Motorists passing by the Minnesota Power Taconite Harbor Energy Center likely didn’t even notice, but firefighters were called to Taconite Harbor at 7:32 a.m. on Monday, May 2 to assist with a fire in one of the power plant’s coal bunkers. The Schroeder Fire Department, Tofte-Schroeder First Responders and Cook County Ambulance responded. When the Schroeder fire department arrived at […]
Public comment sought for community center project
The Cook County Community Center Steering Committee has unveiled its proposal for a new, 43,142-square-foot community center to be built with revenue from the county’s 1 percent sales and use tax. The committee has been working for months and has tried to incorporate the suggestions it has received from throughout the community regarding what should be included in the new […]
Tofte considers, rejects, changes to cell phone tower proposal
The township of Tofte had yet another meeting on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 to discuss the proposed installation of a cell phone tower at the 1.74- acre Tofte cemetery. The meeting was held to consider a request from AT&T, through Buhl Consulting, to move the tower further into the cemetery to eliminate the need for a variance. The request was […]
Crisis handled at Emergency Services Conference
To avoid a panicked population in Grand Marais last Saturday, the Cook County Emergency Services Conference training exercise was announced and advertised well in advance. Members of the Safe Traffic Operation Program (STOP) diverted traffic away from the scene. It was a good thing, because the flaming fuselage and the battered and bloodied plane crash victims at the Grand Marais […]
School board meets with public to discuss potential budget cuts
Four members of Cook County Independent School District 166 school board met with the public at the Jane Mianowski Conference Center on Wednesday night, May 4, to discuss two plans to cut administrative/ support staff as a way to keep the budget in line. Option B called for the district secretary position to be eliminated through retirement and the superintendent […]
Council discusses shabby buildings and roadside parking
Grand Marais Mayor Larry “Bear” Carlson told city councilors April 27 that he has been getting comments and complaints about the general run-down and shabby appearance of some businesses and asked what could be done about it. “This is a tourist town, and people think we should look better than we do,” Carlson said. He asked Roth if there was […]
Still waiting for snowbirds
I guess I will have to order some flowers to be delivered to my snowbird mom for Mother’s Day. She is not expected home for almost another month. People have begun to ask me, “Are your folks back yet?” or “When will your folks be back?” I sigh and sadly reply, “Not until June.” It is really selfish of me […]
Excited about community center plans
As a mother of a young family and a citizen of Cook County I am extremely excited about the building of a new community center. To have a new energy efficient facility to bring my family to swim, play in the gymnasium, work out or take a yoga class and create the foundation of good healthy living habits is very […]
Good intentions may lead to bad decisions
Some one smarter than me said, “Good hearts with wrong priorities often make bad decisions.” The financial condition of our federal government is in serious trouble. We have nearly maxed out our federal credit card. As many citizens have learned, that results in higher interest rates at best and a loss of credit at worst. Since about two-thirds of our […]