On Tuesday, Feb. 5, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic announced that its long time Chief Executive Officer Rita Plourde will be retiring and that the Executive Committee of its board of directors has begun recruitment of her successor. Plourde will step down as executive director sometime in the summer of 2019 as she manages the transition to her replacement. The retirement announcement […]
First & Second Thrift Store payout sets a new record
“This has been a record-setting year,” said Cook County Senior Center Director Bev Green as she addressed a roomful of enthusiastic people who attended the First & Second Thrift Store Payout Party held at 1 p.m. in the Senior Center on Wednesday, February 6. Thirty-seven Cook County nonprofits received a total of $89,402 from 2018 sales at First & Second, […]
Wahlers, Backstrom, Surbaugh qualify for state, girls’ team also qualifies
On Tuesday, Feb. 5 Reilly Wahlers and Sela Backstrom continued their excellent senior ski seasons by qualifying for the state meet as individuals and helped lead their team to a second place and a state qualifying finish. Reilly finished second at the Section 7 Alpine girls’ championship held at Giants Ridge on Tuesday, Feb. 5, while Sela placed 12th. Only […]
A look back at 2018 in Cook County Public Health and Human Services
Cook County Child Protection reports were up slightly from 2017, but over the last three years the numbers of reports of child maltreatment has remained steady. That was just some of the interesting news coming from the January 15, 2019 Public Health and Human Services board meeting when Public Health and Human Services Director Alison McIntyre presented a 2018 year […]
Please remove all snow from around your mailbox
Now that Polar Vortex Jayden has moved on and we are headed for a brief warm up, we need our customers’ help. Postal carriers have suffered serious injuries related to slips, trips and falls due to icy and snow covered walkways and porch steps. Preventing a slip or bad fall can be as easy as putting down salt or sand […]
Injured Humanity-Part 2
Many of the same people who–in retrospect–decry the evils of slavery, are willing– in the present–to justify the deeply disturbing procedures associated with abortion and dismemberment. While virtually everyone agrees that slavery is inhumane, degrading and morally wrong, throughout much of history scores of people vehemently defended it, advancing arguments in efforts to justify the barbaric practice of enslaving fellow […]
We must stop the political do-over on the Twin Metals mine
As I See It(This article first appeared in Minneapolis Star Tribune. It is being reprinted with the author’s permission.) Brenda Halter I remember the day the Mount Polley mine failed. Mount Polley is a copper and gold mine in British Columbia, and on Aug. 4, 2014, a tailings basin dam catastrophically failed. Four short days later, the nearly 1,000-acre tailings basin was largely […]
Mary Ellen Ashcroft bares her soul in OMG
OMG is a wise and wonderful book. It is also a courageous and challenging one. In it, Grand Marais mother, grandmother, teacher, wilderness guide, writer, and Episcopal priest Mary Ellen Ashcroft weaves together two distinct, interconnected stories. The first story is her own, in which Ashcroft presents the story of a fascinating life well lived. In a series of short […]
The Churchy Type
I run into some folks from time to time that I get into great discussions with about this topic or that. They’ve thought deeply about life and sometimes the shape of eternity. I’ll say, “Hey, why don’t you come to worship on Sunday, my message this week is about this very thing…etc.” A few of them have shown up, a […]