News

by Tom Coombe
It won’t look quite like it usually does, but Ely will have its annual Memorial Day ceremony in the city’s cemetery.
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings, the ceremony will go on as scheduled on May 25 - but in a modified format.
Representatives of local veterans organizations announced their plans Wednesday.
“I think it’s even more important during these times that we don’t forget about this stuff,” said Steve Saari, vice commander of Ely American Legion Post 248.
Organizers have implemented several changes in response to the pandemic, most notably curtailing the program that usually takes place on a portable stage in the cemetery.
The ceremony will still originate from the cemetery, starting at 10:30 a.m., and people are invited to drive there, park, and roll their windows down.

by Tom Coombe
Ely has its first publicly confirmed case of coronavirus.
The Ely DQ Grill and Chill closed temporarily for deep cleaning and all of its employees were tested Monday, after the owner of the Ely business was notified the night before that one of his employees was confirmed to have COVID-19.
The victim, who has not been identified, had not worked a shift since May 4 and is under self-quarantine and “on the mend” at home, owner Paul Ivancich said Tuesday.
Ivancich also confirmed that day that he and all 14 of his remaining employees tested negative for coronavirus.
After receiving word of the confirmed case, Ivancich notified all of his employees and tests were conducted with the cooperation of Essentia Health and Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital.

by Tom Coombe
After a nearly two-month hiatus, elective surgeries will resume at Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital.
Hospital officials have announced plans to resume procedures that had been curtailed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Jodi Martin, marketing and communications team leader at EBCH, said the hospital will start the process over the next several days.
“As coordinating schedules with providers and patients can take some time, we can expect to start slowly, and be working back to full capacity within two-to-three weeks,” said Martin.
Surgeries deemed “time-sensitive” will be given top priority, and those who had a surgery scheduled prior to the shutdown, and have not yet been contacted by EBCH, should call the hospital’s surgery department at 365-8724.
Over the last three years EBCH has worked to bolster surgical procedures in an effort to build revenue at the hospital, an independent, locally-operated facility.

The coronavirus has struck again, this time it’s the U.S. Forest Service that will only allow day use in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area through May 17.
For people with overnight BWCA permits, they are out of luck including those who planned to camp on Basswood for this weekend’s Minnesota fishing opener.
“All overnight reservations (motor, paddle, hiking) through May 17 are no longer valid and are cancelled. Permit holders will receive a full refund including reservation fee. If a visitor wants to go into the BWCAW with a motorboat for the day, they will need to reserve a day use motor permit. Self-issue day paddle permits are also available to fish for the day,” wrote Suzanne Hirsch, acting public affairs specialist for the Superior National Forest.
The Park Service has followed suit and will not allow tent camping and overnight houseboat mooring permits at Voyageurs National Park.

by Tom Coombe

After six rounds of balloting, the Ely City Council finally reached a majority and picked Chad Houde to be the city's next police chief.

A 15-year-veteran of Ely's police force, Houde was selected over Ely officer Adam Borchert on a 4-3 vote in the sixth and final round. Ely police sergeant George Burger, who led after the first round of balloting with three votes but did not gain a majority, was eliminated after the fifth round while Virginia police lieutenant John Swenson fell from contention earlier in the public balloting process held late Friday afternoon, after interviews at City Hall with all four finalists.

Council members Paul Kess, Heidi Omerza, Al Forsman and Angela Campbell picked Houde in the last round, while Borchert was supported by council members Ryan Callen, Jerome Debeltz and mayor Chuck Novak.

Ely Memorial Class of 2020 has lost numerous events and opportunities due to the coronavirus pandemic. This week Ely area businesses salute the Class of 2020!

by Tom Coombe
Ely’s historic baseball stadium has hosted countless tournaments and even a wedding. If all goes as planned, a high school graduation ceremony could soon be added to that list.
Amid a pandemic that has closed schools since mid-March, officials in the Ely district are exploring options that would allow the high school graduating class of 2020 to return to campus for an unconventional commencement.
“My hope is we’ll still have a May 30 graduation,” principal Megan Anderson told school board members Monday night.
The next day, Anderson confirmed that plans are in the works for a ceremony that would take place at Veterans Memorial Field - the baseball stadium located on the school campus.

by Tom Coombe
Ely city officials want to see some progress at the Community Center building before they’ll grant the new owners more time to develop their vision for the local landmark.
The K America Foundation, which bought the building in late-2018, wants a three-year extension to its current agreement, which would give the organization until the end of 2028 to meet various milestones and turn the building into a venue for Korean language and culture camps.
But council members, meeting remotely Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic, opted instead to heed the recommendation of the city’s historic preservation commission, which is looking for “more progress on year one milestones.”
City Attorney Kelly Klun told the council that K America currently has six years to complete various milestones in order to keep the building, which it purchased for $30,000.

by Tom Coombe
Gov. Tim Walz has made it official: Minnesota children won’t go back to their classrooms and campuses this spring.
Walz announced Thursday that schools will remain closed and that distance learning, which started in late-March amid the coronavirus pandemic, will continue through the end of the 2019-20 school year.
Classrooms in Ely and across the state have been empty for more than a month and while schools were scheduled to reopen May 5, Walz had sent strong signals the last two weeks it would not occur.
In Ely, superintendent Erik Erie got official word on a conference call just prior to Walz’s formal announcement and it came as little surprise.
“We kind of expected it the day before,” said Erie. “We had a noon call from the Department of Education on Wednesday, which is out of the ordinary so most of us were expecting the announcement then but we didn’t get it. We did have the meeting (Thursday) to give us a little forewarning.”

by Tom Coombe
Unprecedented times will make for an unprecedented commencement at Vermilion Community College.
Graduates were notified this week that a commencement ceremony will move forward as planned on Tuesday, May 12 at 7 p.m., but in a virtual format.
Members of the class of 2020, parents and relatives, school staff and faculty and others will all be able to take part - from the comfort of their homes or wherever else they can log in via phone or computer.
At Vermilion, classes have been online for several weeks and the campus is closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
School officials nonetheless pledged to find a way to recognize the achievements of this year’s graduating class, even though the traditional ceremony in a packed gymnasium won’t take place.