Where are they now?

Since our very first broadcast, WTIP Community Radio has enjoyed interacting with the youth of our community. We have had young people in the studio for youth radio projects and to give us the latest school news report. We have reported on sporting events, plays, and of course graduation ceremonies.

And…we periodically check in with Cook County graduates and former North Shore residents as they’ve gone on to interesting adventures and important careers in a series called Where Are They Now?

In this segment, WTIP’s Rhonda Silence speaks to a woman who certainly raises the question in a different way: Where in the world is she now?

Listen as Rhonda speaks with Paula Marie Powell, a 1997 Cook County High School graduate who spent much of her childhood at her family’s Chippewa Inn resort on the Canadian side of Saganaga Lake, about her travels. Paula now spends summers living and working in Grand Portage with Grand Portage-Isle Royale Transportation Lines but travels to warmer climates in the winter.

WTIP reached her in Panama to learn about an adventure she had on a trek to Pompano Beach, Florida—an exciting off-shore encounter with a hammerhead shark. Click here to see Paula’s video of the event.

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If you know of someone with ties to our North Shore community that could be featured in an upcoming Where Are They Now?, please contact Rhonda Silence by calling 218-387-1070 or email [email protected]

Where Are They Now is made possible in part with funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
 

Since our very first broadcast, WTIP Community Radio has enjoyed interacting with the youth of our community.

We have had young people in the studio for youth radio projects and we have reported on sporting events, plays, and of course graduation ceremonies.

And…we periodically check in with these Cook County graduates as they’ve gone on to interesting adventures and important careers in a series called Where Are They Now?

In this segment, WTIP's Rhonda Silence checks in with David DeSuza Riehm, a 2005 graduate and former Grand Portage resident, now living and working in the entertainment industry in California. 
 
If you know of someone with ties to our North Shore community--a student or a former resident-- that could be featured, please contact Rhonda by calling 218-387-1070 or email [email protected]
 
Where are They Now is made possible in part with funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
 

Since our very first broadcast, WTIP Community Radio has enjoyed interacting with the youth of our community.

We have had young people in the studio for youth radio projects and to give us the latest school news report. We have reported on sporting events, plays, and of course graduation ceremonies. And…we periodically check in with these former Cook County residents as they’ve gone on to interesting adventures and important careers in a series called Where Are They Now?

In this segment, WTIP’s Rhonda Silence speaks with Brandon Cole, now a Duluth resident working in the film industry. Cole’s voice may sound familiar to longtime listeners, he was once a WTIP volunteer radio host.

He went from radio to film and has been working on some interesting projects in Duluth. The photo above shows Brandon Cole (on the right) with colleague Wesley Johnson, a project writer, and actor Chris Mulkey on a recent set.

Cole had some exciting news to share with WTIP about the upcoming Catalyst Film Festival in Duluth taking place from September 29 to Sunday, October 3. He was encouraged by colleagues to submit a script to the festival’s script competition and he did, reviving a film idea he had worked on while in college. He has been invited to share his script at the festival. We learn more about that in the interview below.

You can also see Cole and some of the other participants talking about their work in this PACT-TV Duluth segment.

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If you know of a Cook County resident who could be featured in a future WTIP Where Are They Now? segment, contact Rhonda Silence by calling 218-387-1070 or email [email protected]

Where are They Now? is made possible in part with funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Since our very first broadcast, WTIP Community Radio has enjoyed interacting with the youth of our community. We have had young people in the studio for youth radio projects and to give us the latest school news report. We have reported on sporting events, plays, and of course graduation ceremonies.

And we periodically check in with these Cook County graduates as they’ve gone on to interesting adventures and important careers in a series called Where Are They Now?

In this segment, WTIP’s Rhonda Silence speaks with Karlee La Favor, a 2010 graduate of Cook County High School, who is embarking on her career as a family practice physician.
 
If you know of a Cook County graduate or someone with ties to our North Shore community that could be featured, please contact Rhonda by calling 218-387-1070 or email [email protected]

Where are They Now is made possible in part with funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
 

Since our very first broadcast, WTIP Community Radio has enjoyed interacting with the youth of our community.
We have had young people in the studio for youth radio projects and to give us the latest school news report. We have reported on sporting events, plays, and of course graduation ceremonies. And we periodically check in with these Cook County graduates as they’ve gone on to interesting adventures and important careers in a series called Where Are They Now?
 
In this segment, WTIP’s Rhonda Silence speaks with Elsa Lunde, a 2019 graduate who is still in college but finding important work in the community as the Cook County Firewise Coordinator.
 
Elsa grew up in Cook County and is currently a student at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. She is working on a double major in biology and environmental studies.
 
Elsa tells WTIP that being Firewise and educating the public on the importance of fire is very important to her. She is looking forward to working with the many motivated home and property owners who want to prepare the Gunflint Trail for its next wildfire. 
 
In the interview, Elsa shares information on two upcoming Firewise events.
 
On Monday, July 5 at 6:00 p.m., Jim Morrison the Gunflint Trail Fire Chief, will be presenting the Gunflint Trail Evacuation Plan at Fire Hall 1. The current plan is to have the presentation in person, but a remote option can be arranged. Contact Elsa for information on that.  
 
On Wednesday, July 7 at 1:00 p.m., there will be a Firewise assessment/demonstration training in Ely. The training is to certify Firewise Evaluators.  A Firewise evaluator conducts evaluations of homes across the county for $15 per evaluation in the summer through early fall. If you have knowledge of trees/plants and wildfire and are interested in becoming an evaluator, please contact Elsa for further details. 
 
Firewise Coordinator Elsa Lunde can be reached at 218-370-8966 or by email to: [email protected]
 
Information on the Firewise program can also be found on the Cook County Firewise webpage.

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If you know of someone with ties to our North Shore community that could be featured in our Where Are They Now series, please contact Rhonda by calling 218-387-`1070 or email [email protected]

Where are They Now is made possible in part with funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Robert Saethre, a 1983 graduate of Cook County High School, is now working as an electrical engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. He works in the Spallation Neutron Source section at the lab, a group leader for the lab’s accelerator.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence reached out to Robert to learn more about his engineering career and about his interesting work at Oak Ridge National Labs. Here’s their conversation.

If you know of someone with ties to our North Shore community that could be featured, please contact Rhonda by calling 218-387-`1070 or email [email protected]
 

WTIP Community Radio is pleased to be a connection to the North Shore for those who live here--and those who used to live here--such as Cook County High School graduate Dehlia Seim. 

WTIP's Rhonda Silence reached out to Dehlia to find out what she's been doing since she graduated in 1997. Here's their conversation. 

If you know of a Cook County High School graduate or a former resident who could be featured on WTIP Community Radio, give us a call at WTIP at 218-387-1070 or email [email protected]. 
 

Tina Nelson is a 2010 graduate of Cook County High School. She was very active in CCHS sports, in volleyball and basketball. She has gone on to be the head volleyball coach and assistant basketball coach at Marshall School in Duluth. But that is a part time job – she also works full time as a public health educator. She is now the Northeast Minnesota suicide prevention coordinator.  

She travels around the state speaking at area schools, sharing the suicide prevention message and resources that are available, such as the Minnesota Crisis Text Line. She tells students that the text line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For help, whether it is for yourself or a friend, help is available by texting MN to 741741.

More information is available online.

Tina will be visiting Cook County Schools on February 22.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence speaks with Tina Nelson about the important job she is doing in northeastern Minnesota.
 

Many students from Cook County schools have gone on to great adventures and interesting careers. One such graduate is Kristine Woerheide, who is now a veterinarian at the Ely Veterinarian Clinic. 

Rhonda Silence caught up with Kristine to talk a bit about what it takes to become a veterinarian and what she's been up to.