The City of Grand Marais is looking for volunteers to serve on several boards and commissions. There are openings on the Library Board, the Public Utilities Commission, the Economic Development Authority, the Park Board, and the Planning Commission. If you are interested in volunteering, contact city hall http://www.ci.grand-marais.mn.us/.
In addition, there are openings on several boards at the county level. Contact Cook County http://www.co.cook.mn.us/index.html.
True
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Caspian Native Shrimp Invade Great Lakes
Shrimp native to the Caspian Sea, specifically bug-eyed shrimp; small, orange, and unwanted, were identified in Lake Michigan near Muskegeon, Michigan on December 21, 2006. This species' arrival brings the number of exotics in the Great Lakes to about 183, with a new one being identified about every 6 1/2 months in recent times.
For more complete information, click here.
True
For more complete information, click here.
True
Rich vs. Poor
Pioneering Study Shows Richest Two Percent Own Half World Wealth
The richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of global household wealth according to a path-breaking study released recently by the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER).
The most comprehensive study of personal wealth ever undertaken also reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. In contrast, the bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth.
For access to the complete study click here.
The richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of global household wealth according to a path-breaking study released recently by the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER).
The most comprehensive study of personal wealth ever undertaken also reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. In contrast, the bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth.
For access to the complete study click here.
PolyMet Draft EIS To Be Delayed
The PolyMet mine project is not moving as fast as was originally reported, mainly due to delays in completeing a draft EIS. The DNR project manager, Stuart Oakly, now is basically saying not to look for it in 2007, whereas PolyMet has a more ambitious calendar. More complete information is available from a recent Duluth News Tribune article by John Myers.
True
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Iron Range citizens coalition sues over PolyMet Mine
Iron Range residents have challenged plans to build a wetland to replace wetlands that the proposed PolyMet Copper Mine would destroy. The Wetlands Action Group has field suit in St. Louis County in an attempt to stop the county from following a wetlands mitigation plan that would likely see their homesteads flooded. They are attempting to stop logging on a mitigation site. Such logging is required to turn the site into a wetland.
The full story can be read by following the link to a detailed article in the Duluth Tribune.
This mining project - PolyMet - is the first in what the DNR and the Pawlenty administration see as many sites using sulfide mining processes that have wreaked havoc to the environment in every single location they have been tried. This technique results in extreme environmental pollution, destroys watersheds, and leaves untold horror stories in terms of cleanup costs once the mines are closed. Wisconsin has a legacy of one mine, called Crandon, for which it is now paying the price and has effectively shut out any further such operations in the state. Pawlenty and company have chosen to ignore the sad tale of Crandon and are willing to risk Minnesota's Northland and its waters for centuries to come.
True
The full story can be read by following the link to a detailed article in the Duluth Tribune.
This mining project - PolyMet - is the first in what the DNR and the Pawlenty administration see as many sites using sulfide mining processes that have wreaked havoc to the environment in every single location they have been tried. This technique results in extreme environmental pollution, destroys watersheds, and leaves untold horror stories in terms of cleanup costs once the mines are closed. Wisconsin has a legacy of one mine, called Crandon, for which it is now paying the price and has effectively shut out any further such operations in the state. Pawlenty and company have chosen to ignore the sad tale of Crandon and are willing to risk Minnesota's Northland and its waters for centuries to come.
True
Funding Snowmobile Clubs is Good!
Dear True,
Thank you for bring the issue of funding snowmobile trails in Minnesota to the attention of your readers. This is an important issue that goes to the heart of how we fund outdoor recreation, how we should all work to get along, and even what Minnesota is all about. It was good to read a balanced presentation of the facts.
Snowmobiling is a wonderful sport that brings families together to enjoy our north woods and as a bonus boosts the economy of out state Minnesota. It deserves the full support of all politicians and citizens in the state. The taxpayer supported program is unique, but well deserved, in that it allocates a portion of the state gas taxes we snowmobilers pay to support our sport. Those dollars, in turn, are spent on equipment to maintain the trails snowmobilers ride on in the winter and hikers and horseback riders enjoy in the summer. It is a very fair balance. The public needs to remember that snowmobilers are not necessarily atv riders and that atvs are generally prohibited from riding snowmobile trails, as many snowmobilers prefer.
There are those who complain about the special treatment and misuse of tax dollars by snowmobile clubs, but outright misuse has been rare, and the special treatment is no different that the DNR using fishing license fees to support fishing. The only thing unique about this situation is that the clubs use volunteer time to maintain the trails and equipment they use to keep them packed and open. The state highways, on the other hand, get state gas tax dollars, but you don’t see volunteers out patching pot holes.
It is well worth the investment of gas tax dollars to help volunteers keep these trails open and welcoming to sledders.
Thanks again!
Now, if we only had some snow.
R. S. Nelson
Minneapolis
Thank you for bring the issue of funding snowmobile trails in Minnesota to the attention of your readers. This is an important issue that goes to the heart of how we fund outdoor recreation, how we should all work to get along, and even what Minnesota is all about. It was good to read a balanced presentation of the facts.
Snowmobiling is a wonderful sport that brings families together to enjoy our north woods and as a bonus boosts the economy of out state Minnesota. It deserves the full support of all politicians and citizens in the state. The taxpayer supported program is unique, but well deserved, in that it allocates a portion of the state gas taxes we snowmobilers pay to support our sport. Those dollars, in turn, are spent on equipment to maintain the trails snowmobilers ride on in the winter and hikers and horseback riders enjoy in the summer. It is a very fair balance. The public needs to remember that snowmobilers are not necessarily atv riders and that atvs are generally prohibited from riding snowmobile trails, as many snowmobilers prefer.
There are those who complain about the special treatment and misuse of tax dollars by snowmobile clubs, but outright misuse has been rare, and the special treatment is no different that the DNR using fishing license fees to support fishing. The only thing unique about this situation is that the clubs use volunteer time to maintain the trails and equipment they use to keep them packed and open. The state highways, on the other hand, get state gas tax dollars, but you don’t see volunteers out patching pot holes.
It is well worth the investment of gas tax dollars to help volunteers keep these trails open and welcoming to sledders.
Thanks again!
Now, if we only had some snow.
R. S. Nelson
Minneapolis
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Snowmobile Trail Funding
Minnesota's and Cook County's snowmobilers receive considerable support in the form of redirected taxpayer dollars and state and local politicians are quick to support any requests these clubs may have to maintain state funds. Our politicians work hard protect club privileges whenever they can.
The local Cook County Snowmobile Club, due to a state funding formula change effective in 2008, may take an approximate $60,000 cut in taxpayer support. This is instead of getting their usual support (based on newspaper articles) of about $120,000. Exact numbers are hard to come by.
Cook County Snowmobile Club officials brought this situation to the attention of the Cook County Board, which stepped up and agreed to write a letter of support for the club's lobbying of the DNR and elected state officials.
Such support of the snowmobilers is usually automatic in Cook County and in other Northern parts of the sate, though many people statewide are coming to question the fairness of what most acknowledge to be special treatment. Few, if any other special interest outdoor recreational activities have the control over the DNR and politicians that snowmobilers and atv'rs have. No other outdoor enthusiasts have benefited from such direct taxpayer funding.
This potential cut for the Cook County club is especially interesting because, it appears, the same formula change would increase funding for other clubs in the area and for clubs in other parts of the state. Usually all these clubs are united in accepting the state's largess and, for that matter, have here-to-for not generally aired any of their internal disputes in public.
Bringing a little daylight to this special arrangement the snowmobilers have with our tax dollars is likely to get considerable attention, not only because of the politics, but also the economics. In Cook County, for example, the snowmobilers get, again according to club math as reported in news reports, $120,000 for the supposed maintenance of 107 miles of trails per season. That works out to more than $1100 per mile per season. Sounds like a lot to most people and many of those same people are starting to ask why.
Since these clubs all have considerable clout, it is hard to predict just how this will play out.
For more information on snowmobile clubs check out:
http://mnsnowmobiler.org/snowclub/snowclub.cfm
For information on how the clubs are funded and what those who oppose their unique status have to say check out:
http://www.mnresponsiblerec.org/index.php
There is another current report on the of treatment of snowmobilers in our community. It is reported that members of the Cook County Snowmobile Club recently sent now ex mayor Mark Sanbo to city hall with a demand that city crews stop plowing the bicycle and walking path along Highway 61. The city recently had plowed it to allow safe foot travel by the pedestrians, young and old, who like to walk to the post office, the grocery stores and other destinations along the highway. This trail system was not built for motorized traffic. It was built for bicyclists and hikers and signs along most of its route clearly prohibit motorized use, yet the snowmobilers have come to use it as their own in the winter.
Since our snow has disappeared, it is difficult to know what the city's ongoing policy will be. We know what the snowmobilers think it should be, however. Despite being told about the need for pedestrian safety, Sandbo reportedly felt the inconvenience to snowmobilers outweighed any consideration of pedestrian safety.
True
The local Cook County Snowmobile Club, due to a state funding formula change effective in 2008, may take an approximate $60,000 cut in taxpayer support. This is instead of getting their usual support (based on newspaper articles) of about $120,000. Exact numbers are hard to come by.
Cook County Snowmobile Club officials brought this situation to the attention of the Cook County Board, which stepped up and agreed to write a letter of support for the club's lobbying of the DNR and elected state officials.
Such support of the snowmobilers is usually automatic in Cook County and in other Northern parts of the sate, though many people statewide are coming to question the fairness of what most acknowledge to be special treatment. Few, if any other special interest outdoor recreational activities have the control over the DNR and politicians that snowmobilers and atv'rs have. No other outdoor enthusiasts have benefited from such direct taxpayer funding.
This potential cut for the Cook County club is especially interesting because, it appears, the same formula change would increase funding for other clubs in the area and for clubs in other parts of the state. Usually all these clubs are united in accepting the state's largess and, for that matter, have here-to-for not generally aired any of their internal disputes in public.
Bringing a little daylight to this special arrangement the snowmobilers have with our tax dollars is likely to get considerable attention, not only because of the politics, but also the economics. In Cook County, for example, the snowmobilers get, again according to club math as reported in news reports, $120,000 for the supposed maintenance of 107 miles of trails per season. That works out to more than $1100 per mile per season. Sounds like a lot to most people and many of those same people are starting to ask why.
Since these clubs all have considerable clout, it is hard to predict just how this will play out.
For more information on snowmobile clubs check out:
http://mnsnowmobiler.org/snowclub/snowclub.cfm
For information on how the clubs are funded and what those who oppose their unique status have to say check out:
http://www.mnresponsiblerec.org/index.php
There is another current report on the of treatment of snowmobilers in our community. It is reported that members of the Cook County Snowmobile Club recently sent now ex mayor Mark Sanbo to city hall with a demand that city crews stop plowing the bicycle and walking path along Highway 61. The city recently had plowed it to allow safe foot travel by the pedestrians, young and old, who like to walk to the post office, the grocery stores and other destinations along the highway. This trail system was not built for motorized traffic. It was built for bicyclists and hikers and signs along most of its route clearly prohibit motorized use, yet the snowmobilers have come to use it as their own in the winter.
Since our snow has disappeared, it is difficult to know what the city's ongoing policy will be. We know what the snowmobilers think it should be, however. Despite being told about the need for pedestrian safety, Sandbo reportedly felt the inconvenience to snowmobilers outweighed any consideration of pedestrian safety.
True
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