Instead of heading south like the geese, flocks of authors, publishers, and book lovers traveled north over the weekend for the North Shore Readers and Writers Festival put on by the Grand Marais Art Colony. The event, which started in 2015 and takes place every other year, hosts a variety of creative workshops, panel discussions, and author-led classes across town.... READ MORE >
For nearly 150 years, the Grand Marais harbor has been at the symbolic center of this small town’s economy and livelihood. To this day, if one knows where to look, the leftovers of antique immigrant trades—fish houses, ice harvests, and cargo ship cleats—dot the shoreline of Artist Point. While out for a walk last week down a rarely traipsed trail,... READ MORE >
All along the shore of the big lake, the woods are speckled with snowshoe tracks left behind from folks tapping and monitoring the spring maple syrup run. Up the Caribou Trail near Lutsen, Herb Wills has been tapping trees and boiling sap since 1984. It all started out as a simple, self-taught hobby, as it is for many backyarders throughout... READ MORE >
Adding another unique way of living and moving to their repertoire, Dave and Amy Freeman have spent the last eight months puttering south on their sailboat named “Discovery.” Last August they left the Knife River Marina and by way of the Great Lakes sailed east to New York City. Now some 3,000 miles away, Dave and Amy are riding out... READ MORE >
Spring felt well on its way this weekend with temperatures cresting 40º F as the annual Dog Days of Winter event took place up the trail at Devil’s Track and Poplar Lake. Put on by Visit Cook County and hosted by a variety of lodges, this late season gathering celebrates the return of the sun, snowmobile races, and a non-competitive... READ MORE >
Enticing staff to small town hospitals, like North Shore Health in Grand Marais, is an ongoing struggle for rural communities. One way hospitals get around this issue is through staffing agencies, which recruit, transport, and schedule physicians to temporarily fill positions. This kind of doctor is called locum tenens and essentially means “to hold the place of, to substitute for”... READ MORE >
To taste a unique piece of the wilderness, all one has to do in Cook County is hop on a dog sled tour. Numerous local businesses preserve the northern tradition of traveling by dog team. Local establishments like Skyport Lodge and Bearskin Lodge, Gunflint Lodge, and Points Unknown in Hovland, offer primarily tourists—coming up from the cities—a peek into a... READ MORE >
With Arctic winds driving temperatures downwards along shore-frozen Lake Superior and Cook County schools shut down due to the cold, the dog mushers of the northland drove onwards on a brutal January day to finish the 300-mile John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. For the first time in recent memory, husband and wife Blake and Jennifer Freking of nearby Finland, Minnesota... READ MORE >
Few things are as refreshing as the smell of a freshly cut spruce tree, especially if you’ve gone out and cut it down yourself. Last weekend, Sarah Lakosky and her two boys, Ethan (10) and Ari (6), decided to drive up the Gunflint Trail in search of a suitable Christmas tree. Their packing list for the excursion was affordable and... READ MORE >
Lutsen Mountains ski resort, co-owned and operated by the Skinner and Rider families, has kicked off the ski season with a promising fall. Steady cooler than normal temperatures plus the recent snow accumulation indicate a solid start to the year. In 2017 Lutsen suffered from cold spells over the holidays, which impacted skier numbers. In the changing ski industry, temperatures... READ MORE >
