10 Years Ago . May 24, 2002
DNA testing by the U.S. Forest Service has affirmed something many northeastern Minnesota residents already knew: lynx live in the state’s northern forest. Tests of some hair and scat samples collected by volunteers last winter have identified six individual animals: Three males, two females, and one of undetermined sex. All of the samples came from Lake and Cook counties but one.
Three prescribed burns have been planned by the Forest Service for the Tofte Ranger District this spring, and 10 for the Gunflint Trail area. Three of the burns in the Gunflint District are large, and have been split between spring and fall.
20 Years Ago . May 25, 1992
A go-ahead for the construction of the new Community Center Curling Club was given by the county board Tuesday. Greg Gestecki, maintenance supervisor who is ramrodding the project for the commissioners, said that by re-bidding it, about $160,000 had been cut. The total construction cost is now estimated at $395,950; total cost of the project is $406,525.
A floating plant from the Corps of Engineers will be in the Grand Marais harbor for the next three weeks doing maintenance work on the outer breakwall. The crews will add rock and do concrete repair work to the breakwall where needed. It is the first repair crew in the harbor in a number of years.
A request for a stop sign on Third Avenue West and Fourth Avenue West at Fourth Street was approved by the city council. Mrs. Glenn Joynes made the request. She said the stop signs were removed when curbing and gutter were installed, and never replaced. Mrs. Joynes’ request for a fire hydrant at Third Avenue West and Fifth Street was referred to the Public Utilities Commission.
50 Years Ago . May 24, 1962
Grand Portage will get dial telephone service May 28, a spokesman for the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company said. The new service will be furnished by a dial office that was moved intact from Orr, a distance of some 215 miles, and placed on a new foundation in a heavily wooded section of the village. Grand Portage customers – about 25 of them initially – will have local service within the village and to Canadian border points. In addition, they will be able to call to the Hovland, Grand Marais and Gunflint exchange areas without a long distance charge.
A coroner’s jury labored all day yesterday to try to find the cause of the accident that took the life of a 50-year-old Arrowhead Electric Cooperative worker. The Grand Marais man was working near Saganaga Lake after a wind storm had put the power line out of commission, and was atop a pole when he was accidentally electrocuted. A fellow worker who was there heard him cry out, “Someone has turned on the juice!” Then he slumped over.
A small dam that was erected by the state at the outlet of Northern Light Lake had a hole blown through it by some enterprising person or persons, perhaps in the hope that they might get a weekend or two of duck hunting in the fall. The State Conservation Department will repair the dam, which was built to raise the water level slightly for better access to the lake and to control weed growth for better fishing conditions.
90 Years Ago . May 25, 1922
Yesterday afternoon while Erick Johnson was returning from the surveyors’ camp at the Brule River east of Grand Marais the county truck which he was driving caught on fire. He was not aware of it until the blaze shot up into the cab and then it was too late to save the truck. He covered his face with his hands and jumped, the truck running in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. John Molinoski was coming behind him with another county truck and they used the fire extinguishers from both trucks but were unable to put out the flames. He had about 15 gallons of gas in his tank and when the tank broke it made a very hot fire.
Mrs. C.J. Johnson has the distinction of the first woman juror drawn in Cook County. She was the only woman drawn.
An electrician claims he can produce thunder and lightning at will. So far, so good. Now let him try his hand at getting up something by which he can stop the two at will.
Johannes Eide left on the stage Tuesday for his home in Tofte. He has been working at the North Shore garage for about a month.
Do you have an old picture or a story from years gone by that you would like to share with the Cook County News-Herald readers? We’d love to hear your Historical Reflections Call (218) 387-9100; e-mail starnews@boreal.org; or stop by our office at 15 First Avenue West.
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