North Shore News Hour

They’re our second smallest mammal, but they’re common, though secretive. WTIP’s Jay Andersen talks with naturalist Chel Anderson about shrews.

Hi. I’m Susan McGowan-Stinski, administrative assistant on the Superior National Forest, with this week’s edition of the National Forest Update - information on conditions affecting travel and recreation on the Tofte and Gunflint Districts of the forest. For the week of June 16, here’s what’s going on in the forest.

With the recent rainy and stormy weather, it seems like a good time to talk about what to do if you get caught out in severe weather. Northern Minnesota is not in the tornado belt, but Mother Nature seems to compensate for that by making us one of the areas with the most lightning strikes per year. Our fire-based forest ecology actually derives from this fact: Without lightning, there’d be no natural source of fire in the forest, and we wouldn’t have the kind of woods that we do. This means, though, that lightning is something that you have to be ready for on any extended camping trip in this area. 

The first rule is one everyone knows. Get off the water during a storm. Actually, get off the water before the storm as lightning strikes ahead of the storm front. That means don’t wait for one more fish, or try to get to the next campsite - it means get off the lake now. Once off the lake, avoid scenery. That is, the beautiful, high, rocky knob with the lone tall pine isn’t the place to be. You want the low areas, free of trees that may fall during winds. Avoid standing on roots that could connect to tall trees, and minimize your contact with the ground by crouching instead of lying down. Use life jackets or other equipment to help insulate you from the ground. If you are at a campsite, look at the potential for trees to fall when putting your tent up. During a storm, shelter in your rain gear outside of the tent so you can watch for falling trees and see what is going on. Be aware, and you can weather the storm.

We’ve got some logging truck activity this week, the same as last week. Keep an eye out for trucks in the Greenwood Lake area on the Gunflint District, and around the Sawbill Landing area in Tofte.

There still may be some prescribed fires happening if the weather permits. If you see signs on roads concerning prescribed burns, drive with caution and be aware that trucks and personnel may be on the roads.

That’s all for this week! Enjoy the week and the forest, and hope for good weather! Until next week, this has been Susan McGowan-Stinski with the National Forest Update.
 

Clare Shirley's West End News is a weekly feature on WTIP. Clare is a fifth-generation local, and third-generation canoe outfitter from Cook County's West End.

WTIP Volunteer Tina Krauz covers the progress on the renovations at the North Shore Hospital and Care Center. In this installment she talks with Amy James about well-being and wellness.

Deane Morrison is a science writer at the University of Minnesota, where she authors the Minnesota Starwatch column.

The moon is waning which is good for starwatchers. Jupiter shows up in the southwest just after nightfall, and Spica can be seen southeast of Jupiter. Saturn will be at its brightest for the year in the southeast with the giant red star Antares to the west. Venus and a waning crescent moon can be seen in the east very early in the morning on June 20.

Hi. I’m Renee Frahm, visitor information specialist, on the Superior National Forest, with the National Forest Update - information on conditions affecting travel and recreation on the Tofte and Gunflint Districts of the Forest. For the week of June 9, here’s what’s going on in the woods.

Schools are out in most of the state, and people are heading north! Expect some road congestion on Hwy 61 and Hwy 1 on Fridays and Sundays as people travel to and from the south. There can also be some congestion at our offices as people stop in to pick up Boundary Waters entry permits. Our offices are open from 8 to 4:30 every day during the summer, but there are often multiple groups picking up permits first thing in the morning, so there could be a wait. You may want to plan to get your permit at a later time of day to avoid the line.

There’s been an increase in people using emergency locator devices in the Boundary Waters. These small devices use a satellite system to send a location and pre-recorded help message in an emergency. If you plan on having one with you, make sure you know how to properly operate it so that you don’t accidentally trigger an emergency response. Pack these devices in a way so that the buttons can’t be accidentally pressed, and program them with different levels of concern, such as a ‘we’re late, but don’t worry’ message, or ‘there’s a problem, but don’t send help,’ or ‘send help immediately.’ Usually these devices contact a friend or family member, and those contact people should be prepared to respond by knowing the names of people in the party and what their itinerary was. They also should know that the correct next contact is the county sheriff, as search and rescue operations are run out of the sheriff’s department. In this area, that would be either the Lake or Cook County Sheriff, so the contact should find out which county the party will be in, and what the phone number for the sheriff is. The sheriff will contact the Forest Service if necessary. Remember, false alarms are expensive, and can needlessly risk emergency responders.

We are welcoming a new temporary ranger to the Tofte District. If you are passing by, stop in and say hi to Ben South who will be here for a few months. He’s coming from Colorado, so the Sawtooth Mountains may not impress him, but our 10,000 lakes are pretty spectacular.

While we are looking at some rain this weekend, we have had a recent dry spell and fire danger is moderate. During the summer, fire danger can change quickly as warm weather dries the forest quickly. Calculating the fire risk uses many factors. High temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds will all increase fire danger, so it is more than a measure of how long ago the last rain was. The drier forest did allow the fire crew to do a prescribed burn last Wednesday near Isabella. The underburn we conducted will allow for better growth of pine seedlings beneath the mature pines, and used up the fuel beneath the pines in a controlled way. That fuel could otherwise have created a major wildfire. As always, check for any fire restrictions before you head out camping, and be sure campfires are totally out before you leave the area.

Our roads are in pretty good shape, although they have yet to be graded this year. In fact, the dry weather has made them so hard that they can’t be graded right now. There is some logging traffic. On the Gunflint District, you may find trucks on the Greenwood Road, Firebox Road, Gunflint Trail, FR 1385, and Trestle Pine Road. On the Tofte District, logging traffic will be around the Grade and Trapper’s Lake Road.

Enjoy the woods this weekend, and until next week, this has been Renee Frahm with the National Forest Update.

With official summer only 12 days away, the territory got a warm preview last weekend. Wilderness stickiness had some folks grinning while the moose and I were cringing.                                                                                                                                                                             
In concert with the early warmth, predicted rain turned out wimpy in this neighborhood, barely enough to the Mile O' Pine dust. Meanwhile, other places along the Trail received some short, but heavy downpours.                                                                                   

Mother Nature's gardening projects are just about done.  Our verdant forest spectacle is one to behold as the sugar maple leaf foliage closes the deal. On the ground, those forget-me-nots have remembered us once again, making for blue on earth as it is in the heavens. And the delectable pie plant is being harvested without a “rhubarb,' ummm!                                                                        
As we celebrate the Ojibwe, full “strawberry moon” tonight and the next couple days, outdoor life is tough. The annual black fly invasion has folks swatting like mad-people. A good bug net is somewhat comforting, but the mean critters are quite cunning in their ability to ride inside on one’s clothing and then torment when unprotected. In my opinion, they’re the worst they’ve been in several years.

Sad to say, but the situation will multiply in intensity as the mosquitoes are just coming on. So if it seems as though I’m a bit snarly, I probably am, due to building heat/humidity and the attack of the swarm.

If you were a WTIP website reader of last week's column, you missed my on-air “breaking news” about the loon at the Chik-Wauk site. As an update, a young’un was hatched a week ago this past Wednesday with the partnering mate still AWOL. All went well and by afternoon the little chick was into the water with mom and one egg still in the nest.                                                                                                                                                       

The same afternoon, who should appear but the apparent, missing partner.  After some quiet loon conversation, the slacker dad climbed onto the nest. There was a lot of prideful cooing as mom and baby floated about for the rest of the day.                                                     

Next morning the museum staff announced with dismay that the family had departed the nesting site which seemed unusual. Later in the day, it was discovered the abandoned nest still housed an egg, still no return of the family. Hearing of the plight, an interested fisherman made a trip by the nesting platform and retrieved the egg. Finding a small escape hole had been opened, the tiny pecking effort was all the un-hatched could muster, thus perishing.                                                                                                                                     

People with experience and knowledge of what might have occurred, surmise the black flies probably drove the parents away from the last incubation. Through field glasses, observers had noticed the infestation swarming momma's head just days before the first hatching.  Evidence indicates we humans are not the only ones being tortured by these nasties, although the species of flies bothering the loons and other water birds is different than the one nipping people. We have to feel for all critters of the “wild neighborhood” during this biting onslaught.

By the way, the egg is being shipped to where researchers at the Cornell University Ornithological Institute will analyze the egg in loon studies.                                                                                                                                                                                 

A bear with quadruplet cubs has found its way to the south shore of Gunflint Lake. Then again, there might be more than one momma bear with four mouths to feed as I reported hearing of one up in end of the Trail places a couple weeks ago.                                                                          
Regardless, this Bruno family caused quite a stir at a residence down along South Gunflint Lake Road (County Rd. 20) one day and night last week. I’m told a noisy attempt to dispatch the gang from the yard spooked two of the cubs into exploring their tree climbing techniques. The sequence of events sent the duo climbing a tall pine to nearly the top.  Once up there, climbing down was discovered to be a scary option, so there they remained for hours. Meanwhile momma and the others made their way into the woods out of sight.                                           

Needless to say the residents were not about to interfere with a rescue attempt. As darkness overtook the scene, I’m told the little ones were still aloft.                                                                                                        

It’s amazing how moms have a way, because some time during the night she must have talked them down. By morning, the homeowner's trail cam revealed the foursome was reunited and while still hanging around, had to be issued another loud “get out’a here” notice, which sent them off  not to be seen again.                                                                                                                                        
Area folk are reminded of the annual shrimp boil feast this coming Sunday (the 11th). Sponsored by the Gunflint Trail Historical Society, the event takes place at the Seagull Creek Community Center beginning at 4 p.m.                                                                                                                  
A bake sale is also being held in conjunction with the meal. If any Trail residents wish to contribute a baking confectionary, it’s not too late, but a call to coordinator Judy Edlund in confirmation would be appreciated at 388-4400.                                                                                                             
This event is an important fundraiser for the society with a per plate donation suggested.                                                                                                                                                                      

Reminder is also given to GTHS members about the first membership meeting of the summer. It will be held this coming Monday, the 12th at the Schaap (Mid-Trail Community Center) beginning at 1:30 p.m.  A history of the Blankenbergs will be presented by Bill Douglas and Bruce Kerfoot. Members who also might have stories about the territory's legendary landowners are urged to share during the program.  Treats and conversation will follow.          
                                                        
For WTIP, this is Fred Smith, on the Trail at Wildersmith, where every day is great with expected, border country adventures.
 
 

Meeting new people is one of my favorite parts of the summer visitor season. With a wide array of things to do and see in the most popular Wilderness area right in our backyard, people from all walks of life are drawn to Cook County. You just never know who is going to walk through the door, and I love it.

This week a nice fellow stopped by my office to inquire whether I, or someone I knew, would like to buy is his old Kevlar canoe. Now, he is not the first person to ask me this, nor is it really something I usually do. I have plenty of my own canoes to deal with. This man was so nice, however, that I thought I’d at least take a shot at finding a new home for his canoe. He and his wife were hitting the road for Montana the next morning. Fellow Sawbillian Jessica Hemmer sent out a few texts and lo and behold, Adrian Hess of Lutsen was in the market for a new-to-him canoe. The next morning, the gentleman came back to our store and while Jessica was helping him get the canoe off his car he casually mentioned “well, something kind of interesting you can tell your friend, he just bought this canoe from an astronaut.”

Sure enough, our kind visitor turned out to be none other than Loren Acton, a physicist who specializes in solar physics. Loren flew on STS-51-F/Spacelab-2 Challenger in 1985. It took seven years of training to prepare and at the end of the mission he had spent just over a week in space, and traveled over 2.8 million miles in 126 Earth orbits. Currently, he is a research professor of physics at Montana State University. Loren and his wife Evelyn are two of the nicest people I’ve met, which would’ve been great in and of itself, but it’s not everyday that an astronaut strolls into your office - that’s for sure!

The much anticipated Lutsen 99er bike race is coming up on June 24 this year. While registration for the race itself is closed, there are still volunteer opportunities to be had. If you are interested, you can get a hold of Signe Larson by emailing her at [email protected]. There are pre-race jobs on Thursday and Friday as well as places to help during the race itself. The race is quite the event, and something well worth checking out. The big start is at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday at Lutsen Mountain near Rosie’s Chalet and spectators are welcome. After the race there will be live music at Papa Charlie's.

Speaking of biking, the sun is shining and it’s time for me to hit the trail.

For WTIP, I’m Clare Shirley with the West End News.

In May, there was a change of ownership for the building that houses the Gunflint Mercantile, Country Insurance and Chuck's Barber Shop. The building was purchased by Chelsea Pusc of Gunflint Mercantile along with Abby Tofte and Sam Hedstrom who will be opening a new store in the building in the summer of 2018.  

That raised the question -- what will happen to Chuck Petek, the barber? The answer is, it's not entirely clear. The curent tenants have leases so they will be staying until at least February of 2018.  Tenants may stay in a reconfigured space. Or, they may move on. 

WTIP talked to barber Chuck Petek earlier this year, when the sale was still pending and he was celebrating his 50th year as a barber in Grand Marais.  Rhonda Silence finds out more in this interview. 
 

Dr. Seth Moore is Director of Biology and Environment with the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. 

The Grand Portage Reservation is located in the extreme northeast corner of Minnesota, on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Cook County. Bordered on the north by Canada, on the south and east by Lake Superior and on the west by Grand Portage State Forest, the reservation encompasses an historic fur trade site on scenic Grand Portage Bay.

The band engages in fisheries and wildlife research projects throughout the year, working with moose, wolves, fish, deer, grouse, and environmental issues. Dr. Moore appears regularly on WTIP North Shore Community Radio, talking about the band's current and ongoing natural resource projects, as well as other environmental and health related issues. 

In this segment, Dr. Moore talks about a project that hopes to engage Grand Portage tribal youth in environmental education and careers.