On December 5, 2013, Cook County Highway Department Maintenance Supervisor Russell Klegstad called the Cook County News-Herald to express a serious concern for the safety of the children in Grand Marais. The county has an agreement with the city of Grand Marais to plow and clear snow from the city streets above Highway 61. With the recent storm that dumped... READ MORE >
Anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to grow up in a Northwoods resort family now has a chance to find out. Timothy McDonnell, the third of Pat and Bette McDonnell’s six children, has written a memoir about growing up at Gateway Lodge called The Whole Forest for a Backyard: A Gunflint Trail Wilderness Memoir. “All of... READ MORE >
It won’t take you long to read The Land of Dreams by Norwegian author Vidar SundstØl. That’s not because it’s a short novel. The newly released English translation of this novel is 284 pages long, but it’s so interesting that you probably won’t put it down until you’re done reading it. And then you will long for the second book... READ MORE >
The county board has labored this fall to whittle the 2014 levy down to a decrease of $4,213 from this year’s levy. On December 3, 2013 the board discussed the budget in preparation for that evening’s truth-in-taxation meeting. One piece of good news for the county and the city is that starting in January, they will be exempt from having... READ MORE >
Commissioner Bruce Martinson is encouraging every county employee to sign up for a YMCA membership. “A healthy workforce is a productive workforce,” he said at the county board meeting on December 3, 2013. At its previous meeting, the board had talked about the possibility of the county paying for a corporate membership for all of its employees to belong to... READ MORE >
Two weeks after agreeing to write a letter of support for grant funding for a “Complete Streets” workshop led by a nonprofit organization called Smart Growth America, the county board withdrew its support for the grant. On November 17, 2013, Kristin Wharton of the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic’s Moving Matters project invited the county board to be part of a countywide... READ MORE >
The Minnesota Department of Health (MnDOH) identified a number of deficiencies at the Cook County North Shore Care Center after a visit to the facility in September. The Department of Health was conducting an inspection on behalf of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a significant source of funding for the facility. Dignity and communication The Department of... READ MORE >
“I firmly believe that history and geography are destiny.” That’s what Twin Cities international law attorney Mary McCormick displayed on a screen when she talked with a group of Cook County citizens at the Cook County Community Center in September about the country of Myanmar, otherwise known as Burma. She was a volunteer speaker for the Great Decisions discussion program... READ MORE >
As the county board prepares to finalize its 2014 budget, commissioners continue to try to whittle expenses down. On November 26, 2013, Cook County Sheriff Mark Falk defended his request for another dispatcher/jailer position in 2014. When he applied for a job as a City of Grand Marais police officer in 1989, the job entailed 20 hours of law enforcement... READ MORE >
A solution to the challenge of finding affordable housing in Grand Marais may be around the corner. At the November 26, 2013 county board meeting, Leah Hall and Scott Zahoric of Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency (AEOA) proposed a plan to build a 24-unit townhome style development on the southeast edge of Cedar Grove Business Park. Hall explained that a need... READ MORE >
