Senator Grant Hauschild (DFL-Hermantown) is joined by Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) in a meeting Thursday with local and county officials in Grand Marais as they discuss the impact of the 2024 legislative session on Grand Marais and the Northshore.
The Cook County Commissioners met in the courtroom on Tuesday, August 13, because the primary voting was held in the commissioner's room. Commissioner Stacey Johnson couldn't attend this meeting.
The Cook County and Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) held a special meeting on Monday, August 12, to find an Interim Executive Director. Theresa Badja is the current Executive Director of the EDA; she is regretfully leaving.
The zip line at the new Grand Portage playground is a dizzying highlight of the $800,000 installation located at the community center and Oshki Ogimaag school grounds. More than 100 community members attended the August 7 Grand Opening celebration and feast to usher in a new era of community recreation and well being in a playful setting that emphasizes traditional Ojibwe community values of Two girls climb and walk a balancing rope at the nature-themed playground that was planned by a team from the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to prioritize imagination, creativity, physical and mental health in a family-oriented, culturally relevant setting. The Grand Portage team design was refined and installed by Northwest Playground Equipment, Inc., of Washington state.
Firefighters from Lutsen, Tofte, and Silver Bay responded to a fire at Taconite Harbor Energy Center on August 6—a neighbor called to report that black smoke was coming from the site. The call came into Cook County Law Enforcement Dispatch a little after 11 a.m. By 1:07 p.m., the fire was out, and no injuries were reported, thanks to the swift and coordinated efforts of the responders.
Planked fish has been around for centuries. Historians widely accept that the first records of planked fish came from the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, where they would attach salmon to cedar planks and cook by a fire. European settlers quickly adopted the practice, incorporating it into their own culinary traditions. As westward expansion brought more people into contact with abundant freshwater fisheries, planked trout dinners became a staple of outdoor gatherings and celebrations. These communal meals fostered a sense of community and shared heritage. It is not uncommon to find cookbooks from the 18th century that include recipes for planked fish, and George Washington held planked shad cookouts at Mount Vernon (shad is a type of fish).
Jean Rew (Yaeger) Ljungkull passed away on August 7, 2024 at the age of 93. She is preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Gunnar Rolf Ljungkull; parents, Christine and Edward Yaeger; son, Jon Ljungkull; and sister, Lysbeth Ann Toribio.
Now competing in the professional division, Allie Duclos, Lutsen, defeated Liberty Lundstrom in the first round of logrolling at the 2024 Hayward Lumberjack World Championships, which were held last weekend on the Namekagon River in Hayward, Wisconsin.
GrandMaraisLionsClub President Pete Kavanaugh was slightly emotional when he announced that Mark Abrahamson, a dear friend of his, had been named Cook County Citizen of the Year. Mark and Pete have been longtime volunteers at WTIP Radio, and for many years, Mark and Pete's wife, Tracy Benson, worked together to host a WTIP radio show.