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The Great Place Project Advisory Committee has made grant awards to 14 applicants totaling $13,550 for the 2021 Great Place Project (GPP), announced Jim Boyd, executive director of the Cook County Business & Civic Partnership which oversees the project. The Partnership is the philanthropic arm of the Cook County Chamber.
“We were doubly fortunate with the Great Place Project this year,” Boyd said. “We received a number of large donations that allowed us to proceed despite the pandemic and our inability to sell canoe raffle tickets – our normal financing method. Then we received an extraordinary number of solid proposals from which to choose. We stretched our available dollars as far as we were could, but unfortunately were not able to cover an additional two project applications.”
“This year’s applications also were spread more evenly across Cook County than ever, with the exception of the eastern part of the county,” Boyd said. “We funded one project in Schroeder, two in Tofte, three in Lutsen, two up the Gunflint Trail and six in Grand Marais. It would be difficult to improve on that.”
The Great Place Project, now in its seventh year, make small grants to businesses, groups and individuals who propose creating small spaces of outdoor beauty around Cook County. “The object,” Boyd said, “is to make our built environment better reflect the beauty of our natural surroundings, and to encourage people to enjoy both.”
Boyd said that most of the donors who made this year’s GPP possible requested that their contributions remain anonymous. One that did not request anonymity was Dan Kupietz, who contributed $3,000 from the estate of his late wife, Karen Smaby. The Chamber also contributed $2,000 itself from fees received for work Boyd did on distribution of federal and state COVID business relief.
The advisory committee which made the selections included Jack Stone and Beth Poliquin of Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply, Gary Latz, Annie Possis, Duane Hasegawa and Boyd. The projects they selected for funding include:
– Schroeder Township, $500 for benches to serve visitors to the Schroeder Cemetery.
– Tofte Historical Society, $1,250 to restore store boards along the Tofte lakewalk describing the commercial fishing for which Tofte once was known. This project is part of the society’s North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum.
– Bluefin Bay, $1,250 for new benches along the Tofte lakewalk.
– Goettl Enterprises, Lutsen, $1,250 for a butterfly garden adjacent to County Plumbing.
– Clearview Store, Lutsen, $1,250 for picnic benches on the grass areas either side of the Clearview building.
– Isak Hansen, Lutsen, $1,250 for a flower garden in front of the store, part of a larger effort to beautify the store building.
– Gunflint Lodge, $1,250 for a 10-station exercise course along public trails on the south shore of Gunflint Lake.
– Gunflint Trail Historical Society, $1,200 for native interpretive paintings along an ADA accessible trail out from the Chik Wauk Museum and Nature Center.
– Cook County Community Education, Grand Marais, $1,250 for a new early childhood playground between the tennis courts and baseball diamond at the school complex.
– Cook County Community YMCA, Grand Marais, $1,250 for plants to beautify the existing playground in front of the building (much of which was funded with previous GPP grants).
– Grand Marais Community Evangelical Free Church, $250 for sand to fill a play area inside the playground enclosure funded by a previous GPP grant. The playground is open to the public, and all are truly welcome
– Art ‘Round Town, $600 for brochures and preservative to begin process of restoring and preserving the Lyle Saethre murals in Grand Marais.
– North Shore Health, Grand Marais, $1,250 for a boulder-and-wood bench for the Serenity Garden being created next to the Care Center, a quiet area for Care Center residents to enjoy the out of doors.
– Cook County Council on Aging, $1,250 for an outdoor picnic table and benches at The Hub that will allow seniors to sit outdoors for meals or to visit.
Boyd said the future of the Great Place Project will depend on how well ticket sales go this summer for this year’s raffle canoe – a custom canoe designed and built by Josh Tolkan of North House Folk School and Many Waters Boatworks and Carpentry. Tickets, at $10 apiece, are on sale at a number of merchants in Grand Marais. They may also be purchased at Bluefin Bay in Tofte, where the canoe currently is on display.
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