Sawtooth Mountain Clinic offers sliding scale for fees



For the 36th year, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic will be offering its Primary Care Sliding Fee Scale Program. The program is made possible through a grant to the clinic from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Who May Apply for Sliding Scale? . Patients at the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic whose income is within the federal income guidelines, regardless of […]

It’s official— Tofte housing project will wait for legislation



On June 18, the Tofte Town Board met and elected to adjust the timeline for completion of the Birch Grove Village Senior Housing Project. The goal was to have six twin patio homes up and ready for rent by fall, but a special bill crafted by Representative Dave Dill and Senator Tom Bakk that would have given the town of […]

Cook County District Court will offer eFiling and eService



On July 1, Cook County joined 10 other counties in a pilot project that mandates or offers eFiling and eServices to its residents. Attorneys, government agencies, and guardian ad-litems will electronically file and serve documents in all court cases filed in all of the 11 counties. The goal of eCourtMN is to make the state’s court system more accessible, more […]

Bautch gravel pit gets county board okay



After a sometimes-contentious process, Stan Bautch received a conditional use permit on Tuesday, June 23 to operate his 55.3-acre gravel pit off the Meridian Road in Grand Marais. Bautch’s conditional use permit, originally approved in 1995, had been revoked in May 2015 because of several stormwater and open space concerns. However, Zoning Administrator Bill Lane said the Office of Planning […]

Pickup and dump truck collide on Tom Lake Road



A dump truck and passenger vehicle collided on a narrow section of road in the Hovland area on June 18. Although both vehicles were severely damaged, there were no serious injuries. Charles Jason Irvin, 37, of Hovland was driving a 1994 International 9200 Series southbound and Christopher John Kartak, 22, from Chaska was driving a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado northbound when […]

Busy month for Cook County Search and Rescue



The month of June was very busy for Cook County Search and Rescue personnel with four calls to remote areas. Cook County Law Enforcement received an emergency message at 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, from a group of hikers about a member of their church group lost on the Superior Hiking Trail near Britton Peak in Tofte. Tofte and […]

Forest Service allocates funds for replacement of 600 Road bridge



The Superior National Forest, U.S. Forest Service, will soon replace the bridge on the 600 Road (Forest Road 166) that crosses the Temperance River near the Sawbill Trail in Tofte. This bridge, also known locally as the Pink Bridge, has been monitored by Superior National Forest engineers for years and in 2014 it was determined that the bridge was no […]

“Pedal to the metal” for new records at Lutsen 99er



With sunny skies, clear trails, and temperatures that didn’t exceed 75 degrees, some 1,500 mountain bikers had a glorious day to compete in one of three races held at Lutsen Mountains on June 27. So glorious in fact that records were broken in all three races. Winning the 99-mile race was Steve Tilford in 5:3644. Tilford took 16 minutes off […]

Crazy for Candy



I have always had a sweet tooth. My grandma would make fresh bread and I would put butter and sugar on it until it was crunchy. Yum. Even my tea had several teaspoons of sugar to cut the taste of caffeine. My mom would buy sugarless cereal but when she wasn’t looking I would pour the sugar into the bowl […]

Dairy Queen employees advance in “Top Curl” competition



Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, Beethoven scored the Fifth Symphony, Einstein created the Theory of Relativity and Olfson makes a perfect curl on top of a 7-ounce Dairy Queen cone. It’s true. Emma Olfson beat out seven other co-workers to win the “Top Curl” competition held at the Grand Marais Dairy Queen on June 25. The morning of the […]