Minnesota Power recently made a $2,500 donation to the North Shore Scenic Drive Council (NSSDC) so it could purchase a viewfinder and binoculars for the safe harbor at Taconite Harbor. When installed, the viewfinders will be free of charge to the public and will offer close-ups of passing ships, birds and animals. Bruce Martinson was happy to accept the check for the NSSDC. (L-R) Minnesota Power employees John Paulson, Al Rudeck, Martinson, Matt Radzak of Minnesota Power.
It won’t happen this fall, but in time tourists and local residents will be able to view close-ups of boats, birds and wildlife at the Taconite Safe Harbor and across the way at Bear and Gull islands.
A gift of $2,500 from Minnesota Power/ALLETE to the North Shore Scenic Drive Council has helped start the process that will lead to the purchase and installation of an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Hi-Spy 20X Binocular head viewer and 35X telescope (located on an extended arm for wheelchair users) at the Taconite Safe Harbor.
“It will cost $6,000 just to purchase the binoculars,” said Schroeder Supervisor Bruce Martinson. “We will apply to the Iron Range Resources Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) for the rest of the money, but their granting cycle won’t start again until January.”
Once purchased and up, Schroeder area businesses, the Sugar Loaf Cove Nature Center, Schroeder Area Historical Society and Temperance Park will display posters directing tourists to the viewing location.
The Taconite Safe Harbor, said Martinson, is an underutilized gem on the North Shore. It currently boasts an anchor, large bucket and interpretive signs. Fishermen, both professional fishing guides and public anglers use the harbor as an entry/exit point to ply the waters for lake trout and salmon.
The harbor also provides refuge for boaters needing shelter from storms on the lake. Minnesota Power officials presented Martinson with the check at the opening of “Rajala Woods,” which is located just above the
Taconite Energy Center in
May 2015.
The North Shore
Scenic Drive Council, said Martinson, is made up of representatives from counties, cities and tourism organizations along the Highway 61 byway. The council is staffed by the Arrowhead
Regional Development
Commission and is funded by a combination of local and federal dollars.
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