A former soldier from Big Lake who died in World War II is being honored by Sherburne County.

Tuesday, the Board of Commissioners approved designating a segment of Co. Rd. 43 from Hwy. 10 to the Elk River in honor/memory of 1st Lt. O. S. Anderson.

Orville Anderson, a native of Big Lake, graduated from Big Lake High School with honors. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 and graduated from Army Air Corp basic and advanced pilot training, as well as night fighter school.

He was deployed to the 414th Night Fighter Squadron (NFS), Mediterranean Theatre. In December 1944 he and five other pilots volunteered and were detached to the 412th NFS in Belgium in support of allied ground operations.

He was a courageous and skilled fighter pilot who was awarded the Air Medal (3 clusters) as well as many other awards.

Anderson was killed in action in the early morning hours of April 14, 1945 while conducting a combat patrol on his 39th mission.

He is buried at the U. S. Military Cemetery, Maargraten, Netherlands. His record and supreme sacrifice leaves no doubt that he successfully contributed greatly to the surrender of Germany in May, 1945.

Administrator Bruce Messelt said the designation was made possible by a policy the board recently approved for residents and business to apply for a section of highway being named in honor of individuals.

Commissioner Raeanne Danielowski, who represents Big Lake, said she was contacted more than a year ago by Michael Anderson, a relative of O.S. Anderson, about honoring the soldier.

“I appreciate all of the work that went into this,” she said. “I’d like to thank everybody that helped make this happen. and Mr. Anderson for his patience through the process.”

Messelt said the county will be making signs for the designation.

Winery License

After a public hearing with extensive public input, the board approved a seasonal On-Sale, Off-Sale liquor license for Boulder Creek Wine Bar in Santiago Twp. The decision came after discussion by the board about the impact of approving the license. Administrator Messelt said the board had agreed to approve the license last year, but the State of MN said the license wasn’t necessary for the wine bar. However, issuing the license would give the county more enforcement authority over the operation.

Later in the meeting, the board denied an interim use permit (IUP) for the business to hold occasional special events at the site. The board also denied a request to amend the existing conditional use permit (CUP) to increase the capacity of people allowed on site from 40 to 70, add live music offer pre-packaged food.

The board felt the expansion was just too much for the five-acre site and would be detrimental to the residential neighborhood.

Commissioner Andrew Hulse said he was concerned that an expansion would “exacerbate the problem.”

Commissioner Gregg Felber said he was against increasing the number of people allowed on the five-acre site.

“It just gets to be too much,” he said.

Both the IUP and CUP votes were 4-1, with Commissioner Brad Schumacher voting against denial.

The winery can continue to operate under the conditions established in the original CUP.

Nyhus Oath

Earlier in the meeting, Dawn Nyhus took the oath of office as the new Sherburne County Attorney. She takes over for former county attorney Kathleen Heaney, who retired April 30.

Cannabis Agreement

The board approved a joint powers agreement with Big Lake Twp. for the enforcement and regulation of Cannabis Retail Business Registration. Any fees or penalties collected for retail registration and enforcement will remain entirely with the county.

Other Business

In other actions the board:

• Proclaimed the week of May 11-17 as Police Week in Sherburne County;

• Proclaimed May 9 as Military Spouse Appreciation Day;

• Approved the appointment of Jenae Stolarzyk as Assistant County Attorney;

• Welcomed  Drew Nelson as the new Sherburne County IT Director;

• Reappointed County Engineer Andrew Witter to a four-year term, effective May 2025 through May 2029;

• Approved a CUP for a Horse Stable (Commercial) on 9.27 acres at 29176 144th St NW in  Blue Hill Twp.;

•  Approved an IUP for a Cannabis Microbusiness (with endorsements for cultivation and manufacturing) from approximately 1,800 sq. ft. of an existing 4,000 sq. ft. building on 10 acres at  24331 Hwy. 169 NW in Livonia Twp.;

• Approved an IUP for a Solar Farm  on 79.85 acres on Hwy. 24 in Clear Lake Twp. and amended the land use map for private energy production;

• Appointed Commissioner Gregg Felber to the County Land Transaction Committee.