New contract for city employees
The city’s union employees have a new contract. Grand Marais City Council approved the terms of a two-year deal at their April 9 meeting. Union members approved the contract the following morning. Mayor Larry Carlson, who participated in the negotiation process, said he was confident the union would approve the tentative agreement councilors reviewed at their meeting. “We ultimately agreed […]
County Attorney indictment stands, case to go to trial
St. Louis County District Court Judge Shaun Floerke heard arguments from defense and prosecution attorneys on March 27, regarding the grand jury indictment of Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell on two felony charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. On April 11, 2014, Floerke issued a ruling—the indictment stands and the matter will proceed to trial. Scannell has been in the […]
County vehicle fleet evaluated
At the Tuesday, April 15, 2014 county board meeting, Maintenance Director Brian Silence brought forward a proposal for installation of security systems at the highway department and the community center. The proposal brought questions of whether or not the county had budgeted for this expense. An estimate for the work from Northstar Cabling & Communications was in the board packet, […]
Highway 61 shut down by flood of snow and ice
In perhaps a harbinger of the coming spring thaw, a creek near Outpost Motel in Colvill broke loose at about 8:00 p.m. on April 10, flooding Highway 61 and carrying huge ice chunks. The water and ice blocked traffic for about an hour. Nearby resident Jerry Hiniker said the heavy slush and ice was about a foot deep and covered […]
A fulfilling dirty job
This issue of the Cook County News-Herald will be in readers’ mailboxes and on the newsstand the week of Earth Day, April 22. So Earth Day seemed to be a fitting topic for this week’s Unorganized Territory. I’ve written about the global celebration in the past, so I thought I’d do a little research about the day, to try to […]
Commissioners should pay attention to declining golf numbers
There have been a number of articles in recent months about the continued decline in the number of golfers and the number of rounds played. These articles repeat what the National Golf Foundation has been saying—and what I think our county leaders are ignoring. It simply does not make sense to continue to pour tax dollars (regardless of the source) […]
Think of Earth Day and energy choices
In this week’s paper is the Energy Matters tabloid, a collaboration between Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) and the Cook County News-Herald (CCNH). The purpose of this effort is to focus on local energy use and conservation in practical ways. The publication coincides with Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22. It is a day set aside to reflect on […]
Cook County welcomes new information systems director
Rena Rogers, newly hired director of information systems and communications director, came before the Cook County board with a brief report on Tuesday, April 8, 2014. “I have been very welcomed here by everyone, by the commissioners, the staff and others that I met. I have an outstanding staff of four really competent, hard working guys. “My first impression having […]