April 2023

Silver Bay City Councilors heard the city’s audit review at the City Council meeting on Monday, learning that despite decreased revenues in many areas, largely due to the idling of North Shore Mining, the city received a “clean, unmodified opinion,” the highest rating for financial responsibility. One example of this is the city’s practice of using its surplus for capital projects, minimizing its debt. The Council also unanimously passed the resolution affirming the proposal of a new local business, Full Sun Service, to provide a city-wide brush clean-up. On a designated day, homeowners can leave brush and branches on their boulevards, to be picked up by Full Sun Services free of charge. If they are interested in more services, free quotes will be offered. In other business, the City is applying for a federal grant to fully develop the new trailhead area as the center of recreational activity for the city. The hope is to include pickleball courts, an outdoor skating rink, and a gathering area with a fire ring as well as the tennis courts, ice arena, and trailheads that are already there.

Held on April 22 since 1970 Earth Day is a chance to notice environmental achievements, and learn more about what’s new in the world of protecting natural resources. There’s a lot to learn about climate change, and emerging technologies that are carbon-free, and the whole month of April seems like a good time to focus on environment-related self-education.

There are so many elements to good health that it can be challenging to keep up with all of them or to stay educated on what is myth and what is supported by valid research. Pew Research reports that 42 percent of the people who go online at a library do so for health-related searches.

How can time stretch out like taffy and then suddenly spring back like a rubber band? Well, here we are … somehow through the winter holidays and headed into the increasing light of spring! Yes, there is plenty of winter weather yet. And I love winter. The lakes are snow and ice covered and the rivers and streams are still closed for the most part. I have heard the ground is not that frozen this year having been buried under the 2 feet or more of snow from December. Some of the downed trees from our stormy December came up root ball and all, testifying to just that fact. Our winter birds continue to entertain and the unwelcome rain of last week morphs into the ice that will tease us until the real spring comes. But the sun rises closer to true east each morning and climbs higher in the sky each day. It offers a warmth even in the face of cold temperatures, it’s power not to be denied. Soak it in. It will only get better!

In late August and September 2011, the Pagami Creek Fire burned over 92,000 acres in the Boundary Waters Wilderness east of Ely. Started by a lightning strike, the fire smoldered for days before spreading across the Wilderness at an alarming rate, prompting sudden evacuations of campers and putting lives and property at risk.