By Shay Lelonek / Asst. News Director

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — During the summer, kids 17 and younger will be able to enjoy free, unlimited rides on all Metro Bus Fixed Routes.

The U-Go Free Summer Youth Program will offer free rides from June 1 to August 31, 2025.

U-Go Free passengers must have a proper ID ready when boarding the bus.

K-12 school IDs and Metro Bus U-Go Free ID cards will be accepted as identification.

Additional information, such as date of birth, might be requested if a teen appears over the age of 17.

Youth group leaders can also register for a Metro Bus U-Go Free ID card for easy group transportation.

The Rotary Club of Columbiana held its annual Youth Service Awards Dinner at Columbiana High School Tuesday, April 22. This year’s recipients were, from left, Outstanding Boy Scout Wyatt Hart, Eagle Scout; Outstanding Interact Student Katherine Campbell; dinner organizer Terry McCoy; Outstanding 4-H student Sarah Baer; and Outstanding Girl Scout Rosario Pantoja. Terry Shaffer served as the guest speaker. (Submitted photo)

Cameron Burgess, 16, a sophomore at Jamestown High School, has started Pawsitive Waste Solutions, a pet yard waste removal service. He currently has 50 customers, 10 of whom are on a recurring basis. The services offered include regular waste removal, one-time cleanups, and special event cleanups.
Submitted photo

When Jamestown High School sophomore Cameron Burgess looks at animal waste in the various backyards he services, he doesn’t see a mess – he sees opportunity.

“For as long as I can remember, he’s worked with his dad at the family side business entitled Mr. Mow It All,” said Cheyenne Burgess, Cameron’s mother.

The business, as the name implies, provides grass-cutting and yard landscaping services.

“This is where Cameron got the idea for his business,” Burgess said. “My husband charges extra for animal waste removal, and Cameron saw a need for this service – to make extra money for himself – and also for people who want the waste removed, but not necessarily the grass-cutting services.”

Since its inception, Cameron’s business, Pawsitive Waste Solutions, has been steadily growing.

Jamestown High School Sophomore Cameron Burgess, 16, has started his own Pawsitive Waste Solutions business, where he removes unwanted animal yard waste for a fee.
Submitted photo

“He’s got a lot of clients,” Burgess said. “I believe he’s got 50 clients, and 10 of them are recurring customers weekly or bi-weekly.”

Despite his busy schedule, Cameron, a 16-year-old student, manages to balance his academic responsibilities , his role in the family business, and his own enterprise, Pawsitive Waste Solutions, along with his passion for track and field.

According to the Facebook page Pawsitive Waste Solutions, the company’s mission is to provide reliable and efficient pet waste removal services to the Jamestown community and surrounding areas, ensuring that both pets and their owners can enjoy a cleaner, happier, and more hygienic environment. For more information email pawsitivewastesolution@gmail.com or visit the Pawsitive Waste Solutions Facebook page.

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MANISA (Türkiye) – Year 3 of the Youth Basketball Champions League opened with a game between Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg and Aliaga Petkimspor. The Germans ran the game from front to back and set the tone for the entire tournament with their pace, intensity, and physicality.

The level had been raised and everyone else needed to follow.

For Ludwigsburg head coach, Kheeryoung Rhee, the level of the competition has gone up a notch regardless of their strong performances.

“I think overall the amount of teams trying to play faster, the pace itself is very evident that it’s improved a lot. There’s more length, more athleticism,” he stated.

With two wins from two and a place in the Semi-Finals secured after a win over perennial challengers, Igokea m:tel, Ludwigsburg became the first German club to reach the Semi-Finals and also guaranteed the highest-ever finish for a German club in YBCL.

In Rhee’s mind, this dramatic improvement in their fortunes from last year’s seventh place finish wasn’t entirely what they expected from the tournament.

“We scouted obviously Igokea and Petkimspor really early and there they looked pretty impressive,” he said.

“It’s been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride, we weren’t really sure how good we are but after the first result, we were pleasantly surprised,” Rhee explained.

That element of the unknown in terms of their own team’s strength is even more understandable when you consider that, like many of the teams at this year’s YBCL, Ludwigsburg used the opportunity of playing in this competition as a tool for recruitment and also evaluating their own talent against some of the continent’s best young players.

Players like 2008-born forward Lars Lenke, 2008-born guard Lars Danziger, 2007-born forward Daniel Biel, and 2007-born guard Raul Dumnici have all been brought in for this tournament.

All four players have grabbed the opportunity presented to them with both hands and taken key roles in the team.

“Both Larses are fun to watch, I think, from an outside perspective,” said Rhee.

“Danziger, he brings a high pace bringing up the ball, I think he’s also very, very creative and Lenke, I mean, he’s athletic… He’s so athletic,” he clarified.

Danziger is producing 8.5 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds across the two games, and Lenke is putting up 11.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, throwing down a series of above the rim plays in the process.

Biel has been all over the stat sheet in the same way that he’s all over the court with the style that he plays.

Across the two games he’s accumulated averages of 19 efficiency points, 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 steals.

Dumnici exploded for 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists against Igokea and added the kind of sauce that the fans in Manisa come to see.

It’s not just been the new recruits getting the job done for Ludwigsburg, either.

This is a team that gets the job done by committee, with eight players playing more than 19 minutes in each game and young Danish international Anton Hjort, producing almost 2 points per minute in his 7 minutes this far.

Ludwigsburg have two players returning from last year, with 2007-born guard Sebastian Kuhn, who has gone on to make regular contributions with the Ludwigsburg senior team and 2008-born big man Armin Pivac.

“Sebastian has become more stable,” said Rhee when describing the way his experienced point guard leads the team.

“It’s something he actually tries to, let’s say, assert on the guys as well and that’s become evident this week.”

Pivac is one player that Rhee was especially keen to pick out for praise and primarily because, on a clearly undersized roster, he’s performing possibly the most difficult role in the team.

“For me, personally, Armin Pivac, he’s our five-man and the position five in our, let’s say, concept, is very difficult to play, not only offensively, but also defensively,” described Rhee when talking about which player is the key to their success this week.

The pivotal nature of Pivac’s performances has not only been evident in the results of both games, but also on the stat sheet. Pivac is putting up 12.5 points on 67 percent shooting and pulling 7.5 rebounds.

When Ludwigsburg faced Petkimspor and their massive frontcourt, including seven-footer Ahmet Kerim Andic and talented power forward Berat Cevik, he played his part in holding them both to just 6 points and 9 rebounds combined.

Both players doubled that contribution in their following game.

His own numbers in that game were 13 points and 9 rebounds, as he dominated the paint despite being undersized and often matched up against players one year his senior.

Up next for Ludwigsburg, in the first Semi-Final this Saturday, is Filou Oostende. The Belgians have been one of the hot topics in the whole tournament and brought a unique brand of basketball to the YBCL this week.

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Rhee was effusive in his praise when describing the threat that the Belgians pose.

“In youth basketball, for a few years now, I think you can find talent everywhere, but having this combination of talent and being this mentally tough, they really impressed me,” he stated.

“Also their pace is incredible, everybody has the freedom to do everything they want, be it pass, dribble or shoot. I say they are like a well-oiled machine.”

The game tips off at 17:30 local time and you can watch it on the FIBA YouTube channel. Make sure you don’t miss it.