As a proposed Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wolf hunt opens in Minnesota to thin the burgeoning wolf population, two wildlife scientists from Michigan Tech are advocating for more wolves to be brought to Isle Royale to bolster the wolf pack— now down to a population of nine with only one female in the mix— to stave off extinction at […]
Council tables vote on zip line rezoning request
The developers of a West Highway 61 parcel were given until mid-June to persuade adjacent property owners that their plan to rezone 21 acres from Permanent Residential to Recreational Commercial is the best use of the site. That was the decision of Grand Marais city councilors March 14 when they tabled a vote on the proposal which, if ultimately approved, […]
Seeking security at the courthouse
What should the price of security be—or the cost for peace of mind? What amount of security should the county try to provide for its employees? On March 20, 2012, in light of the December 15, 2011 shootings at the courthouse, the county board authorized an expenditure of $29,400 for the installation of a bullet resistant glass enclosure outside the […]
School considers reducing school year by 15 days
In an effort to reduce the budget in light of declining enrollment and uncertain funding, School Superintendent Beth Schwarz proposed to the ISD 166 school board on March 15 that they consider reducing the 2012-13 academic calendar by 15 instructional days, saving $85,000 in the process. About $20,000 of this would come from savings in fuel and bus driver pay […]
White works of art
Back in February I wrote a column about a historic January phenomenon, the White Sale. It was a somewhat silly Unorganized Territory, mainly about shopping. But as is sometimes the case, I got more feedback on that column than many others on more serious subjects. A lot of people remember getting good deals on sheets, blankets or comforters during White […]
Churches have the right to impose their own moral code
I am writing in reference to a letter from Geri Jenson printed in the March 10 Cook County News-Herald. Though I didn’t agree with her, I found it a persuasive, well-written, and impassioned argument on the latest church/state controversy. I read it and moved on, but it keeps coming back to mind. Her anecdote concerning the problems she had at […]
West Bearskin Lake property owners protect the lake
In the March 10, 2012, Tails from the Trail by Cory Christianson, he wrote about the Cook County Ridge Riders’ upcoming trout derby and stated that “some of the cabin owners on West Bearskin Lake had registered their complaints/concerns about the event being held on ‘their lake’ in the past” and then suggested the owners were trying to preserve the […]
Where is community in community center proposal?
Did you look at the 1 percent sales tax proposals before the November 2010 vote? The county’s website provided links to the various proposals. Each project had written descriptions and/or drawings except the community center site, which had nothing on it but useless landscape sketches which represented none of the plans that were later revealed. The 1 percent sales tax […]