County Attorney Tim Scannell charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct



Thomas B. Heffelfinger, the special prosecutor assigned to review the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigation of County Attorney Tim Scannell, appeared at a press conference on the Cook County courthouse steps on Thursday, October 31. Joining Heffelfinger was Senior Special Agent Sue Burggraf of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a crowd of journalists from regional media outlets and […]

YMCA contingency fund dwindles



The county board voted October 28, 2013 to spend $12,450 of the Cook County Community YMCA construction contingency funds for a heavy-duty moisture seal for the new gym floor, but some of them were not very happy about it. County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers told the board that in a meeting with the architects and ORB, the county’s owners’ rep, he […]

Insurance uncertainties plaguing hospital



Cook County North Shore Hospital & Care Center Administrator Kimber Wraalstad is still tussling with Blue Cross Blue Shield over the new payment coding system the company is requiring as of January 1. She told the hospital board on October 24, 2014 that the system the company is proposing would put the hospital at financial risk. Wraalstad said she sent […]

Bruce and Sue Kerfoot of Gunflint Lodge inducted into Hospitality Hall of Fame



The Minnesota Resort & Campground Association has inducted Bruce and Sue Kerfoot of Gunflint Lodge into its Hospitality Hall of Fame. They were honored during the MRCA’s Fall Conference Oct. 22 at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa. The Hospitality Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Minnesota’s resort and campground industry and are […]

Fall Back



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Swept up by storms



Although part of me likes the idea of a weekend with no events to attend and dreads yet another “big” weekend in Cook County, I am intrigued with a new idea concocted to bring visitors up the North Shore—the Lake Superior Storm Festival. The Cook County Visitors Bureau has come up with a delightful scheme to turn a negative into […]

Sales tax is not a fair tax



Re: Terrell letter on fair tax Why do people keep saying the sales tax is a fair tax? There are items every person must buy such as food. That letter states that prices will remain the same even if “shelf prices include taxes.” We already pay state sales taxes on some items. When these items are purchased the sales slip […]

Government gone mad



I’m sure most of you people have been watching history unfold in Washington, D.C. these last weeks. It’s disturbing on levels our parents didn’t even think about. Over 50 billion dollars of our money given away this year by the State Department to foreign countries. Several millions of your dollars spent on Obamacare and it doesn’t work. Countless people have […]

Soil & Water applies for next big Poplar River grant



Numerous sediment reduction projects on the Poplar River funded by a large Great Lakes Commission grant in 2010 are being completed this fall while Cook County Soil & Water Conservation District staff wait to hear on the next round of funding. Numerous projects not planned when the grant application was submitted are being done because the first set of projects […]