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REGIONAL— Don’t look now, but the North Country is experiencing a dry spell that’s sent river and lake levels tumbling the past couple weeks. The region, which experienced … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/12/22

Project Coordinator Mike Jackson displays a map of the Little Fork River Watershed to illustrate aspects of a sediment and soil sampling project.

Blending low-tech legwork, high-tech labwork

COOK- The gathering at Cook’s Country Connection on Thursday, Oct. 6 to talk about sedimentation in the Little Fork River might best be described as an environmental version of “preaching … more

David Colburn | 10/12/22

Future of Tower Fire department in question

TOWER— The future of the Tower Fire Department will be the subject of a new ad hoc committee established by the city council here on Monday. The department is down to fewer than half a dozen … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/12/22

The long slow fall into obsolescence

It’s been one of the hallmarks of the most dire dystopian science fiction that human productivity in its many forms will gradually be replaced by sentient machines, robots and computers that … more

David Colburn | 10/12/22

Bois Forte awarded $20 million broadband grant

BOIS FORTE- Over 3,000 homes and businesses in Bois Forte Band communities will be getting high-speed broadband after the Band was awarded a $20 million grant for the project on Tuesday.The award … more

10/12/22

Iron Range future

Almost 70 years ago the state of Minnesota started investing in development of new technology that created decades of prosperity on the Iron Range. Today, a similar opportunity exists that could … more

10/12/22

Ely School Board takes closer look at the bills

ELY- The number of home school enrollments is down slightly this year in the ISD 696 district, and board members discussed possibilities for bringing those students back into the system’s … more

Rachel Brophy | 10/12/22

New program coordinator at EFS Alexia Springer traces a pattern while Alison Bell gets down to cutting.

Lending a warm hand to kids in Ukraine

ELY- What do you do if you have too much of a good thing? That spark of a question was what initially ignited a fire of hard work for children far across the ocean who’ve been left with nothing … more

Rachel Brophy | 10/12/22

CDC drops daily reporting as COVID strategies shift

REGIONAL- In one of the clearest signs yet of the changing COVID-19 pandemic landscape, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced last week that it was ending its daily reporting of new COVID … more

David Colburn | 10/12/22

Obituaries: October 14, 2022

Maxine J. SandbergMaxine Joan Sandberg, 70, of Cook, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. A visitation will be held on Saturday, Oct. 15 from noon to 2 … more

10/12/22

Eagles Nest working to resolve long-standing issues

EAGLES NEST TWP- ATVs and the park land issue were front and center on the agenda at the Sept. 20 Eagles Nest Town Board meeting. The ATV traffic issue, which had roared to the top of the … more

Jodi Summit | 10/7/22

Temporary power outage planned for repair work on Tuesday

REGIONAL- Lake Country Power members near Cook and Tower will be without power starting at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 11, for approximately one hour.The outage will affect Lake Country Power members … more

10/6/22

Walz promotes new climate change plan

REGIONAL- Gov. Tim Walz has unveiled a comprehensive framework for Minnesota to address climate change now and in the years to come, targeting transportation, clean energy, land management, health, … more

David Colburn | 10/6/22

Plenty of firsts as NR-E slips to Two Harbors-Silver Bay

Competing at home against Two Harbors-Silver Bay last Thursday, NR-E couldn’t quite keep pace without top swimmer Lily Tedrick, who didn’t take part in the meet. But a number of NR-E … more

David Colburn | 10/6/22

Two arrested in Embarrass greenhouse burglary

EMBARRASS- An Aurora woman and a homeless man are facing multiple criminal charges in connection with a break-in at an Embarrass greenhouse last week.St. Louis County Sheriff’s deputies and … more

David Colburn | 10/5/22

The City of Ely has approved $62,500 for its share of underwriting an Ely Ambulance Service operating loss.

Council OKs ambulance bailout

ELY— The city of Ely will contribute $62,500 to the Ely Ambulance Service before the end of the year to help cover a flood of red ink that’s threatening to sink the service. The city … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/5/22

Students from Tower-Soudan and Northeast Range were all smiles as they learned to canoe last Friday on Lake Vermilion.

Canoemobile brings outdoor classroom to town

VERMILION RESERVATION- The lawn behind the Vermilion Social Center was buzzing last Friday. Not with bees, but with busy elementary students from Tower-Soudan and Northeast Range.The sun was shining, … more

Jodi Summit | 10/5/22

RV park developer Dave Rose gestures while talking about the final steps to complete his new 32-unit RV park in Tower.

Persistence finally paid off

TOWER— “Once you get so deep, there’s no turning back.” If RV park developer Dave Rose needed a reason to persevere in his seven-year-long battle to build his Tower RV Resort, … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/5/22 | 1 comment

Tasty cranberries can be found in abundance in the right locations in area bogs. Areas with sphagnum moss hummocks and at least some sun are the best locations.

Wild cranberries are ripe in a bog near you

REGIONAL— This year’s bumper berry crop continues, as a bonanza of wild cranberries are just waiting for enterprising pickers who aren’t afraid to get their feet wet. These … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/5/22 | 1 comment

A blue-spotted salamander made its way recently across the forest floor.

Life in the slow lane

I was surprised recently on one of our cool late September mornings to find a blue-spotted salamander very slowly making its way across our gravel road. It was moving slowly because the temperature … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/5/22

Bear harvest continues to run behind last season

REGIONAL— Hunters in Minnesota had registered 1,864 bears through Monday, Sept. 26, with only a relative handful of additional registrations expected by the time the season ends on Oct. 16. If … more

10/5/22 | 2 comments

Keep your bans off our books!

Throughout history, people have attempted to ban books that they felt were inappropriate or controversial. We seem to have an unstoppable delusion that we have a right to make decisions about what … more

Betty Firth | 10/5/22

Else Bee, of Northeast Range goes up for a kill while the Grizzlies’ Hannah Kinsey tries to block.

Grizzlies nip Nighthawks

BABBITT- With power hitter Hannah Reichensperger and a host of other experienced seniors gone from last year’s section finals team, Northeast Range Head Coach Misty Roseth came into this season … more

David Colburn | 10/5/22

Ely’s Lilli Rechichi goes up high for a kill during Monday’s contest with Northeast Range.

Ely juggernaut continues to roll

COTTON— The unbeaten Timberwolves seem to get stronger every game and they showed it again on Tuesday as they outscored Lakeview Christian Academy 25-4, 25-14, and 25-2 to further cement their … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/5/22

Hurricane response

It’s often stated that Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That might be worth considering as U.S. taxpayers are preparing to be saddled with another … more

10/5/22