North Shore News Hour

Devil Track Lake in Grand Marais has long been the location of snowmobile drag races sponsored by the Cook County RidgeRiders Snowmobile Club. In March 2022, the local lake will be the site of a major snowmobiling event, an attempt to break the world’s record for a single snowmobiler riding nearly 2,000 miles in under 24 hours.

The rider making this attempt is Willie Ewing of Becker, Minnesota. He is a retired professional snowmobile and ATV racer and a stunt pilot who built his own plane. He is a certified snowmobile technician and he owns The Shock Shop in Becker.

WTIP reached out to Ewing with a number of questions—first, why Devil Track Lake in Cook County? Ewing explains that it is because Devil Track Lake is long and allows for a five-mile track on the ice. It also has less traffic than lakes in the Becker area.

The world record attempt will take place starting at noon on March 8, 2022. Ewing will have a crew of about 15 people assisting him. The Cook County RidgeRiders snowmobile club will provide grooming for the track.

To break the world record, Ewing will have to drive at speeds of 80-100 miles per hour throughout the event. That is greatly in access of the normal snowmobile traffic speeds, so he has obtained authorization from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which waived the speed limit for the day, just for the event.

To travel at that high speed, it seems that the snowmobile used must be loud, but Ewing said it is not. He said the machine he is using is a factory stock-produced four-stroke snowmobile that passes all current snowmobile emission standards. He said it will likely be quieter than many of the machines that travel the snowmobile trail across Devil Track Lake every day. He told WTIP the machine is as fuel-efficient as it can be. 

Aside from being an extreme sports enthusiast, WTIP asked Ewing why he decided to try to break this world record. Ewing said for several reasons. One, he said, to bring the world record back to the United States. The current record for the greatest distance by a single rider is held by Nicholas Musters in Lake of Bays, Ontario. In March 2011, Musters rode for 3,069.12 kilometers (1,907.06 miles). 

Ewing said he also taking on the challenge to honor a cousin who was tragically killed in a non-snowmobile accident. His cousin wanted to break the world record, so Ewing is taking it on. The third reason, explained Ewing, is the event is a fundraiser. Proceeds from the event will be used to help kids go to summer Bible camps.

To learn more about Willie Ewing and his upcoming world record attempt, visit his website.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with Ewing about the March event. Here’s their conversation. 
 

Tax assistance through the VITA program is free to all low to moderate-income Cook County residents, seniors over 60 years old, and international students working in the county. WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with Steve Deschene, who has been a volunteer with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program for 12 years. 


Learn more about the program and how it will work this year in the interview below. 

On January 25, WTIP checked in with School District 166 Superintendent Chris Lindholm on the morning that students returned to in-person learning after a 10-day "reset" of distance learning. You can hear that conversation about how students fared with another stint of distance learning, about COVID-19 protocols still in place and more in this interview. 

In addition to all that, the School District 166 school board met on January 20 and covered a variety of matters. WTIP’s Rhonda Silence caught up with Superintendent Lindholm again to learn more about buses, the finalization of the Cook County Education Association contract, and more.  Here’s their conversation. 
 

Carrie Framsted of Grand Marais is an advocate for Minnesota’s End-of-Life Option Act, introduced in February 2021. WTIP spoke with Framsted back in June about her work and the very personal reasons she advocates for end-of-life options for people who are terminally ill. The legislation has gained support and WTIP’s Rhonda Silence asked Framsted for an update on her work with Compassion & Choices, Minnesota.

The Minnesota End-of-Life Option Act, which is modeled after the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, has been introduced in the House (HF1358) and Senate (SF1352). The bill authorizes medical aid in dying so that terminally ill adults of sound mind may request and receive from their doctor medication they may self-ingest for a peaceful death if their suffering becomes unbearable.
Like the Oregon version of the law which has been in place since 1997, if the bill passes in Minnesota, there are very strict guidelines on who would be eligible. A patient must be an adult (aged 18 or older); terminally ill with a prognosis of six months or less to live; mentally capable of making their own healthcare decisions; and able to self-ingest the medication. Physicians are involved throughout the process.

Framsted and others with Compassion & Choices are currently reaching out to organizations and legislators to tell the story of their loved ones who would have suffered less at the end of life if this medical option was available. Framsted learned about Compassion & Choices after losing her wife, Monica Schliep, from pancreatic cancer. Monica was just 55 years old. Framsted shares Monica’s story in this Storyteller Spotlight on the Compassion & Caring website.

In addition to working to see Minnesota pass the End-of-Life Option Act, Framsted hopes that the legislation will trigger discussions amongst family members. She encourages people to talk to family about their wishes, about what they would hope their death would be like. To learn more, Minnesotans are invited to join Compassion & Caring Zoom meetings on the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m.

Framsted is also involved with Care Partners of Cook County. She spends time with an interesting group of women here in Cook County who work serve as end-of-life doulas.  Margy Nelson, Jean Skeels, Pat Campanaro, and Suzanne Sherman have all completed training to this field. For information, about their work, visit the Care Partners website. The community is also invited to attend a monthly Death Café on the last Thursday of each month, a time for a conversation about experiences with death and grief.

Join the conversation as WTIP’s Rhonda Silence speaks with Carrie Framsted of Grand Marais about her work with Compassion & Choices. 
 

There are a number of efforts underway at this time to try to find a solution to the lack of child care in the community. Local schools, the Cook County YMCA, and local government organizations are seeking a way to fill this gap for young families.

For many parents, the Cooperation Station in Grand Marais has been the answer. The daycare has an enrollment of 17 children from 12 families.

However, Cooperation Station needs providers or it may have to close its doors.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with Allison Plummer, a Cooperation Station parent and board member, who also works at Cook County Public Health as a financial assistance supervisor, about the situation at the daycare.

Plummer said the Cooperation Station director resigned and her last day was January 14. The daycare’s lead teacher has also submitted her resignation, effective February 4. Plummer said the employees are leaving on good terms for other opportunities and the Cooperation Station board wishes them all the best.

However, the departures leave only one staffer and the Cooperation Station is looking at various ways to keep the daycare open.

Ideally, the facility would like to hear from someone who wants to work as a daycare provider long-term. But in the meantime, they are hoping for someone to come forward at least temporarily. Another scenario is that Cooperation Station parents could be asked to work at the daycare for a few hours each day.

If the daycare closes, families will have to find other arrangements. Some parents are able to work remotely, but many cannot. Spouses can split child care duties, but it likely means missing work. Or, worse, leaving a job. “That is the last thing we want to see happen,” said Plummer, “We need to find a way to support our families so they can keep working.”

Plummer encourages anyone interested in child care to reach out to the Cooperation Station for information by email: [email protected] or call (773) 213-7545

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The challenge facing families seeking child care for their children is nothing new. WTIP explored community concerns about the lack of safe, consistent child care in the county in a series called Childcare Challenges in Cook County back in 2018-19

At the beginning of January, WTIP spoke with Grand Marais Fire Chief Ben Silence about a program in the city of Grand Marais that asks residents to “Adopt a Fire Hydrant” by clearing the large snowbanks that may be covering them.  Learn more about that program here. 

But what about people who live outside of the city with no fire hydrants in sight? How do local fire departments respond in those cases? WTIP’s Rhonda Silence checked in with Lutsen Fire Department Chief Paul Goettl to learn more about finding water during a wintertime fire scene. Listen to that interview here.

WTIP also checked in with Gunflint Trail Fire Department Fire Chief Jim Morrison, who oversees the 56-mile long Gunflint Trail. Chief Morrison tells WTIP that area lakes are the water source for the Gunflint firefighters—and that could sometimes mean using up to a mile of hose.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence learns more in this interview.
 
 

Tofte township Supervisor Craig Horak has asked the community for help in finding out who broke into the Tofte Fire and Rescue garage and took equipment and radios. Anyone with any information on the theft is asked to call the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at 218-387-3030. Or, Horak said anyone with information can contact him at 218-343-5966 or through a private Facebook message.

Horak said there is a $500 cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the individuals.

Horak shared a list of the stolen items and asked the public to keep an eye out for the following:

-Motorola Hand held ARMER radio (pictured in photo slideshow)
-Motorola vehicle ARMER radio (pictured in photo slideshow)
-Med box
-Medical bag w/Narcan and Nitro (pictured in photo slideshow)
-Boxes of alcohol wipes
-Boxes of triple antibiotic ointment
-Packages of gauze
-Possibly one oxygen bag with tank (blue). 
 

Minnesota legislators are preparing for the first session of 2022. WTIP caught up with District 3A Rob Ecklund for an update as he prepares for the new year at the Capitol.

On January 20, he and other house committee leaders held a news conference to talk about housing, labor industry and veterans affairs, the jobs committee and more. Ecklund spoke about the ongoing broadband goals for the state of Minnesota and how the American Rescue Plan could be used to end the "digital divide."

On January 19, another legislative group, the House Climate Action Caucus members announced their plans for a $1 billion Climate Action Plan.  The plan is divided into five sectors: energy, transportation, the built environment, lands, and adaptation and resiliency. Ecklund told WTIP a lot of work went into this plan and he can see how it will benefit our schools through energy programs and our forests through reforestation proposals. Ecklund also noted a recent alarming study that shows that the ice out on our lakes is trending two weeks sooner.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with Representative Ecklund about these matters and the state budget overall. Here’s their conversation. 
 

WTIP likes to share news of local businesses -- new businesses, new owners, milestone achievements. In this interview, we’ll hear about the possibility of a new coffee shop on the Gunflint Trail.

Robert Carlson and his family have a history of coffee shop ownership and coffee roasting in southern Minnesota. However, they have long ties to the Gunflint Trail and are excited about their new enterprise here in Cook County.

Carlson tells WTIP if all goes well with the various permits required, the new coffee shop will open on June 1. What will the name of the business be? Listen to Carlson speaking with WTIP’s Rhonda Silence to find out!

If you know of North Shore business owners who should be featured, give us a call at 218-387-1070 or email: [email protected]. WTIP would love to tell their story!