Welcome to Fish Lake Township?

Fish Lake Township recently installed a custom-made sign near the corner of North Pine Lake Road and Little Pine Lake Trail. The hand painted sign reads, “Welcome to Fish Lake Township.”

On the surface, the message appears to welcome newcomers to a kind and neighborly way of life in Fish Lake Township. However; the three town board supervisors who erected the sign, Carter, Cupit and Larkin, are well-known for their anti-development reputations and fierce opposition to residential growth.

The “Welcome” sign is erected at the original “battlefield” site of Prairie Fields, a contentious development which Supervisor Cupit publically vowed that Fish Lake Township was not going to set a precedence to allow. However; a lengthy court deliberation and landmark opinion published by the Minnesota State Court of Appeals eventually cleared the way for the Prairie Fields development to be established and exist as a residential neighborhood today.

When the first residential group home proposal was brought before the Fish Lake town board, Supervisor Larkin vehemently opposed the operation. Her main concern appeared to be focused on the nearby proximity of the proposed facility to her home. By the time another residential group home proposal was under consideration, new Minnesota State laws had removed local government control over group home operations and Fish Lake Township no longer had input. Ironically, the second residential group home was established in Prairie Fields, right next door to Supervisor Larkin’s home. Not even the obtrusive, bully tactics of Supervisor Carter audaciously knocking on the group home door could thwart the new facility from opening.

So next time you drive by the “Welcome” sign, will you be fooled by the township facade which stands in stark contrast to the truth?