If upon inspection the new Grand Marais YMCA seems a nice building, should it not be so considering the 9.3 million tax dollars spent? I only hope the pool and remodeled gym will serve the schools well. But the point may be lost.
Our tax vote was to promote more opportunity for residents to experience our unique, countywide wilderness, which would also enhance the tourism upon which much of our livelihood depends. Instead we created a centralized sinkhole for future tax dollars which will compete with other infrastructure and services, and ultimately render living here more costly.
Whether it be financial health or physical health much is determined by the choices we make. Part of being able to afford living in this extraordinary county is the ability to live modestly. One could buy YMCA membership, pay monthly, schedule repeated long drives across the county to Grand Marais to partake in hamsterwheel exercise, breathe indoor air, swim in chemicals, and walk in a monotonous circle, or one could put the money towards plush hiking socks, snow shoes, repair the bike tires, get new canoe paddles, and continue invigorating activity in the big outdoors surrounded by the abundance of life. Which would a tourist choose?
We now own a YMCA which imitates that of our inner city friends who live with few outdoor options other than urban streets. It would serve well in a slum, a prison, or maybe it will appease the local mom I heard complain by the Grand Marais harbor last summer. “There is nothing for my kids to do! You can only throw so many stones,” she whined.
I was dumbstruck by her remark! She could use a life lesson from Cory Christianson who recently wrote, “There are endless outdoor activities to choose from—what more could I possibly need?”
That’s the way I see it. Kids benefit from more exposure to our natural world, not less of it.
Geri Jensen
Grand Marais
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