Public meeting held for the county’s Capitol Improvement Plan

BRIAN LARSEN Cook County Commissioners held a public hearing on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, to provide the public a chance to express their opinions and concerns about the County Capitol Improvement Plan (CIP) and the county’s intent to issue general obligation capital improvement bonds to help pay for deferred maintenance to several buildings. A resolution relating to a tax abatement of certain properties for 15 years to help construct improvements at the Community Center in Grand Marais was also on the docket.

Grand Marais Film Society Brings Oscar Contender to the Big Screen

The Grand Marais Film Society is getting ready for its next screening this Saturday, February 3rd at 7 p.m. at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts, just a few days after it was announced that it was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. This month’s film is sponsored by Nels Larsen, CPA of Guidance Accounting.

County commissioners grant a conditional use permit for a gun range

BRIAN LARSEN It took a bit longer than expected. Still, the Flintlock Range Association (FRA) request for a Conditional Use Permit and a county lease to operate an outdoor sports park, including shooting ranges and courses with public and private events, on 360 acres of county-owned land was unanimously approved at the Cook County Board of Commissioners January 23 meeting.

As I See It

Despairing each other is not the way to bring change I served six years on the North Shore Health board of directors. The last day of my tenure as a board member was 12/31/2022.

Writer dismayed at vitriolic public opinions

I am so shocked and saddened by the mean and toxic way this community treats each other. I have lived from one coast to the other and places in between, but it took to moving to a small town to see actual evil behavior. I am an outsider, so I expect it, but how you treat your friends,' neighbors and fellow community members is outrageous. People are intentionally cruel just because they disagree. There is no real dialogue or discussion like caring human beings. It is only attack and destruction. So many people here know each other, but that doesn't seem to matter. Everyone's motives are suspect. I don't understand how more people don't stand up for what is right. I know people don't want to be attacked by friends, neighbors, and community members. But by being silent, the negative people/comments win. And for everyone who hates my husband for the job he has, you win. I no longer see Grand Marais as a small, beautiful, welcoming place. But a place I should flee from. A place that is not safe to care about. A place I don't want my children to live in. I am crushed I brought them here.

Children should be the priority

I haven’t put my two cents out there for a very long time, so here I go: I want to point out how everything works both ways, racism, sexism, capitalism… lots of isms work both ways. I would like to comment specially on out how sexism works in our judicial system. First let me say I am an advocate of children. Anyone who knows me knows of our past campaigns on Child Molesting and changing the leniency laws. Anyone who knows me knows I have raised children that are not my own..etc. Children should be the priority, always.

COUNTY CONNECTIONS

During the calendar year 2023, the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office received 13 calls for service involving drug-related matters, 10 of which were calls related to drug overdoses. Our county also lost at least one community member to overdose in 2023. While these numbers may not seem significant compared to the 1,343 overdose deaths that occurred in the State of Minnesota last year, they indicate that our community is not unaffected by the proliferation of dangerous opiate drugs like fentanyl. We are not unique, nor are we excepted to this epidemic simply because of our distinctive geographic location.

Erland Nathanial Shold

Please submit obituaries to ccnh@boreal.org. Erland Nathanial Shold Erland Nathanial Shold, of Grand Marais died Monday, January 22, 2024, at North Shore Health.

Michael James Smith

Michael James Smith, 53, passed away on January 28th with his family by his side after a courageous battle with cancer. Mike worked for thirty plus years at the Cook County Recycling Center where he loved interacting with the community and meeting people.

North Shore Health Board report summarizes findings of facts and conclusions in Special January 25 Meeting

The full Board of Directors (“Board”) of the Cook County Hospital District (“Hospital”) met in a special closed session on January 9, 2024, under the attorney-client privilege to discuss legal strategy related to potential litigation; to consider certain Review Organization matters; and to consider contracts related to the Hospital’s competitive position. Kimber Wraalstad, Hospital CEO, did not attend or otherwise participate in the closed session meeting. This meeting was convened, in part, to respond to the request of certain community members made at the Board’s December 21, 2023, meeting, correspondence to the Board, letters to the editor and various articles in newspapers. Specifically, the Board conducted a focused review of certain allegations related to (i) Dr. Bruce Dahlman, (ii) the Hospital’s Ambulance service and (iii) the Hospital’s Laboratory. This report summarizes the findings of fact and conclusions of the Board during this review process on each of these three issues.