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<br /> <br /> <br />mail boy0 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />September, 2021 <br />Volume 15, Issue 5 Gem Lake News <br />Special Interest <br />Articles: <br /> <br />• 2020 Census <br />Results <br /> <br />• City Budget for <br />2021 <br /> <br />• City News, Page 4 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Upcoming Recycling <br />Dates: <br /> <br />• September 8 <br />• September 22 <br />• October 6 <br />• Tip: put out <br />your bin the <br />night before <br />for 7 a.m. <br />pick-up. <br /> <br /> <br />Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor <br />Gem Lake population grew by a whopping one third <br />between 2010 and 2020, according to recently <br />released results of the most current federal census. A <br />total of 528 people make Gem Lake their home, as of <br />April 1 of last year, compared to 393 in 2010. Much of <br />the increase comes from completion of the Gem Lake <br />Villas project, which added 30 new homes to the city. <br /> <br />There are now 208 households, compared to 161 ten <br />years ago, an increase of 47. Persons per <br />households also increased from 2.54 to 2.65. <br /> <br />In terms of racial diversity, 91.7% of people living <br />here are white, non-Latino. The census shows that <br />8.3% of our population is defined as BIPOC <br />(Black/Indigenous/people of color). This compares <br />with 31.2 % for the seven county Twin Cities region. <br />In terms of age, a total of 111 of city residents are <br />under 18 years of age, with the remaining 417 being <br />over age 18. (Sources: U.S. Federal Census, 2020 <br />and Metropolitan Council.) <br />Gem Lake Population Surges to 528 <br /> <br />Attempted Carjacking Thwarted <br />Darlene Birkeland, whose family owns White Bear <br />Floral, was prepared for just another day at the “office” <br />when she arrived around 7 a.m. on July 21. Things <br />were about to get chaotic and very real. The front door <br />was still locked and the backdoor had just been <br />opened when a man came sprinting along the outside <br />of the building. “My first thought was, ‘boy that guy <br />must need flowers really badly,” said Darlene. <br /> <br />The person shoved his way into the back room and <br />began making demands. He was agitated and loud. <br />“He kept demanding the keys and reaching for his <br />pants. I thought he had a gun.” <br /> <br />Little did she know that the person, we can call him the <br />suspect, had stolen a car from a day care center in <br />North Branch, where a father was dropping off his <br />kids. The suspect led the police (Highway Patrol and <br />multiple other agencies) on a high-speed chase down <br />35 E Southbound and onto <br />(continued on page 5) <br /> <br />