North Shore News Hour

**Update** 
WTIP's Rhonda Silence spoke with Public Health Supervisor Grace Grinager about this latest development. Click and listen to the interview below. 
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Cook County Public Health Supervisor Grace Grinager has announced that North Shore Health has received its second positive COVID-19 test result. According to the Cook County Emergency Operations Center, the individual who tested positive is a male in his 50s who is not a resident of Cook County but sought care through local medical facilities. 

Due to patient privacy regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), no further information is available. So it is not known if this person is still a patient at the local hospital or has been released home or to another facility. It is also not known if the individual felt ill when he traveled to the North Shore. 

This announcement on Friday, July 3, comes with the disclaimer that, due to the way the Minnesota Department of Health determines “county of residence,” not all people who test positive at a Cook County facility are included in the official Cook County case count.

As in this case, an individual who lists a residence in another county will be counted as a COVID-19 positive case in his county of residence.
This is the case for any positive cases for seasonal residents or visitors to the Cook County community. Likewise, a Cook County resident who is tested elsewhere will not be included in the data from North Shore Health and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, but will appear in the Minnesota Department of Health count of positive cases for Cook County.

This second COVID-19 case coincides with launch of a new Cook County Emergency Operations Center dashboard of local COVID-19 statistics on its COVID-19 information hub site See the new county dashboard here. 

Grinager says going forward, the new dashboard is where all new local cases and testing statistics will be reported. 

The dashboard will be updated on a weekly basis and includes information from the Minnesota Department Health such as the number of tests performed in Cook County to date; the rate of testing throughout the County; the number of lab-confirmed positive cases among Cook County residents (currently one); and the number of deaths among Cook County residents (currently zero).

It also includes both monthly and year-to-date COVID-19 testing information from specimens collected at North Shore Health or Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. 

All COVID-19 cases, regardless of where a person lives, receive a follow-up case investigation interview from public health officials. They also receive information from a medical provider on how to care for themselves while they are ill, and assistance in meeting needs for essential services while in isolation. This case investigation also begins the process of “contact tracing,” a process of reaching out to high risk contacts of the person who tests positive and encouraging them to quarantine for 14 days. 

“All community members—residents and visitors alike—should continue to stay vigilant and follow the public health best practices that help to keep us healthy and slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Grinager “Cover your cough, wash your hands frequently, stay six feet apart from others in crowded places, and wear a cloth face mask in public spaces—especially where it is difficult to socially distance from those outside your household. If you are feeling ill, please stay home.” 
 

The U.S. Forest Service - Superior National Forest announced the closure of several campsites in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness this week due to a number of negative human/bear interactions. The Forest Service has closed five campsites on Alpine Lake. 

The Forest Service also urges caution on Red Rock and Seagull lakes. 

Click here to see a map of the closed campsites on Alpine Lake, as well as nearby lakes where bear encounters and/or visitations have taken place. 

Forest Service wilderness rangers and cooperating outfitters on the Gunflint Trail are monitoring all of these areas. It is hoped that bear that have become habituated to the Alpine Lake campsites will leave if there are no longer humans and food at those sites. 

For more information from the U.S. Forest Service on camping safely in bear country, click here. 

WTIP's Rhonda Silence spoke with Gunflint District Ranger Michael Crotteau about the bear situation in the Gunflint area of the BWCA. Here's their conversation. 

There have been many efforts to meet the need for housing on the North Shore. The city of Grand Marais is one entity looking at housing supplies. The city’s work included hiring a consultant, HKGi, to research what is available and to learn what obstacles prevent the creation of housing in the city. 

HKGi held a number of meetings with the city of Grand Marais, including focus groups with some of the stakeholders—the people who are seeking housing in the Grand Marais area. 

Looking at the information gathered, HKGi prioritized some possible solutions. The city is now ready to make ordinance changes to help make those solutions reality. However, the city needs to know what the citizens of Grand Marais think about those potential ordinance/zoning changes. 

Ideas proposed are reducing minimum lot sizes, from 10,000 square feet to 4,000 and lot width from 75 feet to 40. Under the ordinance change, the front lot setback would be flexible, to match the setback of adjacent homes. 

These changes could enable developers to create what is described as “accessory dwelling units,” sometimes called “granny pods.” These are small structures built on an existing lot.

The proposal also could enable large or small apartment buildings, a townhouse complex, and tiny houses (as long as they are connected to the city’s infrastructure.)

The hope, according to Jeff Miller of HKGi is to provide guidance for developers who want to create such housing stock but are confused by the actual status of lots in Grand Marais. Many homes were built before the current city ordinance, which was last updated in 1971. Many lots do not comply with the current city housing ordinance. 

City Administrator Mike Roth notes that most Grand Marais citizens are okay with that. There have been a number of single-family homes built in Grand Marais in recent years on smaller lots. Those homes were allowed after the homeowner came to Grand Marais Planning and Zoning and received variances. 

Members of the Planning Commission have said it is time to get the ordinances in line with what really exists. The Planning commission will be considering a draft plan on Wednesday, July 1. See the draft ordinance here. 

Public comment is encouraged. To learn more about the housing situation and possible ordinance changes, visit the city's housing plan webpage here. 

Comments can be sent by email to [email protected] or mailed to the city at PO Box 600, Grand Marais, MN 55604. 

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence visited with city officials and Jeff Miller of HKGI about their work in May. Here’s their online conversation.