Gunflint Hills Golf Course is open and people are golfing. The grass needs some help from the sun, however, to warm things up. “We just need some warmth, is what we need,” Manager Mike Kunshier told the Grand Marais Park Board on June 4, 2013.
“In 17 days, summer will be here, and we haven’t had spring yet!” Board Chair Walt Mianowski said.
The putting green was the last place on the course to dry out after the snow finally melted, and nothing has been done to it. It seems to be doing as well as the greens the staff have been seeding, however, Kunshier said.
The course is rough, but people have not been complaining to Kunshier. Robin DuChien said she has received several complaints about membership prices with the course being in the condition it’s in, and some people are going to Lutsen to golf.
The daily rate through the month of June is $15. Through June 20, the cheapest daily rate for adults at Superior National at Lutsen is $18 for nine holes Monday through Thursday after 3:00 p.m.
“And coffee’s only 50 cents,” Board Chair Walt Mianowski said of Gunflint Hills. “Sometimes you have to make your own, but…”
“It’s tough, but most people are really supportive,” Kunshier said. “They realize what’s happening.”
“All we need is good weather and golfers,” Mianowski said. “They don’t need to be good to golf – just golfers!”
Pool report
The local log rollers continue to help keep numbers up at the pool. Lifeguard Charles Christiansen reported that they are fully staffed for summer and swim lessons are being offered.
The pool recently passed an annual surprise inspection by the Minnesota Department of Health with flying colors.
Camping and boating
“It’s starting to look like summer with the boats out there,” Tersteeg reported. Despite the weather, park revenue in May was $75,000, just $2,000 down from last May and $11,000 above May 2011.
The park office has a long list of people waiting for seasonal sites as they become available.
Broadband
The company installing fiber optic lines for Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc.’s countywide broadband installation, MasTec, accidentally severed two electric lines in the park, leaving some sites without power.
Park Manager Dave Tersteeg said they have been leaving areas as they found them, except for re-seeding grass, for example.
Safety
The board talked about a couple of places with culverts or storm drains that could be dangerous for pets or small children because they do not have grates on them, such as the culvert in Bear Tree Park and the storm drain on the northwest corner of First Avenue West and Third Street outside Betsy Bowen’s studio.
Park Manager Tersteeg said he would investigate.
Memorial tree
The Grand Marais Garden Club formally requested that money that has been donated in memory of Bette McDonnell be spent on planting a hawthorn tree in Harbor Park. She was instrumental in creating the park.
The board approved the request. The tree will replace one taken down by beavers. Wire will be placed around the new tree to keep the beavers at bay.
The board discussed the possibility of putting plaques in front of trees that have been donated. They can approve them on a case-by-case basis but decided it could be a problem if a tree dies.
Canoe project at North House
The park board gave North House Folk School the go-ahead to use a few feet of the city’s right of way near the marina for a canoe-building project this summer. Erik Simula, a North House instructor, will be building a traditional birch bark canoe in June and July.
North House Executive Director Greg Wright told the board that they are trying to expand their public outreach, offering free activities to draw people to the campus.
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