County-wide Fire Restrictions

Effective: April 23, 12:01 am

Cook County Sheriff Mark Falk has issued the following order:

All CAMPFIRES and RECREATIONAL FIRES are PROHIBITED within Cook County, Minnesota.

Grand Marais Business Wins Award

Dockside Fish Market Wins Joel Labovitz Award

Congratulations to Grand Marais entrepreneurs Shele and Harley Toftey for winning the prestigious Joel Labovitz Entreprenurial Success Award during a lavish ceremony at the Duluth Events and Convention Center (DECC). Award recipients are chosen by a panel selected by the UMD Center for Economic Development. Criteria used to evaluate each nominee included--competition in the industry, personal and financial risks taken, impact to the local and regional economy, and ability of the business to adapt to change.

Laurie Spry, Dick Powell and I all had the pleasure of watching Shele accept this award before a crowd of approximately 350 that included Arrowhead Region business leaders, fellow entrepreneurs, IRRB and SBA representatives, the Duluth News Tribune, and Duluth Mayor Don Ness. The Northland News Center's News Manager Barbara Reyelts was the Master of Ceremonies.

Thank you, Shele and Harley, for all that you do for the City of Grand Marais and Cook County!

A Visit from Senator Franken's Staff

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with (2) members of Senator Al Franken's staff this afternoon. About a week ago I had a call from Daniel Fanning (Northeast Field Representative based in Duluth) asking if he could meet with me; of course I responded with an enthusiastic yes! So today, both Fanning and Marc Kimball (Minnesota Commmunications Coordinator based in St. Paul) paid a visit to me after stopping in at the Java Moose Coffee Shop.

Meeting with the Staff of a US Senator is an honor and an opportunity not to be wasted. Both Fanning and Kimball were eager to hear about our local issues, and I appreciated being able to share some of my biggest concerns with them:

- I expressed the frustration I feel and hear from the citizens of Grand Marais and Cook County about the amount of Stimulus Money that is being spent on projects that aren't truly useful to this community. Better communication with local city and county government is necessary to ensure that precious federal funding dollars are spent more wisely in Cook County.

- We talked about how Rural Areas differ from Urban Areas in Minnesota. In Cook County we always struggle with too few year-round living wage jobs and lack of affordable housing. In addition, our Local Government Aid for the City, as well as funding for both the County and ISD 166 are being slashed to painful low levels. We have a small tax base and few other resources to tap into.

- We discussed the economic and cultural benefits of having a Safe Harbor and Marina in the Grand Marais harbor. I gave them an extremely brief history on the work we are doing with the DNR and the Army Corp of Engineers. They were encouraging and asked me to keep them in the loop on this project.

- We discussed the Cedar Grove Business Park and the challenges the EDA, City and County are facing with respect to selling lots and paying the recently re-financed General Obligation bond burdening the City of Grand Marais.

Not surprisingly, Kimball and Fanning shared that they hear similar concerns in other Northern Minnesota communities. At the end of our meeting, we agreed that better communication is critical for Senator Franken to understand the needs of the Grand Marais/Cook County community so that he can represent us to the best of his ability.

Today's meeting was a first step in building a better and more productive relationship between elected officials to meet the needs of those we serve.

Thank you Marc Kimball and Daniel Fanning for taking the time to visit Grand Marais today. Enjoy your trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area this summer!