North Shore Morning

The Cook County Historical Society recently took possession of the orginal Fresnel lens from the Grand Marais lighthouse.  The lens dates back to the late 1800's and is known as a 5th order Fresnel lens, the second from the smallest of lighthouse lenses.  The process of removing the lens, in September of this year, was filmed for a documentary produced by WDSE TV channel 8 (PBS North) in Duluth called "Rare Finds."  The program will air Sunday, December 2nd at 5 p.m.

(Click on mp3 audio file above to hear an interview with Historical Society director Carrie McHugh.)

The North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum in Tofte is hosting its 3rd Annual Storytelling Dinner this Saturday, December 1st at Lutsen Resort on Lake Superior.  The featured speaker for this year's event is Adolph Ojard.  Ojard is a North Shore native of Norwegian descent.  He grew up in Knife River, the grandson of two commercial fishing families; the Torgersons and the Ojards.   Ojard is now the Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.

The dinner kicks off with a social hour at 5:30, followed by the dinner and presentation by Ojard.  Proceeds from the dinner will benefit the North Shore Commercial Fishing Museum and the Tofte Historical Society.  For reservations, call Lutsen Resort at 663-7212.

(Click on the mp3 audio file above to hear an interview with Adolph Ojard.)

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on what we're grateful for. In this edition of Sawtooth Mountain Elementary School News, students share what they are thankful for during this holiday season.

Back in the woods once more, after another whirlwind trip to Iowa to care for some family illness matters. It’s great to be home to the sereneness of border country.
 
The venture into semi-civilized urban America finds confusion reigning supreme with way too many people and nightmarish traffic. They call where we live unorganized territory, hah! I guess I’m just getting old and probably way too cynical, only need to be out in the woods!
 
My return finds that little has been accomplished in the advance on winter. In fact, as I key this segment, it is has been unseasonably warm for this late in month 11.
 
The forest floor remains dry and uncovered, while some of the lakes that had iced over before my departure have given way to liquid again. Thus, Mother Nature is forsaking the “freezing over moon” of November which is the lunar moniker in Ojibwe lore.
 
As the territory celebrates this Thanksgiving time we have stepped back into October-like weather. One would hope that the present conditions are not an indicator of another un-winter. Yours truly is thinking that perhaps the full moon of next week will shine down on the northland and usher in a gust from the “great northern express.”
 
The area is extremely quiet as we offer thanks for the bounty with which we have been blessed. Several of the year-round folks have even trekked off to points south for the turkey day extravaganza. The only activity along the Mile O Pine is that of the wild neighborhood critters, and they have plenty for which to give thanks with my daily provisions.
 
Speaking of critters, our white tail population can breathe a little easier now with the closing of rifle hunting season last Sunday. Deer have three nemeses as I see it: predators (wolves), fast-moving vehicles and stalkers with guns. Taking whistling slugs out of the equation for another year will improve survival chances by one-third. How about that you deer, only two worries now!  
 
I don’t know how the venison seekers have done in these parts, but I’m guessing they did OK. Those I know usually put meat in the freezer. Success is in the eyes of the beholder. Hunting, like fishing, is always good, but sometimes the shooting/catching is not. It seems to me the biggest thrill that comes with this pursuit and shoot experience must be from the quiet anticipation while out in this magical wilderness creation. It’s just a bonus if game is taken home.
 
Last Thursday was the annual statewide Give to the Max day for favorite non-profits. Word comes from the Gunflint Trail Historical Society that many friends and supporters opened their hearts and wallets to donate over $4,500 to the organization in this year’s endeavor.
 
The amount given placed the GTHS among the top 12 recipients from the northeast Minnesota region according to the Duluth News Tribune rankings. Thanks to everyone who made this happen! If you didn’t get to support this worthwhile event, it’s not too late to make an end of the year donation, just go to the GTHS website for more information.
 
As if the year 2012 hasn’t whizzed by fast enough, here we are traipsing off into the holiday season. In fact, the turmoil of the coming blitz started before Halloween with the onslaught of catalogs and media ads coming from every which way. The aura of this wonderful, but overindulgent, season across the U.S. seems to just about consume everything and everybody. The Smiths even have a Christmas cactus that is so excited that it bloomed unusually early, shortly after ghosts and goblins time.
 
See you at the Mall, it’s Black Friday! Oops, you won’t actually see me there. I’ll be shopping in Grand Marais, by mail order and online. The UPS man will be toting my deliveries up this way in his 250-horse, shiny brown buggy. That Mr. UPS is some kind of Santa!
 
Keep on hangin, on and savor the dream of wilderness adventure!

Airdate: November 23, 2012

Beau Larson and Carl Hansen from Lutsen and Tofte are independent filmmakers who are both graduates of the University of Montana Media Arts program and Cook County High School.  They recently collaborated on the production of “Breaking Trail,” a film about the North Shore, Lutsen and the growing mountain biking scene here in the West End. There will be a Hollywood-style premiere for the film at North House Folk School Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., complete with a red carpet and paparazzi. Although there will be bouncers at the door with a “guest list,” it is all in fun, and everyone is welcome with no charge.  Snacks and refreshments will be served.
 
Carl and Beau were recently featured on the popular television program, The Playlist, hosted by Karen Sunderman on WDSE, Channel 8, in Duluth.  The well-done program highlighted the young filmmakers’ creativity and success by weaving together interviews with footage from “Breaking Trail” and other films they have made.  You can watch the Playlist story online at WDSE.org or just Google “Channel 8 Playlist.”
 
As everyone knows, the recent accidental explosion at the Taconite Harbor power plant in Schroeder caused serious injuries and burns to Joe Fredrickson from Silver Bay. Joe is recovering slowly in the burn unit at Miller Dwan in Duluth. He has undergone a series of painful and difficult skin grafts, but is showing continuous improvement and is expected to make a full recovery. You can follow Joe’s progress on the Caring Bridge website by searching it for Joseph Fredrickson.
 
At the most recent meeting of the Taconite Harbor Citizen’s Advisory Panel, power plant manager Dave Rannetsberger talked about the accident, Joe’s recovery, and the ongoing investigation into the cause. He said that three different investigation teams have conducted detailed inquiries. It will be a while until the results are made public, but it is obvious that the explosion was caused by coal dust coming in contact with an ignition source. Meanwhile the power plant has been, and remains, shut down while repairs are made and a new set of safety protocols are developed to prevent any chance of a similar accident in the future. 
 
The explosion was so powerful that it blew the ceiling off the room where it occurred. All four walls were bulged out and extensive damage was done to equipment. Dave commented that he was glad to have several well-trained first responders on hand to begin treating Joe immediately after the accident, which very likely helped reduce the severity of his injuries.  Dave also had high praise for the Schroeder, Tofte, and Lutsen fire departments.
 
Another piece of bad news was received this week with the announcement that Northshore Mining in Silver Bay would be shutting down two furnaces in the taconite plant.  It is estimated that 125 workers will be laid off in Minnesota, but it isn’t clear how many of those will be cut from the plant and how many from the mine.  Unfortunately, those most recently hired are most likely to be laid off, so breadwinners for quite a few young families will soon be out of work.  They will be eligible for unemployment benefits, but many have not accrued much supplemental wage support that the company pays to laid off workers. The plant’s owner, Cliffs Natural Resources, says that they are making the cuts quickly in response to market conditions, hoping that by doing so they can reduce the length of the layoff.  Although the announcement was made last week, the furnaces won’t be shut down until shortly after the first of the year.
 
The ice on area lakes continues to come and go with the big swings in our local weather conditions.  Sawbill Lake is about half thawed at this writing and appears to be on its way to losing most of its ice for the second time this season. Looking at the forecast though, I think the next freeze up will be the one that lasts until spring.
 
In this season of thanksgiving, let me wish everyone in the extended West End community a safe and happy holiday season.

The early season for Minnesota's first regulated wolf hunt has closed with nearly 150 wolves killed.
 
The state Department of Natural Resources numbers show that by the Sunday, November 18th 10 p.m. deadline for registering the last day's wolf kills, hunters reported 147 animals taken in the state's three zones.  The northwest zone had 78 wolves killed, followed by the northeast with 61 and the east central zone with eight. 
 
The DNR had set a limit of 200 wolves for the early season. The number that weren't taken to reach the limit will be added to the second season, which is open to both hunters and trappers. That season runs from November 24th to January 31st. The limit for both seasons is 400.
 
The DNR issued 3,600 permits for the early wolf-hunting season and 2,400 for the late season.
 
The region's wolves were taken off the endangered list last January.
    
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DNR Wolf specialist Dan Stark spoke with WTIP morning show host Mary Manning on Tuesday, November 20 about how the early season went and what to expect in the upcoming late hunting and trapping season. 

Wendy Quade has taught Anishinaabemowin and American History at Cloquet Sr. High School for ten years. In this edition of Anishinaabe Way, Ms. Quade and her students share their hard work in learning how to speak the Ojibwe language.

Ms. Quade also discusses the importance of indigenous language retention and cultural history curriculum in our schools.

Deane Morrison is a science writer at the University of Minnesota, where she authors the Minnesota Starwatch column. In this edition of Northern Sky, Deane explains the apparition of Jupiter, one of the brightest objects in the sky; its opposition (which is supposed to be a nice one); and how to differentiate it from the stars around it by location and color. We can also see Venus and Saturn, the November full moon, and much more.

Read this month's Starwatch column.

Minnesota law requires all families to participate in early child screenings. In this edition of Sawtooth Elementary School News, preschool teacher Amanda Hand explains how early child screenings work.

If you would like to know more about early child screening, please contact Lynn Schields at the Early childhood and Family Education office at 218-387-2271, ext.  446.

It’s National Native American Heritage Month. Cook County Middle School students celebrated this event with a visit from Olympian Billy Mills. Learn more in this edition of CCMS News.