I was saving and saving an idea for a column for Earth Day. Then Earth Day came and went and I forgot that I was going to write a column about an environmental pet peeve. So I’m writing a somewhat belated Earth Day Unorganized Territory this week, because if I don’t write it now, I won’t remember my complaint next […]
SFC Michael Ross on “route clearance” in Afghanistan
Mike Ross graduated from Cook County High School in 1989, not sure what to do with his life. He knew he wasn’t ready for college and he was looking for some adventure. He found it by enlisting in the U.S. Army. Ross joined the Army in the fall of 1989 and served for four and a half years as a […]
Sexual assault awareness: empowering families and communities
Cook County is not exempt from sexual violence. Sexual assault refers to all forms of forced sexual contact—isolated or recurrent. It happens in Cook County as well as everywhere else in the world. For many, “rape” or “sexual assault” conjures a weaponwielding stranger in a dark alley, but survivors of sexual assault report that, more often than not, they knew […]
Dr. Alfred Healy
Dr. Alfred Healy, 77, died peacefully in Grand Marais on Thursday morning, April 19, 2012. Dr. Healy, along with his wife Janet, had recently moved to Grand Marais to call the North Shore home. Alfred (Al) Healy was born October 27, 1934 in Streator, Illinois. He received a BA in physical education from the University of Notre Dame in 1956. […]
Making friends with the slippery slope
Sometimes when I’m driving I switch on conservative talk radio. What intrigues me most on these stations is the fear. According to this subculture’s world view—we live in a very scary world, full of conspiracy, of evil cloaked as good, of impending doom. Interwoven with the sense of this evil “now” is nostalgia for the “good old days” when the […]
Look before you leap to the garbage can with your new PUC bill
Your May PUC bill is going to be due on the 26th, but it’s going to look different, so don’t throw it away! Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Utility Administrative Specialist Jan Smith said, “My biggest fear is that some people are going to throw their first bill away because it’s coming in an envelope.” The new format will […]
Wanted: Lake monitors
Do you live near a lake or stream in Minnesota, or visit one regularly? If so, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) could use your help along with more than 1,500 Minnesotans who track the health of their favorite lake or stream through the Citizen Lake or Citizen Stream Monitoring Programs. Volunteers measure water clarity in their lake or stream […]
Cook County parcels among 12 offered for sale by DNR
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will offer 12 parcels of land for sale at public auction May 30 at 11 a.m. in the DNR’s central office, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. Parcels are located in the northern portion of the state including Aitkin, Crow Wing, Cook, Hubbard and St. Louis counties. While some […]