When you’re stuck or for any reason just need a tow, give Cook County Towing a call and help will soon be on the way. Kevin and Jen DeRosier took ownership of the business last summer and business has been brisk, but they are happy to help when people call, day or night. Here, Ayden, age 8, and Trygve, age 2, sit with mom and dad and their new little sister, Camille.
At the top of the hill, Kevin DeRosier could see two cars in the ditch at the bottom. He was there to pull them out, but the only thought on his mind was, “I think I am going to die right now,” he said.
And he wasn’t kidding.
DeRosier recounted sliding down the steep, sheer ice embankment in his tow truck. “I must have been doing 40 miles an hour at the bottom,” before the truck slid off into the woods, damaging only a side mirror.
Being a tow truck driver means never saying no to going out in treacherous weather, even when you know how dangerous it is.
“Yes, we go out in all kinds of weather,” he said when asked. “That’s usually when people go into the ditch.”
It’s not only bad weather that puts people at risk behind the wheel. So far the most adventurous towing job Kevin has been sent to involved navigating five miles of a snowmobile trail on the South Brule to pull out the drivers of a vehicle.
“He was following his GPS. He drove right into the river. It took every inch of cable we had on the spool to reach the car. We blew a tire on the wrecker on the way out,” DeRosier said as he shook his head.
Kevin and Jen DeRosier purchased Cook County Towing from Pam Swenson on July 6, 2017. Kevin began working for the business in 2014, so he knew what he was getting into.
“I went to school for law enforcement. I have a two-year and four-year degree in law enforcement,” said DeRosier, who graduated from Duluth Central before they closed the school’s doors.
Kevin worked as a deputy and then as a dispatcher at the Cook County Law Enforcement Center for four years but said, “I could never make enough money, so I got into this.”
Kevin isn’t the lone driver of Cook County Towing. “Jay Messenbring drives for me in Hovland, and J.J. Liljstrand drives for me out of Grand Marais. I still don’t have a driver in the Tofte area. I’m looking hard to fill that position,” he said.
Since purchasing the business, Kevin said he has had only one day when he wasn’t called out.
“One day I made three trips to the cities,” he said. “Jen will drive too if needed. She can operate a tow truck.”
Kevin said his wife would soon take over the office work, which will free him up to drive and perform maintenance on his two rollbacks and two wrecker/winch trucks.
The company was established over 50 years ago as Nelson Towing. Because people need help at any point in time, the company is open and ready for business seven days of the week, 24 hours a day.
“We do long and short haul hauling, winch/recovery services, jump starts, unlocks, tire changes and free scrap vehicle removal,” said DeRosier.
The DeRosiers’ shop is located in the EDA business park at 9 Cedar Grove Lane in Grand Marais. Kevin is building an office in a portion of the upstairs. The shop is clean and a great place for the kids to ride trikes and bikes when the vehicles are out of it.
When the couple isn’t working—Jen also operates a day-care—they are heavily involved in Cub Scouts, as leaders of Cub Scout Pack 167. The boys ride along on some tows, and Kevin said they know how the gears work on the winch. Down the road, who knows, maybe they will be driving for Kevin and Jen.
If you would like to learn more about Cook County Towing, call 663-7475 or go to www.cookcotowing.com.
Leave a Reply