It’s not exactly the Wild, Wild West, but the township of Schroeder will be gunning for common tansy this summer. To date, common tansy, a 3- to 5-foot-tall perennial herbaceous plant with yellow flowers, has been uncommonly tough for the township gardeners to uproot.
But no more. Schroeder is bringing a big gun— maybe not Marshal Dillon— but a big gun none the less—Angelique Edgerton, Invasive Plant Species Coordinator for Cook County will meet with residents on July 14 and lead a brigade of people in spraying tansy, an invasive species that the township has been trying to hold at bay the last couple of years.
Edgerton will also meet with individual property owners and help identify invasive species on their land and spray to get rid of them, said Gale Ring, Schroeder assistant clerk.
Common tansy is a Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) prohibitive noxious weed and is on the controlled list in Minnesota.
“If someone thinks they have tansy, they can call her and she will come out and help you. She’s really knowledgeable and super energetic,” said Ring.
Under Edgerton’s leadership and guidance, this could be the year that tansy takes a backseat to native shrubs and garden plants— at least in Schroeder.
Regarding roads and fields
Although it has been a long, hard winter, Roger “Bill” McKeever said so far township roads look good. “Cross your fingers, right now everything looks good, but we’ll have to wait until we see what the spring melt brings. There is some gravel that will have to be brought in by the upper corner of Skou road by the transformers, but everything else looks good.”
Brad Anderson will brush the Sugarloaf and Baraga Cross roads once the snow is gone, said McKeever.
The Moving Matters program awarded funds to the township so it could purchase a handicap accessible picnic table. Assistant Clerk Ring submitted the request for the funds to purchase the table to the “Great Place Race.” The picnic table will be put in the park.
G&G septic installed port-a-lets at the ball field and Father Baraga Cross Park.
“The road into Dryer Lake is impassable, it washed out, so until the county fixes it the township won’t be able to put in the dock,” said Schroeder Supervisor Deb Johnson.
In other business
. Schroeder Fire Chief Phil Bonin said that other than a few false alarms, “It’s pretty quiet. But that’s the way we like it.”
Bonin and his crew will join firefighters from Tofte and Lutsen on May 31 for a daylong training session. It will be a chance for firefighters to get to know each other’s gear and each other.
. There was a discussion about connecting the high speed Internet installed last year by Arrowhead Cooperative to the town hall. The town board agreed to have Arrowhead tie in the connection, which will provide high-speed Internet access.
. Cook County Commissioner Bruce Martinson said the Cook County Go Team wanted input from Schroeder about planning and zoning regulations and how they are enforced. “They want to know whether we should waive fees. If you have an opinion, weigh in with a letter to them. They are interested in hearing from you,” said Martinson.
“It’s not the money. I don’t think people care about paying the fee. It’s the regulations and the way they are enforced that concern people. There needs to be a little bit of common sense used when it comes to enforcement,” said Bill McKeever.
. “I volunteered the township to host the annual Cook/Lake Township meeting on October 1,” said Supervisor Tina McKeever. More discussion will be needed about who will feed the 20 or so people expecting to attend the meeting, but McKeever said the pressure was on, because the ladies in Isabella do such a good job when the meeting is held there.
. Just before the meeting ended, Bill McKeever asked the board to consider allowing people longer than two minutes to speak in the public comment period, and later in the meeting if someone feels they need to address the board.
“People should have the right to speak. If they talk at the beginning of a meeting and then something changes in the meeting they should have the right to address that. You have to have free speech to have government right. You might not want to hear what someone has to say, but you shouldn’t take away his or her right to say it. That’s why we’re public servants.”
No action was taken on his comments, but the board will address McKeever’s request in an upcoming meeting.
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