Grand Marais city councilors recently went through the process of listing the things important to the citizens of Grand Marais. Rising to the top of priorities for the council was the need for housing.

Councilors noted several studies completed in the past defining this need and councilors agreed to try to identify the barriers to housing development in the city. To do that, the city has hired the firm HKGi at a contract price of $14,550.

To learn more about HKGi’s work, WTIP’s Rhonda Silence reached out to Jeff Miller of HKGi. Here’s their conversation.
 

Students at Oshki Ogimaag School in Grand Portage have been working since the last school year on a fall feast for the community. At 5 p.m. on Monday, October 14, the community is invited to the Grand Portage Community Center gym to share the harvest with students.

Students worked with Grand Portage Agriculture Coordinator Andy Schmidt and school staff on planting at the school and at the larger community garden on Mineral Center Road. Community members have donated fish, some ground moose meat and some grouse to accompany the vegetables.

Students found recipes for use of the harvest and they are the cooks for the dinner, which will also include jams, jellies and pickles made by students.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with Oshki Ogimaag Director Carmen Keyport about the feast and how the students prepared for the community event. 
 

Approximately 50 people crowded into Grand Marais City Hall at the Wednesday, October 9 city council meeting to share comments and concerns about the removal of the elm trees that line Highway 61 through the city. The trees are slated to be cut down in November 2019 in advance of the 2020/2021 highway reconstruction project. Seventeen people spoke during the public comment meeting, which lasted more than an hour.

One of the first speakers was retired forester Jim Hane, who said no one wants to stop the project. [44] He said the stormwater work was particularly important to stop the flooding of downtown streets. However, he appealed to the city to find a way to change the route of infrastructure and the bike path. He said the trees are important to the community.

Another longtime resident reminded the council that the elm trees were planted by community ancestors. A citizen who moved to Grand Marais in 1982 said the elm trees are like a “welcome wagon” to newcomers.

Three people spoke in favor of the project. Jim Boyd, the Cook County Chamber Director, was met with laughter from the audience when he said the trees were not healthy. City councilors cautioned the audience to listen respectfully, whether they agree or disagree with the speaker.

Boyd urged the city to move ahead with the Highway 61 reconstruction, stating that the amenities would bring a unique look to the city.

Another person in support of the project spoke of the value of the amenities planned for the highway corridor and said there are valid reasons – such as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s cleanup of contaminated soil in a large section of the project.

Grand Marais business owner Jan Sivertson said she was very sad to see the trees go, but said for the benefit of the project, they need to go. She too, spoke of the aesthetics, which she said had been considered at “many, many, many meetings.” She thanked the council, MnDOT officials and others involved for all their hard work. [3:24]

Jim Raml of Seagull Lake, a longtime advocate of saving the trees, prefaced his comments by saying he thinks this is a lost cause. Despite that, he made an impassioned plea to at the very least, delay the cutting of the trees.

He expressed frustration that the Minnesota Department of Transportation had never come up with alternatives for the project, to give the public a chance to weigh in on other possible routes for infrastructure and for the bike path.

Raml also asked city councilors if they knew that more trees were coming down – along the bike path past the Grand Marais Municipal Campground. [5:07]

Three citizens shared concerns about the cost of the project and the fact that when the bids came in, the city had to accept a 300 percent increase.  One citizen said she has had a lot of work done personally by contractors and she can’t understand what sort of contract allows such cost over-runs. [6:04]

A young man who is living with his family in the Grand Marais Campground brought some in the audience to tears when he spoke about the difficulties his family has faced finding a home in Cook County. He spoke of his ties to the community and how badly they want to stay here. He talked about the changes to the community starting with the Native Americans who were stewards of the land, to the fur trade, the loggers and now the tourism industry. He said more important than the trees are the people who are struggling to live in this area. He urged the city and its citizens to put as much energy into affordable housing and living wage jobs as they have for saving 11 trees. [7:22]

There were many more comments, some tearful, and many questions.

For the most part, the council listened silently, although Councilor Kelly Swearingen answered questions about the project cost by saying that the council had addressed the increased costs at their last council meeting. She encouraged the public to review the YouTube video of the last council meeting to learn more.

 After public comment, the council moved on to other business on the agenda, not beginning council discussion of the trees until 9:30 p.m., not 7:30 as anticipated on the agenda.

And although there was a long wait as the city handled that other business, 18 people stayed to hear the council discussion.
Councilor Craig Schulte explained that he wanted the topic on the agenda because he struggles with what he has heard from MnDOT, more so in its treatment of local businesses than in the removal of the trees. He expressed frustration that MnDOT had not conducted an economic impact study for the project.

And, Schulte said, he wanted to give people a chance to air their concerns

He and his colleagues expressed frustration over what they’ve heard from MnDOT. They had questions about the MPCA dig and the monitoring wells; about the increased costs; about what it would cost to make changes at this point and more.
Councilor Kelly Swearingen pointed out that the elm trees are in MnDOT’s right-of-way. She said she didn’t want additional costs placed on citizens of the city for possible changes. [9:30]

Councilor Tim Kennedy expressed concern if any changes were made, the whole project would suffer. He likened the matter to dominoes, noting that small changes could lead to derailing the entire project. [10:37]

Mayor Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux suggested that the city contact MnDOT and ask if anything could be changed at this point. Arrowsmith DeCoux said he would call MnDOT project manager Michael Kalnbach and ask some questions, although he said he believed he knew what their answer would be. [12:05]

City Administrator Mike Roth cautioned that any changes to be made should be shared with the people who came up with the plan, a work of about six years.

Councilors finally agreed to have the mayor speak with MnDOT, but Councilors Kennedy and Anton Moody said they see little way to stop the project at this point without major financial repercussions to the city.

Mayor Arrowsmith DeCoux reiterated what Councilor Kennedy said about the longevity of the Highway 61 project. [14:14]
 

Since 1922, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has sponsored the public observance of Fire Prevention Week. In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance, making it the longest-running public health observance in our country.

During Fire Prevention Week, children, adults, and teachers learn how to stay safe in case of a fire. Firefighters provide lifesaving public education in an effort to drastically decrease casualties caused by fires.

Fire Prevention Week is observed each year during the week of October 9th in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, which began on October 8, 1871, and caused devastating damage.

Locally, Fire Prevention Week is observed by local volunteer fire departments visiting our schools. Here’s a report of the Grand Marais Fire Department’s visit to Great Expectations School. And click here to see photos of the Tofte Fire Department visiting Birch Grove Community School. 

It is Homecoming Week at Cook County Schools. A Pep Fest and Homecoming Coronation was held in the Pam Taylor gymnasium at Cook County High School on Thursday, October 10.  Crowned Homecoming King and Queen were Alyssa Spry and Keenan Hingos.
 
The Homecoming Dance is Saturday, 8 -11 in the School District 166 cafeteria. The theme, according to the school, is a “secret.” Apparently, the creative junior class wants dance attendees to be surprised when they arrive for the Homecoming celebration. 

It can be a challenge to operate a business in rural Cook County, but Jim Miller does just that from one of the most remote parts of the county, in Hovland. Jim operates Northern Lights Lighting Design from his Hovland home base, but travels to any locale on the North Shore.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with Jim about how he became a certified lighting designer and the services he offers.

If you know of North Shore business owners who should be featured, give us a call at 218-387-1070 or email: Rhonda@wtip.org. WTIP would love to tell their story!
 

The reconstruction of Highway 61 through the City of Grand Marais has been an ongoing topic on the city council agenda. At the last meeting, on September 25, the city council reviewed a comprehensive breakdown of the project costs. Councilors expressed dismay at some of the expenses and frustration over the Minnesota Department of Transportation bid letting process. 

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence followed up with MnDOT after that meeting. She spoke with Grand Marais Project Manager Michael Kalnbach about the city’s response to the latest information from MnDOT and those questions about the bidding process. Here’s their conversation.

Rhonda also spoke with Grand Marais City Administrator Mike Roth about the project and the increased cost to the city. Here’s that conversation. 

The MnDOT Highway 61 project is on the agenda for the city’s next council meeting, on Wednesday, October 9. That discussion is not about project costs, but about the 11 elm trees in the section of Highway 61 between Voyageur Brewing Company and the Buck’s Hardware intersection. 

The removal of the elms is scheduled for November. Listen to the related story, Grand Marais elm trees to be removed in November, says project engineer. 

Listeners may also be interested in this WTIP story on the condition of the elm trees, Health of Grand Marais elm trees still being debated. 

As Councilor Kelly Swearingen was not at the September 11 meeting, the council agreed to table this discussion on what the city can do, if anything, regarding the removal of the trees. They will resume this discussion at the Wednesday, Oct. 9 council meeting. The tree discussion is on the agenda at 7:30 p.m., but as always, the council meeting starts with a time for public comment at 6:30 p.m.

School District 166 had its first school board meeting of the school year on September 19. On the agenda was approval of the district’s preliminary levy, acceptance of contracts for some employees and the hiring of some new staffers.

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with Superintendent Dr. Bill Crandall about the school board discussion and actions.
 

Community members who enjoy breakfast and lunch at the South of the Border Café in downtown Grand Marais may know Terri Muhich as the friendly woman from Hovland who refills their coffee cup. However, most do not know about her “alter ego.” Terri is a prolific author, writing under the name of Tara Mills. 

Tara Mills has published nine novels, several novellas and a series of books called Pelican Cay. The artwork for some of her books leads a potential reader to think the books are Harlequin-style romantic tales, but Terri promises there is more to her books than that.

She explains that love is important, but developing characters is even more critical to her stories. To do so, she takes her time, working on one novel a winter at her Hovland home.

She also networks with other authors, online and this summer, at a writer’s conference at the Mall of America in August. She joined over 50 other authors at the “Royal Readers” event, where she met other writers as well as fans of her work.

Her books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other locations and also online at Kindle, Nook and Google Play.

Information about Terri/Tara and information on purchasing books can also be found on her website. 

WTIP’s Rhonda Silence sat down with Terri Muhich to learn more about her secretive, but successful second career. Here is their conversation.