The finishing touches are frantically being completed as the Cook County Community YMCA prepares for its grand opening on Saturday, January 4, 2014 from 1 – 4 p.m. Amid the hustle and bustle of construction and cleanup, friendly YMCA staff members are standing by, ready to sign up members and to talk about the wide array of programs available for […]
Hospital board finalizes levy amidst concerns from constituents
Community member Lloyd Speck appealed to the Cook County North Shore Hospital board on December 19, 2013 to keep its levy as low as possible and to be cautious as it considers a multi-million dollar renovation project. “The bottom line is can we afford it or can’t we?” he asked. The board was preparing to finalize its levy for 2014. […]
Debate continues on amount of rent Birch Grove school pays
A plea for support of the Birch Grove Community School turned into a somewhat contentious discussion at the December 12, 2013 Tofte Township board meeting. At issue was whether the school should pay more rent to the Birch Grove Foundation than it gets in “lease aid” from the state, which is based on the number of students. The number of […]
Grand Marais entrance sign to be repaired
The Grand Marais entrance sign that was KO’ed by a truck in August will be back on its feet in the coming months after city councilors approved a bid to repair the rock cairn structure on the northeast corner of the Gunflint Trail and Highway 61 Dec. 18. At a cost of just under $9,000, Superior Sign Works of Lutsen […]
Remember how legislators voted on Second Amendment
With elections coming up in 2014, let’s not forget how politicians voted on your behalf. According to www.senate.gov voting on the Inhofe Amendment #139, “To uphold Second Amendment rights and prevent the United States from entering into the UN Arms Trade Treaty,” your senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar voted against this. They wanted this amendment to fail. They wanted […]
Dreaming of a White Christmas?
A recent Christmas program on PBS featured a production from the Mormon Temple on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. The thousand-member Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Mormon orchestra, plus various soloists, dancers, children and audience put on a performance which to my point of view had nothing to do with the real Christmas, the birth of a child […]
Environmentalists should be concerned about trails inside the BWCAW
I am writing about the snowmobile trail controversy at the vicinity of South Fowl Lake. The environmentalists are missing the boat. There is a more looming threat to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and to its visitors that we should be concerned about. Thirty-five years ago, the legislature passed the “BWCA Wilderness Act of 1978.” Following that passage, the […]
To tree or not to tree
Christmas is over as this issue of the Cook County News-Herald hits newsstands, but as I write this Unorganized Territory, it is the night before Christmas Eve. And I’m trying not to think of all the things I didn’t get done this holiday season. Christmas baking, Christmas cards, and at the top of the list—the Christmas tree. We didn’t find […]
Solbakken Resort all decked out for Christmas
What is it like to go from the routine of getting up at 3 a.m. to milk 550 dairy cows to accommodating the diverse needs of vacationers— shuttling guests to Lutsen Mountains, loaning out cross country skis, getting people set up on snowshoes, arranging dog sled rides and grooming snowmobile trails? David and Shawn Howe bought Solbakken Resort on Superior […]