Hype for the Future 63D: City of Bangor, Maine (and Suburbs, etc.)

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63d-city-of-bangor-maine-and-suburbs-etc/

Lake Minnetonka Historical Society to present Big Island history cruise and walking tour

The Lake Minnetonka Historical Society will present a history cruise and walking tour of the Big Island aboard “Lady of the Lake” from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Excelsior, Sunday, June 22. Tickets are $60 for LMHS members and $75 for nonmembers and are available at biwalkingtour.eventbrite.com.

Cruise passengers will experience the unique and varied history of Lake Minnetonka’s Big Island by lake and land while cruising from Excelsior to Big Island on “Lady of the Lake.” Participants will then disembark for a guided walking tour of Orono’s Big Island Nature Park where they will learn the history of the island’s Native people, early settlers, Big Island Park, Big Island Game Farm and Big Island Veterans Camp from local historians.

continue https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_sailor/free/lake-minnetonka-historical-society-to-present-big-island-history-cruise-and-walking-tour/article_c80b2ef4-c256-4408-bf90-a07c396f2177.html

#Orono

Orono schools OK maintenance plan for facilities

The Orono school board approved its Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Plan for an additional year, and submitted its plan to the Department of Education as part of an annual procedure.

The LTFM identifies projects as far as ten years into the future that will “preserve and extend the life of district facilities, address health, safety and accessibility issues, align facilities with educational and enrollment needs, and maintain fiscal responsibility through long-range planning,” Director of Business Services Nick Taintor wrote in a presentation to the Board.

continue https://www.hometownsource.com/laker_pioneer/community/orono-schools-ok-maintenance-plan-for-facilities/article_55086877-a3c9-4c12-a5e6-66e0752d1d4f.html

#Orono

The Olaf Searle Estate on Big Island

The Olaf Searle House on Big Island in Lake Minnetonka was a striking symbol of ambition, innovation, and eventual decline in Minnesota’s Gilded Age. Here’s a detailed look at its history:

Olaf Searle: From Immigration Agent to Island Magnate

Olaf O. Searle, a Norwegian immigrant, made his mark in the late 19th century as a real estate investor and immigration agent. He co-founded the A.E. Johnson Company, which operated steamers from Scandinavia to the U.S. and had agencies across Minnesota, the Dakotas, and the Pacific coast. 

In the early 1880s, Searle purchased the western half of Big Island from the Morse family. He constructed a 20-room Colonial Revival mansion equipped with gas lighting and steam heat—a lavish estate costing an estimated $250,000 at the time.

continue https://cdrewry.substack.com/p/the-olaf-searle-estate-on-big-island

#BigIsland #LakeMinnetonka #Orono

Garage condos coming to Orono for luxury vehicles

Orono is about to become the latest Twin Cities suburb to give vehicle owners space for the things that don’t fit in a traditional garage or yard.

Orono Garage Condos LLC, based in Excelsior, has paid $2.54 million to Old Crystal Bay LLC in Long Lake for a 5-acre location at 430 Old Crystal Bay Road N. It will have five buildings with 85 condos ranging from 800 to 1,400 square feet. Prices for a basic shell will start in the mid-$200,000s, with no real limit on how they can be tricked out to pamper a Porsche or Ferrari — perhaps from the nearby cluster of luxury dealerships along Interstate 394. They also are designed for watercraft and other recreational equipment.

continue https://finance-commerce.com/2025/06/orono-garage-condos-luxury-vehicle-storage/

#Excelsior #Orono