With Cook County Chamber of Commerce Director Jim Boyd looking on in the background and staff from projects funded by the Centers for Prevention in the foreground, Sarah Hallberg pointed to several chairs at Java Moose that were refinished using funds obtained from a Great Place project grant to Java Moose. The group was in town to look at improvements to walking/ biking paths and outdoor art and seating that help inspire people to get outside and enjoy nature.
Sitting on a couch in front of Hughie’s Tacos, Tim Young was minding his business as he waited for a truck to come take him and his newly found sofa away. He looked oddly out of place yet ever so comfortable.
But beware of where you sit in Grand Marais. Moving Matters Assistant Coordinator Maren Webb spotted the unflappable artist and asked him to stand and explain the public art project he is creating to a group of 35-40 people who were on a walking tour of Grand Marais on Tuesday, April 28.
The group was made up of staff from projects funded by the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS). They came from Red Wing, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Grand Rapids and they were in town to see firsthand the new outdoor designs and transportation improvements the community has made in an effort to get residents off the couch and outside.
Young has been commissioned by one of the 13 organizations and businesses that received mini-grants from the 2015 Great Place Project. This summer he is going to paint and mount a locally themed mural on the walls of the Birchbark Books and Gifts. He pointed across the street to the large trout painted on the Como Oil propane tank by Betsy Bowen and the ceramic wildlife mural elementary students made with Art ‘round Town that was placed on the outside west wall of the Johnson’s Grocery as two examples of public art projects.
The idea behind these projects, said Cook County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jim Boyd, is to get people outside walking, giving them something unique to look at and enjoy, or offer comfortable and attractive places to sit and enjoy lake views or other beautiful sites in the county.
Boyd made his presentation at Java Moose with Sarah Hallberg of Java Moose. Hallberg pointed to several hand stained crafted wooden chairs sitting on the deck facing lakeward. These comfortable armchairs, said Hallberg, were made possible through grant awards from the Great Place Project.
In its second year, the Great Place Project is sponsored by the Cook County Chamber of Commerce and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic’s Moving Matters. This year the two entities gave $10,000 in mini-grants throughout the county.
At the next stop, in front of the Grand Marais Public Library, Grand Marais City Administrator Mike Roth gave a brief update about the proposed changes to the Highway 61 corridor through town that may include a bike/walking path and parking enhancements. Roth was joined by Bryan Anderson, District 1 Planner with Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).
Sponsored by the Center for Prevention at BCBS, the tour, said the agency’s communications manager, Stacy Housman, was a way for groups to share ideas and learn from each other.
“The Center for Prevention has committed more than $1 million for the Active Living for All projects that will be ongoing through 2015 and 2016,” said Housman. “These funds help support communities as they engage residents and improve places with more walking and biking for everyone.”
It is hoped, said Housman, that by encouraging healthy eating and physical activity that people will stay healthy longer, live longer, live better, and have more productive lives.
“Touring Grand Marais with the group from the Center for Prevention was a rare opportunity to show people a glimpse of what it is like to live in Cook County, and the ‘Cook County’ ways our community has come together to address the unique circumstances of including more walking, biking, and physical activity in our rural area,” said Moving Matters Coordinator Kristin DeArruda Wharton.
“The reality of our geography and transportation challenges in Cook County and Grand Portage blew people’s minds! And it was neat to hear that even though our community is very different from Minneapolis or Grand Rapids or Red Wing, they could still learn a lot from our local work here in Cook County and Grand Marais,” added DeArruda Wharton.
At one of the stops Great Expectations School Executive Director Peter James talked about the 1/8th mile walking path that winds around the school, “the walk and talk trail” as it’s called. James said some of the kids like to hike the trail and keep track of their mileage. He also pointed to the bike path that leads through a small woods towards downtown away from the school. The kids want to bike that direction after school, he said, so a safer way was made for them to get there.
The final stop was at the new sidewalk in front of the Cook County North Shore Hospital and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. DeArruda Wharton explained that the sidewalk came about due to a large showing of support from the schools and community. The sidewalk is important to connect kids and families along County Road 7 and west Grand Marais that walk to school as well as providing access to the hospital, clinic, community center and YMCA, said DeArruda Wharton
Webb summed up the day, “The tour was not only an opportunity to share the work under way in our community but also an opportunity to reflect on the impact and change we have seen through the Moving Matters project.”
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