Courtesy of the Lake County Historical Society OCTOBER 29, 2022 100 YEARS AGO: v Arthur Engstrom and Mrs. DJ Becker will divide honors and the purse for the selection of a name for the Genereux Bakery which was chosen last evening.
News, views, and Wooooo! This afternoon, the 2022 World Series opponents were decided. The Philadelphia Phillies ousted the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship, (4 games to 1) and the Houston Astros swept the New York Yankees (4 to 0) to earn the right to face one another.
Book Banning The other day I read “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie. It’s a delightful young adult novel about a 14-year-old boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation while attending an all-white school.
Lead-free hunting The toxicity of lead has been known for at least 2000 years. Being easy to extract from nature and mold into a variety of vessels, it came into widespread use early in the Age of Antiquity and long resulted in the poisoning and wide-ranging health problems that likely even contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. Lead water pipes, lead drinking cups, lead wine containers… It continues to pop up as a health issue today (again, lead water pipes), even as we have eliminated it from gasoline and new paint. And we hunters have a long history with it, the ideal substance for projectiles since the advent of firearms. The federal government started prohibiting the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting in the mid-1980s, and by 1991 it was prohibited on all land and waters within the United States. Many states enacted additional restrictions; Minnesota also requires non-toxic shot for upland game birds on national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas—a really good idea, considering the amount of shooting that occurs in those places. The replacement shot shells used steel pellets, which after some engineering and shooting adjustments due to its harder, lighter properties, has become very effective. The reasoning behind the move from lead shot was that the huge amount of lead accumulating on the bottoms of wetlands was being incidentally consumed by diving ducks as they were feeding and ended up in their gizzards with the grit that aids digestion—killing an estimated two million of them every year from lead poisoning. In addition, secondary exposure to lead was killing eagles, vultures, and other scavengers as they fed on lost and injured waterfowl and other game birds.
10 Reasons to Love Your Library Did you know that there are more than 16,000 public libraries in the United States? While every library is a unique reflection of its community, similar values run at the core of them all. Here are 10 reasons why a library is an essential part of a community.
Editor's note: Boy the hangovers from the final night before the return Great March for Community Newspapers are really hanging on. God has made the coffee and the cleanup crew has pulled itself together and is sweeping up all the trials and tribulations of the masses. In the meantime: Reincarnation is possible when deer season approaches. It was a rainy day at Camp Shack and deer season was only a few short weeks away. In these uncertain times when the world seems to be crumbling, when madness is a regular caller at humanity's door, there is never a better time for shack levity, for a good dose of shack mentality, than the present.
Nationally recognized Minnesota Partners in Policymaking selected Tara Solem Selected from a pool of statewide applicants, Two Harbors resident, Tara Solem has been accepted into the eight-month Minnesota Partners in Policymaking leadership training, which starts this fall. Participants include adults with disabilities and parents raising children with developmental disabilities. Solem is a single parent and has a daughter with Down syndrome. The disability leads to frustration and emotional difficulties when her daughter cannot finish her schoolwork. Solem would like to see more inclusion in after school and summer school activities since her daughter is often pulled out of class for special therapy services. This added support would allow her daughter to improve her skills and learning retention. Dental services that take Medical Assistance are hard to find in her area. Solem is the Duluth contact for the Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota and organizes monthly meetings for families and additionally coordinates delivery of Jack’s Basket, an organization that is a resource and support, providing welcome gifts to families who have a newborn with Down syndrome. Talking about her daughter, Solem said, “(she) has taught me to slow down and enjoy each moment. She makes me laugh and enjoy time together, she loves everyone she meets and spreads joy. I would not change her for the world, but the world needs a little changing.”
At Tuesday’s Lake County board meeting, commissioner Hogenson commented on a previous meeting he attended with representatives from the Wild Country ATV Club to discuss the possibility of expanding the upcoming MNDoT (Minnesota Department of Transportation) proposed tunnels under Highway 61 in Two Harbors. He said the meeting was fruitful; Lake County and the ATV club will continue to monitor the process and potentially look for grant monies to expand the tunnels, if and when they are built in 2025, to include ATV and snowmobile traffic.
How can that dog be scratchin' at the back door? We ran over him years ago How can that dog be lying under the shady tree Where we buried him years ago? Ghost of a dog Flyin' through the backyard -Edie Brickell
One of the top questions Two Harbors voters want answered is what a new city councilor envisions for the Agate Bay waterfront. Not a new question, current councilor Derrick Passe says that for as long as he can remember different configurations of the city council have talked about doing something with the waterfront property that is currently owned by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), with most of those plans never getting off the ground.