For years the Cook County Highway Department has allowed the public to use some of its pre-mixed salt and sand in extreme ice events. The highway department cannot sell its sand or salt, but as a public service over the years, it has allowed the public to take a bucket of sand/salt mix from the county sand/ salt pile now and then. Unfortunately, Highway Department Maintenance Supervisor Russell Klegstad, some citizens are taking advantage of the highway department’s generosity.
“We’ve always let people come and take a pail or two,” said Klegstad in a phone conversation on January 4, 2011. “But lately we’ve had people coming and getting a truckload. We can’t let that keep happening,” he said.
Klegstad said he recognizes that it is difficult for the public to get sand and salt. He said the only business in the county that sells the mixture to private citizens is Isak Hansen Hardware in Lutsen. However, bags of sand and bags of salt are available at a number of local businesses
“We could shut this off at any time,” said Klegstad. “We don’t really want to, but if this is abused we will have to. Since this has been a kind of informal service all these years, we wanted to let the public know before we cut if off.”
Anyone with questions about use of the county sand/salt pile is asked to call the County Highway Department at (218) 387-3014.
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