The one pleasant day of the week found both Two Harbors and Silver Bay in Moose Lake for a track meet last Tuesday. Though the grounds were wet, the track was in good condition and the temperatures were in the mid 50s. Two Harbors coach Ryan McIntyre notes: “Tate Nelson's time of 10.7 seconds in the 100m dash broke the school record. The previous record was 10.8 seconds set in 1981 by Dave Keeler.”
The miles of waterfront winding around much of Two Harbors are undeniably one of the city’s most outstanding features. Now a group of citizens is organizing to bring forth a comprehensive design and use plan with renewed energy. Over the years a variety of plans have been explored, and by and large they have not gained traction. A recent proposal for townhomes on Lighthouse Point, and the likelihood that 30-plus acres at Agate Bay under MnDNR ownership will soon be conveyed to city ownership have cast a new light on the waterfront. Jolene Brink, Two Harbors, says that she and a group of others from the area have created a citizen group in order to apply for funding that could help move waterfront projects forward. The group is currently working on a grant application through the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD), due by May 1st.
Recently, I attended our local annual rural electric cooperative meeting. The purpose of the annual meeting is to gather together all of the member owners of the co-op to share important information about the status quo of our rural utility company. It is an open meeting with member owners encouraged to use the microphone and voice their concerns. What could have been an energizing, uplifting meeting, especially in light of the recent inflation reduction act provisions and financial support for transitioning to clean energy, unfortunately turned out to be quite a disappointment. Many of the voices that were loudest in the room were in opposition to the necessary changes we need our rural cooperatives to make to move away from costly and dirty, fossil fuel-based energy sources to clean affordable energy. Clean energy sources are wind, solar, and hydro power with battery storage to back up for the times when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. I certainly wish that more voices had addressed the misinformation from the loud voices in the room.
On Wednesday evening, April 19,2023, the annual membership meeting was held at Two Harbors High School. At that meeting, a motion was introduced and passed overwhelmingly by the membership, to compel the Board of Directors to complete and approve a plan for redistricting by the end of their regularly scheduled May meeting.
Senator Grant Hauschild, representing NE Minnesota District 3, has kept his promise of delivering for his constituents. He has been the chief author of 90 Senate bills designed to help our NE Minnesota families and communities, and he has co-authored 181 bills since the legislative session began on January 3rd, 2023: a truly incredible accomplishment!
What do you do with a near $18 billion state budget surplus? That's the question I'd like to address as legislators and the governor throw budgets into the wind to see where they may end up. Personally, I'd like to see every dollar go to solving problems encountered on a daily basis in this civil society we call Minnesota, United States of America.
Rep Skraba, As a freshman legislator, you are allowed some rookie mistakes. However, they shouldn’t include failing to read a piece of legislation and misrepresenting the particulars of that legislation to us, your constituents; these responsibilities are literally items number one and two in a legislator’s job description. Unfortunately, this is what you did in your April 21 Capitol Update when you claimed an omnibus bill contains a provision to halt all logging on state forest lands that have spruce or tamarack.
Lance Keith Beachem, 53, of Moorhead, MN passed away unexpectedly on April 13, 2023. Lance was born on July 13, 1969, to Keith and Janet (Friesen) Beachem in Brookings, South Dakota.
March 19, 1920 March 25, 2023 Elizabeth Tiffany (Betty) lived an abundant, wonderful life. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota to Lillian Olive Flad and George William Flad she attended St. Paul Central High School, Macalester College, and the University of Minnesota where she earned her Masters
1936-2023 James Hinchon Manahan, 86, died on April 18, 2023 in Miami, Florida with his dearly loved wife Cristina Manahan at his side, after a courageous battle with metastatic prostate cancer. He was a lawyer, a teacher, a writer, and an accomplished pianist.