Steve Fernlund and The Long Way Home

I wasn’t very old the first time my mother told me a parable that she was to repeat many times while I tried to grow up:  “'I complained about having no shoes until I met a man who had no feet."  I never had more than two pairs of shoes in those days - one for church and funerals, and one for everyday wear. I don’t believe she said that just about a pair of shoes, but in hindsight and with the passage of time, I think she used that to encourage me to cultivate gratitude and perspective. Gratitude for what I had and the perspective to see that others had less than I did. She taught me empathy, and that has served me well. I thought about this the other night when I was tossing and turning in the dark, wrestling with my pillows. In recent years, I’ve been uncomfortable sleeping with every pillow I tried, and I’ve tried many.  I may blame my pillows for disrupting my sleep, but there may be many other causes, not least an aging and infirm body that stiffens up if I don’t kee...

The Committee Addressing Racial Equity (CARE) kicks off “Opening Doors: A Year of Learning” Saturday, October 8 at Grand Portage National Monument from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Activities include Lacrosse, the “Gift Game,” drumming and singing and learning about the people, places, and history of Grand Portage. Starting at noon, the Grand Portage Community Center will provide free fry bread tacos. The entire community is invited and there is no charge to participate in the activities. The event is sponsored by CARE, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Cook County Higher Education, and the Grand Portage National Monument. CARE formed in early 2020 as the Community Leadership Group for Cook County, also known as Joint Powers. It began by focusing on two issues--housing and racial equity. With the establishment of the Cook County Housing and Redevelopment Authority this year, CARE made racial equity issues its priority. The CARE group is made up of community members, representative...

Border Giant, Inc. of Thunder Bay, ON, CA has purchased the property on the west side of Grand Marais that formerly housed Benny’s Collision Center. Border Giant had been renting space on the property for a year as it worked to establish its US presence. The company, which started in late 2017 in a literal garage, is licensed and bonded as a common carrier with Canadian and US authorities and as a Canadian Customs Broker. It originated to bring the cost and service benefit of technology to the logistics of e-commerce to small sellers and consumers in Canada. It is also registered as a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency with the United States Postal Service. US regulations required the firm to have a physical presence on this side of the border. “We had considerable difficulty finding commercial space for lease in Cook County for three years,” said Border GIant CEO James Foulds. It leased the Benny’s property in the Spring of last year. The history of e-commerce shows that when the behemo...

Jason Hale has assumed the Executive Director position in the recently formed Cook County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Most recently, Hale worked for almost seven years at the City of Duluth. He worked in business and economic development efforts, ending with the position of Senior Housing Developer, a newly created position that he held for three years. A native of Owatonna, MN, a small city in southern Minnesota that he says is a great place to grow up, Hale ended up completing his bachelor degree at the University of Minnesota Duluth and he has been in the Arrowhead for more than a decade. Hale received his Master Degree in Management and Change Leadership in 2016 from The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. He has been a registered investment advisor and is a licensed Real Estate Broker and Appraiser. He worked for a year with the St. Louis County Assessor's Office as an appraiser in 2014. Hale was one of two finalists for the Cook County position and began his tenure...

I can state without fear of contradiction, the more things change, the more things change. Recently there was a minor social media kerfuffle here about the Jim Scott Fish House on Grand Marais’ harbor. It is registered as a national historical site and sits on property that the North House Folk School acquired a few years ago. It’s basically used for storage, and alongside a steel sided fish processing building, it stands in the way of a planned classroom building the school wants on the site. It became an issue as the City of Grand Marais was considering a variance request of harbor setback regulations for the new building.  The school does not intend to destroy the Scott building, but wishes to move it to a new location and preserve it as best as they can. The kerfuffle was between those wanting the Scott building to stay where it is (and be preserved) and those who want the school to follow its plan to move it, preserve it, and build more classroom space. My friend Kay always sa...

The Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) is hosting its first Earth Day Fair on Friday, April 22 from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Cook County Community Center in Grand Marais. It is working with Cook County Climate Action,a faith based local group formed in 2021 and called to care for the environment.  The event is part of a statewide network of Earth Day events organized with the Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, an organization that partners with faith communities around the state to, according to their website, “Build transformative power and bring the lights of people’s unique gifts to addressing the climate crisis.” The Earth Day event will feature eight speakers on topics that include recycling, energy efficiency, and the City Climate Action Plan. Interactive stations will be set up to include an Earth Day Photo booth, making your own reusable snack bag, Earth Day Games, face painting, and other family oriented activities. Coffee and water will be available during the p...

In a collaboration between Cascade Vacation Rentals and Cascade Resort in Lutsen a new north shore business was created in the Grand Marais business park. North Shore Laundry Services is the first commercial laundry in Cook County. The company website says the business was built to provide hotels, vacation rentals, and resorts hassle-free, affordable, and consistent commercial laundry service. Micah Avery is the Laundry Operations Manager. He is a long-time Cook County resident with deep ties to the community. His three-person team includes a pickup and delivery driver and a floor attendant. Micah plans to add staff and a second shift as the business grows into the summer. Although he lacked laundry experience, Micah has a strong business and customer service background. His varied life experience includes living for a time in Michigan, Arizona, and Bosnia. “I love the service industry,” he said. For many of the smaller resorts to do their own laundry requires significant investment in...