News - The Timberjay

Obituaries: July 21, 2023

Lucille B. Svatos Lucille Betty Svatos, 94, of Ely, passed away on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at Ely Bloomenson Community Hospital. Services will be held at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Ely … more

7/19/23

A recent production of “Songs for a New World” was among many offerings available this past summer thanks to the efforts of the Northern Lakes Arts Association.

Ely’s arts scene poised for growth

ELY- When Ian Lah took the helm as executive artistic director of the Northern Lakes Arts Association in May of last year, he said he saw opportunity for growth. The 2012 graduate of Ely Memorial … more

Jodi Summit | 10/4/23

ECR reports funding cuts to board

ELY- The nonprofit Ely Community Resource shared unhappy news with the Ely School Board on Monday evening. The group, which runs several tutoring, mentoring, afterschool, and summer programs for … more

Catie Clark | 5/15/24

Northern Lights Clubhouse needs new home and help

ELY- Northern Lights Clubhouse (Clubhouse) hopes to find a new place to call home within the coming ten months and is calling on the Ely community for some help. The Clubhouse, which is a program of … more

9/16/22

Obituaries: November 25, 2022

Grace L. IsaacsonGrace L. Nukala Isaacson, 70, of Angora, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at Solvay Hospice House in Duluth. Funeral services were held on Monday, Nov. 21 at St. … more

11/23/22

Fatal Ely accident

ELY- An Ely man died on Monday, July 17, in a single-vehicle collision on the 2100 block of Grant McMahan Blvd./County Rd. 88, in Morse Township. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, assisted … more

Catie Clark | 7/19/23

Bois Forte’s Pam Hughes, left, and Toni Wakemup, right, stand by the Public Health Vending Machine at the Nett Lake C Store. The machine at the C Store and Fortune Bay will be filled up and ready to go for the official deployment on Friday, Oct. 6.

New health care vending machines go live Friday

TOWER—An innovation in public health is coming this Friday, Oct. 6, to the Bois Forte Reservation. That’s when the Bois Forte will become the first tribe in Minnesota, and possibly the … more

Brian K. Anderson | 10/4/23

An angler uses his bare hands to land a modest Lake Vermilion walleye on opening day.

Fish stories aplenty

REGIONAL- Another successful fishing opener weekend is in the books, with hoards of eager anglers flocking to Lake Vermilion and other area lakes in search of the often elusive walleye. Reports … more

David Colburn | 5/15/24

Unhappy hour at Northern Grounds on Sept. 20

ELY- For more than 25 years, Equal Pay Day has helped draw attention to gender-based pay disparities by highlighting how far into a new year a woman must work, on average, to earn what a man did in … more

9/15/22

The Broadway in the Boundary Waters theater troupe rehearsing at the Vermilion Fine Arts Theater.

“Songs for a New World” opens in Ely

ELY- The latest musical offering of the Northern Lakes Arts Association (NLAA), “Songs for a New World,” opened Thursday, July 20. The musical was the first work of the then-young Jason … more

Catie Clark | 7/19/23

Dom Elioff, the original sponsor for the club in 1973, gets tips about the buffet from Elizabeth Storm.

In Cook, the Lions ROAR!

COOK- Over the past five decades, there are few things in Cook that haven’t been touched by the caring hearts and hands of the Cook Lions Club, and members and invited guests gathered on … more

David Colburn | 10/4/23

Council hears pushback over short-term rental recommendation

TOWER— A recommendation to prohibit short-term rentals in districts zoned residential here drew some pushback at Monday’s meeting of the Tower City Council. The city’s planning and … more

Marshall Helmberger | 5/15/24

Planning for disaster [Video]

Marcus White | 8/16/18

Cook Volunteer Firefighter Jon Rothluetner helps Grant Bixby Meehan, 8, hoist a hefty hose at the mock firehouse.

National Night Out in Cook entertains in the rain [Photo gallery]

COOK – Residents sprinkled into the Cook Community Center grounds before the rain hit Tuesday during National Night Out. The event took place from 5 to 8 p.m. Families visited with local law … more

Crystal Dey | 8/8/19

Billie and Mike Rouse brought a bucket of ice to the surprise announcement that Ely Memorial has won the rights to put on the Broadway musical version of Disney’s Frozen.

EHS wins national contest to put on Frozen: The Broadway Musical

ELY- “What are the chances?” is a question that has never bothered Mike Rouse. He’s beaten the odds in life, after getting a terminal cancer diagnosis as a teenager. He went on to … more

Jodi Summit | 9/14/22

Loss of health coverage a new threat for many

REGIONAL- COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain low across the state, but another threat from the fading pandemic is looming over thousands of Minnesotans– loss of their Medicaid … more

David Colburn | 2/15/23

Vermilion Dam Lodge owner Ed Tausk received a Friends of EMS Award on July 11 for developing and procuring a Landing Zone for Emergency Services to use when an Air Medical Helicopter is requested for the transport of ill or injured patients in the Vermilion Dam Lodge area. On hand to present the award were, from right to left, Dylan Ferguson, Executive Director and Charles Soucheray, Specialist, Minnesota Emergency Medical Service Regulatory Board, Ed Tausk, award recipient, Tyler Wiegman, Partner Engagement Manager LLIII, Adam Shadiow, Executive Director, Arrowhead EMS Association-Duluth, and Roland Shoen, Director, Cook Ambulance.

Tausk receives EMS award for helicopter landing zone

LAKE VERMILION- A Lake Vermilion lodge owner was recognized recently for his efforts to make emergency medical helicopter flights more accessible by creating a dedicated landing zone on his property. … more

7/20/23

Beldo pleads guilty in Babbitt double homicide

BABBITT- Roger Beldo pled guilty to second degree murder “with intent” in a Virginia courtroom May 8 in the deaths of an elderly Babbitt couple last October. Beldo acknowledged the double … more

Catie Clark | 5/15/24

Ely Blues Fest 2009 [Photo gallery]

8/10/09

ISD 696 board adopts budget

ELY – School board members here last week unanimously approved a balanced budget for 2022-23 that calls for $8.2 million in revenues and expenditures.Despite a noticeable drop in enrollment and … more

Keith Vandervort | 7/6/22

Obituaries: September 16, 2022

Leroy Anderson Leroy “Putsy” Anderson, 77, of Lake Vermilion-Tower, crossed over to his lake house in the sky on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, after many days of being surrounded by family and … more

9/14/22

WELY Radio station has sold, but will operate out of a new studio when it comes back on the air after the FCC approves the sale and license transfer.

WELY sold to Wisconsin-based radio group

ELY— It’s not the end of the road for WELY Radio after all, as the Bois Forte Band announced Tuesday that they have found a buyer for the iconic “End of the Road Radio,” … more

12/1/22

Purchases during the Dollars for Doggies online auction go to help cover expenses of operating the WolfTrack Classic sled dog races, set for next Feb. 24-25 in Ely.

Dollars for Doggies online auction starts Sunday

ELY- Three things are needed to hold a sled dog race: snow, sled dog teams, and money. Yes, money. The entry fees for Ely’s WolfTrack Classic Sled Dog Race don’t cover the full cost of … more

Catie Clark | 10/4/23

New manager takes the reins at The Wilderness

TOWER— When The Wilderness at Fortune Bay opened last Friday, there was a new manager at the helm – Bill Manahan. Manahan, who most recently served as general manager at the Cloquet … more

5/15/24

Council commits to ambulance service improvements

ELY – City council members here unanimously agreed to commit taxpayer dollars and work with other area governments and the Ely Area Ambulance Joint Powers Board to purchase a vacant building in … more

Keith Vandervort | 7/6/22