Jared Pearson takes a big 10-point buck at 9:30 a.m. the Sunday morning of opening weekend. He took the buck on property owned by his eldest son, Mike Pearson, less than five miles from town. The same property has yielded a 10-point buck for Jared last year and a 5 pointer the year before.
Oh
deer
Season reports no surprises
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The Koochiching County Board Tuesday approved a motion to submit a comment on an Arrowhead region tribe's decision to seek a Class I Air Quality designation.
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, located near Cloquet, is seeking a Class I Air Quality designation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Locally, Voyageurs National Park also has a Class I designation.
The Association of Minnesota Counties sent a form letter to the county to be used for submitting a comment, which the board approved. The letter seeks more information on how the more stringent designation could impact Koochiching County, as well as how it might affect potential business expansion in the county.
“Any expansion of any industry with their air permitting would be very costly for them to do,” board Chairman Rob Ecklund said. “Because they're basically wanting to do the same thing as what we have for over the national parks and boundary waters.”
Along with the county, Ecklund said many committees county board members serve on are also submitting comment, as the designation could have a ripple effect on industry in northern Minnesota.
Commissioner Wade Pavleck said there are very few tribes nationwide that have obtained Class I designation. According to the Forest County Potawatami tribe's website, six tribes in the U.S. have been granted the designation:
- North Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. Designation was granted in 1977. Designation was sought to challenge the construction of an additional coal-fired power plant 15 miles from the reservation.
- Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on Flathead Reservation, Montana. Designation was granted in 1982. Designation was sought in an effort to protect the ability to see sacred sites.
- Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Fort Peck, Montana. Designation was granted in 1984. Designation was sought in an effort to protect against a Canadian coal-fired power plant and several proposed synthetic fuel plants.
- Spokane Reservation in Washington. Designation was granted in 1991. Designation was sought due to uranium mines operating in the area.
- Yavapai-Apache Reservation in Arizona. Designation was granted in 1996 and reversed in 1998 by the 9th Circuit Court. Designation was sought in an effort to keep Phoenix Cement Plant from burning tires for fuel.
- Forest County Potawatomi Reservation in Wisconsin. Designation was granted in 2008. Designation was sought in an effort to keep Exxon from developing a zinc and copper mine 5 miles from the reservation.
In other business, the board set the 2015 salary of elected county positions, which includes the attorney, sheriff, recorder, and auditor/treasurer. The board approved a 2-percent cost of living adjustment increase over the 2014 salary for those positions.
The board also approved the 2015 salary, per diem, and expense policy of county board members, with a 2-percent cost of living increase over the 2014 salary of $14,057. The motion passed on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Wayne Skoe voting against the motion.
Skoe told The Journal Thursday he didn't have a strong reason to vote against the motion, but wanted to show the need to be careful about the budget.
“I understand we have to raise it, because if we don't it gets too far behind, and then the big raise is a bitter pill to swallow,” Skoe said. “I do fully understand it wasn't raised for years.”
In other business, the board approved setting the 2015 service charge for the Rural Fire Protection Service Subordinate Service Taxing District at the same rate as 2014. There is a flat fee of $85 for residential properties, the city of Ranier's rate for properties within its borders is $29,500, and commercial properties are on a sliding scale based on the assessed value, with fees ranging from $120 to $720.
Randy Pozniak with the RFPS said the organization's reserve funds are “maintaining,” with only slight changes in the funds over the past few years.
“We've been able to maintain a status quo, making payments on the fire truck that was acquired in 2010,” Pozniak said. “And I'm happy to say, come July 1, that truck will be completely paid for.”
In other business, the board approved a motion to advertise for bids for a County Highway 332 reconstruction project, with construction scheduled to begin in early 2015, and to finish in fall of 2015.
The project was initially delayed in July because of its proximity to the Falls International Airport. Because the project would have construction in runway protection zones for the airport, it would have triggered a potentially lengthy review process by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The project was reconfigured to avoid the review, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation recently approved the project. The county will now advertise for bids for the project, with the engineer's estimate for it coming in at $4.8 million.
“Perfect timing, this is great, we're going to get better prices going at this time of year,” County Commissioner Wade Pavleck said.
In other business, the board approved a motion to remove language from an ordinance regarding existing quarrying, mining, or gravel pit operations.
The board held a public hearing about removing the language on Nov. 4, when a few quarry owners attended, with one seeking clarification on the removal of the wording. No written comment was received, so the board closed the hearing with the intent to remove the language at Tuesday's meeting.
Jamie Cobenais, left, works on painting a candle luminary Wednesday as paraprofessional Natalia Artemenko looks on. Luminaries and other crafts created by students in the special education program at Littlefork-Big Falls School will be available during the group’s holiday craft sale Dec. 16-18.
Rose Cairns, left, makes a tutu with a little guidance from her teacher, Trudy Hunt. Hunt said students are graded on several factors and strive to get an “I”, meaning they completed their work independently.
A focused Charley Piano puts the finishing touches on a tutu for a Dec. 16-18 craft sale.
Paraprofessional Shaila Spry, right, helps Lucas Neadeau paint an item for the holiday craft sale.
LITTLEFORK – Peanut butter, mod podge, paint and more took over one Littlefork-Big Falls classroom this week as students transformed their learning area into a Santa-like workshop in preparation for an upcoming holiday craft sale.
Students in the special education program at L-BF will host the sale, set for Dec. 16-18, which will feature a variety of crafts from tutus to bird feeders — all made by the program’s students.
“Each of the wares the students make has a topic board,” said Trudy Hunt, who teaches the class. “Depending on readabilities, everyone can succeed in making something for our sale.”
Hunt said the program serves students in kindergarten through 12th grade who have educational classifications of developmental cognitive disorders and severe multiple impairments. The money raised from the event will help purchase food that will allow the students to learn the basics of cooking, reading recipes, measuring ingredients and safely using appliances.
“We cook every day,” Hunt said, as student Rose Cairns chimed in, “We need money to buy food.”
This is Hunt’s first year at L-BF, but she’s been teaching in the special education field for 27 years. She said the idea for the craft fair stems from wanting to place students in a leadership position.
“They have picture sale bills that they’ll have to disseminate to their classmates and peers,” she said. “They are playing an active role in their education and they will be seen by their peers in a positive light...These kiddos are defying labels...They are building a product and seeing it from start to finish.”
Hunt spoke highly of the special education program at L-BF and said it is the first time in 27 years she has seen paraprofessionals who have both professional and personal relationships with the students. She said it shows in “the data which has positively impacted their learning.”
“This is a very close-knit community and I applaud these (paraprofessionals) because their hearts are in their job,” she said.
Hunt said she feels the sale will be a win-win for everyone involved. The local community will be able to purchase handmade products and the students get to be leaders, she said.
As Journal staff walked around the craft-making stations, students were so focused on their work, they hardly noticed the clicking of the camera.
“They are good workers,” Hunt said, smiling at Rose as she completed another sparkly tutu. “They make me very proud.”
Rep. Rob
Ecklund
Falls High School students who attended the We Day celebration are not pictured in order: Gary Harala, Tommy Emanuel-Roche, Lexi Emanuel-Roche, Ethan Alleman, Wyatt Amdahl, Anna Levene, Colton Hasbargen, Meggan Crosby, Jenica Wendler, Tori Hell, Megan Nemec, Olivia Holm, Simon Palm, William Harala, Taylor Wilson-Tilander, Remi Vellieux, Grace Haanen, Kristina Remus, Connie Bragg, Kenzie Wenberg, Libby Miggins, and Shelby Layman. The group was chaperoned by Kayla Gilbert, Jessica Crosby and Rachel Amdahl.
Celebrating leaders
Students attend
We Day event
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Wayne
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Wade
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Frontier Communications representatives Terry Bosch, left, and Kirk Lehman, center, listen as KEDA Director Paul Nevanen, right, fills them in on the high-speed Internet access situation in Koochiching County.
The Koochiching Economic Development Authority Wednesday met with Frontier Communications representatives regarding high-speed Internet access for county residents.
Kirk Lehman and Terry Bosch from Frontier told the board a project focusing on increasing speeds for Ranier residents and other residents around Rainy Lake is the company’s top priority in 2015.
“We have it on the books, we hope and anticipate to receive funding on that once the budget processes are released here sometime in January or February,” Lehman said.
The project will focus on the Ranier office, Lehman said, and the four remote sites that are served by that office: Northernaire remote, Bald Rock remote, Gold Shores remote, and Island View remote. It will cover the area on Rainy Lake up to the end of Highway 11 East.
To achieve faster speeds, Lehman said the project will take out the old equipment in the area and replace it with newer, state-of-the-art equipment. The project cost will be around $450,000 and will take most of 2015 to complete, he said.
“I know fiber is a popular word right now, but all of these remotes will be fiber, that’s the transport mechanism,” Lehman said.
Once the funds for the project are released, Lehman said Frontier will begin to hold public forums to inform people about the project and how it will affect them.
KEDA member Wade Pavleck said a Highway 11 East construction project could allow for some collaboration between the projects, which Lehman said is a possibility. It would allow Frontier to get cable in the ground at a reduced cost, he said.
“We would love to entertain the possibility of doing some joint trenching or anything that can save costs,” Lehman said. “We’ll definitely be engaging with the county and the city as we move forward.”
Internet use has evolved over the past 20 years, with many Frontier customers using the Internet for almost everything they do, Lehman said. Half of the company’s broadband use comes from streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, he said.
“The pace of keeping up with the demand is a challenge, and not just for Frontier, but all of the carriers,” Lehman said.
The Ranier and Rainy Lake area has been a topic of discussion recently for Frontier, Lehman said, and with the upcoming project, speeds will be improving in the area.
“I feel there’s going to be a lot of good things and a lot of good, positive changes in this area over the next year, year and a half,” he said. “We want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
In other business, KEDA Director Paul Nevanen’s report detailed an update on the attempt to renovate and reopen the Northome Care Center under a new owner.
Officials haven’t been able to make the renovation feasible for a potential owner, so the current owner, Tealwood Care Centers, has decided to demolish the building instead of paying to heat it this winter, Nevanen said.
“The good news is one of the parties that’s looking at that, after demolition, would be interested in constructing new at that site,” Nevanen said. “That’s the bottom line, it’s the economics of rehabbing an old building.”
Nevanen also updated the board on the recent announced closure of Page & Hill Forest Products in Big Falls. KEDA member Bob Anderson said he recently spoke with a Big Falls city councilor, who informed him an area mink farm was also going to shut down, resulting in the loss of two jobs.
Because of this recent news, Pavleck said if county officials decide to locate the Renewable Energy Clean Air Project in Koochiching County, the site must be in Big Falls.
“It’s so critically needed, and it’s a community that’s always wanted it, I don’t see any other opportunity for them,” Pavleck said.
