Photo
Cozy as can be, five adult Northern Flying Squirrels cuddle for warmth. Flying squirrels will spend the winter in old pileated woodpecker holes where they can share body heat.
How to build a better mousetrap
Randy Hodel didn’t grow up thinking he was one day going to design and patent not one but three types of mouse traps, but then again, most of us don’t really know where life will lead us when we are young. No, Randy was ambling along just fine in life until one night, “a mouse ran up my long johns […]
County board compromises on plan to correct 2021 budget shortfall
Cook County Administrator James Joerke had some bad news for commissioners at the board’s January 12 meeting. Joerke told commissioners an error, an honest mistake, had been made that resulted in a shortfall of $177,000 to the county’s 2021 budget. County Assessor Bob Thompson notified Joerke that a mistake had happened when his staff was working to transpose spreadsheet data […]
Update on vaccine distribution in Cook County
On Friday, January 15, Cook County Public Health announced that 345 county residents, or 6.5 percent of the county’s population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, as compared to 2.9 percent statewide. On January 14, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced guidance for health departments and providers to begin vaccinating all residents over the age of […]
City Council holds organizational meeting
It was quite the opening of the January 13th City Council meeting as Michael Garry was sworn in. While Zoom meetings have become the norm during the pandemic, it appears that formality and professionalism was lost on Garry. He was far too relaxed, forgetting to raise his hand while taking the oath and injecting his political views into it. Councilor […]
Ordinary people make us a better world
Fascism is insidious. Where did the lie that is the size of a whale begin? It was a little minnow someone decided to feed. It was given food by someone who decided to re-tweet an election conspiracy theory, it was given shelter by a Republican official who decided that black or liberal or poor voices didn’t matter as much as […]
Vaccinations should go to teachers
I’m concerned that newly relaxed priority guidelines for receiving a COVID-19 vaccination will delay our primary school teachers receiving theirs. It makes good sense for older people who are not healthy to be high on the priority list. But I, and possibly others who are 65 and older that feel relatively virus-secure based on good health, would be willing to […]
Writer says facts were questionable
In the January 9th edition, Rae M. Piepho made a number of unsubstantiated claims regarding the 2020 election, claims that can easily be checked by a simple Google search that will report the facts from a variety of reliable sources for anyone who is interested in accuracy. In addition, according to CNBC, the Mueller report cost 32 million dollars and […]
Vote for Paula Marie Powell by February 9
Paula Marie Powell has deep and broad connections to the easternmost triangle of Cook County. She’s lived in Grand Portage, Hovland, and Colvill, and worked for Isle Royale Transportation for many years. As an Indiginous person, avid outdoorswoman, and lifelong local, Paula is uniquely positioned to represent District 1 on the Board of Commissioners. Paula believes–as I do– that a […]