News - The Timberjay

Greenwood firefighters picketed Tuesday in protest of the recent dismissal of top department officers.

Fire department concerns top town board agenda

GREENWOOD TWP— The town board’s 3-2 decision last month to dismiss three of the township’s top fire department officers drew a small crowd of firefighters to the town hall on … more

Jodi Summit | 10/12/22

Pay raise claims called false, unfair

REGIONAL— Political attack ads that claim area DFL legislators voted to boost their pay by $15,000 in 2019 are patently false. That’s according to Joe Boyle, an International Falls … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/12/22 | 1 comment

Jeffrey Hanson, of Clearwater BioLogics, spoke earlier this month to the Ely Climate Group about major changes on the horizon for the steel industry.

Could “greening” of the steel sector bring a new boom to the Range?

REGIONAL— The greening of the steel industry will bring big changes to Minnesota’s Iron Range, and those changes could be beneficial or devastating to the region’s economy, … more

Marshall Helmberger | 10/12/22

Jack Ranua and Bentley Crego were focused on math earlier this week.

Enrollment is booming

TOWER— What a difference 12 months can make. Last year at this time the Vermilion Country School was facing a budget challenge as two years of the COVID pandemic had left recruitment of … more

Marshall Helmberger | 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

District failed to get the word out on board vacancy

TOWER— The late June death of Troy Swanson left both a vacancy and a controversy over his replacement on the St. Louis County School Board. Swanson, who had served as the representative from … more

Marshall Helmberger | 9/28/22