Bill Tormondsen has retired—again. Probably for the last time. No, he said, “It’s time. Time for me to retire and stay retired.” After all, Bill has a wife, and there’s fish to catch. Then there’s the work on the house and the cabin that’s waiting. And there’s catching up with friends and family. When you have been as busy as […]
Larsen’s global journey to save planet
Grand Marais resident Eric Larsen is concerned about global warming. That’s why he was at the North Pole on Earth Day, April 22, 2010—feeling very cold— after 51 days and 500 miles pulling a sled up and down pressure ridges and floating it across open stretches of Arctic Ocean with fellow explorers Antony Jinman (“A.J.”) of Plymouth, England and Darcy […]
Cook County Law Enforcement briefs
It is the policy of the Cook County News-Herald to withhold the identities of individuals in Cook County Law Enforcement briefs. When court proceedings are complete, the Cook County News-Herald publishes a complete accounting of names and penalties in its Matters of Record. Monday, May 17 8:21 a.m., Grand Marais: Thunder Bay man, 54, cited for speeding. 9:37 a.m., Grand […]
Students complete firearm safety and hunter education
In Minnesota, anyone born after Dec. 31, 1979 must have a Firearms Safety Certificate in order to buy a license to take wild animals with a firearm. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Division of Enforcement, designed and administers a Firearms Safety Hunter Education Course to certify students. The course covers safe and responsible use of firearms and hunting […]
Conservation Officer Tales
Although the Cook County News-Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are law-abiding folks, there are a few that run afoul of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officers. Periodically, the DNR provides a report of some of the miscreants the Conservation Officers (CO) have encountered. The News-Herald shares these stories as a reminder to all […]
City water table remains safe from abandoned fuel tanks
TheCity of Grand Marais continues to move toward earning a clean bill of health for the soil underneath the old power plant in the recreation area. City Administrator Mike Roth and Water Superintendent Tom Nelson recently toured the site with the city’s consultant, Environmental Troubleshooters. “We’ve already made a lot of progress from where we started,” Roth reported to the […]
ISD 166 considers four-day school week
Seventy people gathered at Cook County High School Thursday, May 20, 2010 to discuss the possibility of ISD 166 going to a four-day school week the fall of 2011. Another 30 or so had already met with district officials up the Gunflint Trail, in Hovland, and in the West End between May 10 and 18. Numerous rural districts throughout the […]
County board approves ATVs on paved road shoulders
If you see a Class I ATV driving along the right shoulder of a paved county road (other than the Gunflint Trail north of Devil Track Road), you don’t need to call the police—it’s legal. At a public hearing on Tuesday, May 25, 2010, the county board revisited the ATV ordinance it adopted a year ago. Following a review of […]
Fuels reduction stimulus grant for Tait Lake community
On Tuesday, May 18, 2010, the county board passed a motion accepting a $120,000 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus) grant to reduce understory fuels on 150 acres of private property around Tait Lake. According to a document written by Patty Johnson of the U.S. Forest Service, who applied for the grant on behalf of the Tait Lake Homeowners’ Association, […]