Taxation summary

• Pequot Lakes has a total taxable valuation of $238,931,400.

• The rural tax district accounts for $150,459,900 (63 percent) of that valuation.

• The urban tax district accounts for $88,471,500 (37 percent) of that valuation.

• The city receives $1,486,432 in property taxes.

• The rural tax district accounts for $592,268 (40 percent) of that tax revenue.

• The urban tax district accounts for $894,164 (60 percent) of that tax revenue.

Potential impact on taxes

Pequot Lakes police officer John Ryan will retire at the end of August, and the city will advertise to hire a police sergeant.

The Pequot Lakes City Council on Tuesday, June 4, accepted Ryan’s retirement letter and allowed police chief Eric Klang to advertise for a sergeant at $23.71 per hour pay.

Council member Dave Sjoblad told Klang he wouldn’t vote for a sergeant until he saw the dollar amount.

Klang said the difference in annual salary would be an estimated $3,200 more from Ryan’s salary to a supervisory sergeant’s salary.

You may recognize Craig Friday as the man in uniform patrolling Pequot Lakes High School sporting events as captain of the Pequot Lakes Police Reserve.

Or maybe he’s a familiar face at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, where he works in guest services.

Still others may know Craig as Mr. Beaver, his character from the most recent Pequot Lakes Community Theatre play, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

He’s a man with many interests and talents, all of which benefit the lakes area.

Craig grew up in Anoka and lived in the Twin Cities area until just nine years ago.

Gas prices in Minnesota are among the highest in the nation, and a AAA spokeswoman said relief from those high prices won’t come soon.

“There’s no good news now nor in the near future,” said Gail Weinholzer, director of public affairs for AAA Minnesota/Iowa.

While many cite Memorial Day weekend as the cause for gas prices that skyrocketed overnight Wednesday, May 15, in the lakes area from $3.89 a gallon to as high as $4.29 a gallon — setting record highs in the state — the holiday weekend isn’t to blame.