’s hands, and the 30-year-old sprinted for a 37-yard score — doing a front flip into the end zone.

“He needs to give me some tips on how to do the flip, because last time I did it, I hurt my butt when I landed,” Jackson said with a laugh, referencing his attempt at it in Baltimore’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021. “He needs to give me some lessons, because he did a whole somersault. That was crazy.”

Two minutes later, Jackson led a two-minute drive that ended with another touchdown on third down. Bateman, whose season began in a fashion similar to Beckham’s, sprung open in the end zone for a 10-yard score — his first since Week 2 last season.

“You just need those things to get that monkey off your back, and I’m just so happy for him — just to see him smile,” Beckham said.

Jackson, despite playing through a bothered ankle, bounced back from his poor performance Sunday for one of the best passing games of his season (16-of-26 for 264 yards and two touchdowns). But he was even better when targeting his wideouts. His 14 targets to Beckham, Flowers, Agholor and Bateman ended in nine catches for 206 yards and both scores.

“That’s what we wanted,” Harbaugh said. “You want to be able to spread it around [and] give Lamar [Jackson] options like that.”

Without Andrews, the Ravens will need more of what they received against the Bengals from both Jackson and their receivers. Jackson will be without his trusted friend for the rest of the season, but Thursday might have proved he’s got even more out wide.

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The Ravens won.

That’s the best thing you can say about the team’s 34-20 win against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens (8-3) beat the Bengals (5-5) for the second time this season and expanded their lead in the AFC North over the Cleveland Browns (6-3) and Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3), who will face off Sunday.

But there isn’t much more to learn from Thursday’s game when it comes to how far the Ravens might go in the postseason.

The Ravens lost tight end Mark Andrews to a likely season-ending ankle injury after he was tackled near the goal line by linebacker Logan Wilson following a 9-yard reception with 11:05 left in the first quarter.

That’s devastating news, almost as significant as the Browns announcing Wednesday that quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury he suffered last week in Baltimore.

Regardless, the Ravens won, and that’s all that matters. Last Sunday, they lost to Cleveland, 33-31, after taking leads of 24-9 and 31-17 in the second half.

If they had lost to Cincinnati on Thursday night, they might not have been able to recover. But the Ravens were about to do enough on both sides of the ball to close out the much-needed victory.

It wasn’t a super performance, but it provided a sense of relief over at The Castle.

There was nothing special about the win. The Ravens had 405 yards of total offense and held the Bengals to 272, but they weren’t dominant. They were good enough to win, especially against a team that lost star quarterback Joe Burrow to a wrist injury late in the first half.

There were a lot of things to like, such as quarterback Lamar Jackson’s accuracy on short to intermediate throws as he completed 16 of 26 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. The Ravens finally started getting the ball into the hands of their playmakers, including receivers Odell Beckham Jr. (four catches for 116 yards) and Zay Flowers (3 for 43) and running backs Gus Edwards (12 carries for 62 yards) and rookie Keaton Mitchell (8 for 33).

Defensively, the Ravens held the Bengals to 136 passing yards and 2-for-11 on third down. The Ravens delivered a complete effort against backup quarterback Jake Browning in the final two quarters, but they were far from elite for the second straight week.

In fact, they looked vulnerable against the run. A week ago, Cleveland pushed the Ravens around to the tune of 178 rushing yards, and the Bengals piled up 136 on Thursday.

That scares me, and so does Jackson’s inaccuracy on deep passes.

We’ve seen that cause problems in the postseason early in Jackson’s career when opposing teams would take away the middle of the field and force him to throw outside the numbers. The results were not good.

It’s worse now that the Ravens will be without Andrews, Jackson’s go-to receiver and favorite target inside the red zone. The Ravens were already struggling because they didn’t have a consistent receiving threat on the outside, but at least they had Andrews to work the inside of the field.

Now they have no one. The Ravens were so desperate Thursday that they put fullback Patrick Ricard at tight end. It wasn’t because he could catch, but because he was the only tight end on the roster who could block. Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar are better receivers than blockers.

The remaining part of the Ravens’ schedule is much more difficult. It’s filled with playoff contenders such as the Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Steelers.

You would feel better about the Ravens’ chances in the postseason if this team had a history of recent success, but they don’t have that pedigree.

They are a team that has lost double-digit leads six times since the start of last season, and they have a quarterback in Jackson who has 13 touchdowns and 13 turnovers in the fourth quarter over the past three years. Compared with his peers Burrow (25 touchdowns, 11 turnovers), Josh Allen (29, 11) and Patrick Mahomes (21, 10) over the same period, it’s clear that it’s not good enough.

But that’s all for down the road.

The Ravens set themselves up with a win Thursday because they don’t play another game for 10 days, followed by the Week 13 bye.

That’s not a bad position to be in at this point of the season.

They could have lost.

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