North Shore News Hour

The water line that runs from Lake Superior to Lutsen Mountains to provide water for snowmaking operations at the ski hill has been in the news in years past. Questions have been raised again recently when it appeared there were some new problems with the pumphouse and pipe. There were also questions of whether the waterline will be sufficient if the U.S. Forest Service gives its approval for a special use permit for a proposed ski hill expansion.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence reached out to Lutsen Mountains for answers to those questions, as well as for a reminder of how the pipeline from Lake Superior to the ski hill came to be. In November 2011, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) told Lutsen Mountains that it had to stop drawing water from the Poplar River for snowmaking by October 2016.

Lutsen Mountains Co-President Tom Rider told WTIP the actual construction for the waterline started in October 2013.  

It was a complicated project made more so when the firm hired to do the work went out of business. And the project made news in September 2014, when the company pulled out for the season, leaving behind one of the 200-foot-long, three-foot diameter pipe sections on shore, partially in the water. A major storm hit and waves washed the huge pipe into Lake Superior. It was later retrieved from the lake and taken by barge to Taconite Harbor, where it waited to be re-installed the next spring.

Unfortunately, problems were also discovered at the pump house that houses the equipment to feed the pipeline—three pumps, 450 horsepower each and two small 50 horsepower pumps. To connect with the large pipe going out into Lake Superior, it was necessary to dig the foundation of the pump house 30 feet into the ground. In June 2014, cracks were noticed in the foundation and the construction of the pump house was not only halted, but it also had to start all over with removal of the concrete footings and the building in progress.

Lutsen Mountains and its waterline partners-- Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) and Superior National at Lutsen golf course; Caribou Highlands Lodge; Lutsen Resort on Lake Superior; Mountain Inn; Village at Lutsen Mountain Condominium Association; Eagle Ridge Resort; Papa Charlie’s Restaurant, and several other businesses were relieved when the $1.3 million project was completed. The waterline project also received approximately $3.6 million in state bonding.

 The first full year of use of the waterline was in 2017-2018. In addition to snowmaking, water drawn from Lake Superior will be used for irrigation of Superior National at Lutsen golf course, as a water source for local fire departments, and eventually for drinking water. However, additional funds are needed to complete the water plant and drinking water phase of the project.

However, an unforeseen problem occurred in March 2018, when algae plugged the pipeline. Rider said that was unexpected as Lake Superior is considered an “oligotrophic” lake, which means it does not produce a great deal of algae. Rider said the pipeline needed a bit of engineering to prevent that from happening, but said the waterline worked well once that was done.

Asked about current problems, Rider said those had been taken care of as well. He said the waterline became plugged by sand in the inlet pipe and the vault in the pumphouse. A contractor who specializes in mining operations was hired to work in the vault which is 30 feet under the ground, as well as out in Lake Superior.

Rider said it was a pretty significant project, but he said it worked out. He said it seems that this will be an ongoing maintenance matter, something that may need to be done every three or four years. He said the problem is resolved and will not delay snowmaking operations. It is not known yet how much snow can be made before the anticipated opening of skiing on Thanksgiving, but Rider believes there will be some terrain with snow by that time.

WTIP asked Rider about the ski hill’s request to the U.S. Forest Service for a special use permit to expand onto approximately 500 acres of federal land adjacent to the current ski hill. Will the current waterline be sufficient for additional ski runs? Rider said yes, adding that the expansion plans include the construction of retention ponds. He said the existing system would fill big ponds to hold water. The design of these retention ponds can be seen in the US Forest Service draft environmental impact statement.

Asked for final thoughts on all this, Rider noted that an interesting discovery came about after the ski hill started drawing water from Lake Superior. He said the snow is much whiter from the lake than from the Poplar River which is tannic, or tea-colored. He also said the snow made from Lake Superior water “skis better and is much more durable."
 

Because it is Veterans Day, WTIP reached out to some of our community members who are veterans or who work with local veterans. We asked them if they had a message for those who served in the Armed Forces.

We also spoke with School District 166 Band Instructor Mikkel Haas, along with band member Lola Rohl and choir member Aurora Gallagher about the special Veterans Day concert at the school at 2 p.m. today.

Those we spoke to also invited veterans to a meal hosted by American Legion Post 413 and Post 413 Legion Auxiliary at the Birch Terrace at 4 p.m. Veterans and their spouses are free. Community members are invited to join them.

Click below to hear this report from Rhonda Silence with some Veterans Day messages and music. 
 

Cook County has been fortunate. Our county has had a relatively low count of COVID-19 cases. And most of those cases have been relatively mild. That is not the case for former resident Becky Bystrom Bocklund who contracted COVID-19 and spent weeks in the hospital.

Bocklund has few memories of the worst time of her illness when she was on a ventilator. But she clearly remembers how confused she was when she woke up in the hospital in Brainerd, not knowing where she was or what had happened.

She has slowly been recovering, but still tires very easily. She is not sure when—or if—she will be able to return to work.  

Bocklund’s husband, Kevin, is still hospitalized in serious condition. Bocklund said she is very, very concerned for him.

Unvaccinated Minnesotans are 15 times more likely to require hospitalization for COVID-19 and 30 times more likely to die from the disease than vaccinated residents, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm recently said.

“This really does just show, again, the key point that the current wave of COVID infections is concentrated heavily among people who are not fully vaccinated,” Malcolm told the Associated Press and other reporters. “And it shows that the infection risk is there for all age groups, not just older Minnesotans.”

Bocklund is very forthcoming about her illness and the fact that she and her husband chose not to be vaccinated. She said it wasn’t for any political reason, they just weren’t sure about getting a vaccine that seemed so new. However, Bocklund is now an advocate for the vaccine. She said the experience of being on a ventilator is one that should be avoided at all costs.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence sat down with Bocklund to hear her story. 

Click here to register for a vaccination event in Cook County.

Sometime in the early evening on Sunday, Nov. 7, vandals damaged equipment at the antenna site on the hillside overlooking Grand Marais. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office learned of the damage when Verizon notified law enforcement that they were running on back-up power because of an outage.

A sheriff deputy inspected the scene and found that parties had removed not just the Verizon meter, but another at the antenna site. The meters were tossed into the woods.

The sheriff’s office also found the door from the WTIP equipment building left at the base of the tower that carries the WTIP signal, 90.7 FM Grand Marais.

The vandals apparently squeezed through the security fence and pulled open the door of the WTIP structure. The culprits not only removed the door, but tossed it over the security fencing. Once inside, they tried to open a piece of equipment. They were unsuccessful in opening the electronics case, but they did punch out the display lights on the front.
WTIP Engineer Jeff Nemitz was able to make repairs to the lights and the door was reinstalled.

WTIP contacted Rowan Watkins, the management information systems director for Cook County, who said none of the damage affected the ARMER emergency communication system.

Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen said this was not the only incident in vandalism. There was another that caused a power outage. Eliasen told WTIP the "acts of vandalism resulting in power outages over the weekend showed blatant disregard for the safety and well-being of others. The actor could not have known if electricity was needed by the homeowners to render medical aid or otherwise."

The sheriff added that "the vandal, or vandals, took considerable risk in performing these senseless acts and could have easily ended up as victims of their own foolish behavior."

Eliasen asked anyone with information on these events to call the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at 218-387-3030. Eliasen said parties sharing information can remain anonymous.
 

At a gathering hosted by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on October 30, the need to work together and to understand treaty rights was mentioned many times. The meeting was an opportunity to speak with legislative representatives, but it was also a time to share exciting news from the county, state, and the Grand Portage Band. At the end of the day, Grand Portage Tribal Chair Bob Deschampe shared the news of new highway signs being installed at the boundaries of the 1854 Ceded Territory.

In his closing remarks at that gathering, Chairman Deschampe encouraged everyone to attend tribal-state training. He said Grand Portage takes its treaty rights very seriously and is doing its part to educate the public on the Treaty of 1854.

A few days later, on Monday, November 1, Deschampe, along with Tribal Council members John Morrin, April McCormick, Bill Meyers, and Marie Spry, was part of the contingent that put up the first sign of 12 to mark the 1854 Treaty boundaries in the State of Minnesota.

They were joined by Minnesota Department of Transportation officials, including Levi Brown, who is the MnDOT Tribal Liaison and MnDOT Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher.

They were also joined by officials from the 1854 Treaty Authority, the inter-tribal natural resources agency. In a news release, MnDOT gave special thanks to 1854 Resource Management Director Darren Vogt for his work. The statement said, “It took 11 years and six months to get these into being.”

Deschampe added that this is something that is long overdue. Deschampe said, "When people enter the 1854 Treaty area they will know where they are and, hopefully, educate themselves about treaties."
 

At this week’s meeting of the Grand Marais City Council, there will be a review of the 2020 proposal for the renovation of city hall and the municipal liquor store. The council, which had several discussions that went as far as preliminary drawings developed by LHB Engineers, put all planning on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic made meeting in person difficult. At the Wednesday, November 10 city council meeting, those plans will be revisited.

Community members can learn more about the planning to date on the city’s website: LHB Predesign Summary.

The council meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Marais City Council Chambers. Meetings are also live-streamed on the city’s youTube channel.

WTIP checks in with Grand Marais Mayor Jay DeCoux after each city council meeting to learn more about actions taken on agenda items. Below is an interview after the last council meeting at the end of October.  Listen as WTIP’s Rhonda Silence learns about city bond refinancing, jobs in the City of Grand Marais, as well as other city news.
 

A local landscaping and tree removal service in Grand Marais started an experiment on its Cedar Grove Business Park lot in October. Business owner Gary Nesgoda brought four goats owned by a coworker in Hovland to the lot to see how grazing goats could be used to clear vegetation. 

It worked well, Nesgoda told WTIP, but a short time after bringing the goats to the business park, he was notified that livestock is not allowed within city limits under the city’s current ordinances. 

Nesgoda said he appreciated the city’s handling of the matter. He said City Administrator Mike Roth was very professional when informing him that the experiment had to be halted. The goats were taken back to their Hovland home, but Nesgoda said he would like to see an ordinance change to allow the use of goats for vegetation management. He acknowledged that many city lots are too small, but suggested allowing the use of goats on lots that are an acre in size or larger. 

Nesgoda notes that goats are a low-impact way of clearing land. They do less damage to soils and they are more environmentally friendly than the use of herbicides. Plus, Nesgoda said, they are just fun to watch. 

He explains that the goats are kept in a portable pen, which is moved about in the property owner’s lot. He said most people enjoy watching the goats as they go about their grazing. 

WTIP spoke with Nesgoda about how goats can be used and about the removal of the goats from the business park. WTIP also spoke with City Administrator Mike Roth whose job sometimes requires him to inform people they are in violation of city ordinances. 

Roth said the city’s animal ordinance was updated sometime in 2012. Before that time it primarily covered dogs and cats. The latest overhaul added the chapter that says no livestock, which of course, includes goats. 

Noting that it seems that more people are seeking an agricultural lifestyle, farming, raising chickens—and possibly having goats—WTIP’s Rhonda Silence asked Roth what it would take to make that a legal activity in the city. 

Roth said citizens wishing to raise goats would have to approach the city council and make their case. 

And for the record, WTIP asked Roth if he personally had anything against goats. His answer was a definite no. 

Listen to this report from WTIP's Rhonda Silence to learn more about goats and city ordinances. 

Back in August 2020, WTIP shared the story of a young bald eagle that caused quite a stir at Cascade Lodge. The juvenile eagle wandered around on Highway 61, landing on the emergency vehicles that were called to protect the bird from traffic and from a crowd of onlookers.

After several hours, the eagle flew off and many thought it would never be seen again. However, some US Forest Service staffers spotted the young raptor in Schroeder the next day and they were able to capture it. At that time, the eagle was taken to Wildwoods Wildlife Center in Duluth.

The eagle was eventually transferred to The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota, where it has remained. Although not physically injured, the young female eagle, which has been named Lutsen, had come to view humans as its food source, so would it would not survive in the wild.

Lori Arent, assistant director at The Raptor Center, tells WTIP that this is, unfortunately, a common occurrence. She says when people find a young eagle that they believe has been abandoned, often the first instinct is to feed it. Doing so can break the bond between the juvenile bird and its parents and lead to just what happened with Lutsen. 

Arent encourages anyone who finds an eagle--or any bird that seems to be injured or abandoned--to reach out to The Raptor Center or Wildwoods Wildlife Rehab in Duluth for advice before interacting with the bird. The Raptor Center can be reached at 612-624-4745. Wildwoods Wildlife Rehab can be reached at (218) 491-3604.

When the young eagle was wandering along the highway near Highway 61 in Lutsen, she was probably just looking for food. Arent tells WTIP that she was about 4 ½ pounds underweight when she was captured. She was down about a third of her body weight. Arent says she was “physically and emotionally hungry.”

Lutsen is now an “education ambassador” at The Raptor Center.

Lutsen can be seen by visitors to The Raptor Center, which offers tours, both in-person (on a limited basis due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and online. Learn more on The Raptor Center website. 

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence learns more about Lutsen’s condition in this interview with Lori Arent, assistant director at The Raptor Center