In response to the devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is announcing a $1 million challenge to its members across the country. Thrivent Financial will match $1 for every $2 donated by Thrivent Financial members up to $1 million for the potential of generating $3 million. Funds will be directed to four Lutheran organizations to […]

Community members are invited to make a keepsake Easter basket for a child or to be used as a decorative centerpiece. Join basket maker Jane Shinners on Sunday, March 14 in Cook County High School room 101 from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. The basket measures 11” x 6” with an 8” wooden handle and its sides are woven from […]

As in previous years, Superior National at Lutsen golf course has requested a loan to help pay bills until the next golf season starts generating income. A shortfall of about $200,000 has always existed this time of year, said County Commissioner Bob Fenwick at a county board meeting Tuesday, February 23, 2010. This time, Economic Development Authority (EDA) board chair […]

Cook County’s lodging tax income was way down this year, especially in the West End and on the Gunflint Trail. The county’s year-end lodging tax report shows that of establishments that had reported through the end of 2009, the Lutsen-Tofte Tourism Association took in 11.1% less than it did the year before, and the Gunflint Trail Tourism Association took in […]

The Grand Marias Park Board, still short a member, voted in Walt Mianowski as its new chair and Todd Miller, its vice-chair, on February 2, 2010. In response to a Cook County Community Center survey of community groups, the board discussed its thoughts on the possibility of a new county-run pool at the site of the current Community Center. Dave […]

Three guests attended the February 2, 2010 Grand Marais Park Board meeting to ask for space in the rec park for a community garden similar to the one created at WTIP Radio last summer. Melinda Spinler of the Northwoods Food Project said some people in Grand Marais have no space to grow their own food, an endeavor that enhances both […]

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officersarrested a deserter from the United States Marine Corps at the Grand Portage port of entry on February 13, 2010. John Sexton, 61, who had been living in Israel since the early 1990s, was taken into custody by CBP officers upon his entry into the United States after a check of his identification revealed that […]

On December 14, 2009, James Bernard Smith, 41, of Grand Portage, was found dead, the apparent victim of hanging. Thisweek Cook County Sheriff Mark Falk released autopsy information from the Lake County Medical Examiner, confirming that the cause of death was suicidal hanging with associated injuries. While taking a shortcut between houses on Stevens Road in Grand Portage a friend […]

On February 18, 2010, a summary of sentencing in a criminal case involving 28 defendants, including Kirk Paul Johnson, 57, of Lutsen, was released by the U.S. Department of Justice. According to United States Attorney B. Todd Jones, the defendants in this case were collectively responsible for distributing between 30 and 50 pounds of methamphetamine in the Duluth area from […]

Cook County has officially joined an interagency fight against “invasive terrestrial, aquatic, and airborne species,” and in the hope of receiving up to $100,000 in federal Environmental Protection Agency funding, it may partner with Lake and St. Louis counties as well. On Tuesday, February 22, 2010, the county board agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with nine other […]