North Shore News Hour

Listen on WTIP at:

Monday 12-1pm
Monday 5-6pm
Tuesday 12-1pm
Tuesday 5-6pm
Wednesday 12-1pm
Wednesday 5-6pm
Thursday 12-1pm
Thursday 5-6pm
Friday 12-1pm

Genre:

News

The North Shore News Hour includes up-to-the minute weather, North Shore happenings in local news, sports and entertainment, as well as a variety of features from WTIP staff and volunteers. If you miss the North Shore News Hour at noon, tune in for a replay Monday through Thursday beginning at 5:00 p.m.

What's On:

Pick-up truck catches fire in Grand Marais

Rhonda Silence-

A pick-up truck caught fire in a Grand Marais yard on Friday afternoon, but fortunately it was spotted by a passing sheriff deputy, who alerted the family and called for emergency responders.

A page went out at 3:46 p.m. for the Grand Marais Fire Department and North Shore Health to respond to 1920 West 5th Street, a residence across from the Cook County YMCA. The fire was quickly put out with fire extinguishers, but for a few minutes, black smoke billowed from the engine of the Chevy pick-up belonging to Lance Anderson.

Deputies directed traffic past the scene on busy 5th Street until it was confirmed that the fire was out. All responders were clear of the scene by 4 p.m.

The cause of the fire is not known. There were no injuries.

Program:

North Shore News Hour

Be prepared for road construction all over the county

Roadwork is under way all over Cook County, so wherever you are traveling plan a little extra time as you may encounter slight delays.

Most noticeable is the work on Highway 61 in Grand Marais. Milling and paving is taking place on the west and east sides of Grand Marais, so expect delays entering the city.

The Broadway Avenue intersection is now open, but the highway by the Grand Marais Post Office and My Sister’s Place restaurant area are closed and/or allowing one-way traffic with a temporary stop light.

There is also road construction up the Gunflint Trail, from the Pine Mountain Road to Trout Lake Road. Work is being done by KGM Constructors to recondition and stabilize the road, followed by paving.

According to Interim County Highway Engineer Mike Tardy, traffic will be restricted to one lane, with a pilot car leading traffic through the construction zone.

Additionally, Northland Constructors of Duluth is constructing a bypass road at the Two Island River on Cramer Road in Schroeder. Traffic will be rerouted on the bypass during the double box culvert replacement, which is expected to take 4-5 weeks, weather permitting.

The Highway Department urges motorists to plan accordingly and drive with caution in all work zones.

The U.S. Forest Service has announced a related road closure. The Bally Creek Road in Grand Marais is closed during the day, not because the road is being worked on, but because the large trucks hauling fill for the other road projects are traveling that narrow, winding, forest road. For that reason, the US Forest Service has closed the road during the time of construction, generally Mon - Sat, 6 am to 6 pm.

KGM Constructors will turn or remove the signs when they are not working.

Access is still possible from the north to the Thompson Falls parking lot and from the south to the Cascade River Campground.

Culvert replacements will be starting in Grand Portage on July 14, so travelers on the east end can expect single lane traffic at some points. Workers are in the area now, preparing for that work.

As always, please slow down and follow directions of the road signs and flaggers.

Program:

North Shore News Hour

DNR gives green light for burn permits in Cook County

Rhonda Silence-

Recent rains have lessened the fire danger on the North Shore. According to a July 10 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources update, fire danger is now “moderate.” Find the latest DNR updates here.

The DNR is once again issuing burn permits so the public can now burn accumulated debris and vegetation piles. Before doing any burning, consider current conditions. Anyone with questions may contact DNR Forester Aaron Mielke at 218-387-6031.

In related news, the U.S. Forest Service lifted its campfire ban in the Superior National Forest. The Forest Service will once again allow the use of campfires, charcoal and wood-burning camp stoves on all national forest system lands at all times.

More information is available from the Forest Service at the Gunflint Ranger District at 218-387-1750 or Tofte Ranger District at 218-663-7280.

However, the public is reminded that the region is currently in summer fire season and there is still a potential for wildfires. Forest visitors are urged to use care with campfires and use designated fire grates, build small campfires and make sure they are completely cold before leaving the campsite.

Program:

North Shore News Hour

Fireworks on the Grand Marais harbor, July 4, 2020 - Photo by David R. Johnson

Celebrating community volunteers: Putting on a light show

Rhonda Silence-

WTIP’s summer pledge drive is a celebration of volunteers—the people who share their time and talents with WTIP North Shore Radio.

WTIP also wants to recognize the many, many other ways that people in our community volunteer to help make life better in the Northland.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with Bob Spry of Grand Marais, a man who gets to blow things up as part of his volunteer job!

Bob talks to WTIP about the process of getting the fireworks and setting them up. He stressedthat although he holds the certification to conduct a pyrotechnic show, he needs many assistants. Helping him with the July 4, 2020 fireworks were: John McClure, Gary Nesgoda, Matt Anderson, Nate Raway, Bob Laine, Gideon Silence, Ray Rindahl, and Joey Pederson.

Spry also gave credit for the 2020 Independence Day fireworks display to many individuals and businesses who donated to a fireworks fund. See the donors here.

Listen:

Program:

North Shore News Hour

Loons on Hungry Jack Lake 2018 - Photo by Dennis Chick

Celebrating community volunteers: Counting loons for the DNR

Rhonda Silence-

WTIP’s summer drive is a celebration of volunteers—the people who share their time and talents with WTIP North Shore Radio and other service organizations in our community.

We also want to recognize the many, many other ways that people in our community volunteer to help make life better in the Northland.

Here’s WTIP’s Rhonda Silence learning more about the volunteers helping the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources with loon monitoring, speaking first with Gaea Crozier, the DNR's Northeast Minnesota nongame wildlife specialist. Gaea oversees the DNR's loon monitoring program.

Gaea also shares some information about loon populations--give a listen to learn how many loons are normally found per 100 acres of lake.

WTIP Community Radio · Volunteers - Loon Survey Gaea Crozier 07 - 02 - 20

Rhonda Silence also spoke with a very longtime participant in the DNR loon survey program, Paul Eiler. Paul had a long career with the MN DNR fisheries program, so he is not only knowledgeable about loons, but about the fish in the lake he monitors. The interview contains some interesting phenology surrounding Mark and Turtle lakes in Grand Marais.

WTIP Community Radio · Volunteers - Loon Survey Paul Eiler 07 - 07 - 20

Program:

North Shore News Hour

School District 166 looking at different scenarios for school in the fall

Rhonda Silence-

The School District 166 school board has a lot on its plate right now--the school is in the midst of negotiations with the Grand Marais Playhouse on its lease for the Arrowhead Center for the Arts, and a "Respect for All" Initiative has just been launched. You can learn more about that in interviews with ISD 166 Superintendent Dr. Bill Crandall and School Board Chair Dan Shirley here and with Grand Marais Playhouse Director Sue Hennessy here.

The school board has more than that to consider, though, including deciding what fall 2020 will look like for returning students. The school board reviewed three scenarios for how a return to school could work. No decisions were made, but the school board was asked to consider how to proceed.

WTIP's Rhonda Silence speaks with Superintendent Crandall about that in this interview, as well as more routine matters such as curriculum purchases and hiring of staff.

The next school board meeting is Thursday, July 16 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Listen:

Program:

North Shore News Hour

Fatal car crash in Grand Portage

Rhonda Silence-

Emergency responders were paged to a vehicle crash in Grand Portage yesterday, July 7.

A 47-year-old female from Grand Portage was driving a 1999 Chevy Cavalier when the car went off the road and struck a tree on Mile Creek Road at approximately 11:36 a.m.

Both the driver and an 85-year-old male passenger were transported to North Shore Health.

The female did not survive the crash and an autopsy is being conducted.

The accident is being investigated by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota State Patrol. No further information has been released at this time.

Program:

North Shore News Hour

Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department - File photo

Gunflint Fire Department staffing fire halls during partial phone outage

Rhonda Silence-

**UPDATE: As of 4 p.m., phone service was restored on the Gunflint Trail. Anyone who does not have phone service should find a working phone and contact Century Link.

** UPDATE: As of 11:00 a.m., Century Link phones are still out of service on the Gunflint Trail. Volunteer responders are still stationed at fire halls to assist with emergency phone calls. **

Phone service has been unavailable for Century Link customers for most of the day on the Gunflint Trail. The cause of the emergency 911 outage is not yet known, but the Cook County sheriff’s office tells WTIP that Century Link is aware of the problem and is working on it.

In the event that anyone requires emergency assistance, the sheriff’s office asks residents to go to one of the Gunflint Trail Fire Department fire halls where responders who are connected to 911 dispatch through the ARMER radio network are available.

Arrowhead Cooperative states that their True North Broadband and phone service are working, so True North customers can reach one another and can get through to 9-1-1.

Program:

North Shore News Hour

Auditors office working to get mail ballots out, offers absentee option for city voters

Rhonda Silence-

At the end of June, Cook County Auditor Braidy Powers told WTIP that mail ballots for the August 11 primarily will likely go out Tuesday, July 7, or within a day or two of that date. They should arrive in mailboxes or PO boxes later this week.

This means the ballot will be sent out more than a month before the official primary election day. That being the case, Powers reminds local voters that you don't have to send the ballot back right away--but he advises everyone to put those ballots in a safe place, as there is a limited number of replacement ballots.

Because of precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Powers encourages voters to mail their ballots back or drop them in the secure lockbox at the courthouse doors instead of hand-carrying them to the courthouse. Registered voters who do not receive their mail ballot by July 17 should contact the auditor's office at 218-387-3640.

Likewise, voters in the City of Grand Marais who normally go to the polls for elections, are encouraged to request an absentee ballot. Powers said for this year only, due to the pandemic, city voters may request absentee ballots to mail in to avoid having to stand in line in a public place. Powers said the polls will be open, but due to the pandemic, voting in person will likely be considerably slower. Anyone with questions about absentee ballots may contact the auditor's office at 218-387-3640.

WTIP Community Radio encourages voters to hold onto their ballots until after our upcoming WTIP election forums. WTIP is reaching out to all of the candidates for the Cook County board and will be giving voters a chance to hear directly from those citizens vying for a county commissioner seat.

This year’s county commissioner primary forums on WTIP will be as follows:

District Two on Wednesday, July 22 - the candidates in District 2 are incumbent Myron Bursheim, Stacey Hawkins and Jaye White.

District Four on Thursday, July 23 - Candidates in District 4 are Dean Berglund, Charles Christiansen, Ann Sullivan and Steve Watson. (Incumbent Heidi Doo-Kirk did not file for reelection.)

The forums will begin at 7 p.m. each night.

Due to the ongoing health pandemic, WTIP’s traditional candidate primary forums will be held in a different format this year. The primary forums will be live on WTIP July 22 and 23, with participants joining via a Zoom conference call. The candidate forum will still include interaction with WTIP listeners, and calls can come in during the live broadcasts.

WTIP's Rhonda Silence spoke with Auditor Braidy Powers about mail ballots, absentee ballots and more. Here's their conversation.

Listen:

Program:

North Shore News Hour

Altercation in downtown Grand Marais leads to one arrest

Rhonda Silence-

Tempers flared in downtown Grand Marais on Friday, July 3, leading to one arrest.

According to preliminary information from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, there was an altercation between three people on the sidewalk adjacent to World’s Best Donuts shortly after 1 p.m. A 41-year-old male from Grand Marais brandished a knife.

He was taken into custody and charges are pending, waiting review by the Cook County Attorney’s office. Once formal charges have been made names will be released of the parties involved.

*This story has been updated to share the hometown of the man arrested.

Program:

North Shore News Hour