North Shore Morning

This “Moments in Time” features author and ethno-historian Tim Cochrane.  He spoke at the Cook County Historical Society storytelling event "Stories You've Never Heard and Good Ones to Hear Again," March 9th, 2013 at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais.

The North Shore Healthcare Foundation has announced the recipients in their latest round of grants to local healthcare providers. 
 
Foundation director Karl Hansen says grants totaling $18,136.00 dollars will go to 8 local organizations, including the local hospital and clinic, three local fire departments, ISD 166, and WTIP Community Radio. 

Grant recipients:
 
·        Colvill Fire Department
          Medications for emergency kits: $636.00
 
·        WTIP Community Radio
          Antenna replacement Fund: $5,000.00
 
·        ISD 166 – Cook County Schools
          Early Childhood Screening Enrichment Packets: $1,000.00
 
·        Cook County North Shore Hospital
          Glidescope for Emergency Department: $8,000.00
 
·        Sawtooth Mountain Clinic
          Living Well with Chronic Conditions: $1,000.00
          Exam lights – LED: $1,000.00
 
·        Grand Marais Fire Department
          Annual Fire Safety Education in Schools: $300.00
 
·        Lutsen Volunteer Fire Department
          Litter wheel for trail rescue:  $1,200.00
 
 
The North Shore Healthcare Foundation is a private, independent not-for-profit organization established solely to benefit healthcare in Cook County.  The Foundation awards grants quarterly.   More information is available online at www.northshorehealthcarefoundation.org.  

The Trail folk are rounding out week two with the “Neebing (summer) Express” bearing down on the territory.  By next time we meet over the airwaves, our skinny spring will give way to the warm season solstice.

This final column for the spring season 2013 finds the atmosphere along the upper Trail remaining on the cool side. In fact the Smiths have even cranked up the woodstove a couple times since June took over. However, remembering how stifling it could be, there are no complaints coming from this resident of the woods in regard to coolness.

Once again the rain gods have forgotten border country, but on the favorable side of the ledger several spectacular sunny days were logged. On a less desirable side of things, fire danger is again on the upswing, and back country roads are choking in dust.

The sugar maples have been the last to unfurl their summer tokens in our neighborhood, thus completing the leaf-out process. With that, our summer camouflage is in place and things that we have been looking at for months are now obscured in many textures of green.

The gushing spring meltdown has rapidly given way to mere trickles in most streams. Due to the absence of rain over the watershed, and the slowdown of these sustaining lifelines, I’ve noticed the first drop in the lake level on the Gunflint. The same may already be happening on other area lakes too. The Gunflint Gal looks to have dropped about four inches from its high mark of a couple weeks ago.

The lake water is warming, although slowly. A check of the reading at the Wildersmith dock as of last Sunday showed a cool but improved 50 degrees. This is still not close to be inviting for a dip, so lake users should be cruising on the side of caution.

Since nearly all aspects of normal have been tardy with our spring, it is not unexpected that the black fly season has come late too. I don’t know this to be the case scientifically, but the cool weather must have them miffed. They’re always nasty, but they seem angrier than usual.

With these black fly nasties being one of the three ingredients for a good blueberry crop, it would seem that we might have another booming crop with a little more warmth and much needed rain.

The reconnaissance crew of mosquitoes has done their pre-season investigating and has called in their troops as well. So now it’s all about survival of the smartest. In these parts, I’m the “sultan of swat.” August can’t come soon enough!

With the frequency of moose observations along the byway on the decline, it was a real treat to catch one in a Trail-side pond during a recent jaunt. The big old gal was quite content to allow photo ops as she munched on swamp bottom tenders.

There was no accompanying calf that could be seen, and with her nonchalant approach to us nosy observers, one would think that she must have been childless. This becomes even more unsettling with the recent news from DNR researchers in regard to the alarming death rate among this year’s calf crop.

On the other hand, the bear population is reported to be immense with an estimated 12,000 in northeastern Minnesota. Not long ago, I heard about the sighting of a momma and her triplets How about that for a ready-made family?

The abundance of these brunos may also be a factor in the moose calf demise, but that is all part of nature’s plan. It’s us humans that must eliminate some of our unsavory practices to remove the part we may be playing in the moose decline equation.  

Happily, I have to report that the area “Teddys” have not made an appearance in the Wildersmith neighborhood, yet. Guess the folks down shore to the west must be keeping them occupied.

Another reminder that the fish fry at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center takes place this coming Monday, the 17^th, at noon.  Plan to get out there early to take in the beauty of the surroundings, tour through the museum and savor the smell of fried “Missouri Walleyes,” potatoes and the trimmings along the shores of Sag Lake’s front bay.

Then one month to the day later, the annual Gunflint Trail canoe races take center stage. Planning is full speed ahead. Members of the Gunflint community are needed once more to step up with their volunteerism for the event. Please say yes when called upon, we need you!

Keep on hangin’ on, and savor the beauty of our northern woods!

When we started the Lake Superior Project at the beginning of 2012, one of the most common subjects to come up besides issues facing the lake was funding for restoration projects. In 2009, President Obama established the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, allocating $475 million to projects around restoring the health of the Great Lakes. It's hard to find a project around Lake Superior health that isn't connected to the GLRI in some way. In this edition of the Lake Superior Project, we speak with Cameron Davis, senior advisor to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Great Lakes issues, about the GLRI and the latest news that the White House has committed to another five years of funding for the Initiative.

It's time for the West End to play another round of Jerk the Merc!  For many years now, North Shore Mining in Silver Bay has offered to collect and properly dispose of mercury-containing devices and waste electronics.  This year you can drop off your devices, bulbs and electronics at John's Sanitary Service, 15 Golf Course Road in Silver Bay on Tuesday, June 11 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
 
Mercury-containing devices include fluorescent bulbs, tilt switches, mercury thermometers, gas appliance safety shutoffs and, of course, any elemental mercury that you might have laying around from an old-fashioned chemistry set.
 
Waste electronics include circuit boards, computers, printers, stereos (but no speakers please), cell phones, computer monitors, TVs and microwaves.  The service is free and is open to individuals, households, small businesses and non-profits.  However, TVs, monitors and microwaves are limited to just two of each per household or business.
 
My hat is off to North Shore Mining Company for their annual commitment to keeping our environment free of toxic chemicals.  Once again, the drop-off is at John's Sanitary Service, in Silver Bay, on Tuesday, June 11 between 9 and 2.  You can call Jenny at 226-6231 for more information, or, as always, you can contact WTIP for full information.
 
I'm glad to hear the Cook County Board of Commissioners is moving toward hiring a county administrator.  The joke that I've been making is that the county already has a county administrator… and it's a combination of Janet Simonen and Auditor Brady Powers.  As with all good jokes, there is an element of truth in it, as Janet and Brady often go above and beyond the call of duty to help the county run more efficiently.  Janet's pending retirement is the perfect time to bring on a professional administrator.
 
Few people remember that Cook County briefly had a county administrator back in the '80s and it was an overall positive experience.  Since then, running a county has become exponentially more complex, and the days when the commissioners could act as their own administrator are past.  I hope the commissioners will hire a well-qualified and experienced administrator, because a good county administrator will save and earn far more money than the cost of their salary.
 
As a side benefit, it will make the job of being a county commissioner slightly less impossible and may cause a larger pool of candidates to consider running for office.  This is always a good thing in a representative democratic system.
 
One of my favorite news organizations is an online magazine called MinnPost.  Published by former Star Tribune publisher Joel Kramer, it employs some of Minnesota's best journalists writing about state politics, arts and culture, education, health care and more. 
 
Right now, I recommend a very interesting piece headlined "The Next New Economy," by Jessica Conrad, who is described in her bio as a "content manager" for another web publication called OnTheCommons.org.  Conrad paints a compelling picture of a future that she refers to as the "sharing economy."
 
She supports her prediction by describing a handful of businesses that are already successful in helping people share resources, like the popular NiceRide bike sharing program in Minneapolis.  She also mentions ZipCar, which is a fast-growing car sharing company, and Netflix, which started as a DVD sharing service but now is a streaming movie and TV service. There is a long list of sharing based companies that entrepreneurs are starting using the relatively new tools of smart phones and social networks. One that caught my eye is Sophia, which is an education sharing service.
 
I find this interesting in light of the soon-to-arrive broadband service here in Cook County.  If I were a young entrepreneur who wanted to live in the most beautiful part of the state, I'd be thinking about what sorts of services might spring up here once broadband and 4G phone service are widely available. 
 
I'd love to think up the next big thing myself, but I can never think of a great business idea until right after some else tells me about it.  As soon as the idea is out of their mouth, I say to myself, "I could have thought of that!"  I have thought about having a fleet of canoes that people could rent for BWCA Wilderness canoe trips, but it turns out someone else had thought of that one a long time ago.
 
All joking aside, Jessica Conrad points out in her MinnPost article that Forbes Magazine estimates that people will earn $3.5 billion in the sharing economy this year, with a growth rate over last year of 25 percent.  She goes on to note that in a world where the population is expected to reach 9 billion by mid-century, with the supply of natural resources dwindling, it seems obvious that we'll all have to own less, share more and find ways to cut the huge amount of waste that we now produce.
 
As recently as a few years ago, it was no news to see a moose on the Sawbill Trail.  Now, it has become a rare treat.  I saw a two-year-old bull on my way to town this week, right by the Honeymoon Trail intersection.  Not only was he a cute guy with tiny nubs of antler smaller than his ears, but he also had the classic woebegone look of an adolescent who has recently been rejected by his previously loving mother.  His expression said, as plainly as if he was talking, "I'm lonely, my feelings are hurt and now there is a big pickup truck looking at me and I don't know what to do!"  He finally ambled off down the Honeymoon Trail, where I'm sure that the school of hard knocks will soon turn him into a confident and sturdy adult moose.

The Cook County Historical Society is offering guided walking tours of Grand Marais harbor Saturdays through the summer, starting June 8.  

The tours were created by Harbor Friends, with funding from Minnesota's Lake Superior Coastal Program, and adapted with permission by the Cook County Historical Society for use in their present programming.  

Two tours will be offered - a Lighthouse Point Guided Tour at 11:30 a.m., followed by a West Beach Guided Tour at 1:00 p.m.  More information from the Historical Society at 387-2883.
 
(Click on audio mp3 above to hear an interview with tour guide Molly Hoffman)

The North Shore Forest Collaborative will offer a free workshop for North Shore landowners on Friday, June 7, from 12:30 – 4 p.m. at the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland. (Click on audio mp3 above to hear an interview with North Shore Forest Collaborative coordinator Julie O'Leary.)

The purpose of the workshop is to provide landowners with information about issues affecting their North Shore woods and hands-on assistance with tree planting and controlling invasive species on their properties.

The workshop will cover topics ranging from the effects of climate change on the North Shore forest to developing plans for woodlots, tips for successful tree planting, and products that can be harvested and made from the woods.

Presenters will include staff from the U.S. Forest Service, University of Minnesota Extension, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

More information about the workshop and registration can be found at www.sugarloafnorthshore.org/landowner.php,  or call 218-525-0001, or e-mail [email protected].

2nd Annual North Shore Landowners Workshop
June 7, 2013 12:30 - 4:00 pm
Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, Finland, MN 

• Are you wondering what you can do about the dying birch in your woods?
• Are you looking for assistance planting trees or controlling invasive plants?
• Are you interested in how climate change will affect the North Shore?
• Do you want to learn about making willow whistles and maple syrup? 

Whatever your interest or size of your property, join the North Shore Forest Collaborative for an educational and fun workshop designed specifically for private landowners on the North Shore.
 
Agenda:

This event is free and open to the public 

Click here to register

Or phone 218-525-0001, email [email protected]
 
Directions to Wolf Ridge ELC:
Follow Highway 61 approximately 66 miles north of Duluth, Mn to County Road 6 in Little Marais. You will see a large sign marking the turn to Wolf Ridge.
Take a left on County Road 6.
Travel 4 miles to the Wolf Ridge driveway (Cranberry Road).
Turn left into the driveway and follow it 2.5 miles to the main campus on the ridgetop.
 
 

The Trail is just getting used to May and here comes June! My, how the days go by in paradise!
           
May was May in name only because most of the past 31 have been like late March or April. However, the past few days have begun to take on a summer feel. Guess it took the Memorial Day weekend to jump start the official warm weather season.

As we head off into month six, there are still a few reminders of winter here and there. We still have a mini glacier holding on along the Mile O Pine, and I see a couple more spots of dirty white ice packs down on County Road 20 And some folks are still being reminded of Old Man Winter while trying to thaw frozen septic tanks and mend broken water pipes.

The past couple weeks have seen seasonal residents return by the dozens. Meanwhile, with spectacular weather, the three-day holiday saw tourists by the car- and truck-load inundate the upper Trail. Visitors to the majestic Gunflint territory were seemingly bursting with energy for time on a lake or out in the forest after being unchained from the long white season.  I surmise that most lakes, like the Gunflint, were abuzz with the hum of boaters as vacation times begin to get under way.

It’s hard to believe our summer quarter is only three weeks away, with old Sol ready to linger for our longest daylight hour. Even more difficult to comprehend is our trek then heads the other direction again.  With our spring being mostly a non-issue, rebirth is hurrying with an explosion of virescence out this way.

We year-round residents have a passion for two seasons of color, the white one just past and the green one at hand.  And boy, how we love that green, let me count the shades.  

With their pine cousins providing the backdrop, deciduous parts of our forest are in varying stages of popping their foliage. The hills are alive with the hint of chlorophyll.  A trip along the byway is displaying ever-changing hues from almost chartreuse, to lime, sage, emerald and grass, to name but a few of the countless tints. Toss in those rays of sunshine and you have an early summer spectacle.

While rapid progress is being made on the infusion of docks, boats and canoes into area lakes and the usual seasonal cabin fixits, some of us are already into the next “getting ready for winter season.” Yours truly set about splitting and stacking of firewood last Sunday.  I’ve also been busy collecting blow down stuff from winter and have accumulated four burn piles for the next time we have snow.

 That firewood task happened after catching my breath from a day with good friends putting the Smith dock together and tackling an uncooperative leaky cabin waterline. It seems like one’s work is never ending out here in border country, but oh how we love it!

Air traffic is on the increase at our sweet juice station. The hummingbirds are circling in holding patterns for a shot of our sugary concoction, and not far from our dock on the Gunflint shore, we have a pair of common Mergansers hanging out with an apparent eye on setting up for a potential egg hatching.

 There’s also a lot of loon conversation on the water and through the air, and if that talk isn’t enough, somewhere around the Wildersmith yard a nest of young crows are adding their squawking two cents worth every once in a while.

Speaking of loons, the pair that has been nesting in the bay at Chik-Wauk Museum over the past two years has returned. As yet they‘ve produced no eggs, just doing a little housekeeping.  One can keep up with the process by going to www.chikwauk.com and clicking on the prompts.

Oh, and by the way, those other winged critters are beginning to debut with the itching stings and nips on us humans. The bug dope and nets are coming out, ‘tis the season!

Tune in again next week for more bloomin’ news! Until then, keep on hangin’ on, and savor a June treat along the Gunflint!

Photo by Mykl Roventine via Wikimedia Commons: Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

It was a slow Memorial Day weekend here at Sawbill.  BWCA Wilderness travelers seemed to be here in good numbers, but the drive-in Forest Service campgrounds were half empty all weekend.  My guess is the combination of a late spring, high gas prices and a rainy forecast for most of the state was responsible for the slow traffic.  Here in the Sawbill Lake campground, four sites that were reserved for the whole weekend ended up as no-shows. 
 
The people who did show up for the holiday weekend were treated to great weather with almost no bugs.  Fishing was generally slow, although everyone seemed to catch enough for a good meal. 
 
I’m always happy to welcome a new business to the West End.  Jay Hanson and Dan Goyen have announced the establishment of North Shore Scenic Cruises based at the marina in Silver Bay. They will be sailing the historic motor vessel Wenonah on tours of the North Shore Mining Harbor and the beautiful geological formations in the Palisade Head area, and visiting the sites of historic ship wrecks. 
 
The first cruise will be June 14 and continue through the summer and fall.  North Shore Scenic Cruises has a website, which you can find by googling Lake Superior cruising, or contact WTIP for the link.  It’s great to have cruising back in the West End since the Grampa Woo stopped service several years ago.  Best of luck to Jay and Dan in their new endeavor.
 
Speaking of tours, it’s time to get your reservations made for this year’s Lundie Vacation Home Tour sponsored by the Schoeder Area Historical Society. 
The tour is scheduled for Saturday, July 13 and goes to homes and cabins designed by the famous archetict Edwin Lundie. This year the emphasis will be in the Hovland area and will end up at historic Naniboujou Lodge for a light dinner.  Information and reservations can be made by calling 218-663-7706, or by visiting the Schoeder Area Historical Society’s website.  Or, you can contact WTIP for full contact information.
 
If you can’t make it for the Lundie Tour, you can certainly stop by the Cross River Heritage Center in Schroeder to see the new exhibit, “Up From the Ashes: Forest Fires on the North Shore.”  It covers a history that has real resonance today, as large fires are a continuing presence in our lives.
 
The Cross River Heritage Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The Center is closed on Mondays.  This schedule is in place until October 19; the Center is located right in the heart of downtown Schoeder.
 
A memorial service is scheduled for Tofte native Ellis “Bud” Tormondsen Saturday, June 8 at Zoar Lutheran Church in Tofte.  Bud passed away on Feb. 15 after living in Tofte for more than 90 years.  All are welcome to come and celebrate Bud’s rich and long life.
 
A belated congratulations to Forest Service Tofte District Ranger John Wytanis, who retired at the beginning of May.  John was in charge of the Tofte District and the Isabella Work Station for a number of years.  John had many accomplishments in the Forest Service, but may be best remembered locally for his hard work and great communication skills during the Pagami Creek Fire in 2011.  That fire will certainly be a memorable career moment for him. John and his wife Marge will continue to live in Tofte, at least for a while.
 
One of the many interesting things about being in the tourism business is observing a large number of people’s behavior in what is basically in the same situation.  It provides a study of human nature to see how different people react to indentical circumstances.  One result of my lifetime in the tourism business is to remind myself, when I’m traveling as a tourist, that every clever joke I can think of has probably been told by thousands of tourists who came before me. 
 
This year, we have experienced a unique change in tourist behavior here at Sawbill.  Since the public Forest Service parking lot was built in 1962, everyone has parked their cars in neat lines facing north/south.  There are no lines on the gravel parking lot, so it just seemed like an unspoken consensus to park north/south.
 
This year, for the first time in more than 50 years, people are parking in lines facing east/west.  How is it possible that this has never happened before in the previous half century?  Why did it happen this year?  Is it somehow related to the late spring?  Have the magnetic poles shifted polarity? Ahh, the mysteries of human behavior.  They never cease to amaze.
 

The Cook County Local Energy Project offers help for homeowners interested in energy efficiency improvements.  WTIP volunteer Tracy Benson learns more in this interview with CCLEP administrator Virginia Danfelt.