I recently attended the open house hosted by the Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority and the Cook County Chamber of Commerce, where the community was invited in to contribute their thoughts on the work these two groups have been doing. Various board members were present with nice displays explaining some new projects, and listening to suggestions and concerns from the community. Close to 50 people stopped by at various times.
The mystery to me is where were all the people who have expressed their strong concerns in letters to the editor in this newspaper for so long. Not a one of them showed up as far as I know. Many of the leaders of our community took time from their schedules to make themselves available and to explain all the things that are being worked on and some of the exciting things coming down the pipeline in the coming months or years.
There are several new people on the EDA board and they are working hard to develop a new action plan we can all support. Many other community leaders have stepped forward accepting positions on the Chamber of Commerce board, and we are starting to see results from their efforts. Linda Kratt has brought new leadership to the Cook County Visitors Bureau, our community was selected to send a nice group to the Blandin Leadership Training Program, the new YMCA opened, and two significant funding projects were blessed by the Minnesota Legislature for projects in Cook County.
A lot of new and healthy things are in the works for our community. It would be refreshing to hear about the good things that are happening. I hope others will contribute their letters to the editor so the newspaper has a choice to pick from, instead of just letters harping on the same old issues.
Bruce Kerfoot
Grand Marais
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