Is minimum wage necessary?



This is one of the issues that millions of Americans vote on with their hearts and not their heads. It’s really difficult to win an argument with facts and figures and deep economic analysis when all your opponent has to do is make some grand statement about hard-working people and their poor deprived dependents. Intellectually, most everyone knows that it’s […]

Let climate change panic drop



I was so hoping locals would let the topic of climate change drop. The almost panic concerning climate change is not accomplishing anything but causing extra worry. The primary concern I have is the statement “yes, electricity might cost more but would be offset by a rebate from the government.” They have to be kidding. Any money that goes through […]

A bit of blarney




The last few weeks of Unorganized Territory have been filled with thoughts on the financial challenges facing our local school board, on the possibility of a Dollar General store coming to Cook County and about the contentious national political process under way. Lest anyone take anything I write from my bully pulpit too seriously, I thought I’d lighten up a […]

Grand Marais mayor joins statewide transportation caucus



Grand Marais Mayor Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux has joined with 30 other mayors from Greater Minnesota and suburban communities as a member of a mayoral caucus designed to give increased visibility to the importance of safer and better transportation infrastructure for pedestrians and bicyclists throughout Minnesota. Known as the Minnesota Mayor Active Transportation Caucus, the informal group was formed to help […]

Weekly Weather



Doing all the work



Sometimes I find myself sitting quietly and staring off into space. It’s not that there aren’t a million and one things to do to keep me busy. It’s not that I’m just being lazy or bored. It’s that I get a little bit overwhelmed. Okay, I get more than a little bit overwhelmed. In moments like these, I hear myself […]

Dorothy Celia Mattson



Dorothy Celia Mattson of Thunder Bay went to meet her Savior on March 2, 2016. She resided at Pinewood Court after suffering a stroke in 2011. Dorothy was born on November 27, 1929, in Duluth, to Adolph and Cecelia Everson. She was raised on Maple Hill in Grand Marais, and was the fourth of 10 children. Dorothy married Jerome Donek […]

Grand Portage Elders enjoy “chatting and visiting”



The Grand Portage Elder Nutrition Program (ENP) has enjoyed hosting weekly “Chat & Visit” with the Elders and all students from Oshki Ogimaag Charter School. The children have been attentive and enjoy asking interesting questions about what it was like to grow up in Grand Portage when the Elders were their age. The boys seemed to be very interested in […]

Historical Reflections



Down Memory Lane



10 YEARS AGO MARCH 17, 2006 The gypsy moth has arrived in Cook County – not in huge numbers yet, but enough have been trapped to raise a red flag in offices in St. Paul and Washington, D.C. As a result, both the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources, as well as the U.S. Forest Service, […]