Through April, lodging tax collections for Lutsen and Tofte and the Grand Marais area were down when compared to last year over the same period. That said, they are slightly up for the Gunflint Trail area. Through the first four months of 2023, collections for the Lutsen-Tofte Tourism Association (LTTA) were $69,944.52 in January, $76,995.18 in February, $90,287.41 in March... READ MORE >
While four Minnesota towns were listed among the top 175 “Cheap U.S. family vacation survey”, only one of those, Grand Marais, cracked the top 100 landing 64th. The poll was conducted by Family Destination Guide with more than 3,000 families surveyed asking which affordable destinations those families would most likely visit in 2023. The top three selections were Long Beach,... READ MORE >
If you have $189,000 there are 40 acres of property for sale at 932 Pike Lake Road with a nice gravel road and some brush and trees cleared for a building site. It’s beautiful property. Could be the property you are looking to buy! In December 2018, Seth Jeffs, as the “Managing Member” of Emerald Industries LLC, purchased 40-acres of... READ MORE >
Lutsen’s Papa Charlie’s Tavern, a popular place to eat and drink and the county’s largest indoor venue for live music, burned to the ground on Saturday, June 24. Cook County dispatch was notified at 6:01 a.m. that there was a fire at the iconic 27-year-old structure, and the Lutsen Fire Department was paged and responded immediately. Once on the site,... READ MORE >
Color crayons and chemistry came together last Wednesday, June 21, as 30 children from the Cook County YMCA met with scientists and educators to learn about water chemistry and biological invasive species that can harm the lake and people, plants and fish that swim in the water. The group met on the beach by the Lake Superior Trading Post for... READ MORE >
The Cook County Real Estate Fund (CCREF) has poured a lot of resources, time and money into renovating the former Birchbark Books & Gifts building in downtown Grand Marais and although the building isn’t complete, they held an open house for the public on Monday, June 26. Total cost of the renovation is $1.5 million. When finished the 1st and... READ MORE >
Will Surbaugh, 21, Grand Marais, won the 2023 Lutsen 99er by a whisker over Dillon McNeill of Papillon, 21, Nebraska, who was credited with the same time as Will, five hours, two minutes and 46 seconds (5:02:46), for the 99-mile course. The two muddied riders averaged 17.02 miles per hour over the grueling course. There were 589 entrants in the... READ MORE >
Fresh off of his 5th place finish at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships held June 8 in Innsbruck- Stubai Valley, Austria, Drew Holmen decided not to race the Western States this year. Instead, Holmen, 31, will pace a teammate for the last 20 miles of the 100-mile competition. Holmen called on Thursday, June 22, from Olympia Valley, Washington,... READ MORE >
Playing at home, the Cook County/Silverbay Legion baseball team beat Cherry 9-2 on Thursday, June 22. The Vikings led 3-1 after the first inning and tacked on two more in the second, one in the fourth, and three in the fifth. Meanwhile Cherry had bookend runs, one in the first and one in the seventh, otherwise they were held scoreless.... READ MORE >
For six innings, the game against the Ely Timberwolves Senior Legion baseball team was close. The boys from Cook County/Silver Bay hosted the Ely Timberwolves Legion baseball team here on Tuesday, June 27, and fell behind 3-0 after the first inning. Neither team scored in the second, and CC/SB pushed two runs across the plate in the third while giving... READ MORE >
