Found at Battle Creek Regional Park in near-record time by Joe Barnard, Ian Luby, and Kai Peterson (with Kai's dad, Scott Peterson, serving as driver for the three St. Paul high school freshmen). The medallion was wrapped in a red-and-black garter, covered in a Pearson's Nut Goodie wrapper, and frozen in a block of ice the size of a softball. It only took six clues to get to the center of this piece of candy.

Clue 1
Treasure hunters swarming amidst global warming
Make it hard to park our loot
Look for snow and ice, enough to suffice
To shorten your winter pursuit.
The prize is hidden in a park. Big surprise. Not much snow in 2006, but hunters are urged to look in areas with enough snow and ice to cover the medallion.

Clue 2
Son of Pear, hometown fare
The nut of this year's quest
Sweetest patty, never a baddie
Covers the prize at rest.
St. Paul's Pearson's Candy Co. is the maker of the Nut Goodie, and its wrapper covered the medallion.

Clue 3
Men with a garter should have been smarter
Than to mix drink with their vulcanic activities
You would be wise to look for the prize
By taking up a child's proclivities.
Along with the candy wrapper, a black and red garter was wrapped around the medallion. This is a reference to the "garter ritual" that got the Vulcan Krewe leader in trouble in 2005. Further, the medallion was hidden near a sliding hill behind Battle Creek Elementary School and Recreation Center. "Kids be likin' the sleddin'." An easier phrase to think about than one with the word "proclivities."

Clue 4
For the brave of heart, it's time to start
Searching hill and glen
Pitch a tent if that's your bent
But stay within your ken
Hill and Glen are nice early references to Hillsdale and Glenridge avenues near the park. Tougher to decipher are "brave" and "tent" as a reference point to Indian braves who fought the battle in 1842 for which Battle Creek Park is named. A deeper reach is to the Scottish "Braveheart," an allusion to nearby 3M, known for its Scotch brands. I admire the creativity, that's for sure. Better than many past years.

Clue 5
If you're aerobic and hardly tree-phobic
You might make your outing pay
Don't be left in a lurch, do your research
This could be your red-letter day
The medallion is located on a hill near some oak and pine trees. That about describes most available hiding places in St. Paul parks, but the "red-letter day" brings the search closer to the 3M sign visible from the hill. Still, this is hardly the clue you would like to see at the number five position. For one thing, you only get one letter and one number with "3M." How many people could just as easily have though of the "1st" sign in downtown?

Clue 6
On a whim you may take a swim
Or go in and out of the woods
Twixt high and low, we hope there's snow
To cover up the goods
There is a water park at Battle Creek, which is both inside and outside of the city of Maplewood, thus "twixt." The third line refers to Upper and Lower Afton roads, which are the north and south borders for the park. A solid clue for the well-thinking hunter, but still something of a frustrating one to finish on.

Clue 7
Not west, but East, lies the feast
Here you searchers must tarry
Stay in St. Paul, near basket and ball
Where a medallion owner would bury
While the park is in St. Paul, it is on the East Side, not far from Woodbury ("would bury"). The hiding spot is near a basketball court at Battle Creek rec center.

Clue 8
You're off the mark if you stray from a park
And miss the point of it all
Tips are legion in the region
Up to the verge of St. Paul.
The key words here are "point," "region," and "verge." Point Douglas Road is in Battle Creek, Battle Creek is considered a "regional" park, and it is on the border of or on "the verge of" St. Paul.

Clue 9
The father, the son, and one other one
Lost their lives near this watery place
But now there's fun where those killins' were done
Woods, hills, and wide open space
A macabre clue. I'm not sure I ever would have gotten this one, but the official explanation goes as so: An attack by the Chippewa on a nearby Sioux village killed Sioux Chief Kaiboka, his son, and one other tribe member. A battle raged along the creek, and it became the source for the name "Battle Creek." Maybe this is common knowledge to East Siders, but those of us from the North End are more versed in the lore of Loeb Lake (in Marydale Park) once being connected to Como Lake. Making this clue even more quizzical is a reference to Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited," in which God asks Abe to "kill me a son," and Abe wants to know where he wants "this killin' done?" Highway 61 borders Battle Creek park. Good thing we never needed this clue. It would have been an online debate for the ages.

Clue 10
Once the home pristine of Mr. McLean
It was named by a dealer in teas
In order to stake her, he gave 30 acre
Did this man who so did love trees
The pristine area of Battle Creek was once a community named after Nathaniel McLean, a newspaper publisher, Sioux agent, and veteran of the War of 1812. But the name Battle Creek was suggested by William McMurray, a coffee and tea dealer, who gave 30 acres to the city for the park in 1922. Yeah, right. And if you thought that was all coming from me, think again. That was the newspaper getting cute with a clue, making us work a little hard for the loot in the Internet era.

Clue 11
Roaming like cattle near the creek of the battle
Let Winthrop be your pleasure
Yon mount is better, above skier and sledder
Twixt pines and poles sits the treasure
Who'da thunk "twixt" would be such a useful word in '06? Battle Creek is identified, along with Winthrop Street, the "mountain" above ski trails and sledding hills, and a location between a stand of pines and two light poles.

Clue 12
Find and seek in Battle Creek
Near a center for athletic skill
Out the door to the south, scarf over your mouth
Climb atop yon sliding hill

Two posts can be seen, a wire between
Form a line heading to a row of pines
Twenty-six strides straight, six to the left
In the brow of a hill you will find

Oh ye who were fickle, our medallion-sicle
Wears an iceberg disguise
The package, as we said, is swathed in bright red
Candy wrapper, garter and prize
"X" marks the spot with the giveaway wrappings.