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Pine City Council approves forced abatement, and more news

Updated: Jun 13, 2023





The Pine City Council has approved the beginning the process for the forced abatement of a property located on Second Avenue.


The resolution has been a few months in the making as neighbors to the property at 710 2nd Ave. SW have been attending city council meetings to complain about the state of the property. Those complaints range from trash being stored around the property to a lack of utilities and impacts to the health and safety of the neighborhood.

Pine City’s Fire and Life Safety Inspector Adam Zemek says the property can’t have their power turned back on because the electrical panel has had everything removed.


"I've looked at the records; the electric was shut off because ECE has it on their account that they won't turn it on until it passes the state inspector, because everything's been ripped out," Zemek said.


Some residents asked why the city hadn't condemned the property. City officials say they can only condemn rental properties and this property is considered private.


Zemek suggested that the city looks into adopting a property maintenance code to keep an issue like this from happening in the future.


The council approved the abatement process.


The residents of 710 2nd Avenue SW have 30 days to clean up the property or the city will do it and have the fees assessed to the owner’s taxes.


Kanabec History Center eyes coin school improvements


The Kanabec County Historical Society is looking to make repairs on the coin school building, according to a presentation at the June 6 County Board meeting.


History Center executive director Barb Barnes said the floor of the coin school has started to cave in due to broken beams under the building.


The Kanabec County Historical Society is working with the state historical society and Minnesota Historic Preservation Office to get the school on the National Registry of Historic Places.


The designation would allow for grant funding to begin rehabilitation of the building. Barnes said the repair project would take about two years.


Pine City child dies following drowning accident


6/13/23 Update:


Press Release:


On the date of 06/01/2023, the Pine County Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Center took a call of a child that was not breathing. It was reported that the child was found by a family member in a pool and that they had started CPR. Pine County Deputies and Essentia Ambulance responded to the scene and continued lifesaving efforts. Responders on scene were able to get a pulse back and the child was taken

to Children’s Hospital by North Memorial Helicopter.


Sadly, Waylon Schulz, age 2, passed away on June 7, 2023. Although the result was not what we wanted; the actions of the deputies, ambulance, and family were able to make transportation a viable outcome. Without immediate intervention that would not have happened. As a result of these actions the family was able to rally around the victim and hopefully have some closure. The deputies on the scene were encouraged and eagerly awaited updates from the hospital. Unfortunately, the condition was not survivable.


“Words cannot express the impact the loss of a young life can have on a family; our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends that are still processing this. Please know that the deputies and investigators that responded feel the loss as well including the 911 dispatchers who took the call.” (Sheriff Jeff Nelson)


Agencies involved in this incident are the Pine County Sheriff’s Office, Essentia Ambulance, North Memorial, and Pine City Fire Department.


Original Post


A Pine City family is mourning the loss of their two-year-old son after he died Wednesday following an accident.


The incident happened on Thursday, June 1. The victim, Waylon Schulz, was airlifted to Children's Hospital for treatment. However, he later died on Wednesday, June 7.


The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office reports the cause of death to be drowning.


A GoFundMe has been set up for the family to help with expenses.

A celebration of life for Waylon has been scheduled for June 16 at his family’s home.


North Branch open house on housing project


The City of North Branch and developer Reuter Walton will hold an open house this week to inform the public about a proposed apartment project.


A 65-unit apartment building for workforce housing has been proposed for the former school site on Highway 95.


The open house is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14, at North Branch City Hall, located at 6408 Elm Street.


Community members will have the chance to learn about the project, North Branch housing needs, and the next steps for the proposal.

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