Operators of two local wastewater treatment facilities were honored at the 73rd Annual Wastewater Operations Conference in Brooklyn Center, MN on March 25. Recognized were Tom Nelson from the city of Grand Marais and Ryan Brandt with Superior National Golf Properties of Lutsen. Nelson and Brandt received awards for outstanding performance in wastewater operations in 2009. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency […]
Regional Arts Council seeks board members
The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council is currently accepting applications from individuals wishing to serve on its board. The following five board positions will be open as of July 1, 2010: Aitkin County, Cook County, Itasca County, and two at-large board positions. The ARAC serves individual artists and non-profit arts organizations who reside in the seven counties which make up the […]
Bethlehem seeks applicants for scholarship
The Mission Endowment Committee of Bethlehem Lutheran Church offers one scholarship of $1,000 to a graduating senior of its congregation. Interested youth may pick up an application from the bulletin board outside the office of Jaime Ryan, youth director. Application deadline is Monday, May 17. Applications may be turned in at the church office. A timely decision will be made […]
Duluth Steam defends its position regarding January communications outage
The fiber optic line break that squelched phone and Internet communication from here to Duluth on January 26, 2010 is receding further into the past, but resolution on who is responsible for it could take some time. On March 15, Qwest’s Minnesota/North Dakota president, John Stanoch, forwarded to Cook and Lake County commissioners a letter that Qwest Corporate Counsel Jason […]
Tofte seeks funding for housing study
Since citizens at the 2008 Tofte Annual Meeting agreed that the township should pursue a senior apartment-assisted living facility, the town board has been researching ways to make it happen. Before extensive planning is conducted or significant funding sought, a housing market analysis needs to be done. At the Thursday, April 8 town meeting, the Tofte board agreed to apply […]
State decreases aid to county
The county will receive less financial support from the state this year than it budgeted, but it currently has the means to cover that deficit. County Auditor- Treasurer Braidy Powers reported to the county board Tuesday, April 13, 2010 that the loss of expected aid in 2010 is 267,388. An April 13 memo from Powers to the board states, “The […]
County budget staying in line for 2010
The county budget was right on track during the first quarter of 2010. A review of the general fund by Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers revealed that the county used 24.8% of its 2010 budget between January and March. Some line-item expenses, such as insurance payments, tapped half or all of their funds for the year because they are only disbursed once […]
Sportsmen commend introduction of House clean water bill
A number of sportsmen and conservation groups have commended the introduction of legislation in the U.S. House of Repres ent atives that would restore Clean Water Act protections for streams, lakes, wetlands and other important waters. According to Congressman James Oberstar, the America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act would help sustain the healthy habitat, robust fish and wildlife populations and […]
Franken calls for Great Lakes protection funds
U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has joined senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) in a letter calling on the chairman and ranking member of the Senate budget committee to include $475 million in funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which has been cut to $300 million in the president’s budget proposal. “The Great Lakes are a national […]
A surfeit of citizens running for co-op board
In April, Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI) announced that it needed three people to run for its board of directors. The cooperative was amazed with the results—10 members have expressed interest in serving on the board, seven of them for one position. Seven co-op members are competing for the Lutsen seat formerly held by Alta McQuatters. McQuatters has reached the […]