Memorial Service held inside at Grandma Ray’s
Instead of assembling on the courthouse lawn in the brisk cool rain American Legion Post 413 asked members of the public to gather inside the warm, friendly confines of Grandma Ray’s to hold the annual Memorial Day observation. Once the word got out, it didn’t take long to fill up the place for the 11 a.m. start of the ceremonies. […]
County orders Seth Jeffs to halt construction on Pike Lake property
A temporary cease and desist order was issued by the county this past week to Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) leader Seth Jeffs asking him to halt construction on his 40-acre Pike Lake property. The order came from Cook County Land Services after they conducted a site visit to the property where they noted the following […]
Isle Royale wolf population update
In late March, the NPS discovered a translocated wolf ’s GPS collar transmitting a mortality mode signal. The wolf (W006M) was a black-coated male translocated to the park from Ontario, Canada, in late February. NPS personnel, unable to access the island, had to wait until the park reopened for the 2019 season to investigate. The wolf was located in the […]
Hospital board receives 2018 financial audit report
Darryn McGarvey of CliftonLarsonAllen came before the North Shore Health hospital board on May 23 with a 2018 financial audit. “Darryn didn’t have any recommendations as a result of the audit,” said North Shore Hospital administrator Kimber Wraalstad. “We had an unqualified audit opinion and did not have any auditor proposed adjustments. It was a good audit report.” Other great […]
Vacation rental ordinance adopted by county board
By a 5-0 vote, Cook County commissioners chose to enact a vacation rental ordinance at their Tuesday, May 28 regularly scheduled board meeting. The ordinance will go into effect January 1, 2020, and after three years it will be reviewed and revised or changed altogether if needed. The ordinance doesn’t cover the City of Grand Marais or Grand Portage. When […]
Kids turn out for the 2019 Bike Safety Rodeo
What started as a cold, gloomy, foggy, wet Thursday, 23rd of May morning blossomed into a beautiful, warm sunny afternoon, just in time for the annual Bike Safety Rodeo. And boy were the kids happy! Parents too. Helpers as well. Held at the Cook County community center parking lot, the Bike Safety Rodeo is a chance for kids to get […]
When it comes to local administration…
“There are certain decisions that have been made over the last year and a half or so with some of the budgets and spending… and taxes have gone up and gone up and gone up.” “I see our biggest challenges right now are a lot of the big projects that are coming up that we really need to evaluate what […]
County board’s public comment policy questioned
Your county board gives us citizens 30 minutes to comment on whatever interests you – twice a month – that’s 60 minutes. You are encouraged to e-mail, write, call as alternatives, and you will get an answer. I’ve found that a public comment also gets an answer but it does something else – it raises the public’s awareness of an […]
Who are we as a community?
Bob LaMettry raised good questions in his letter to the editor last week. Are those of us raising questions about the Pike Lake development acting out of religious intolerance? Is our reaction based on sound concern and the well-being of others, or about our own ego and insecurity – a desire to protect ourselves from those we think are different? […]