:: Unofficial Waconia Minnesota ::

You know it’s spring when the orange comes out in full force. And this year, the construction starts off with county road 10 and includes most roads on the east side of town.

County road 10 will close April 23rd and be open again, hopefully, by mid-November. They are going to modify the road to meet up with the stoplights just to the east of where it comes out now. They will also add drainage, turn lanes and bigger shoulders which is good news for the bikers.

Unfortunately, county road 10 is the main road to take over to Chaska. With the road closed, the already busy Highway 5 is the only alternative.

To make it worse, Highway 5 will be getting medians, turn lanes and better striping this summer too. No closures, but you can expect delays.

What’s one more headache? Starting in July, highway 284 will be closed from 5 to 212. This project includes mill and overlay which I think means re-surfancing. Good news here is that’s only a month project. But other construction on 284 and Sparrow Road will cause even more problems as a roundabout is put in place. Talk about getting fancy. This roundabout could take three months though!

Those are the biggest headaches and if you drive east or south out of Waconia, you will surely see road construction, additional traffic and a sad change as the farmland continues to change into city.

More construction details can be seen at the official Waconia site.

The 1st Street Bakery is now open and I’m so excited. I made my first visit today and it’s very nice. New, clean and full of doughnuts. Who could ask for more?

They must have a meeting area somewhere, but I didn’t see it. I could hear a crowd of people, but they weren’t up front. So if you are going to have a social event, it might be worth giving them a call.

I only got one doughnut, and a milk, and it was great. I’m not sure how much a doughnut costs as I wasn’t paying attention to that. I was to busy looking around.

Some may thing that the Mackenthun’s bakery is a real bakery, but nothing in a grocery store can match the atmosphere and quality of a real bakery doughnut.

Now I don’t have to drive to Chaska or fantasize about a good morning doughnut. I guess that’s a bad thing though as it’s way to close and I’ll have to hold myself back from visiting daily.

Info from the business card:
1st Street Bakery - The Sweetest Place in Waconia!
Timothy Larson - Owner/Operator
37 First Street West
Waconia, MN 55387
Phone: 952-442-9010

Retail and Wholesale Opportunities Available

The 2nd annual Walk On Waconia is coming up on April 28th, 2007. The walk goes around Lake Waconia and you can either do the whole walk, 10 miles, or half the walk, 5.5 miles. If you only do half, they’ll bus you back. The cost is only $10 and one canned food item. It also includes a long sleeve T-shirt, treats and door prizes.

To register now, you can find flyers available at local churches, or call 442-5548 or 442-1328. The event is sponsored and organized by the Waconia Ministerial Association with Ridgeview Medical Center assisting as a sponsor. Koch Bus is also providing transportation. You can register on the day of the event too at St. Joe’s School at 6:45 am.

Walk On!