North Shore Morning

Field Notes with Molly Hoffman can be heard every Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning between 8:00 and 10:00.  Support for Field Notes comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Cook County adventurers Dave and Amy Freeman are spending a year in the wilderness. On a regular basis they’ll be sharing some of their experiences travelling the BWCAW. Here’s their latest installment as they paddle through the regrowth of the Pagami Creek fire area.

(Photo by Eli Sagor on Flickr)

All students are welcome to walk or bike with the 'Walking School Bus' group on October 21. WTIP’s Veronica Weadock spoke with Safe Routes to School Coordinator Maren Webb and Border Patrol Agent Matthew Curran on North Shore Morning.

For more information contact Maren Webb at [email protected] or 387-2330.

Deane Morrison is a science writer at the University of Minnesota. She authors the Minnesota Starwatch column, and contributes to WTIP bi-weekly on the Monday North Shore Morning program through "Northern Sky," where she shares what's happening with stars, planets and more.
A busy morning sky with Venus, Jupiter, and Mars fairly high in the east; Mars and Jupiter at their closest on October 17th; a full moon rising on October 26th at its fullest at 7:05am on the 27th.

The libraries in Cook County have many friends…and you’re invited to join them.  WTIP volunteer Sherrie Lindskog spoke with Nancy Backlund and Karen Kobey, board members of the Library Friends of Cook County on North Shore Morning.  
 

As I write this, there is only one car in the parking lot here at Sawbill.  The busiest canoeing season in recent years is finally coming to a close.  The North Shore resorts are still hopping, but the fall colors are now past their peak and the quiet season is just around the corner.
 
For the year-around resorts and businesses, the deep valleys in income that occur in November and April are a real problem.  They go from being desperately short of staff - to wildly overstaffed - for a good month before the winter tourism season kicks in.  Layoffs are hard on everyone, but if the staff is kept on, it has the practical effect of suppressing wages, as the slow season must be averaged with the busy season.
 
The solution, of course, is to give visitors a reason to come to Cook County during the slow months.  One of the best examples of that strategy is the upcoming Bluegrass Masters Weekend at Lutsen Resort.
 
Celebrating its 25th year this year, the event is a unique partnership between Lutsen Resort and the nonprofit North Shore Music Association.  This year it is happening on November 6, 7 and 8. 
 
This time around, the visiting bluegrass master is Mike Witcher, who plays the resophonic guitar, which is commonly known as the Dobro.  It is an acoustic version of the steel guitar, with the strings being picked with the right hand while the notes are formed with a steel bar held in the left hand.
 
An in-demand session player in L.A. and Nashville, Mike Witcher has worked with such artists as Dwight Yoakam, Dolly Parton, Bette Midler, Peter Rowan, Sara Watkins from Nickel Creek and John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin. He has played the Grand Ole Opry and Prairie Home Companion many times, and you can hear him on hundreds of records, sound tracks, commercials, and TV shows.
 
Mike is bringing an all-star bluegrass band with him.  The master players will be giving workshops all day on Saturday.  You can register for the workshops on the spot Saturday morning.  The band will present a concert on Saturday night in the Lutsen Resort Ballroom.
 
The coolest part of the event are the jam sessions that are almost continuous in every nook and cranny of the resort.  Most of the visitors who attend are musicians themselves and they play from early in the morning until early the next morning throughout the weekend.  If you like bluegrass music, I highly recommend that you stop by Lutsen Resort some time during the weekend to walk around and listen to the spontaneous music.  The high level of musicianship will surprise you and I guarantee that you will have a good time!
 
Here are a couple of quick reminders for events at Birch Grove School and Community Center in Tofte:  The annual Halloween Carnival will be on Sunday, October 25, from 2 until 4 p.m.  It is a wahoo good time for all, especially the under 15 set.
 
Mark your calendar for the Community Lunch at Birch Grove on the second Tuesday of every month.  No need to call ahead – you can just show up at 11:30 and enjoy lunch with your friends and neighbors, prepared by chefs Julie Aldinger and Barb Merritt.  There is a reasonable charge in exchange for a delicious meal and some great conversation.
 
You may recall the Norwegian murder mystery trilogy best known as “The Land of Dreams” series. The three books won a prestigious Scandinavian writing award and were translated into English a few years ago by the University of Minnesota Press.  The books included many real places and people from the West End, including yours truly.
 
Now, according to the Minnesota Film Board, a deal has been made to produce the books as a television show titled “Minnesota.”  I am a very minor character in the book, but if my character is included in the TV show, I may get the real world answer to that old hypothetical question of which actor would portray me on TV?
 
I’m actually hoping that Sawbill and I will both get cut from the screenplay.  The last thing I want is indirect television fame, especially because my fictional alter ego isn’t a very nice person.  Sawbill Canoe Outfitters is portrayed in the book as being fantastically successful – practically an excuse to print money.  While this is flattering, any small business owner will tell you that it is far from reality.
 
It sounds like the whole project is a long way from a done deal.  In the unlikely event that the show is produced and is actually watched by a significant number of people, it will just be part of the interesting life that we all get to lead, here in the West End of Cook County.
 
 
 

In Part I of the six part series, "The Inherent Right of Sovereignty, in the Words and Experiences of Anishinaabe People," we are introduced to Professor Jill Doerfler, the Head of the American Indian Studies Department at UMD. She explains the inherent right of sovereignty from both current and historical perspectives and shares the goals of The Tribal Sovereignty Institute, a new community-based research and education initiative at UMD.

We also meet April (Clearwater-Day) McCormick, the Roads and Realty Manager of the Grand Portage Reservation. She talks about her experience as a graduate of UMD's Master of Tribal Administration and Governance program and shares her insights about the uniqueness of tribal sovereignty as it applies to her current work, as well as her former position as Secretary-Treasurer of the Grand Portage Reservation, which she held from 2011-2014.
 

Director Carrie McHugh gives an update on what's happening at the Cook County Historical Society.

Sophia reports the latest School News.

Crockpot cooking is a food skill that can help families who don’t have a lot of time to cook but would like to enjoy more home-cooked meals. WTIP volunteer Barb Heideman talked with instructor Harley Newell-Acero on North Shore Morning. 
 

This one-hour class will be offered both Friday, October 16, at 6pm and on Sunday, October 25, at 12:30pm. Registration and more information is available from Hartley at 370-2450.

(Photo courtesy of Melissa Doroquez on Flickr)