Pool architect choice could increase costs for taxpayers outside city
A recommendation by the 1% Community Center Steering Committee planning a new county-owned community center and pool funded by a new county sales tax may have ramifications for property taxpayers outside the City of Grand Marais. The committee has chosen The Meyer Group and JLG Architects, which submitted a proposal together, to create the facility’s architectural design. Because of a […]
McFarland Lake conservation easement not on Wheaton College land
Last week, the Cook County News- Herald reported on a news release from the Minnesota Land Trust regarding a conservation easement it had been granted in Cook County’s East End. It described a piece of shoreline property on McFarland Lake near a county beach and boat launch, descriptors that fit a parcel owned by Wheaton College of Wheaton, Illinois. PolyMet […]
Neighbors complain about generator noise
What right does a property owner have to make noise on his own property, and what right do neighbors have to not have to hear that noise? This issue came up when a conditional use permit (CUP) application was brought before the county board on Tuesday, January 11, 2011. According to a Planning Commission report to the board, Bradley and […]
Inspired to be positive
I didn’t think I knew anything about U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords before the horrific shooting at her meetthe public event at a Tucson, Arizona Safeway on January 8. But as I went online this evening to check on her condition, I realized I had been cheering her on in a Fox News segment just the day before the attack. We […]
Should the hospital sell its facilities?
Congratulations to Robert Stevens for his very informative January 8 letter to the editor. What he proposes for the hospital to consider sounds like a reasonable approach to eliminate, or at least greatly reduce, the apparently unlimited tax levy burden that the hospital can impose on property owners. Due to negative input from the public on the proposed 182% increase […]
Downtown should be a winter wonderland
I just returned from a whirlwind drive to western Ontario via the Iron Range cities and was amazed by the visual beauty. Every little town has simple white “holiday” lights up and they looked beautiful. The streets were snow packed and white with no sand or salt. Just snow that was very easy to drive on and not that slippery. […]
Perception versus reality of school budget
“…The school district keeps asking for more money even though its student enrollment continues to decrease each year.” That is an interesting public perception. It makes a convenient sound bite that some have been eager to use whenever a discussion of taxation arises. Convenient though it may be I am gratified to know that a majority of our community members […]
