Change in election line-up for county commissioner
Although the voters in Cook County Commissioner District 2 will see three names on their ballots in the primary election on August 14, only two of those citizens are still candidates. Kelly Swearingen of Grand Marais has withdrawn from the race. Reached by telephone, Swearingen confirmed that she had decided not to seek election. Swearingen said the decision was not […]
Howard Joynes, patriarch of Joynes Department Store, will be missed
The community gathered for memorial services for Howard Joynes on Wednesday, July 18, 2012, and of course, stories were shared about the community leader who oversaw operations at Joynes Department Store and Ben Franklin for over 70 years. The stories however do not end there—everyone, Cook County resident or visitor to Grand Marais—seems to have a memory of the helpful […]
County commits funding for zip line on Gunflint Trail in Grand Marais
A new zip line with a big view of Lake Superior looks like a go. After asking a lot of questions and with the full support of two businessmen on the Cook County Revolving Loan Fund Committee, the county board agreed on June 17, 2012 to write a letter committing $250,000 from the Revolving Loan Fund for Matt Geretschlaeger and […]
Community center plans must be downsized to meet $9.5 million budget
In the third meeting in two days, on Friday, July 13, the Cook County Community Center Steering Committee got down to what may be the most difficult part of the community center planning—determining what goes and what stays in the community center proposal to stay within the $9.5 million budgeted by the county board. The steering committee got a lot […]
Renovating the bomb shelter
I’ve been spending quite a bit of time at the School District 166 campus recently, as the Cook County Community Center Steering Committee and the ISD 166 school board grapple with the details of attaching a new community center facility to the west end of the school building. As the pros and cons are being discussed, my mind occasionally wanders […]
Clean Water Act protects our beaches
With this hot summer weather, you can bet many Minnesotans are flocking to North Shore beaches along the beautiful Lake Superior. I was concerned in a recent annual water quality report (Testing the Waters 2012 by NDRC) that the number of beach closings on the North Shore doubled from 61 days to 121 days this year. However, I was relieved […]
Biomass Committee not starry-eyed, still studying
In response to Vilnis Neilands’ letter of last week: Since I am the co-chair of the Biomass Steering Committee, I suppose I might be one of the drivers of the “party bus steered by the starryeyed.” However, I’m sorry to report, it’s really not as fun as Mr. Neilands describes. Neilands’ letter vaguely suggests that the Grand Marais PUC is […]