North Shore News Hour

On the eve of Super Tuesday, the first presidential primary for Minnesota since 1992, there is word that Sen. Amy Klobuchar has ended her Democratic presidential campaign. According to an Associated Press report, a Klobuchar staffer says Klobuchar is flying to Dallas and plans to join Biden at his rally tonight.

Klobuchar was the third presidential candidate to drop out of the race in less than 49 hours, following Pete Buttigieg’s departure late Sunday and Tom Steyer’s exit late Saturday. Their decisions seem to be a push among moderates to consolidate behind Biden as a counter to progressive rival Bernie Sanders.

Klobuchar outlasted several better-known and better-funded Democrats, thanks to a better-than-expected third-place finish in New Hampshire. But she couldn’t turn that into success elsewhere, as she struggled to build out a campaign that could compete across the country and had poor showings in the next contests.

She also faced some tough questions about her prosecutor past and her involvement in the prosecution of a black teenager accused of the 2002 shooting death of an 11-year-old girl. That issue followed Klobuchar on the campaign trail, with protesters forcing her to cancel a rally in suburban Minneapolis days before Super Tuesday.

Klobuchar continued to rack up endorsements even as her campaign struggled, getting the backing of newspapers including the Houston Chronicle, The Seattle Times and the New Hampshire Union Leader, but the momentum was apparently not enough.

All this leaves local voters, many who may have cast their vote for Klobuchar--or the other candidates who have withdrawn, such as Buttigieg or Steyer--wondering where they stand. Can they rescind their ballot and vote for another candidate?

WTIP asked Cook County Auditor Braidy Powers, who oversees local elections and the answer is no. Once ballots have been removed from the mail-in envelope and counted by the system, there is no chance to retrieve them.

So it is yet to be seen how many votes Klobuchar, Buttigieg and Steyer will receive despite their last-minute withdrawals.

Anyone with questions about this or anything else pertaining to the presidential primary, call the Auditor’s Office at 218-387- 3640.
 
 
 
 

There has been interest in the Cedar Grove Business Park, owned and managed by the Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA), in recent months. There are about 20 lots available in the business park off the Gunflint Trail in Grand Marais.

At the January 2020 meeting, EDA Director Mary Somnis reported that a new business is considering one lot. And at the February 11 meeting, the Cook County Historical Society came forward with a request for use of Cedar Grove Business Park, Lot 5, Block 7.

Carrie Johnson, executive director of the Cook County Historical Society, along with a number of historical society members, were in attendance at the EDA meeting to answer questions about their request.

Johnson explained the historical society desperately needs new storage space for the 25,000+ items in its museum collection. The current location—the basement of the old lighthouse keeper’s home, the historical museum—has flooded twice in recent storms. The historical society currently has items stored at a variety of different areas that are not properly climate controlled.

Johnson said the historical society hopes to find an appropriate storage area, away from Lake Superior.

The society had a collections assessment completed by the Midwest Arts Conservation Center, which came up with some recommendations. She said some preliminary sketches of what the storage building would look like.

EDA board member Heidi Doo-Kirk asked if the building would be staffed. Johnson said no, only when someone needed to access materials
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The historical society asked the EDA to consider selling them the lot for $1.

EDA board member Hal Greenwood asked what price other lots had been sold for. EDA Executive Director Mary Somnis said previous lot sales ranged from $28,000 - $35,000. The prices vary because of the condition of the lots—size of lots, how much is buildable because of wetland, etc.

However, Somnis pointed out that there are special assessments on all of the Cedar Grove Business Park for utilities. For each lot sold, the EDA must pay $10,000 to $15,000 toward those assessments.

Board member Hal Greenwood said selling a lot at $1 would be a mistake. He expressed concern about community reaction over what would essentially equal giving a lot away.

Board member Carol Mork said she was sympathetic to the historical society’s concerns. However, she said she was surprised by the historical society’s request to purchase the lot for $1. Mork suggested the historical society look for funds to purchase the lot at a more reasonable price.

Board member Bev Green agreed. She too, said she fully understands the flooding situation and the need for better storage for the historical society. However, Green said the EDA needs to be careful as there are other entities who would also like to have lots sold to them for $1. She said there has been some talk of a request coming from the dog park group and the dog pound, seeking a lot. Green said a sale like this to the historical society could set a precedent.
 
EDA Executive Director Somnis reminded the EDA that the Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission (PUC) had also asked the EDA for a lot to erect a solar garden.

The board agreed there were too many questions to proceed with the sale and members expressed reluctance to sell it for only $1. The matter was tabled to do some more research.

The EDA also talked about the proposed renovation/reconstruction of Grand Marais City Hall and how it would impact the EDA. Director Somnis distributed sketches of draft concepts so far. She said in the next month the city will be working with staff on paring down the plans.
Somnis said that discussion will also include the question of whether or not the city should include space for the EDA office. Somnis added that once the renovation has been done it is probably a certainty that the rent will increase. She said it is unlikely that the EDA can find any place to rent for $200 a month, which is what they are paying now. She said the EDA needs to keep that in mind with budget planning.

Joining the EDA board at the meeting, as she often does was Small Business Development Center Representative Pat Campanaro. Campanaro shared a written report of her activities over the past month. In January, she met with 28 clients in 64 different sessions. She also conducted a seminar on choosing merchant card services for 10 different business owners.

Campanaro added that she also held a class at Cook County Higher Education on starting a business. The night of the class was a major snowstorm and 12 people still came out, so Campanaro was pleased with that.

The next EDA meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 12, 2020 at 4 p.m. at Grand Marais City Hall. The meetings are open to the public and begin with a time for public comment.

After the last meeting, WTIP’s Rhonda Silence sat down with EDA Executive Director Mary Somnis to learn more.
 
 
 

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office today announced—with great sadness—the passing of one of its own.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Grand Portage ambulance, North Shore Health ambulance, and Hovland First Responders responded to a medical call at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29, for a suspected cardiac event at the home of 58-year-old Dispatcher/Jailer Dawn Wagner.

Responders arrived at the home on Wilderness Trail at Tom Lake in Hovland to find that CPR had been initiated by Wagner’s husband. Attempts to resuscitate Wagner were unsuccessful.

“A wonderful light in our midst has moved on and we are heartbroken,” said Sheriff Pat Eliasen. “It is always difficult to respond to calls that end in a loss of life, but exceptionally difficult when it is a colleague and friend. This is a big loss for our team, and our hearts and prayers are with Dawn’s family.”

Wagner served many years as a 911 dispatcher, in Colorado and in Minnesota. She joined the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in 2017.

An autopsy will be completed to determine the official cause of death.
 

The North Shore Storm PeeWee B team have continued to skate to victory in a mini Miracle on Ice!

They defeated Thief River Falls on Friday, February 28 at the Moose Lake Arena in a thriller. The score was 0-1 throughout the game until the last 48 seconds when the Storm scored two goals. Final score, 2-1.

They went on to play East Grand Forks on Saturday, February 29 in a Leap Year Day game that went into overtime tied 5-5. The PeeWees scored the winning goal in the first minute of overtime. The final score was Storm, 6, East Grand Forks, 5.

Today they faced Grand Rapids and claimed another victory, 4-2. They are now regional champions!

What is phenomenal about this young Silver Bay/Cook County team is their season record—33-0! Congratulations, North Shore Storm! They now advance to the State tournament to be held in New Ulm, Minnesota, March 13-15.

The North Shore Storm PeeWees are a combined Cook County/Silver Bay team. Team members are Jacob Carpenter, Rayce Gibson, Brody Bronikowski, Gustaf Kindstrand, Avery Thompson, Ethan Meeks, Cole Anderson,  Alexa Harrison, Hunter Tikkanen, Kale Hakem Smith, Logan Milczark, Ayden Althaus, Kadence Shoeh, and Adi Johansen. 

The Lutsen Junior Alpine ski team competed in the Northland Junior Race Series (NJRS) No. 7 race on February 23. The race was held on Koo Koo at Lutsen Mountains.

Skiers from seven regional teams competed and Lutsen Alpine skiers had a good day on their home course.

Vincent Tofte of Lutsen took 2nd in the under-5 boys’ race.

For the girls aged 6-7, Isla Freeburn was 2nd, Byn Zallar was 5th, Lucy Kartes was 12th and Haddy Holbrook, 13th.
For the boys, Levi Smith was 6th, Reece Zallar, 8th, and Barret Youngdahl, 9th.

Natalia Smith finished 10th place and Halyn Holbrook in 11th in the 8-9 year old girls.

Hudson Freeburn was 2nd in the 8-9 year old boys, followed by August Gulstrand in 4th and Jack Radloff in 11th.
For the 10-11 year old girls, AnnaBelle Silence finished in 4th place. 

Taking 1st place in the 10-11 year old boys was Goshi Dimitrov. Graham Oberholtzer finished in 10th.

Two Lutsen skiers made the podium for 12-13 girls, Kalina Dimitrov in 1st and Allessandra Duclos in 2nd. Sophia Blanck was in 6th and Ruby Gulstrand in 11th.

The 12-13 year old boys also topped the podium, with Ray Dressely taking 1st and Reuben Youngdahl taking 2nd. They were followed by Finn Taylor in 5th and Rylan Brown in 7th.

Genevieve Silence took 2nd for girls 14-15 years old and Cy Oberholtzer took 1st for the boys.

Cook County High School Senior Halle Lamb finished her NJRS racing career at Lutsen with a top of the podium 1st place for 16-17 year old girls.

Also taking part in his last NJRS race at Lutsen was Masen McKeever, who took 1st place for the 16-17 boys. He was followed by Elijah Blanck in 3rd.
 
The next, and last meet of the season, will be March 7 and 8 at Mont du Lac. 

Click the slideshow to see some of the racing action on Koo Koo on Feb. 23. Thanks to Melissa Dressely for sharing her pictures! 
 

It takes a bit of courage to come in to WTIP Community Radio to be an on-air guest.

WTIP works hard to make people feel at home wearing headphones and talking into the microphone. We have a few tricks here at the station to make people feel at ease.

One such trick that we learned from our retired senior news editor Jay Andersen is to ask an unexpected question. 

Over the years since receiving that tip, WTIP’s Rhonda Silence realized she has received some interesting answers. In honor of the brave guests who have taken the leap into local radio, Rhonda put together a montage.

Thanks to The Mamas and the Papas for some background breakfast music.

Here’s “What’s for Breakfast.” 

The Hub, formerly known as the Cook County Senior Center, is home to a myriad of activities. Some geared for senior citizens, but others for all ages. The multi-generational aspect led to the name change for the building and its programs on Broadway Avenue in Grand Marais.

The Hub is operated by the Cook County Council on Aging, and still offers many senior services, such as lunches and Meals-on-Wheels, foot care, blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, a medical equipment loan closet, Medicare consultation visits. and more.
 
The Hub also offers opportunities for cards, crafts, and presentations on subjects of interest to all ages. There are Tech Support days, on the first Monday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m., which is a time when student interns from Boreal Community Media are on hand to help people master their cell phones and other devices. 

The Hub has also set up a mentor program with senior citizens working with the fifth-grade students at Sawtooth Mountain Elementary for reading and crafts. See the photo above of some of the seniors and students celebrating this collaboration. 

There is a lot more! To learn more, contact The Hub to sign up for the E-newletter. Email [email protected] or call 218-387-2660. 

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence visited The Hub recently to talk about the reasons behind the name change, as well as all the services are available there.
 

 Across the state of Minnesota, political precinct caucuses were held on Tuesday, February 25, including here in Cook County.
 
Here in Cook County, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party met at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts and the Republican Party gathered at The Hub (formerly the Cook County Senior Center).
 
WTIP’s Rhonda Silence caught up the chairs of both local parties – Mary Petz for the GOP and Bryan Hansel with the DFL – to learn more about attendance and activities at the caucuses.
 
Here’s Rhonda with Cook County Republican Chair Mary Petz.

 
Here’s Rhonda with Cook County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Bryan Hansel.

 
For more information on the Cook County Republican party, call 218-475-2500. For information on the Cook County DFL, visit the Cook County Democratic Farmer Labor Facebook page.
 

The Cook County Community YMCA is closed for the rest of the day, February 26, due to fumes from the paint in the women's locker room.
 
According to the YMCA, the decision was made for the safety of YMCA members, program participants, and staff members.
 
Some programs unaffected by the closure are the After School All-Stars (pick up in school cafeteria) and 9-12th Grade Dance class, which is held in the 4H Log Cabin.

The YMCA will reopen tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 27), as usual.
 

Discussion of the upcoming Highway 61 road construction this spring has been on the agenda of many local government meetings.
The Cook County Chamber of Commerce, Visit Cook County, and the Grand Marais Business Coalition have been working to make the upcoming Highway 61 road construction through Grand Marais go as smoothly as possible.
 
One of the chamber initiatives is creating a theme for businesses to use to encourage visitors to come into the city. As part of what has been dubbed the “Project 61” effort, two billboards on the east of town have been made available to welcome visitors with a positive message.
 
Chamber Executive Director Jim Boyd says the billboards are being made available thanks to Mark Shackleton, owner of the Subway sandwich shop, and Melodee and Dan Riddle, owners of the Blue Water Cafe.
 
Boyd said the chamber wants to put up “funny, positive messages that nod to the construction but encourage folks coming from Canada to stop in Grand Marais.”
 
To come up with something community-minded and creative, the chamber is holding a billboard design contest. Anyone interesting in submitting a design may do so by sending an entry to [email protected]
 
A winner will be chosen by April 1. 
 
While all this preparation is taking place locally, it has been a while since the community has heard an update from the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Just when will all this construction start? What are the construction boundaries for the first year of construction?
 
WTIP’s Rhonda Silence finds out in this interview.