As identified in last week’s column outlining the history of School Trust Lands, the Minnesota Legislature placed the management of the state’s 3.5 million acres of School Trust Lands with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). With more than 92 percent of the state’s school trust land located in 10 counties (Cook, Koochiching, St. Louis, Itasca, Lake, Cass, Aitkin, Beltrami,... READ MORE >
The establishment of the Superior National Forest kick-started a public land use debate that has continued throughout the last century as citizens and government have struggled to find an environmentally responsible balance between commercial development, recreational use and wilderness preservation. Seventeen years after Cook County was established in 1874, Congress empowered Benjamin Harrison – 23rd president of the United States... READ MORE >
Given last week’s announcement in the News-Herald regarding the $350,000 grant from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) for the planned 16-unit Lutsen housing development, I thought the timing fitting to take a look at the history of the IRRRB, which stretches back more than three-quarters of a century. Tony Sertich, former IRRRB commissioner, speaking at a Feb.... READ MORE >
It was National Sunshine Week last week, even though the skies were overcast and it was snowing March 16 on National Freedom of Information Day, the day we traditionally – at least for the last 51 years – have celebrated the birthday of President James Madison. It is no coincidence that the diminutive – five foot four and never weighing... READ MORE >
Have you ever observed the proceedings of a commissioner meeting and asked yourself that question? We’ll attempt to answer that question, but before we get started, this heads up…I am going to ask–albeit posthumously– Thomas Paine to collaborate on this week’s column. For those who are unfamiliar with Mr. Paine, he was an 18th-century English American writer and pamphleteer whose... READ MORE >
The first time tax abatement appears in history – according to English legend – is in the 11th century, when noblewoman Lady Godiva climbed aboard a white horse, clothed only in her long hair, and galloped through the streets of Coventry, England to protest her husband’s oppressive taxation on the people of Coventry. In response, husband Leofric, powerful Lord of... READ MORE >
Local EDA president Howard Hedstrom is correct when he suggests, “Problems associated with housing were determined to be the most significant economic development issue facing Cook County.” Hedstrom was referring to the 2013 findings from the Cook County Go Team’s research study conducted by The Northspan Group of Duluth, a nonprofit economic development consulting group. A year into my term... READ MORE >
If you happened to catch any of the 2017 county budget proceedings, you couldn’t help but hear the oft-quoted cliché, “Kick the can down the road.” The expression, meaning to procrastinate or put off solving a problem until later, exhibits a type of gamesmanship similarity to the childhood activity “kick the can” – when somebody kicked a can full of... READ MORE >
This week’s perspective is for the ones who spend your money and don’t want you to know; at least they have chosen to consistently ignore it or outright refute it when brought up during budget discussions. It’s the “pigment” they would prefer to keep out of the mix; however, as I have stated in previous articles, all perspectives must be... READ MORE >
Last week we looked at the Price of Local Government from the Property Tax perspective, which considered the relationship between personal income and property taxes paid by individuals and business residents living in Cook County. We substantiated the claim that Cook County residents pay a lower percentage in property tax than 80 other counties in the State of Minnesota. This... READ MORE >
