During the public comment period of the Cook County North Shore Hospital Board meeting on January 19, 2012, Tod Sylvester of Grand Marais addressed the hospital board to express concern about the treatment of his mother, who died November 11, 2011 at the North Shore Care Center. Sylvester first stated, “There are a lot of great employees at the hospital […]

With ISD 166’s financial adviser recommending that the district avoid dipping into its fund balance any lower than the equivalent of 20 days of operation and the school heading that direction very quickly, the school board looked at budget reduction options at its January 17, 2012 regular meeting. Two potential budget reductions could lop a lot out of the budget, […]

When Minnesota became a state in 1858, the federal government gave it sections 16 and 36 of every township, or their equivalent, so that the state could use the natural resources on that land to help pay for public education. This is known as school trust land. What should be done when some of those sections end up in a […]

Lofty goals are afoot in Cook County. On January 24, 2012, Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) initiator George Wilkes, along with new half-time CCLEP coordinator Virginia Danfelt, presented to the county board a draft of a Cook County energy plan that could create jobs and keep energy dollars in the local economy, buffer the community from unstable energy supplies […]

Everyone is invited to a see the film Precious Waters — a documentary which explores the issue of proposed sulfide mining in northeast Minnesota. The film is about 26 minutes long and has interviews with people affected by this issue and experts on the probable environmental effects on the surrounding ecosystem, which includes portions of the BWCA and its watershed. […]