10 YEARS AGO
SEPT. 5, 2009
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a deserter from the United States Army at the Grand Portage port of entry on Aug. 24. The Deer Park, Texas man was taken into custody after turning himself in upon his entry into the United States and after a check of his identification revealed he was the subject of a National Crime Information Center felony warrant for desertion. He was then transported by the Cook County sheriff to the local jail for extradition back into the custody of the Army, where he was under investigation for child pornography.
Following deliberation and some adjustments, Grand Marais city councilors approved $1.2 million in special assessments at their Aug. 26 meeting. The money is needed to pay for street and utility improvements that were begun last year and are now nearing completion. In all, about 85 property owners on Fourth Avenue in Creechville, and First, Second, Third and Sixth avenues south of County Road 7 are affected.
20 YEARS AGO
SEPT. 6, 1999
About two dozen people who wanted to learn more about wild mushrooms set out on a hike led by an instructor from the North House Folk School along the Kadunce River in Colvill. At about noon, one of the class members on his way back from the upper reaches of the trail found a cane in the path next to a broken and rotted birch stump. In the river below, a mushrooming basket floated. When the man clambered down the undercut bank, he found one of his classmates face-down in the shallow stream. A 63-year-old Northfield woman had apparently fallen over the bank and died as a result. Rescuers speculated that the victim, who was handicapped, leaned up against the rotted birch tree to rest and fell off the 10-foot ledge.
A memo from city street department head Bob Mattson and a list of recent infractions which resulted in repair work by the department forced the issue of police patrol in the city at a recent meeting of the Grand Marais City Council. The list includes theft from the city garage, trespassing, damage to numerous street signs, the removal of two stop signs, litter and several instances of vandalism. The sheriff will be asked to attend the next meeting to see what the city wants him to do.
50 YEARS AGO
SEPT. 4, 1969
Grand Marais will receive about $1,750 in undistributed sales tax revenues under an opinion issued by Attorney General Douglas Head. In his opinion, Head said a total of $9,750,000 should be distributed to Minnesota’s cities, villages, school districts and townships. The money received would otherwise have had to be raised by local property taxes.
The vacation trip planned by Mr. and Mrs. Ansgar Jensen and Vivian came to an abrupt end near Minneapolis with their truck and camper being demolished in a traffic accident. Luckily the Jensens escaped with bumps and bruises. They had planned to go to Iowa; Vivian left Tuesday for Golden Valley College to be a freshman there.
It was last week that Gay Liebertz saw a bolt of lightning hit the top of a tree and splinter it to smithereens. Several days later she noticed a wisp of smoke in the same location; the lightning had started a fire which smoldered underground and burned like a peat fire!
90 YEARS AGO
SEPT. 5, 1929
A forest fire, said to be caused by the careless dropping of a burning cigarette, was reported Sunday morning as burning near the shore of Lake Superior, about a mile and a half east of the Brule River and about 16 miles east of Grand Marais. Ranger P.J. Bayle hastened to the scene of the fire, collecting a crew of about 30 men. It was only by hard work and the use of three water pumps that it was possible to check the fire and place it under control by Monday morning after it burned approximately 22 acres.
Gunnar Olson, driver on the mail bus route between Two Harbors and Grand Marais, reported to authorities on Tuesday that an attempt had been made to rob the mail bus by three men and a woman. The robbers, according to Mr. Olson, were traveling in a large brown car of a late model. As they passed the bus, a bullet crashed through the windshield of the bus, shattering the glass and narrowly missing the driver. The car did not stop. The bus driver sped up, heading toward Grand Marais, and after a short interval the car’s occupants (who were chasing the bus) were evidently frightened away by the approach of another truck. No more was seen of the car or its occupants.
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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