October 2022

Knife River Historical & Cultural Center board member and historian Todd Lindahl was awarded the 2022 Hill – Lewis Award by the Minnesota Archaeological Society (MAS). It was announced in the Society’s spring newsletter. The award is given annually to a living avocational archaeologist who has made outstanding contributions to Minnesota archaeology. It epitomizes the MAS goals of increasing public involvement in archaeology and promoting the stewardship of the unique and Irreplaceable archaeological record of Minnesota. Nominees for the award have generally made important contributions to Minnesota archaeology (prehistoric or historic) through original research or publication, collaboration with professional archaeologists, site stewardship, public outreach, or exceptional K – 12 teaching. Susan Mulholland, president and co-owner of the Duluth Archaeology Center, nominated Todd for the award and organized the letters of support. “Todd is extremely knowledgeable about historic archaeology focusing on Lake County of Northeast Minnesota and I draw on his expertise extensively,” said Mulholland.

Funding in Partnership with CTC A grant, totaling nearly $20 million dollars, will bring fiber optic broadband services to over 3,000 homes and businesses in and around the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa community. The grant award was publicly announced on October 11th and is being administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administrations (NTIA) Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.

GRAND MARAIS, MN, October 11, 2022 — North Shore Health (NSH) would like to publicly address certain conversations that have recently been circulating on local social media and radio. In August, WTIP posted to the station’s Facebook page an interview that on-air personality Joe Friedrichs conducted with Kimber Wraalstad, NSH CEO Administrator. The topic was about the staffing shortage at NSH and how the facility’s Care Center or Ambulance Service could potentially close if NSH is unable to hire sufficient staffing to maintain required service levels. While this was difficult news to deliver, NSH felt it was their duty to inform the community about the seriousness of their hiring crisis and how it could impact local families. “We knew this news would cause great concern, but imagine the outrage if we closed a critical service without providing advance notice,” said Wraalstad. “It was our hope that some of the caring and qualified people in our community would be motivated to take positive action.” There are a variety of ways in which locals can help at NSH: apply for one of the hardto- hire positions, take on a second job, work one shift per week, prompt qualified friends, family or associates to apply, or volunteer.

Dr. Trevor Diercks has recently joined the health care team at Lake View Hospital & Clinics in Two Harbors/Silver Bay, and spent a few minutes chatting with the Lake County Press to introduce himself to the community. Growing up in a small town in northeast Iowa, Diercks says even as a young person he knew that he wanted to be a smalltown doctor like the individuals he admired in his hometown.

Duluth author Linda LeGarde Grover has released a new edition of her book of Indigenous poetry, The Sky Watched: Poems of Ojibwe Lives. The Sky Watched is a collection of poetry— some bilingual—that tells the collective story of a Minnesota Ojibwe family and tribal community against the backdrop of history that begins with creation and continues to this day. Through poetry, Linda LeGarde Grover contributes to the continuation of Ojibwe worldview and survival in the recounting of history and family stories. In a conversation with Kristina Rafn, Lake County Press, Grover shared some her thoughts about the new book. Grover described her book as “a collective memoir, a story about family from the time of creation to present day.”