Cook County News Herald

Down Memory Lane




10 YEARS AGO
NOV. 28, 2003

Northshore Mining Company has agreed to pay a $26,875 civil penalty for alleged air quality permit violations at its Silver Bay taconite production facility. According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Northshore Mining has further agreed “to make specific dust control improvements to processingrelated equipment to ensure future air quality compliance.” Northshore Mining produces taconite pellets in Silver Bay from ore mined and crushed at its Babbitt facility. Following the crushing and grinding process, taconite pellets are formed and hardened in straight grate production furnaces. During 2002 and 2003, violations of facility permit conditions and state standards for particulate matter (dust) concentrations in the air were documented six times by ambient monitoring equipment.

The Minnesota Shakespeare Festival at Grand Marais, a joint effort of the Grand Marais Playhouse and the Minnesota Shakespeare Project, will postpone the summer 2004 season unless adequate funding becomes available by the end of the year. There are plans to resume the festival in 2005. The Grand Marais Shakespeare Festival began in 2001 and has featured a tragedy and comedy each year. In the past three summers, more than 4,500 people have attended performances.

20 YEARS AGO
NOV. 29, 1993

Vandals stole the American flag and its hoisting cord from the tall flagpole just east of the Coast Guard station sometime in September, and Grand Portage National Monument employees said they are still fielding questions about its whereabouts. The staff continues to look for an economical solution to replacing the flag, but note that the rental cost for a bucket truck needed to reach the top of the 75-foot-high flagpole is prohibitive. The flag has become a landmark to area residents.

Last February, papers were signed to bring about new ownership in Cook County’s first and only funeral home, which was founded in 1966. The newcomers are Bill and Fran Radek from Chicago, and after a transition period, the business is now Radek- McGann Funeral Home. The couple is new to the area, but not the business.

Retired custodian Bryce Linnell received gifts and a commemorative cake at his retirement party Nov. 22 at the courthouse. Linnell worked in the custodial department for the county from 1980 until July 1993.

50 YEARS AGO
NOV. 28, 1963

Each evening for several days fires have consumed an old landmark, the old Rude house. Little by little, and watched by workmen, the wreckage has been pushed into piles and burned until today the building is almost gone. A midnight fire on Sunday, Nov. 3 when the owners were away destroyed the two-story building to such an extent that repair was not considered advisable.

The Grand Marais Igloo of the International Snowmobile Association met Nov. 20 at the county courthouse with 58 members and interested persons present. The meeting was primarily devoted to discussion of the recent action of the Izaak Walton League in passing a resolution calling for a ban of snowmobiles in the Wilderness Area.

Frank Kauffman of Minneapolis, who was on his 45th hunting trip to the North Shore, had the bad luck to contract pneumonia and also had a heart attack. He is a patient at the local hospital.

90 YEARS AGO
NOV. 29, 1923

Hartley Holte left Wednesday on the bus to spend Thanksgiving in Duluth.

C.C. Monker was a Two Harbors visitor the first of the week. Mr. Monker has bought out Mr. Fowler’s law practice there, also his office building and entire equipment, and will move to that city. Mr. Monker has met with meteoric success in the practice of his profession at Grand Marais, and we commend him to the people of Two Harbors as a fearless advocate of what he considers his clients’ rights. May prosperity be with him in his new field of endeavor.

Peter LaPlant returned Thursday from Canada with a party of hunters. They brought back three moose.

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.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.