West End News: March 10

Another year and another set of West End Township annual meetings is in the record book.  On Tuesday, Schroeder, Tofte and Lutsen all held township elections and the grand meetings where the township budgets and tax levies are discussed and settled.
 
This was a pretty harmonious year for the townships in the West End, with very little in the way of hot topics. Congratulations to all the candidates for supervisor, clerk and treasurer, who ran unopposed and won overwhelmingly. 
 
The only contested election was for township supervisor in Tofte, where Birch Grove Community School Board member Sarah Somnis defeated six-year incumbent supervisor Jim King by a nearly two to one margin. Both Sarah and Jim gave heartfelt speeches when the results were announced, expressing their admiration for each other and wishing the best for Tofte. Jim said that he is turning 76 soon and is looking forward to having a little more time to enjoy retirement. He also mentioned his pleasure in seeing younger members of the community, which he defined as under the age of 50, stepping up to take leadership roles.
 
Sarah wanted everyone to know that she had nothing to do a somewhat negative political cartoon that was put in some mailboxes in Tofte just a few days before the election. The cartoon, which was based on the Angry Birds smart-phone game, was pretty mild by today’s political standards, and did show some real creativity. But, it’s unfortunate to see any negativity when the two candidates are so friendly and respectful to each other.
 
I would like to join the entire community in thanking Jim for his service and tireless work on behalf of Tofte over the last six years. I know he will be helping as much as he can in the future, too.
 
Congratulations to Julie’s Hardware in Silver Bay for the major store renovation that is nearing completion. Owners Faron and Angie Meeks had been thinking about upgrading their already thriving store for a couple of years. When they heard the news that Cliffs North Shore Mining was shutting down for an unknown period of time, they considered putting their own plans on hold.  But, after thinking it over carefully, they decided to demonstrate their faith in the Silver Bay community by moving forward with a significant investment. Do stop by to see their impressive hardware store the next time you are in Silver Bay.
 
Finland’s own virtuoso guitar player, Gordon Thorne, is offering a couple of cool community events in the near future. Starting last week, Gordon will be hosting a guitar workshop at the Clair Nelson Center in Finland every Tuesday night from 6 to 7 pm.  On April 8 and 9, Gordon will be hosting the 6th Annual Fingerstyle Masters Weekend at the Bluefin Grille in Tofte. This year’s masters will be guitarist Pat Donohue and fiddler Tom Schaefer. Pat is a longtime member of “Guy’s Shoe Band” which is the house band for the nationwide radio show, “A Prairie Home Companion.” Tom is a well respected Twin Cities musician who plays in many groups, including the Mark Krietzer Band and Cousin Dad. In an interesting bit of West End trivia, the band known as Cousin Dad was actually given their unusual name here at Sawbill back in the 1980s.
 
You can find workshop registration information at the WTIP website. You can buy tickets to the April 9 Saturday night concert at Bluefin Grille at the door or instructions for getting them in advance are also on the WTIP website. As I always say, be there – or be square.
 
Dan and Clare Shirley, who have recently returned to make their home in Tofte, were alerted to good northern lights last week by a Facebook post from Amy Freeman, who has been camping in the BWCA Wilderness, without coming out even once, for the last six months. Clare reported a decent display over the north end of Sawbill Lake that was made even more special by the repeated calls of a nearby Barred Owl. Clare and Dan did their best imitation of howling wolves, but weren’t able to raise a response from the real wolves.  The whole experience took place under remarkably clear star-filled skies with temperatures in the comfortable lower 40 degrees with no wind.…just another night of routine entertainment here in the remarkable West End.