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Candidate pool grows as deadline to file nears



The period to file as a candidate for county offices in 2014 is open for a few more days, until Tuesday, June 3. As of Wednesday, May 28, nearly every space on the ballot had at least one candidate. The most hotly contested race is County Commissioner District 1, in which five candidates have filed—John W. Bockovich, Steve Fleace, and […]

Hospital board okays value statement and patient portal



The 31-member Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center Value Statement Taskforce has spent the last couple of months meeting and working on identifying and creating value statements that reflect the organizational mission of the hospital/care center, and their work is now complete. “The Value Statement (VS) Taskforce recommend the adoption of the following Value Statements for CCHN and […]

Rumble strips back in the county board’s hearing



Cook County commissioners tackled a number of topics at the Tuesday, May 27, 2014 board meeting, starting with a discussion they thought had been taken care of last fall—rumble strips. John Gorski, a resident of Grand Marais and a Hovland property owner, approached the board during the public comment period, asking the commissioners to “finish the work you started last […]

Pavement work on Gunflint Trail to begin June 2



The $2 million bituminous replacement project on the Gunflint Trail (CSAH 12) is scheduled to begin the week of June 2, 2014. It is anticipated that it will be completed in early August, the Cook County Highway Department announced on May 28. Ulland Brothers of Cloquet, Minnesota, will be the contractor for the 4.8-mile project, which runs from Fox Ridge […]

Cook County to test CodeRed emergency notification June 4



Cook County will be testing the CodeRed community emergency notification system on Wednesday, June 4 at approximately 1 p.m. During the test those who have signed up for the CodeRed program will get a brief message stating that this is a test and number 866- 419-5000 will appear on caller ID. Cook County has partnered with CodeRED to provide the […]

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A rite of passage for parents




I try really hard not to repeat myself in Unorganized Territory. I’ve written this column every week since October 9, 1999, so there have been times when similar ideas have been expressed. But I’ve never intentionally run the exact same thoughts on the exact same topic. But I’ve come close with the column I’ve written for parents of graduating seniors […]

Cook County can’t be Rock County



Regarding the May 24, 2014 Unorganized Territory about a name change for Cook County by Rhonda Silence. There already is a Rock County in Minnesota, which has Luverne as the county seat. Judge Sandvik, who chambered in Grand Marais before Judge Cuzzo, was from Rock County and said that Rock County was the only county in Minnesota that didn’t have […]

Where were the concerned citizens?



I recently attended the open house hosted by the Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority and the Cook County Chamber of Commerce, where the community was invited in to contribute their thoughts on the work these two groups have been doing. Various board members were present with nice displays explaining some new projects, and listening to suggestions and concerns from […]