A number of new-to-politics candidates have stepped up to run for the Grand Marais City Council. Four men are running for two council seats—Vance Benedix, Reid Dusheck, David Mills and Anton Moody. The two candidates with the most votes will win the council seats.
All four candidates participated in the WTIP Election Forum and represented themselves well. The Cook County News- Herald asked them a few of the questions that didn’t make it on-air. Their answers follow.
Please tell News-Herald readers a little about yourself.
. Vance Benedix: I’m married to Kari and we have two boys. We moved to Grand Marais seven years ago. I’m a Customs and Immigration officer at the Grand Portage Port of Entry.
I had a little hesitancy about running, because I figured seven years wasn’t long enough, but I talked to some people who have lived here all their lives. They encouraged me to run. If elected, I would consider it a privilege to serve in the city of Grand Marais.
. Reid Dusheck: I’m recently married and recently became a father. I became a homeowner last year too. It’s been a busy year!
I’ve had my job seven years at Customs. I’ve been here about four years. Before that it was moving around a lot with the agency. I worked in southern Arizona and in Chicago.
I graduated from the University of Minnesota-Crookston with a degree in agriculture.
I’ve been a member of the Grand Marais Park Board for the last year and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve been working a lot with [Director of Parks & Recreation] Dave Tersteeg.
I work a lot and I’ve been doing a lot of home repairs. I like fishing, hunting, netting and riding ATVs.
I decided to run to help keep this the great community that it is. I want to make sure the voices of people who want less government, lower taxes and more freedom are heard.
. David Mills: I’ve lived in Grand Marais for about nine years with my wife and two kids—an 8-year-old daughter and 5-yearold son. My parents and sister live in Grand Marais.
I live up in Creechville and I’ve been fixing up our home for pretty much the whole time I’ve been here. We also have a rental and that is a great opportunity—it works out to give us some income and to give a family a home.
I grew up in Grand Rapids and graduated from high school there. I went to the University of Minnesota and studied computer science with minors in math, statistics and IT management. After three years I got a case of wanderlust and ended up here.
I first came to the area with the Forest Service and since then I’ve done a variety of seasonal jobs, primarily based in tourism and customer service.
I have a long history of leadership training and experience, ranging from high school, college and into the professional world. I most recently went through the Blandin Foundation Community Leadership Program. That really spurred me to run for city council. It seemed like there were some vacancies, so it seemed like a good time.
I think that a real important part of leadership is listening to people and working with people. I don’t think it’s about having all the answers. It’s about developing them together and deciding what works best for all of us.
. Anton Moody: I have lived in Grand Marais about 13 years and in Grand Marais proper for the last four years. I’m married to my wife, Brienne, who was born and raised in Cook County. We have two small children together.
I grew up in Farmington, Minnesota and went to college at Gustavus Adolphus for three years. I spent some time out west working for my cousin’s charter aviation business.
I came back to Minnesota and visited some friends up here. I ended up buying a place on Devil’s Track.
I moved up here and started working at Angry Trout and Superior Coastal Sports in the summer and Lutsen Mountains in the winter. I did the seasonal bit for several years.
I also did some carpentry and have been doing that for the last 10 years. The last four years I’ve been doing carpentry on my own.
With my free time I’ve gotten into biking—gravel and single track and in the winter fat tire. I’ve been doing all I can to advocate for that.
Working, family and biking are my three things.
There is currently a project under way to redesign the Highway 61 corridor and an initial design is expected soon. What do you think could improve walking, biking and vehicular movement in the Highway 61 corridor?
. Benedix: One thing I’m not in support of is eminent domain. There are a number of businesses in the corridor and I’m not in favor of the city trying to suck up any private property.
It is a problem because there is limited space through there.
I’ve talked to people about another stoplight, but that’s controversial too. Some people don’t want more than one stoplight in town.
The State of Minnesota says there is not enough traffic to have another light, but I’ve talked to people in the community. Sometimes an RV coming out of the Rec. Park has to wait 20 minutes to get out on the highway. There are a lot of people crossing there and the bike path is there. I’d like to look at how much it would cost to put another stoplight there.
Another suggestion would be instead of a stoplight, having a light where you could push a button to cross.
It will be interesting to see the final proposal for sure.
. Dusheck: I think a lot of walking issues are seasonal. It happens about two months a year.
I’m not sure what can be done to alleviate the problems without creating more problems. I don’t want to see the speed reduced to 5 miles per hour. I don’t want to see the police writing more tickets. I don’t think we need more crosswalks. I don’t think we need more bike lanes.
Maybe just better placement of crosswalks and more sign visibility.
. Mills: I think clearly defined spaces can really help with the flow. I’m not necessarily talking about barriers, although barriers could be used, just as long as it is universally understood where each mode of transportation is supposed to be.
Continuity is important.
For each mode of transportation the design should consider what they are thinking. For a car—what’s natural for a vehicle? Why are people walking? Exercising, sight-seeing or running errands? The same with bicycling—riding to the library or the store or recreation? All of this could result in different designs. It’s important to meet all these needs.
Space is certainly an issue. We don’t have a lot of it.
One other thing—I have a high appreciation for aesthetics when it comes to a community’s redesign. We need to do it wisely and get the best bang for our buck.
. Moody: I did go to the first meeting that they had and I will continue to go no matter what, whether I’m elected or not.
I think it’s an issue for people summer and winter. In the summer there is no place to park. If you’re walking or biking, it is difficult—especially with children—to cross the highway the way it is now. Running errands with the kids feels dangerous.
I don’t understand why the stoplight is at Broadway. I think the busiest intersection is at 1st Avenue—and then 5th Avenue. Those two areas are where it’s most dangerous. Do we lose our quaintness if we have another stoplight? I’m not sure, but something has to change.
In the winter, you’re forced to walk in the street because of snow.
Because we are such a small town, we could decrease the number of vehicles downtown. We could be biking, walking or ATVing downtown, or in the winter, snowmobiling. You can’t eliminate parking—businesses need parking—but we could do something to reduce it.
I’m excited to see how the process moves forward. It’s vital that everyone take part in it.
Do you believe improvements should be made to the boat launch in the Grand Marais harbor?
. Benedix: Yes, I do. I believe there are huge resources at that RV park to citizens. I support a comprehensive redo of the boat launch and the area where the PUC is located, along with relocation of the ball field. I’m in favor of putting more of the larger RVs in there.
I want to go on record as opposed to converting the PUC area to wetlands. Once you turn it back into wetlands, you can never get it back. I think that would be a big waste.
I support putting RV sites in there, to make that available for the park to be able to accept the bigger RVs and to bring in more money.
I want everyone to be able to access that area. . Dusheck: Yes. It’s way past due. We are working with the DNR and they are rea
dy to provide grant money. They eventually will so we need to work with the DNR to put together a plan.
If you look at Silver Bay and Two Harbors, their safe harbors are way better, hands-down. We have to do something. We need a better ramp, paved parking and better docks.
. Mills: Yes, it sounds like—while I don’t have a need for this— there is a need to improve the boat launch for safety and accessibility. It sounds like a first design has been out and there has been some feedback, both positive and negative. That should be encouraged to get the best design for our community. I hope whatever design is done, that it will attract more people, whether it is to launch a boat, hang out, or take pictures. It’s one of those areas of Grand Marais that is under utilized.
. Moody: From what I know of that project, the last time I looked at the Grand Marais Park Board website, it makes sense to get the traffic off of the Coast Guard area.
In the plan there was another overlay that addresses Best Management Practices and the transition from permeable to non-permeable areas, i.e., wetland filtration measures were to be used. That overlay seemed like it would turn a huge area into wetlands and I’m not sure about the need for that.
We can work with the DNR, to fund, design and implement this. I don’t think we should turn it all over to them.
We need to make it the best for everyone, not just the walkers and those that are enjoying the harbor, but we need to make it safe for boaters as well.
If you had the power to change one thing about the city of Grand Marais, what would it be?
. Benedix: I want to go on record that I believe in getting it done. I believe in having a plan, but I also believe in getting it done. I want to see that we either get it done or stop it and move on. To get things done, you need to have consensus with your fellow councilors, the county, etc., and there are ways to do that.
There are ways to get things done without raising taxes.
. Dusheck: Just one thing is hard. Get the harbor improvements completed—or the brush site by the water tower. That’s my number one concern—to me personally today—having a place where I can drop off my brush.
. Mills: I think we have a very involved community and that’s something I really value and that’s one of the reasons I want to live here. On that note, I’d like to see constant civility. You can never have too much working together.
I’d like to see less negativity and more optimism. There is a lot of optimism, but again, you can’t have too much. I’d like to see more trust in local government. That’s something I hope I can bring.
. Moody: I think what needs to happen is to try to plan and envision for job creation. The draw for young families is the environment they see when they come up here. But the reality is that finding a job that can support a family doesn’t happen.
Our logging and fishing industry is fading away. The Grand Marais harbor was a working harbor until about 25 years ago. Now it’s just boats and it is pretty, but we need more. How do we create an environment that draws families—that offers opportunities for growth? How do we keep our young families in town?
I would like people to call me if they want to talk about any of these things.
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