North Shore Morning

Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith

May 1, 2020

After April seemed like two or three months crammed into one, Gunflint territory has made it to May. We all welcome month five with hope for more lives saved and lessening complexities of overwhelming suffering and sadness.

May in the northland is when memories of the past six months fade, and verdant realities are within our sight.

A confirmation of warmth along the Mile O Pine and all around the area is displayed with about a 50/50 split between bare earth and dingy snow. The power of “Sol” has taken a big bite out of winter remains over the past few days. Although friends out hiking recently raved of bare Trails, they still had to navigate thigh deep snow a time or two during their trek along the border route.

Simultaneously the sun has been gnawing at lake ice cover. I’m told the far west end is opening at the Cross River Bridge, but there’s about eighteen inches of frozen stuff at least from mid-lake near Wildersmith, and on to the east sand beach. There was even snowmobile traffic by the place as recent as last weekend.

I’ve been thinking, ice-out on the Gunflint might not happen before the May 9th fishing opener. If the recent warmth hangs on, this idea might need re-consideration. I heard one local has predicted the twelfth. We’ll see! In 2019, ice departed Gunflint Lake the day walleye chasing commenced.

Here in the yard, the gap between the house and the nearest snow bank has expanded to about three feet, allowing the green sprouts of Squill and Rhubarb to take advantage of soaking up warm rays. It’s May for sure and the month of the Ojibwe, “budding flowers” moon will shine down on us before we meet again!

In contrast, twenty feet away, nearly a foot of snow remains on my shaded woodshop roof. While in another direction, the woodshed has melted off the three foot mass of just three weeks ago. It just goes to show how much strength the gaseous solar ball emits.

Happy days in the woods are here again as numerous moose sightings have been reported. Yours truly had not observed any for several months during the winter, but have observed three in the past weeks. Others have reported seeing a foursome in one location along with more single viewings.

On the smaller side of our “wild animal kingdom”, chippies have emerged from winter quarters, making me wonder if the Bruno population and other hibernators have made any residential stops along the byway. If anyone has a sighting to report, I’d enjoy hearing such.

Another report came to me from a fellow down the road telling of a visit from one of those masked bandits. It’s not the first time a raccoon has been seen along the Trail, but is still somewhat unusual.

The presence of one, ring-tail, likely means potential for an invasion over time. They are not the nicest critters to have around, for any number of reasons. While there’s a reason for every being of the forest, I kind of equate their popularity with the equivalence of a skunk, rattlesnake or alligator. How do they get up this far north, I wonder? I’ll bet they are hooking a ride on the trucks of those sweet corn peddlers from down south in the summer.

As the delayed opening of the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center was announced last week, I mentioned planning is underway to create a virtual Campus.

Funding for developing, on-line programs, presentations and a virtual museum is needed. All of this programming falls outside of the yearly GTHS/CW budget, and is absent support revenue coming through the gates. The virtual Campus will assist in keeping staff employed and community members/far away visitors connected until Chik-Wauk is open again. Any contributions to help would be greatly appreciated. To offer underwriting assistance, go to… gunflinttrailhistoricalsociety.org/join.php, or send a contribution to GTHS, 28 Moose Pond Drive, Grand Marais, MN 55604.

The COVID-19 battle continues eating away at America, both physically and emotionally. All are encouraged to work harder at being patient and prudent in the push to regain a degree of normalcy. Our behavior to stay safe and at the same time protect others remains critical.

In the words of iconic actress, Julie Andrews, try just “standing still a moment” during a time of frustration or disgust, before jumping into endangering situations! You know, “everybody matters”!

For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, and each always counts, as special!

In this edition of North Woods Naturalist, Chel Anderson talks about the on and off again spring we've been experiencing over the past few weeks.

Cook County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) Financial Assistance Supervisor, Allison Plummer talks with North Shore Morning host, Mark Abrahamson about the financial assistance programs available to Cook County residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

For questions about assistance programs, email:  IM@ co.cook.mn.us; or call 218-387-3620

Listen below:

PRESS RELEASE FROM PHHS:

Help available locally through Cook County PHHS:

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program that helps Minnesotans with low income buy the food they need for nutritious and well-balanced meals. Benefits are available through EBT cards that can be used like money. 
  
  • The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act allows SNAP households who are not currently at the maximum allotment to receive additional food benefits. The additional benefits are the difference between what they already received and the maximum allotment for their SNAP household size. The supplement is available for two months (March and April). The program for these supplements is Emergency SNAP or E-SNAP.

• The Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) and Diversionary Work Program (DWP) are Minnesota’s income assistance programs to help families with low incomes move to financial stability through work. Families and pregnant women who qualify for these programs receive employment support services and job counseling and help with food, childcare and other basic needs. 
• General Assistance (GA) and Minnesota Supplemental Aid (MSA) are Minnesota’s income assistance programs for adults without children, seniors, and people with disabilities. GA is a monthly cash payment for adults who are unable to work. MSA is a small extra monthly cash benefit for adults who are eligible for federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI).  
• Emergency Assistance can help with shelter expenses, such as past due rent, a damage deposit, or emergency shelter to prevent homelessness. Emergency Assistance also help pay for utilities when there is threat of disconnection. Utilities include electricity, heat and water.

Apply for these programs online at applymn.dhs.mn.gov/. You can also call or email PHHS to request a paper application. Paper applications are also available outside the PHHS offices on the ramp at the north end of the Cook County courthouse. You may also apply over the phone with PHHS for SNAP and other income assistance programs.

• For questions about assistance programs:
  
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Call: (218) 387-3620
  • Fax: (218) 387-3020
  • Mail:  Cook County Public Health and Human Services

411 W. 2nd Street Grand Marais, MN 55604

• A drop box is also located on the ramp on the north end of the Cook County courthouse.

 
 
 
Other Available Assistance Programs:

• Veterans may be eligible for grants through the American Legion. Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Legislature recently approved $6.2 million to provide $1,000 emergency grants to Minnesota Veterans financially affected by COVID-19.  Visit http://mnlegion.org/are-you-a-veteran-impacted-by-covid-19/ or contact Cook County Veteran’s Services officer at [email protected].
• The State of Minnesota has extended the Energy Assistance Program to July 1, 2020. Instead of the three months' proof of income requirement, it has been reduced to one month to help those recently unemployed/laid off. For more information, please call or email AEOA or visit AEOA's energy assistance website: https://www.aeoa.org/housing/energy-assistance.
• Unemployment Insurance is available to people who have temporarily or permanently lost their job or had their hours reduced because of COVID-19. For more information on applying for unemployment benefits if your employment has been affected by COVID-19, visit the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Unemployment Benefits page of the  MN Department of Employment and Economic Development website. This site also includes information for individuals who are self-employed, independent contractors, freelance or gig workers, who were not previously eligible for unemployment insurance, but are now eligible.

• The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) authorizes stimulus payments to be made to many people in the U.S. Payments will be distributed beginning in mid-April and will be distributed automatically, with no action required for most people. The payments are available to many people, even those who do not make enough money to file taxes. Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return do not need to take any action; and they will receive their payment directly to their bank account. The amount of these payments varies depending on your one’s financial situation. The IRS will update this page as more information becomes available. You can also find more information and FAQs here.

For more information on other community organizations and non-profit agencies that can provide help during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Cook County COVID-19 Hub provides current and accurate information, maps and resources about the community wide response to the coronavirus. Information shared here is compiled from a variety of sources. The Health and Community Service Agency map includes information on local non-profits and service agencies that can provide support in the areas of food and nutrition, health and wellness, mental health, transportation, senior services and more. This information is also available by calling Cook County PHHS and requesting a printed copy of the Cook County Services Directory, a guide compiled by Cook County PHHS that includes information on local food shelves, financial resources and supports, and other services.

NORTHERN SKI – Deane Morrison
April 25-May 8 2020

In late April and early May, we get to watch Venus sink into the sun’s afterglow. To see our sister planet at its best and brightest, we have to wait for a dark sky, and this time of year the sun is going down later each night. And the longer we wait, the lower Venus gets. 

On Saturday, April 25, a waxing crescent moon appears below Venus and next to Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus, the bull. The next night, Sunday, April 26, a fatter moon appears at about the same level as Venus. Both these solar system objects will be between Betelgeuse, the gigantic red star in Orion, to the lower left, and Capella, the brightest star in Auriga, the charioteer, to the upper right. On the 27th and 28th, the moon moves through the stars of Gemini. On May 1st, the moon is just past first quarter, and it appears above Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, the lion. The moon will also be part of the backward question mark of stars known as the Sickle, which outlines Leo’s head. The moon may wash out the stars of the Sickle, but they’ll be easier to find in several days, after the moon has moved on. Between the 4th and 5th of May, the moon passes over Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, the maiden. 

May’s full moon arrives at 5:45 a.m. on the 7th. It’ll be big and bright, another supermoon. You might want to look for it the night before or the night after, even though it’ll be somewhere around half a day before or past full. If you go out the morning of the 7th to see it at its roundest, be advised that from Grand Marais the moon sets, in the west, at 5:59 a.m. 

The morning sky continues to brighten earlier and earlier, turning into some kind of insomniac’s wonderland. These days you really have to get out by 5 a.m. to see Jupiter, that’s the big bright light in the southeast, and especially Saturn and Mars, before sunlight starts extinguishing them. If you haven’t been following them, Saturn is not far to the left, that is, east, of Jupiter, and Mars is even farther away to the east, and lower. You may notice Mars getting higher from day to day, but the more noticeable change is Saturn and Jupiter moving westward. As the month progresses, the gap between Mars and Saturn gets really wide. 

The Summer Triangle of bright stars is also up in the predawn sky. Above Jupiter and Saturn is Altair, in Aquila, the eagle. Moving up from Altair, we have the brightest star in the Triangle, Vega, in the constellation Lyra, the lyre of Orpheus. And moving down from Vega and a bit east, there’s Deneb, in Cygnus the swan. Also, the Milky Way forms a ribbon stretching from south to northeast. 

The end of April and beginning of May have some good dates for spotting the International Space Station in the morning sky. The sightings run from April 26 to May 1. The most spectacular will probably be the last one, on May 1, when the ISS makes its appearance at 4:32 a.m.,18 degrees above the southwest horizon. It’ll be bright and visible for four minutes, and it gets as high as 60 degrees, or two-thirds of the way to overhead. For a list of the exact dates and times near Grand Marais, search for “spot the station,” click on “sighting opportunities,” go to the map of Minnesota and click on the Grand Portage National Monument icon. 

Superior National Forest Update with Steve Robertsen.
April 24, 2020

Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) Coordinator, Andrea Orest, details changes to the Safe Routes to School and Bike Rodeo due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pack and Paddle with Scott Oeth is a monthly feature on North Shore Morning.
Scott talks about "Wilderness Skill Building at Home" in this edition of Pack and Paddle.

North Shore Morning host, Mark Abrahamson talks with Valerie Eliasen, North Shore Health Care Foundation Executive Director about the NSHCF April board meeting.

"Superior Reviews"  by Lin Salisbury.

In this edition, Lin reviews local author, Staci Drouillard's new book, "Walking the Old Road: A People's History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe".