North Shore News Hour

The Campaign to Save The Boundary Waters is a an effort of the Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW), specifically formed to work to  protect the Boundary Waters Wilderness from mining projects that could harm the wilderness. 

The campaign was organized by NMW, based in Ely, Minnesota, with the mission of creating a "national movement to protect the clean water, clean air and forest landscape of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and its watershed from toxic pollution caused by mining copper, nickel and other metals from sulfide-bearing ore."

The new director of the Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness’s “Save the Boundary Waters Campaign" is Tom Landwehr, the former commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 

Landwehr visited Grand Marais on March 8 and met with interested citizens at the Java Moose coffee shop.  WTIP's Rhonda Silence caught up with Landwehr as he headed out of town. Here’s that conversation.

Photos courtesy of Sue Hakes

Former Grand Marais resident, Meggan Halvorson, has become an advocate for better working conditions at her workplace, the financial institute, Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo has been under fire for some of its practices and the way it treats its customers. So much so that Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan was called before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee this week.

Meggan Halvorson joined a number of other Wells Fargo workers and the Committee for Better Banks to deliver a #WheelsAreOffWF petition to the Capitol, asking that something be done about the firm’s policies.

Meggan spoke at the worker rally at the Capitol and can be seen in the House audience as the CEO is being grilled by the Finance Committee.

WTIP caught up with Meggan when she got back to the Twin Cities, back at work at Wells Fargo, to hear about her experience. Here’s Rhonda Silence with more.
 

The 2019 E.A.T.S. event will be from 6 - 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 14 and plans are well under way for another extravagant event. During E.A.T.S., the hallway and cafeteria of School District 166 is transformed into a gastronomical delight, offering a delectable array of tasty samples from local food vendors and restaurants. 

There is also musical entertainment and lively bidding on dozens of silent auction items. 

It's all for a good cause, in support of the Cook County Education Foundation, which awards grants for projects and activities that enhance the curriculum. A total of $175, 881 in grants have been provided by the foundation to activities such as Ice Storm Robotics, Spanish language camp, Wolf Ridge trips, and much more. 

For information about E.A.T.S., contact Cook County High School at 218-387-2273. 

WTIP's Rhonda Silence sat down with some of the organizers to learn more. Here's that conversation. 

Township elections and annual meetings were held Tuesday, March 12. Citizens from Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder gathered to vote and to discuss township business.

Lutsen
Lutsen, the only township with a contested election had the highest voter turnout. After the ballots were counted, it was announced that Carl Friesner had won the supervisor seat, defeating incumbent Rae Piepho.

Thirteen ballots were submitted with write-in votes for several different people for the position of Lutsen treasurer. The person with the highest number of votes was not at the annual meeting, so that individual will be contacted. If that person accepts the position, Lutsen will have a treasurer.

WTIP will share that information when it becomes available.

Tofte
Tofte Supervisor Sarah Somnis was reelected, as was the incumbent treasurer, Dan Shirley. Shirley did not file for the office, but was elected by write-in. He agreed to continue to serve.

The Tofte township completed its agenda in about an hour, starting with a report on the Birch Grove Community Center, which the township owns. Later in the meeting, when the 2020 budget was set, the community center was briefly discussed again. Citizens were informed that the 2018 levy amount was $80,000, but 2018 expenses were $84,805. For that reason, the proposed 2020 levy is $85,000.

Tofte Supervisor Craig Horak told citizens that the township of Lutsen had tentatively agreed to contribute $7,000 toward operations of the West End community center.

Lutsen did just that at its meeting, with citizens approving a $7,000 addition to its budget in support of Birch Grove Community Center.

In other Tofte business, citizens heard a report on the housing project started, but stalled on township land behind Birch Grove Community Center. Citizens agreed to budget $15,000 for further exploration of the project to determine if the town should continue, or abandon its efforts.

In his report, Fire Chief Rich Nelson told the township that there were 28 fire calls in the past year. Chief Nelson also said the fire department had replaced all of its personal protective gear (or turn-out gear) to be in compliance with OSHA regulations. The cost was approximately $30,000.

EMS Chief Kim Jahnke reported that the Tofte-Schroeder Rescue Squad had responded to 53 calls in the last year, 10 of those vehicle accidents.

Schroeder
Both of the Schroeder candidates, Supervisor Tina McKeever and Treasurer Carla Menssen were reelected.

Schroeder, the township with the most roads, heard a report from Supervisor Rick Anderson about the 2018 road and bridge projects, such as gravel installation and brushing on Sugarloaf Road; repairs and gravel on Skou Road; resurfacing and repairs to Baragas Road and Schroeder Tote Road.

Supervisor Bruce Martinson pointed out that the 2018 road projects had reduced the township’s fund balance, but he and Anderson said the money had been well-spent. Anderson explained that the township had the opportunity to receive a grant for $43,000 toward the roadwork. However, accepting that money would have meant a great deal of construction to meet the road standards required by the grantee, a potential expense of up to $200,000. Because of that, the township decided to not accept the grant, but use its own funds for the work.

Anderson said the township has been setting the money aside for this, so the roadwork was completed without the need for an increase in the town levy.

Fire Chief Phil Bonin gave a report, which included the news that the fire department had a visit from OSHA, which resulted in a lot of paperwork, some penalties and the need to replace the department’s turnout gear. It will be an expense of about $30.000.

Chief Bonin said there were 12 fire calls last year. He also shared information on the Tofte-Schroeder Rescue Squad, stating that calls for rescue help were fairly evenly split between the two townships. He said that Tofte has established a search and rescue team and the Rescue Squad answers those calls as well. He said it is a lot of work for the six-person rescue squad team.

In some lighter news, nominations were opened for the Schroeder Citizen of the Year. Gale Ring, deputy town clerk, was selected as the 2019 recipient of the honor.

Making the rounds
The townships of Lutsen and Schroeder had special guest speakers on the subject of the county’s possible law enforcement center. In Schroeder, Bob Swanson and in Lutsen, Ben Peters, shared their concerns about the proposed expansion and renovation of the jail.

All three townships heard from Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) Executive Director Mary Somnis, speaking about countywide EDA activities.

In an additional side note in Schroeder, Somnis said told the township, home to the shuttered Taconite Harbor plant and railroad, that a study of railways around the region was being conducted. She said the Taconite Harbor to Hoyt Lakes section of rail was not initially included in the study.

All three townships reviewed town budgets and gave tentative support, but tabled final approval until August. The tentative budget total for Tofte is $176, 622. Lutsen’s tentative budget is $193,295. And Schroeder’s tentative budget is $121,940.
 
Click the slideshow for photos of the folks at the town meetings.
 

Township elections and annual meetings are held March 12. The voting polls are open from 5-8 p.m. and annual meetings follow at 8 p.m.

WTIP spoke with candidates for Lutsen and Tofte, and reached out to Schroeder candidates—Tina McKeever for supervisor; Carla Menssen for treasurer. We were not able to arrange an interview with McKeever, but Schroeder incumbent treasurer Menssen agreed to talk to us. Click below to hear that interview.

In other township election news, Lutsen township does have a contested race for the supervisor seat. Incumbent Rae Piepho has filed for reelection and she is challenged by Carl Friesner.

WTIP spoke with both of the candidates and you can find those interviews here.

Lutsen does not have a candidate for the treasurer seat, which has been filled by John Groth for over 14 years. WTIP reached out to John to ask if he would do an interview about his time on the town board and he said he would like to respectfully decline.

Groth said he was not running again for personal reasons and he added, “I hope my work and what I accomplished in service to Lutsen will speak for itself.”

Indeed, town clerk Sharon Hexum-Platzer tells WTIP that John will be “terribly missed.”

In Tofte, incumbent Sarah Somnis is running for reelection.

No one filed for the treasurer position, currently held by Dan Shirley. Shirley hopes someone else will come forward to serve as treasurer, but said he will accept an appointment if there are no other citizens willing to take on the role.

WTIP spoke with both of the Tofte board members. Those interviews can be heard here. 
 
 

The Lutsen Alpine team—Team Lutsen—is a group of young skiers, ranging in ages from six to 15 years old, who take part in the National Junior Ski Racing program.

The energetic team is coached by John Oberholtzer and Plamen Dimitrov. WTIP’s Rhonda Silence sat down with the coaches for a report on the season. Click below to hear that interview. 

Coach Dimitrov also shared the following report with WTIP Community Radio:

Lutsen Junior Alpine ski racers competed in all five regular season ski races this season. They earned multiple podium appearances in each race, within the various age groups.

The Championship race is the last race of the season, and brings another level of competition. In addition to the individual race and awards, this event includes a team competition, based on the performance of each racer.

This year’s Championship race was held Sunday, March 3 at Lutsen Mountains on the steep slopes of Koo-Koo.

Despite the cold weather 180 racers turned out, divided into several age groups, competing in one Giant Slalom and one Slalom run.  

Twenty-six of these racers were from Team Lutsen. Our racers had an excellent day, finishing in three 1st places, four 2nd places, along with a handful of top 10 finishes.

When the dust settled Team Lutsen took 3rd place, in a very close competition, just behind Team Mont Du Lac in 1st, and Team Mount Ski Gull, which came in 2nd.

It is worth noting these two teams have a larger number of racers, which makes the accomplishment by our Team Lutsen racers more impressive.

This race will not be possible without the help of Lutsen Mountains and over 30 parents and other volunteers.

Several seventh graders have participated in practices and raced with the Cook County High School team this season – Ray Dressely, Weston Heeren, Cy Oberholtzer, Andrew Hallberg, Elijah Blanck, Kalina Dimitrova and Alessandra Duclos.

It is good to see the continuation of their effort on the next level of competing, and to see them grow as racers and individuals.
I would like to add despite the long season, our racers have demonstrated resiliency, camaraderie, and sportsmanship, beyond what us coaches can teach.

For more information and photos of Team Lutsen, visit the team Facebook page. 
 

Many North Shore residents are celebrating a "good" snow year. Skiers and snowmobilers are reveling in the great trail conditions. However, the amount of snow we've received can be difficult for some. There are some northlanders who would be happy to never shovel another scoop of snow. 

And there are some jobs that are made more challenging by winter weather. We caught up with two of those folks, Josie Freeberg and Brandon Curtis, who are rural mail carriers. Here's their thoughts on delivering the mail on our snowy roads. 
 

Each week the Cook County Sheriff’s Office provides a brief report of calls made to the Cook County Law Enforcement Center in the past week. This week’s report provides details logged by law enforcement dispatchers from February 26 to March 3, 2019.

During that time, the Sheriff’s Office assisted other law enforcement agencies with a number of matters—the probation office with inmate testing; back up for a conservation officer; and booking an individual arrested by the Minnesota State Patrol.

On March 2, there was a report of theft, which Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen said is now under investigation. On March 3, the Sheriff’s Office arrested an individual for theft

A call reporting criminal sexual conduct on Feb. 27 was determined to be unfounded. No further information is available as this is a juvenile matter.

Sheriff Eliasen said a Feb. 28 call listed as “threats” was actually from a reporting party who was nervous because another party was in the same building and they have a “history.”

The Sheriff’s Office received some good news on Feb. 26 regarding a handgun that had been reported stolen. The party called to say the gun, which had been missing since 2016, had been found.

There was a call reporting the sound of shots in Grand Marais on March 1. The Sheriff’s Office said it was a private party shooting on private land.

Sheriff deputies handled a number of public assistance calls for a party running out of gas; two drivers requesting tows; a broken down snowmobile; help with changing a flat tire; and help in retrieving a purse left behind and locked in a building. Deputies also gave an intoxicated person at the casino a ride home.

A deputy was called to address a civil matter – a snowplowing issue between neighbors.

The Sheriff’s Office received a copy of a trespass letter.

On Feb. 27, deputies were called to check the hazard of sand on the highway.

There were two calls reporting parking problems at the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino, one reporting an out-of-gas car blocking an intersection and the other left in a private parking lot for a week.

A call reported suspicious activity on Feb. 27, which led to an investigation of a juvenile. Two other suspicious activity calls came in, one from a homeowner who reported that things were moved around in a home. There were concerns that someone may have been inside. A final suspicious activity call ended up being a juvenile prank.

Deputies were asked to check the safety and well being of two individuals visiting the county, one on the Gunflint Trail; one in Grand Portage. Deputies also responded to a caller concerned about a person walking on the highway at 4 a.m.

There were a number of animal disturbance calls, most related to deer. There was an injured deer on Highway 61 on Feb. 26, then reports of dead deer on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28. There was a report of a car/deer crash on East Highway 61 on March 3.

The only non-deer-related animal call was a dog found by a deputy on March 2.

Dispatchers handled a call about a power outage in Grand Marais on Feb. 28.

A telephone scam was reported to law enforcement on March 1.  

There were five traffic stops, with four reprimands and one citation. There were 10 stops to check residences or businesses and five medical calls.

Dispatchers answered three crank or misdialed 9-1-1 calls.

If you need help from Cook County Law Enforcement, dial 9-1-1. For non-emergency calls, contact the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at 218-387-3030.
 
 

The official filing period to run for office on the local township boards closed in mid-January and township elections are coming up next week, March 12.

Lutsen is the only township that has a contested race for a supervisor seat. Incumbent Rae Piepho has filed for reelection and she is challenged by Carl Friesner.

Lutsen does not have a candidate for the treasurer seat, which has been filled by John Groth for over 14 years. WTIP reached out to Groth to ask if he would do an interview about his time on the town board and he said he would like to respectfully decline.

Groth said he was not running again for personal reasons and he added, “I hope my work and what I accomplished in service to Lutsen will speak for itself.”

Indeed, town clerk Sharon Hexum-Platzer tells WTIP that John will be “terribly missed.”

All of the West End townships are holding elections and annual meetings on Tuesday, March 12. Polls are open from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Lutsen and Schroeder townhalls and at Birch Grove Community Center in Tofte.

The annual meetings follow poll closure and all citizens are encouraged to attend.

Although there are no other contested town board races, WTIP reached out to all of the folks who will be on the township ballot. Click here to hear from the Tofte township.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with both of the Lutsen supervisor candidates. Click on their name below to hear those interviews.  
 

The official filing period to run for office on the local township boards closed in mid-January and township elections are coming up next week, March 12.

WTIP has reached out to all of the candidates for town board seats to learn a little more about them.

In Tofte, Supervisor Sarah Somnis is running for reelection for a second term. She is unopposed.

Current Tofte treasurer is Dan Shirley, who did not file for reelection. Shirley, who owns and operates Sawbill Canoe Outfitters and serves on the School District 166 School Board, said he would like to give someone else the opportunity to serve.

However, since no one filed to be on the ballot for the treasurer seat, Shirley said he would be willing to serve is elected as a write-in candidate.

Here’s Rhonda Silence with the Tofte candidates. Click on their names below to hear their thoughts.