USSA Alpine Racing at Lutsen Mountains



At 7:00 a.m. on January 19, nine Lutsen skiers made their way through the early morning darkness down the access trail, across the Poplar River to catch the chairlift, take a couple free runs and be on time for course inspection. With snow still falling and 8’’ of fresh powder already on the ground anticipation was high with everyone wondering […]

Hard-fought losses for Viking boys basketball



It was a tough weekend of basketball for the Viking boys’ basketball team as they dropped a hard-fought contest 57-47 to the Polar League’s first place team, the Moose Lake/ Willow River Warriors, at home on Friday, January 18, and then the next day traveled to Ely to face the 10-1 Lumberjacks and lost 47-31. Against Moose Lake the Vikings […]

Thoughts on school safety



The main storyline from the recent school shooting in Connecticut has quickly settled into the well-worn groove of the national gun control debate, with political actors on both sides of the issue reframing their positions in light of this most recent tragedy. Some celebrate New York’s further restrictions on the availability of certain guns and extended gunfree zones, while others […]

Vikings end long week of basketball



Four games in six days were too much for the girls’ varsity basketball team. On Monday, January 15 they traveled to Cherry and lost 61-46 in overtime. The next day the players boarded another bus and went to Cromwell and lost by 5 points to a team they had beaten earlier. On Friday they squared off against the Moose Lake/ […]

Dupre makes it to 14K camp on Denali



As he makes his way to the 20,320-foot summit of Mount Denali, North America’s highest point, Grand Marais explorer/adventurer Lonnie Dupre was hoping the deep snow that plagued him early in his journey would end at about 11,000 feet. But so far, it’s been slow going as he has had to battle deeper snow then usual. On Sunday, January 20, […]

Public hearing on update of threatened and endangered species list



Citizens interested in possible changes to the state list of endangered, threatened and special concern species should attend a public input session before an administrative law judge at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, February 6, 2013, at the Gitchee Gumee Conference Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Continent Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Boulevard, Duluth, Minnesota. Minnesota’s threatened and endangered species law was […]

Deep freeze



Brrrr! The temperatures have not been above zero for a few days now and it is downright cold out there. In the 10 minutes it took me to fill the outdoor boiler with firewood my exposed cheeks started to burn. I am talking about the cheeks on my face of course. Neither of our two vehicles wanted to start Monday […]

Where are the fish biting?



Jon from Buck’s Hardware, who provides angling information for the Cook County News-Herald took part in the 2013 Ice Fishing Extravaganza on Gull Lake in Brainerd. Jon writes: “I’ve just blown in from the Ice Fishing Extravaganza on Gull Lake. With 30 to 35 mph sustained winds the enjoyment was blown right out of me. Anything that wasn’t anchored down […]

Conservation Officer Tales



Although the Cook County News-Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are law-abiding folks, there are a few that run afoul of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officers. Periodically, the DNR provides a report of some of the miscreants the Conservation Officers (CO) have encountered. The News-Herald shares these stories as a reminder to all […]

Gervais rocks, curls past milestone



For the past 50 years Ron Gervais Sr. has spent his winters indoors on ice mastering the sport of curling. He figures he has driven his car the equivalent of around the world three or four times. “I’ve got it all written down in my journals. The first four of five years I only kept track of whether I won […]