Anticipation and excitement were high for the 107th high school graduation to take place at Cook County High School on Saturday, June 3. Before the 37 graduates received their diplomas from Superintendent Dr. William Crandall and threw their graduation caps high in the air in celebration, they got some good advice from several people. Principal Adam Nelson welcomed the class […]
Deschampe wins special election
Robert (Bobby) Deschampe won the special election for the District One Cook County commissioner seat over James (Jim) Vannet, 254 votes to 148. The polls closed at 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6. Deschampe received more votes than Vannet in all three precincts. In precinct one, Grand Portage, Bobby tallied 107 votes to Vannet’s 20. In precinct two, Hovland, Deschampe […]
Nolan drops bid to run for governor; Hakes drops potential candidacy for Congress
U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL) announced on Friday, June 2 that he would forego a run for Minnesota governor. Instead, he will seek another term in Congress. Nolan had dangled out the prospect of a run several months ago after current governor Mark Dayton made it clear that he wouldn’t seek re-election. Sue Hakes, former mayor of Grand Marais and […]
Chamber celebrates goals achieved in 2017 session of Minnesota Legislature
Despite a chaotic 2017 session of the Minnesota Legislature, when the dust settled it became clear that progress had been made on most priorities of the Cook County Chamber of Commerce, said Jim Boyd, chamber executive director, at the conclusion of the session. “Because of excellent work by our representative in St. Paul, Judy Erickson, and dedicated, tenacious effort by […]
Public Servant
Look up “public servant” in the dictionary and I’m pretty sure you’ll find a picture of Diane Booth. I’m not kidding! And while I certainly don’t intend to offend anyone, I maintain, pound for pound, ounce for ounce, we get more out of this self-giving woman than anyone else I’ve had the privilege to work with in Cook County. Having […]
School chess tournament a big success
The elementary and middle school classes of Amanda Barras and Sue Nelson spent the 2016/17 school year playing chess, coached by a recent graduate: me. At the end of the year, we organized a tournament of the groups, along with teacher Jana Larson, and helper; Jeff Kern and Mike Carlson. The participants all received Blizzard coupons provided by Dairy Queen. […]
Keep our backcountry beautiful
Lutsen Mountain Corporation’s (LMC) expansion plan is wrong for the North Shore. Expansion onto public lands is not in the public interest and is out of step with industry trends. . Overall Alpine Ski participation is on a steady long-term decline while the sectors of Freestyle and Backcountry Skiing are showing sustained growth. Increasing our intermediate alpine terrain will not […]
Klobuchar, Cornyn introduce bipartisan legislation to strengthen and reauthorize key anti-human trafficking measures
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Cornyn (R-TX) have introduced the Abolish Human Trafficking Act, which strengthens and reauthorizes key programs that support survivors of human trafficking and provide resources to federal, state, and local law enforcement officials on the front lines of the fight against modern-day slavery. “Over the past year, we’ve seen a significant increase in the […]
Don’t forget Vacation Bible school!
Vacation Bible School will be hosted at Bethlehem Lutheran Church from June 12-16 for ages 3 through 5th grade. Classes run from 9 a.m. to noon. Older children are encouraged to help. At Maker Fun Factory, kids discover that God made them – and for a purpose! Kids participate in memorable Bible-learning activities, sing catchy songs, play teamwork-building games, make […]