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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

Ely’s Caid Chittum finished second overall during Tuesday’s 11-team meet in Ely

Ely runs to victory in home meet

ELY – Timberwolves runners took advantage of their home course to make a strong showing against 11 area cross country teams here on Tuesday, as the varsity boys topped the field and the girls … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/5/22

Political activist Leah Rogne gestures during remarks during a pro-choice rally in Ely last Sunday.

Pro-choice rally packs the house at Ely’s Hidden Valley

ELY- It was nearly standing room only last Sunday for pro-choice voters attending “ElyVotesChoice,” an event held at the Hidden Valley Chalet and hosted by Ely EMPOWER. The EMPOWER … more

Rachel Brophy | 10/5/22

The Grizzlies' Tommy Debeltz (57) swoops in to help teammate Jonah Burnett bring down the Braham quarterback.

Grizzlies’ struggles continue

FIELD TWP- The North Woods Grizzlies gave the visiting Braham Bombers all they could handle in the first half last Friday before a late defensive collapse let the Bombers pull away for a 44-14 … more

David Colburn | 10/5/22

Dueling endorsements in Senate District 3

REGIONAL— Two former DFL state senators have split their endorsements in the race to fill the District 3 Senate seat on Nov. 8. Current District 3 Sen. Tom Bakk, who left the DFL in 2020 and … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/5/22

Injury-plagued Wolves fall 83-0 to Mt. Iron-Buhl

MT. IRON— The Rangers scored early and at-will here last Friday as Mt. Iron-Buhl handed the struggling Timberwolves a shellacking of epic proportions, 83-0. The outcome was never in doubt as … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/5/22

A back view of the Pike River Dam and Engineer's House.

The ill-fated hydropower experiment of 1912

TOWER- Members of the Tower-Soudan Historical Society gathered at the Herbert R. Lamppa Civic Center on Sept. 27 for the group’s annual meeting. Tucker Nelson, editor of the Hometown Focus, … more

Jodi Summit | 10/5/22

Bois Forte to get $2.9 million for jobs program

NETT LAKE- Bois Forte Band members who have experienced job loss and employment hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will be getting assistance from a $2.9 million U.S. Department of Labor … more

David Colburn | 10/5/22 | 2 comments

“Hero pay” starts flowing to Minnesota front line workers

REGIONAL- Nearly 15 months after they were first authorized, “hero payments” to over a million of Minnesota’s frontline workers of the COVID pandemic started going out Wednesday. … more

David Colburn | 10/5/22

Obituaries: October 7, 2022

Daniel D. Rutchasky Daniel “Dan” David Rutchasky, 57, of Cook, passed away on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. A Celebration of Life will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at Mlaker Funeral … more

10/5/22

Minnesota authors Lorna Landvik (left) and Sarah Stonich.

Writers on a roadtrip visit area libraries

ELY- Fall colors are always a good time to head “up north,” but for Minnesota authors Lorna Landvik and Sarah Stonich it was also a perfect time to talk about books and writing with eager … more

Jodi Summit | 10/3/22

Ely tops Virginia tourney

DULUTH—The unbeaten Timberwolves made short work of Duluth-Marshall here on Tuesday, allowing a number of the team’s younger players to get in on the action. Ely took it in three, 25-12, … more

Marshall Helmberger | 9/29/22