Community Center Resource Page
Funding for a new Cook County community was part of the 1 percent local option sales tax passed by referendum in 2009. Planning for the new facility is underway and many details of the project including the scope, size and location are being discussed. Have a comment or idea you'd like to share? Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Add new comment" and let us know what you think. You can also record your comment on our comment line by calling 387-3161.
Interviews
Check out this interview with ISD 166 Superintendent Beth Schwartz about the possibility of attaching the proposed community center to the school.
Listen to the Community Center edition of WTIP's First Thursday Community Conversations, an hour-long program dedicated to answering the community's questions on the community center project.
In this interview, Commissioner Sue Hakes discusses the May 24 work session on design for the community center. The purpose of the work session was for the county commissioners to agree to support – or not – proceeding with planning.
In this story, WTIP's Jay Anderson reports on the first public discussion of the community center on May 10. Over 1oo people showed up for the discussion of the work done to date by the center steering committee in concert with project manager ORB Management and Meyer Group and JLG Architects.
In this interview, Mayor Larry Carlson talked about the city's involvement in the community center planning process following the City Council's May 11 meeting.
March's First Thursday Community Conversation featured four people deeply involved with 1 percent sales tax issues, including Commissioner Sue Hakes. You can listen to that conversation here.
Helpful Links
- Community Center Guiding Principles
- Community Center Project Updates
- Financial Feasibility Information
Possible Community Center Locations



Community Center Steering Committee Contact Information
Sue Hakes
Steering Committee Chair
County Commissioner
387-2111 hakes@boreal.org
Diane Booth
Steering Committee Secretary
Community Center, Kids Plus, Extension
387-3015 diane.booth@co.cook.mn.us
Fritz Sobanja
County Commissioner
370-1115 frsobanja@yahoo.com
Jeanne Anderson
School Board Member
370-7901 JeanneA@boreal.org
Maggie Barnard
Cook County Visitors Bureau
387-2788 x102 Maggie@visitcookcounty.com
Bob Fenwick
Community at Large
370-0791 bfenwick@boreal.org
Jeff Latz
West End Business Owner
663-7324 jefflatz@hotmail.com
Andra Lilienthal
Community Ed/AEOA Board
387-2000 x614 alilienthal@isd166.k12.mn.us
Paul Nelson
Cook County Local Energy Project
370-0656 hollylake@hughes.net
Sue Prom
Community Center
388-2224 sue@canoeit.com
Karen Kritta Saethre
Council on Aging
651-270-1445 Karen@kckrittacpa.com
Beth Schwarz
ISD166 Superintendent
387-2271 x612 bschwarz@isd166.k12.mn.us
Paul Sporn
Grand Marais Business Owner
387-1154 sisters@boreal.org
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Representative Contact Information
David Dill, MN House
651-296-2190
800-339-0466
rep.david.dill@house.mn
Thomas Bakk, MN Senate
651-296-8881
Chip Cravaack, U.S. House
218-740-7803
202-225-6211
Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senate
218-741-9690
202-224-3244
Al Franken, U.S. Senate
218-722-2390
202-224-5641