Opinions/Editorials

In nine days we’ll make our way up to the Ely Cemetery and note the passing of our veterans during the Memorial Day service. It’s a time honored tradition and certainly more patriotic than just having a barbecue. But what if you wanted to do more?
We would suggest you consider making a donation to the Ely Area Veterans Memorial Project.
Slated to be built next to the Trezona Trail at the entrance to the Ely Business Park, the memorial has quickly become a source of pride in the community. Groups and organizations, along with a number of individuals, have made donations to the project.
With a total budget of around $80,000, the project has blossomed from a more basic beginning. We think it could be even more.
We’ve heard from veterans who want to see the project go at an even grander scale. The only thing that limits the possibility is funding.

The race for the next governor of the state of Minnesota hasn’t officially started with the election two years away, but we may have a new governor before we go to the polls in 2018.
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith has been everywhere this past year and has the news releases to prove it. She has taken an office that was vying for a Ms. Irrelevant award and got her name out into the public eye.
Reporter Doug Grow noted this in a recent story in MinnPost.
“Minnesota’s never had a lieutenant governor like Tina Smith. She’s been televised going underground to check a sewage system in Dennison; catching a walleye on Lake Vermilion; touring factories and farmyards from one end of the state to the other; and — perhaps most importantly — constantly meeting with (and in photographs with) her boss, Gov. Mark Dayton.”

Just before he threw a shovel of dirt at the VCC housing project groundbreaking, Senator Tom Bakk brought some good news from St. Paul: the Prospector Loop ATV trail project made it into the Senate bonding bill.
With the support of area communities, the Prospector Loop would create an ATV trail system that would connect Ely, Babbitt, Embarrass and Tower with the Lake Vermilion/Soudan Underground Mine and the Bear Head state parks. In addition, the trail system will connect to the Lake County trail system for over 250 miles of riding opportunities.
Bakk worked with Senator Leroy Stumpf who has Polaris and Arctic Cat in his district, helping to build the ATVs that now outnumber snowmobiles in Minnesota.

by Congressman Rick Nolan

Well maybe, just maybe, the DNR has had second thoughts on managing our area for moose over deer. Or maybe it’s a delay tactic.
A news release came out Thursday saying the agency has decided to wait until 2017 to implement northeast deer permit area changes.
We’ve been very strong in our position editorially that the DNR is failing to utilize science in this issue.
The idea of drastically reducing deer numbers will make the moose population magically rebound is right up there with Jack and the bean stalk.
But that is exactly what the DNR has been pushing to do. The changes in the permit areas up here was just a tool to wipe out deer in where there are still moose. Period.
Pushing back the plan a year may just be a delay to avoid the public opposition that has been growing like wildfire not just up here but around the state as well.

For 22 years the Ely Echo has put out an annual Progress Edition. This year there are 22 pages filled with stories, photos and advertisements. Plenty of reading and plenty of information on our business climate.
There’s plenty of hope and promise in those 22 pages. Entrepreneurs putting it all on the line with the hope their dreams will come true. New owners and new locations of area businesses. These are a snapshot in time of our business community.
When we look back in previous issues there are businesses that were profiled that are no longer here. Or never made it through the first year. Being a business owner in a small town is no easy task. You better be able to put in your blood, sweat and tears to make it work, not to mention opening your personal checkbook.
Each of the 22 Progress Editions have been unique to the time they were published. Some were filled with millions of dollars in public projects - that’s something you won’t see this year.

We’ve been impressed with how the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools has gone from teetering on the edge of existence to becoming a strong voice for northeast Minnesota.
Just over one year ago the Ely city council was putting on the brakes of joining RAMS. The organization had made some questionable moves which led to people asking just what benefits RAMS provided in the first place.
Since then there has been a change in the make up of the board that governs the organization and a key move to hire an ambitious executive director.
Steve Giorgi has stepped up to the challenge and helped lead RAMS back to the forefront as a force to be reckoned with. He works with state and federal officials to inform them of the issues affecting the Range and he keeps local elected officials informed and involved in the political process.

The annual April Fools joke from the Ely Chamber of Commerce is an electric canoe paddle. Designed to generate free publicity for Ely, the Chamber hires an ad agency to come up with an idea each year that could be true but of course is not.
Past April Fools pranks from the Chamber included Canada attempted to annex Ely, a fictitious bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics and that Dairy Queen had acquired naming rights to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Governor Mark Dayton has decided by executive order that he should decide Ely’s economic future and, God forbid, that includes mining. It’s been 38 years since Ely received such an economic shot to the gut.

We believe there is strong support for mining from our local and state elected officials. In fact we know there is. Dayton stands alone politically. He doesn’t have the support of the local city officials, county officials or the Range delegation.

His statements show he believes he is above the people...

Read the complete editorial in this week's Ely Echo.

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The Ely school board has taken plenty of heat over the years. Some of it deservedly but there are times when the blame has been misdirected.
A week ago Thursday high school principal Mary McGrane announced she would be resigning on March 31. We asked her for a reason to resign but only received the same message she gave to parents.
“I’ve appreciated the opportunity to work with Ely students, parents, staff, board and community members. In order for me to be true to myself and core values, the right thing for me to do is step away from serving as Ely Memorial Principal at this time. My last day will be March 31st. We have talented, smart, community oriented, wonderful students at Ely Memorial. It has been a pleasure serving as their principal. I will greatly miss the staff and students.”
Social media posts placed blame on the board and cited the turnover of the district’s administrative positions. But that blame is misdirected.