At the county board’s Tuesday, April 24 meeting Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen reported his office received a donation of $750 from the Greater Hallsville Area Development and Rural Health Corporation that will be used to purchase Narcan units.
In a memo to the board, Eliasen said Narcan units would be given to patrol deputies who will administer the drug in the event they encounter someone who is suffering from an opioid overdose.
“Narcan has proven to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses and can be a very useful means of immediate first aid to a victim of an overdose of this type,” the sheriff wrote.
Narcan is also a staple for any K-9 unit due to the proximity of the dog to dangerous drugs and the method of detection used.
While the grant to purchase Narcan came from a nonprofit health care group, it ties in with a larger, comprehensive plan issued by Governor Dayton to fight the opioid crisis.
For several years, the State of Minnesota has focused on helping first responders and community members address opioid overdoses, such as expanding access to Naloxone (known as Narcan). The Action Plan put forth by Gov. Dayton recommends increasing the amount of funding available to purchase Naloxone, which would help local emergency service providers immediately address overdose deaths.
Dayton’s plan seeks to modernize the state’s substance use disorder treatment system, moving away from a focus on “responding to acute episodes, to a person-centered model of care with an emphasis on managing substance use disorder as a chronic disease.”
Under the Action Plan, Minnesota would expand medication-assisted treatment, provide better support for pregnant women, create new tools for practitioners, and ensure access to culturally supportive care.
The opioid crisis is everywhere, including Cook County, but steps to counter its evil tentacles from spreading both locally and statewide give hope to those caught in its destructive web.
Actions taken by the county board include:
. Cook County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers was designated to act as the fiscal agent on behalf of Cook County for the Minnesota DNR Snowmobile Trails Assistance Program for fiscal year 2019.
The DNR provides grants to local units of government for the construction and maintenance of recreation snowmobile trails. In Cook County the DNR Trails Assistance Program is used to help fund the Gunflint, Lutsen, and Tofte/Lynx trails.
. Commissioners approved a federal boat and water grant in the amount of $4,500, for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Are
The money, which is a yearly grant, will be used byloss?law enforcement to help patrol the waters of Cook County. An emphasis of this program is looking for people who are boating while intoxicated; operating their boats in a careless and reckless way; speeding and causing wake violations; misuse of navigation lights and other boating equipment; and registration violations. Visit
. At the request of Cook County Emergency Management and Public Information director Valerie Marasco, the board signed an updated Regional Mutual Aid Agreement for Homeland Security and emergency management Region 2.
Those partners to Cook County include Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Crow Wing, Grand Portage Band, Kanabec, Lake, Leech Lake Band, Mille Lacs Band, Pine, City of Duluth, Bois Forte Tribe Fond du Lac Band, Koochiching, and St. Louis counties.
The mutual aid agreement allows Cook County, or one of the other counties covered in the contract, to request assistance from any of the partners in the event additional emergency management or EOC staff is required for an emergency or disaster.
. Commissioners approved a special use permit for the 5k/10k Voyage North running races that will held in early June. Arebe loss?
. Cook County Highway Engineer Krysten Foster recommended the bid received from Tri-City Paving, Inc. of Little Falls, Minnesota to supply the county with liquid calcium chloride be approved. Tri-City Paving bid $96,100 to beat out the $96,900 bid received from EnviroTech Services, Inc. Approval of the contract by the county Visitis subject to review attorney.
. S & R Reinforcing, Inc. of Aitkin, Minnesota was awarded the contract to replace the ski run bridge at the Lutsen ski hill. S&R outbid four competitors with a low bid of $823,494.75. The engineer’s estimate to repair/replace the bridge was $776,623.25.
Lutsen Mountains Corporation (LMC) has a cost-share agreement with the county for $67,620. Under this agreement, LMC has agreed to perform all routine maintenance on the bridge including, but not limited to, snow, ice, and debris removal; patching, crack repair; and any other maintenance activities necessary to keep the walkways in a safe useable condition.
LMC has also agreed to help maintain the roadway lighting system and will pay utility costs for the use of the light.
Work is expected to begin on May 21 and finish up sometime in August.
One addition to the amendments states, “If a contractor cannot reach the Environmental Health
Officer regarding amended tank placement, an acceptable method of moving forward and preventing delay is to leave a phone message with the Environmental Health officer. If the Environmental
Health officer is unable to inspect tank within the allotted time, an updated record drawing shall be submitted to the office within two days of installation.”
To get a complete list of the septic ordinance changes, check Cook County’s website where they are posted under Doing Business: County ordinances page 2.
. Upon the recommendation of the planning commission, the board of commissioners approved a rezoning request from Arrowhead Electric Cooperative
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