North Shore News Hour

The future of the animal pound located at the Grand Marais Recreation Park was on the agenda of the Cook County Commissioners on Tuesday, March 10. Before that, it was discussed at the Grand Marais City Council meeting during the council’s February 26 meeting.

In fact, the issue of what to do with the animal pound has been a topic of discussion at many meetings over several years.

The small cinderblock building has to be moved to make way for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources improvements to the recreation park boat launch and marina. Work on the waterfront will begin this summer.

Since the deadline to relocate the pound is now looming, the discussion has ramped up. WTIP’s Rhonda Silence sat down with Grand Marais Mayor Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux to learn more about plans for the pound.
 

Township elections and annual meetings were held on Tuesday, March 10. Read about election results here.

While the polls were open in Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder townships, WTIP’s Rhonda Silence stopped by to learn more about the folks behind the election. Here’s her report.
 

The North House Folk School purchased the Dockside Fish Market building in December 2017. At that time, the community was concerned about the future of the market and the restaurant. The public hoped that the business started by Harley and Shele Toftey would continue. That was the case, with North House partnering with Morey’s Seafood Market.

Unfortunately, that partnership came to an end in November 2019, leaving Cook County residents wondering if Dockside would close for good.

Today, March 10, WTIP learned that is not the case. North House Folk School has found not one, but two local business-owning families, to take on the challenge of operating the fish market. The new operators of the fish market will be Abby Tofte and Sam Hedstrom, owners of The Big Lake, and Kate and Jeremy Keeble, owners of Hungry Hippie Hostel and Hungry Hippie Tacos.

The new operators will be working closely with North Superior Fisheries, the commercial fishing business also based in the Dockside building. That business is run by Tyler Smith, Zachary Smith, and Eric Brisson, members of longtime North Shore fishing families.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence sat down with North House Folk School Director Greg Wright and the new business operators to learn more about how this partnership came about—and about a name change for the restaurant.
 

Thank you to School District 166 Principal Megan Myers who shared this photo of the February 2020 “Students of the Month” at Sawtooth Elementary.

The students recognized in February are Dax Hofeldt, Sadie Carlson, MaKotah Fairbanks, Blake Williams, Joee Seidel, Jakob Farnum, Nehemiah McCormick, Michael Morris, Elliot Zimmer,  Alex Santos, Scarlet Higgins, Graham Oberholtzer, and Landon Resler.

Congratulations to all of the students for their hard work and kind acts.
 

Tuesday, March 10 is an important day for the West End townships of Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder. All of the townships will be holding elections and annual meetings. Polls are open from 5 - 8 p.m. The annual meetings follow at 8 p.m.

Lutsen
In Lutsen, citizens will vote and gather for their annual meeting at the town hall at 116 Caribou Trail.

Candidates have come forward to run for all of the offices up for election, but not all will be on the ballot.
Lutsen town clerk Sharon Hexum-Platzer is running again for the clerk seat.

Colleen Brennan has filed to run for the one-year supervisor seat, to fill the vacancy created when a supervisor resigned.

Incumbent supervisor Andrew Beavers is running for reelection and Lollie Cooper has filed to run for that office as well. Click below to hear interviews with those candidates.

Lutsen also needs a treasurer candidate but no one came forward in time to be on the printed ballot. However, Ashley VanDoren agreed to run for the seat. Because she announced after the filing deadline, she is a write-in candidate for treasurer.

Schroeder
Schroeder citizens meet at the town hall at 124 Cramer Road.

Incumbent supervisor Rick Anderson has filed for reelection.

The current clerk, Doug Schwecke, announced months ago that he would not be running for reelection. Schwecke contacted WTIP to let us know that  a citizen has stepped forward.

Anna Green has agreed to serve as clerk, if elected. So, she is now a write-in candidate for the position.

Schroeder is also hoping to find an assistant town clerk, a non-elected position.
 
Tofte
The Tofte township normally meets at its town hall on Tofte Park Road. However on March 10, the township will gather for elections and annual meeting at the Birch Grove Community Center at 9 Good Neighbor Hill Road.

In Tofte, both incumbent board members on the ballot -- Clerk Kay Burkett and Supervisor Craig Horak have filed for reelection. Neither candidate faces any opposition.

An interview with Lutsen township supervisor candidate Lollie Cooper

An interview with Lutsen township supervisor candidate Andrew Beavers
 

It was a difficult weekend for Cook County emergency responders, starting with a search for an overdue skier in Grand Marais and ending with a response to a snowmobile accident in Schroeder. Unfortunately, both incidents were fatal.

On Saturday, March 7 at approximately 4:55 pm, Cook County Sheriff’s Office 911 dispatchers received a report of an overdue skier, David McCarthy, age 60, from Onalaska, Wisconsin. The reporting party said he was skiing in the Pincushion Ski Area in Grand Marais.
 
Cook County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Search & Rescue, North Shore Health ambulance, Grand Marais First Responders, and US Forest Service law enforcement responded, establishing a staging area at Pincushion and initiated a search.
 
During the course of the search, the party was found deceased.
 
An autopsy will be completed at the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death. There were no signs of trauma or suspicious activity.
 
No further information is available at this time.
 
On Sunday, March 8 at approximately 9:51 am, sheriff’s office dispatchers received a report of a snowmobile accident on the North Shore State Trail in the area south of the Temperance River Road in Schroeder.
 
Cook County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Search & Rescue, North Shore Health ambulance, Tofte First Responders, and US Forest Service law enforcement responded.
 
Initial reports were that the victim, a 63-year-old Lisa Schmitz from Mankato, Minnesota, was having trouble breathing. CPR was started and continued by emergency responders until they were advised by a doctor from North Shore Health to stop at approximately 10:46 a.m.
 
The woman was wearing a helmet.
 
The accident will be investigated by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and an autopsy will be completed at the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death.
 
No further information is available at this time.
 

Lutsen citizens will go to the polls and gather for their annual township meeting at the Lusten Town Hall at 116 Caribou Trail on Tuesday, March 10. Polls open at 5 p.m. and will be open until 8 p.m. The annual meeting opens after the polls close. 
 
Candidates have come forward to run for all of the Lutsen offices up for election, but not all will be on the ballot. There are three positions on the Lutsen ballot, including one supervisor seat for three years. Lutsen is the only township that has a contested race. There are two choices on the ballot for that seat, incumbent supervisor Andrew Beavers and challenger Lollie Cooper. 

 
There is a one-year supervisor seat due to a resignation. Colleen Brennan has filed to run for that supervisor slot. She is unopposed.
 
Lutsen also needs a treasurer candidate and because no one came forward in time there is no box to check for treasurer on the printed ballot. However, Ashley VanDoren agreed to run for the seat. Because she announced after the filing deadline, she is a write-in candidate for treasurer. 
 
Township elections and annual meetings are held on the second Tuesday of March all across the state of Minnesota, including Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder. 
 

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with Lutsen Town Clerk Sharon Hexum-Platzer about her position in Lutsen, which sheds some light on the work of all the citizens who serve on township boards. 

 The Minnesota Secretary of State office estimates that turnout for Minnesota's Super Tuesday presidential primary was nearly 22 percent. Kudos to the citizens of Cook County, who topped that statewide voting participation number. According to Cook County Auditor Braidy Powers, voter turnout in Cook County was 50.5 percent.

Secretary of State Steve Simon said there was no real way to predict how voters would turn out because Minnesota has not had a presidential primary that was binding on both parties since 1956.

The hope was that more citizens would participate in a primary than the political caucuses. It appears that is the case. Based on unofficial results, the Secretary of State’s office says over 885,000 Minnesotans voted in the primary. That is nearly triple the participation rate of the state's precinct caucuses in 2016.

Simon says the primary achieved its purpose of opening the doors to more voter participation.
 

The City of Grand Marais has scheduled an emergency repair to the main water line on 8th Avenue beginning at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.
 
A portion of 8th Avenue West between 1st and 2nd Streets will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m. until work is finished.
 
In addition, Grand Marais Public Utilities water customers WILL NOT have water service during the repairs. Water will be turned off at 9 a.m. for all customers west of 8th Avenue West until repairs are complete.
 
The City of Grand Marais and the Cook County Highway Department appreciate the public’s patience as these repairs are made.
 
If you are not sure if you are in the affected area or if you have other questions, please call Grand Marais City Hall at 218-387-1848.
 

 The mission of the Cook County School District 166 Education Foundation is to offer unique experiences for students through innovative instruction and co-curricular programs. To help fulfill that mission, each year the foundation hosts EATS, an evening of fine food and entertainment.
 
EATS stands for Enriching Academics Through Sustenance and it is one of the winter’s most anticipated events. Each year the education foundation opens the school doors and invites local restaurants and establishments to serve up samples of their best recipes. The school culinary arts class also takes part, serving up some of the specialties they have learned through the year.
 
There is also musical entertainment with the Cook County Schools choir and band.
 
And finally, there is a friendly competition for items on Silent Auction throughout the evening. Auction items include a Towering Pines Canopy Tour, a treatment for cluster flies, several beautiful prints, ceramics, jewelry, hand-knit items, and many gift certificates for local businesses.
 
New this year is a “buy it now” opportunity for those who don’t want to wait for the Silent Auction to end.
 
Since its founding, the Cook County Schools Education Foundation has awarded over $189,000 in grant money for ISD 166 classroom projects after school clubs, equipment, and experiences. Last year, the foundation granted about $17,000 in funding requests.
 

Here is a short list of some of the things supported by the Cook County Education Foundation:
Knowledge Bowl competitions
Two computerized babies for the High School health class
Complete set of Bill Nye Science DVDs
Senior Books & Senior Show expenses
10 graphing calculators for grades 8-12
Middle School Exploratory Days expenses
Concordia Language Villages for High School Spanish class
North House Timber Frame Project with high school Industrial Tech students
Terrence Smith Folk Dancing for K-5
Kindergarten dramatic play centers
World Traveler Day supplies in elementary school
Youth Frontiers Retreats for grades 4, 7, 9 and 12
North House Inuit Soapstone Carving class
​Young Authors Conference registration fees
Math Mission for grades 4 & 5
Clay Club expenses
 
EATS 2020 is taking place Thursday, March 5, from 6:0 0- 7:30 p.m. at the Cook County Middle School/High School. Tickets are limited to 150 people and are available now from any education foundation board member or at the school.
 
For more information, or to purchase tickets please call 387-2271, the PreK-12 office.

And for more information, listen in as WTIP's Rhonda Silence learns more.