Situated on the harbor of Lake Superior in Grand Marais, the tranquil setting for North House Folk School couldn’t be more beautiful or better suited for the vision of the school. Following another record-setting year, North House Folk School Director Greg Wright sat down with the Cook County News-Herald and answered some questions about the folk school. Students in every […]
Thunder Bay woman found dead at Lutsen Mountains
On the evening of April 5, 2015 the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office received a call from a Thunder Bay woman reporting that her adult daughter had not returned home as expected after a day of snowboarding at Lutsen Mountains. The next day her daughter, Andrea Matyuska, 32, also of Thunder Bay, was found deceased on the Moose Access trail […]
Public concerned about potential cuts to non-mandated funding
County Commissioner Garry Gamble thanked the large crowd gathered at the Cook County Community Center on Thursday, April 2 and began to explain the process the county board is undergoing to set up an equitable approach to distributing financial support to the various nonprofit groups that the county has funded—in many cases— for years. There was some confusion in the […]
Former county attorney has law license suspended
On April 1, the Minnesota Supreme Court suspended former Cook County prosecutor Tim Scannell’s license to practice law in the state. On July 25, 2014 Scannell was convicted of two counts of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct for his inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old girl in 2012. The attorney general appointed a special prosecutor, Thomas Heffelfinger, to pursue the case […]
Fun in the mud
I have a love-hate relationship with mud. Mud is a sign of spring, of warmer weather and the coming greening of the woods around my house. When I’m wearing work clothes and mud boots, I love splashing through puddles. I enjoy clearing deadfall out of the creek by our house each spring, sometimes sinking ankle deep in mud. It makes […]
Moose expert should move on
I read an article about moose studies by Joseph Friedrichs in the Northern Wilds publication. I see that Glenn D. DelGiudice, the moose expert, plans to kill another 50 or so moose again this spring. I don’t understand how killing off the moose calves each year can create a bigger herd? There is a similar situation in Africa with the […]
Franken works to cut waiting times at VA
We know that the battles for returning veterans in Minnesota and across the country don’t always end when they get home. Too many return with mental and physical disabilities that they sustained while protecting our freedoms. All that veterans expect in return for their service is for us to keep our promises and get them the Veterans Administration benefits they’ve […]
Spearing fish should not be allowed in springtime
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is planning to spear spawning walleyes this spring. Cook County lakes include Four Mile, Caribou, Tait and Pike so far. Lakes in St. Louis County include Cadotte and east Vermilion. How ironic that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be live capturing and stripping walleye eggs in Vermilion for […]
Is it time to change U.S. tax structure?
On February 20, I sent the following letter to every member in Congress. Of the 535 letters, there were only three answers, a couple of which were actually on topic. Granted, only three of the recipients were under any kind of an obligation to me as a constituent. Those three are Tim Walz, Minnesota District 1 and my two senators, […]