CCHS band students excel at Minnesota League competition



On March 19, Cook County High School band director Bill Tormondsen and a select group of students traveled to the University of Minnesota Duluth to participate in the Minnesota High School League Solo/Ensemble Competition. There were many other schools represented, from all over the Northland. Soloists and ensemble groups were given a score out of 40, graded on such performance […]

Meet the Class of 2010



The Cook County News-Herald is proud to introduce the Cook County High School Class of 2010 to the community. Each week we’ll feature a short interview and photograph of a few of this year’s graduating seniors.

Scholarships available for Forkhorn Camps these ads in the main news section of your



Five scholarships of $325 each are available for boys and girls wishing to attend this summer’s Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA) Forkhorn camps. Local residents are encouraged to attend. In 2007, Levi and Karlee Axtell of Hovland went to Laurentian Environmental Center in Britt. Their dad, Treg, went along under the LEC “parents go free” program. In 2008, Nathan Carlson, […]

Gitche Gitche Gumee



Unorganized Territory

Computers, good and bad


Computers can drive a person crazy. It seems that they somehow intuitively know when you need them most—and that is when they freeze up, lock up, shut down, or refuse to cooperate in some way. It’s nice that computer problems can often be fixed by simply turning the machine off and then back on. Wouldn’t it be nice if a […]

Spiritual reflections

Holy ground

I had known Luke for almost two years. He was a young man in his early twenties who struggled with cystic fibrosis. Hard hit by the disease, Luke spent most of the last 18 months of his life in the hospital. I was the chaplain assigned to his care unit. It was hard to watch him as the disease progressed […]

Historical Reflections



Gene Erickson shared this old photo of the Gunflint Trail with the interesting sign strung overhead, warning motorists about the dangers of driving on the Gunflint. Gene believes the photo was taken in the 1920s. It was in an album belonging to his father, Chet Erickson, who worked in the county at that time. Chet Erickson had a two-year degree […]

Down Memory Lane



10 Years Ago · April 3, 2000 • Two representatives from the St. Paul office of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources were in Grand Marais for a special meeting March 29. The purpose of the meeting was to give the elected and appointed officials in the area a heads-up call concerning the Army Corps of Engineers. According to Julie […]

Brighter side of aging

Catch the “Lunch Express”

As the temperatures warmed and the ice disappeared more people have come to the Senior Center. We have greeted them with new activities. The special guest lunches are becoming very popular. At a March lunch, Sheriff Mark Falk talked about home safety with 27 people. Steve DuChien, Grand Marais firefighter and EMT, joined the sheriff and talked with apartment residents […]

Over the Hill

Never pays to be cocky


I thought I was so smart; the perfect grandmother— warm, wise, knowledgeable about American Girl dolls and able to repeat the lyrics to every Barbie movie produced. Secretly I thought my daughter’s young friends all regarded me as witty and hip with just the right amount of grandmotherly knowledge at my fingertips, should anyone ask. I was a total grandma […]