West End News: January 1

The popular shuttle bus is up and running between all the major resort destinations in the West End.  While the service is geared toward visitors, locals can take advantage of it too. You can call the front desk of any West End resort to get the schedule and details.
 
Cook County Higher Education has another health-related course coming up soon. This course will certify you to be a Health Unit Coordinator.  I think we used to call this a station secretary back in the day, but things are a little more complex in the medical world now.  In any case, this course, held right here in Cook County, will prepare you to run a nursing station in a hospital or extended care facility, or be a patient services assistant, registration interviewer, or patient care coordinator, all jobs that are in high demand now and in the future.
 
As always, the wonderful people at Cook County Higher Ed will do whatever it takes to make you successful.  Just give them a call at 387-3411 or email [email protected].
 
As we hang the new calendars here in the West End, the local news is almost overwhelmingly good.
 
Lutsen Mountains, the largest private employer in Cook County, announced a huge new investment in equipment and an ambitious expansion of ski runs.  This welcome announcement comes right on the heels of the completion of the new water pipeline that dramatically expands the snow-making capacity at the hill.
 
The pipeline also protects the Poplar River, which just received a large grant of its own to continue the improvement of the river’s water quality.  The grant should allow the Poplar River to be removed from the list of impaired rivers in Minnesota, hopefully within the next few years. 
 
And the list goes on: The IRRRB just provided key funding for Tofte’s senior housing project, an education initiative that includes Cook County, the continuing upgrade of the Superior National golf course in Lutsen and the expansion of the Cook County Airport.
 
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, a list of land available to build affordable housing is being drawn up along with a concrete action plan to finally ease the severe housing crunch for young working people.
 
If you venture out and about at this time of year, you can’t help but notice how busy it is at the businesses that provide services to visitors.
 
And, just for fun, gas prices are lower than they’ve been for a long, long time and the economy is finally picking up speed after the great recession.
 
There are so many other good things happening in the West End, that I don’t have time to mention them all here.
 
All of this good news reminds me of the situation in Duluth, where optimism and positive future plans also abound. Duluth is currently the darling of the media, touting its economic vitality and especially the high quality of life.  Duluth’s photogenic and articulate young mayor isn’t hurting them either.
 
It’s interesting to me how Duluth’s Mayor Don Ness characterizes Duluth’s turnaround from aging rustbelt failure to a hip and exciting growth center.  Instead of the tired political rhetoric about raising taxes versus cutting taxes or growing government versus shrinking government, he talks about having the courage to tackle serious problems, even when they’re painful, and seizing opportunities as they present themselves. 
 
The mayor’s overriding political philosophy is to do the best job possible, never stop striving for consensus on making the community better for everyone, and trust that the voters will reward sincere effort.  It sure seems to be working for him and the City of Duluth.
 
I sense the same spirit alive here in Cook County and I hope it will spread quickly to the rest of the country and world.
 
So here’s hoping for another year of optimism, growth, fun and community spirit here in the beautiful West End.

(Lutsen Mountains Corporation)