The hunt continues. Here is the third clue leading to the Heimatfest medallion:

Life would really boring be
If there was no hill, no tree.
Why not take an uphill stroll?
Gentle slope will take no toll.

What will be the end result
Of your search so difficult?
Wrapped up plain and tucked away
Big gold coin will have its day.

Put your work to such good use.
Long, hard trip is no excuse.
Why not go and take a chance?
By the school there is a manse.

Jordan’s treasure gently rests

After getting married last weekend, esteemed columnist Brandon Otte extended his commute.

“I guess I must have been spoiled by my commute in Jordan. … It may have been the best commute ever,” he wrote.

Read Otte's column in the Aug. 21 issue of the Jordan Independent.

Here's what's been going on in and around New Prague lately, according to the New Prague Times:

- Three people were sentenced last month for mortgage fraud in the New Prague, Elko New Market, and Lonsdale areas. Found guilty in federal court of conspiring to commit mortgage fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme involving as many as 200 residents and as much as $100 million in loan proceeds, Michael Alan Parish, Ardith Ann Parish, and Christopher David Troup of Eagan will each do time in prison, followed by three years each on supervised release.

The hunt continues. Here is the second clue leading to the Heimatfest medallion:

Picture you in your Olympics.
Spread a blanket; have some picnics.
Lying back and looking upwards,
At the clouds of whirling clue words.

Sprint and swim and throw and jump.
Come in first! Your heart will pump.
Place or bronze or silver, gold,
Is the prize that one will hold.

Which way shall we start our search?
Look up where the birds do perch.
Will our trek be like a race?
Finding gold in secret place.

Thirty years ago, the Jordan Jaycees ran several events at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and put the profits toward Jackie Holzer Memorial Park.

For more information, read the Looking Back column in the Aug. 14 issue of the Jordan Independent. Read it online in the Print Edition section, or subscribe by going to www.jordannews.com/subscribe.

At the personal request of Queen Margaret and King Henry, the Jordan Independent attended an exclusive preview of the 2008 Renaissance Festival in Louisville Township, between Shakopee and Jordan.

The free event included: free beverages, turkey legs, shepherd's pie, corn on the cob, and other food; henna tatoos; face painting; palm and Tarot card readings; a king of the log game; and numerous interactions with the king, queen, belly dancers (who happen to double as the caretakers of snakes), jesters, musicians, fairies, and other actors in medieval garb.

The Renaissance Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 16 to Sept. 28 (rain or shine, open on weekends and Labor Day). It is located east of Highway 169, north of Jordan. Regular prices range from $10.95 to $19.95, and parking is free. For more information, go to www.renaissancefest.com or call 952-445-7361.

Here are a bunch of videos from the preview event:

The hunt begins. Here is the first clue leading to the Heimatfest medallion:

Not much is new this year, I fear.
You do know all the rules,
Unless you’re new to us ‘round here.
And none of you are fools.

The same applies as years of yore:
Don’t hunt on private ground.
Be on public space before
The sparkling gold is found.

I promise not to dig in deep,
Nor hang it up too high.
As for the clues, read ‘em and weep.
You’ll shake your heads and sigh.