Stories - The Timberjay

North Woods archers score well at Mt. Iron

MT. IRON- North Woods archers competed in a dual meet last Saturday in Mt. Iron, and once again the Grizzlies sharpshooters took home a host of medals, with many posting their highest scores of the … more

David Colburn | 3/22/23 | 1 comment

GOP and climate change

Democracy won’t be the only existential issue on the presidential ballot come next year. It is clear from last week’s GOP debate that the future of a livable planet is very much at stake. … more

8/30/23 | 1 comment

Legislature fails to meet deadline, leaving billions in limbo

REGIONAL- Over $10 billion of surplus cash will stay in the bank for now, as last-minute haggling between Republican and DFL state legislators late Sunday night failed to produce any spending bills … more

David Colburn | 5/25/22 | 1 comment

Outgoing Tower Area Food Shelf leader Marge McPeak (at left), with new leaders Hugh and Frannie Wood.

New leaders take helm at the Tower Food Shelf

TOWER- Starting in November, Tower residents Hugh and Frannie Wood will be taking over the leadership role at the Tower Area Food Shelf from long-time volunteer Marge McPeak.McPeak took on a … more

Jodi Summit | 10/21/22 | 1 comment

North Woods archers claim overall titles

REGIONAL- The North Woods archery season got underway last weekend with a Jan. 7 competition at Greenway, and Grizzlies archers came home with a slew of medals.The stars of the day for North Woods … more

David Colburn | 1/11/23 | 1 comment

IMPROVE YOUR ODDS

REGIONAL— With a still-depleted whitetailed deer population across northern St. Louis and Lake counties, hunters will want to take steps to give themselves the advantage when the regular … more

Marshall Helmberger | 11/2/23 | 1 comment

Groomed ski trails are generally in good shape now after clean up in wake of storms.

Area trails still feeling effects of last month’s storms

REGIONAL— Plentiful snow and winter recreation typically go hand-in-hand, but the region is still feeling the effects of two December snowstorms which left area ski and snowmobile trails a … more

Marshall Helmberger | 1/11/23 | 1 comment

Fishing guide Matt Snyder with a 54-inch musky he caught on Vermilion nearly ten years ago. He’s concerned about changes he’s seen in the number and behavior of muskies on the lake.

Different perspectives on Vermilion’s musky outlook

LAKE VERMILION— It’s been good times for musky anglers here this summer, but could trouble be on the horizon? Matt Snyder, a longtime fishing guide who specializes in Lake Vermilion … more

Marshall Helmberger | 8/10/22 | 1 comment

Ely man charged for running down deer

ELY— A 20-year-old college student here is facing an $1,800 fine after he used his pickup to run down three deer along Ely’s Central Av., leaving them partially paralyzed and struggling … more

Marshall Helmberger | 3/29/23 | 1 comment

Looking east from the corner of Dorothy Easterday’s driveway, the narrowing of the road from the junk car “fence” along the property line is evident compared to the fully maintained, full-width road in the background.

ROAD ROW RANKLES OWENS

OWENS TWP— Dorothy Easterday’s official property address is 9175 Derusha Rd. in Owens Township. But whether it is Derusha Rd. or not is a question that has mired this small township … more

David Colburn | 11/9/23 | 1 comment

Survey: Gas prices, inflation impact summer travel decisions

REGIONAL— More than two years into the pandemic, Americans report that gas prices and inflation will impact their summer travel decisions more than concerns about COVID-19, according to … more

Marshall Helmberger | 6/1/22 | 1 comment

Choosing freedom

In Arkansas, Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently signed into a law a measure making it easier for businesses to employ children as young as 14. In Florida, school libraries have been … more

3/29/23 | 1 comment

Inaction on guns

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”George Santayana For Americans in the 21st Century, it can seem at times that we are stuck in an endless loop of tragedy, … more

6/1/22 | 1 comment

A composite image showing a female wolf carrying a dead whitetailed deer fawn back to her pups near Voyageurs National Park.

Study: Human impacts may be helping wolves hunt

REGIONAL— Humans have significantly altered the landscape of northeastern Minnesota and those changes appear to be helping wolves prey more effectively on whitetailed deer and their fawns. … more

Marshall Helmberger | 11/9/23 | 1 comment

Chessica Reichert, of Lake Vermilion, and her son Jace Olson, pose with the eight-point buck Chessica shot in central Minnesota. It was the first buck Chessica shot in ten years of hunting on the property. For the first time in years, the Timberjay received no photos from successful hunters locally.

Deer harvest slips again

REGIONAL— Hunters in the North Country mostly struggled to find deer during the opening weekend of the regular firearms deer season, even as there were pockets of relatively good success. … more

Marshall Helmberger | 11/9/23 | 1 comment

A bald eagle uses its wings and powerful legs to peel off the hide of the deer carcass.

Trail cam tells the tale

The blood on my snowshoe trail the other day, right behind our house, was the first clue that something had happened overnight. By the time I saw it, our dog Loki was already a step ahead of … more

Marshall Helmberger | 3/29/23 | 1 comment

Trail camera footage of the Shoepack Lake pack walking along a sandy beach in Voyageurs National Park in the fall.

When humans kill wolves, packs suffer the consequences

REGIONAL— A new study citing data from five national parks, including Voyageurs National Park, has concluded that human-caused mortality among gray wolves has a detrimental effect on both the … more

Marshall Helmberger | 1/18/23 | 1 comment

Lock him up

The same violent anti-government rhetoric that led to the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City has made a disturbing return to America in the wake of the FBI’s … more

8/17/22 | 1 comment

A DNR crew member operates the recently-purchased air boat on Big Rice Lake. Cutting blades that hang out the back below the water line, slice off the leaf stems of the pickerel weed, setting the stage for a possible recovery of wild rice.

Big hopes for Big Rice

BIG RICE LAKE— For much of this summer, the roar of an airboat engine has regularly broken the sounds of nature that normally dominate the shores of this remarkable lake, tucked away in the … more

Marshall Helmberger | 8/17/22 | 1 comment

Larry Ricker in front of a display of his work at The Cabin gift shop at 120 E. Sheridan in Ely.

Photographer captures the wonders of the Ely area

ELY- Larry Ricker draws much of his inspiration from the boreal forest landscape, which makes his recent move from Rochester to Ely especially convenient. Ricker, who lived in the southern Minnesota … more

Catie Clark | 9/6/23 | 1 comment

Dante Tomassoni, the son of the late Sen. David Tomassoni is flanked by Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar in front of a plaque dedicating the new Heliene expansion to his father. Also pictured are Heliene CEO Martin Pochtaruk, Sen. Tom Bakk, and IRRR Commissioner Mark Phillips.

Mt. Iron solar panel plant expands

MT. IRON— More than 100 people, including both of Minnesota’s U.S. Senators turned out here to pay homage to the past and highlight the future of green energy employment on the Iron Range … more

Marshall Helmberger | 11/2/22 | 1 comment

Ecklund says ‘overzealous’ law enforcement could impact VNP tourism

REGIONAL- Complaints from surrounding communities and business owners about what they see as overzealous law enforcement by Voyageurs National Park rangers have reached the ears of a local state … more

David Colburn | 8/24/22 | 1 comment

Phone scammer posing as St. Louis County Sheriff’s office personnel

REGIONAL- If you receive an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to be from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s department, you’re likely the target of a scam.An unknown person posing … more

8/24/22 | 1 comment

Julie Grahn, of rural Cook, captured this image of a mink who was recently hunting along the icy edges of the ice-covered Sturgeon River. Grahn, who posted the photo on the Ely Field Naturalists listserv reported that the mink seemed as curious about her as she was about it, which gave her the chance to put her photography skills to use.

The stink about mink

I was about nine years old the day my father sent me running in shock over a smell I had never imagined possible. We were both in the basement and I was watching him skin a mink that he had shot … more

Marshall Helmberger | 11/15/23 | 1 comment

Being a teacher in a challenging time

Last week, National Public Radio featured a poem created by Kwame Alexander, NPR’s 2022 poet-in- residence that that included submissions from listeners entitled “Who Will Clean Out The … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 6/8/22 | 1 comment