Breaking News

by Tom Coombe
Ely’s under-the-radar mayoral race comes to a head on Tuesday.
That’s when city voters may go to the polls and take part in a special primary election for mayor.
Six candidates are on the ballot, and the top two vote-getters will advance to an Aug. 10 general election.
But just how many Ely residents will take part in the election?
That’s the looming question this week in a contest that has been unusually quiet.
Public campaigning, other than a smattering of lawn signs, has been non-existent.
Five of the six contenders took part in a forum, but the event was closed to the public because of the COVID-19 pandemic but was streamed on the internet and recorded for later viewing on YouTube.
While nearly 2,000 people voted in last fall’s general election, when Eric Urbas unseated Chuck Novak despite dropping out of the race, it seems likely that far fewer people will vote in the primary.

by Tom Coombe
The Ely schools will welcome students back to the campus for in-person learning, starting Monday.
School officials confirmed that a “reset,” prompted by a surge in COVID-19 cases among students, will come to an end and children in all grades may return to the Washington and Memorial buildings.
After reporting 28 cases within the school community from March 15-March 31, the district had no active cases as of Wednesday, according to superintendent Erik Erie.
“We’re at zero positive cases as of today,” said Erie.
That was one of several factors that prompted school administrators, after a consultation with county public health officials, to bring students back to the campus as planned. School activities, which have been halted during the reset and resulted in the forfeiture of a playoff basketball game, will also resume.

Editor:
I commend Mike Banovetz on his letter to the editor in last week’s Echo. The letter criticized Terry Peterson’s previous letter to the editor, yet thanked Terry for his service in the Marines. Mike gave Steve Piragis, an opponent in the copper-nickel mining issue, credit where credit is due. And, in his statement, “We want the same thing, to protect the BWCA for future generations to enjoy,” Mike found common ground for those of us with strong opposing opinions about the prospect of copper-nickel mining in this area.
It’s this kind of approach, starting from a place of agreement and acknowledging the positive aspects of opponents, that promotes civil discourse and can lead to solutions that most can live with. Maybe Mike’s letter opened the door.
Rich Floyd
Ely

The local music world is going to miss Earl Bulinski, who passed away suddenly on April 3, 2021.
We talked on the phone the other day and Earl said he would be playing with a band in South Padre and that I could tune in on Facebook.
“I’ll be sure to listen,” I said.
“These guys are really good,” said Earl. “They even make me look good!”
That was Earl, self-deprecating, always with a joke and a smile. Our conversations were marked by laughter.
During his March 30 set in South Padre at Lobo Del Mar Cafe, Earl told the story of being born in Chicago in 1948 and his dad, Emery, buying Snowbank Lodge in Ely in 1956.
“We went back and forth to Ely, Minnesota which is eight miles from the Canadian border,” said Earl. “It’s a little woodsy up there.
“After four years my dad bought a house and that’s where I actually grew up. And started our first band, The Electras, in 1962 in Ely, Minnesota.

Earl Stanley (Stosh) Bulinski, age 72, of Ely died Saturday, April 3, 2021 in South Padre Island, TX.

Margaret Elaine “Peg” Edel, 70, of Excelsior, formerly of Goodhue and Red Wing, died Friday, April 2, 2021, at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. She was born on February 23, 1951, in San Antonio, TX to Kenneth and Dorothy (Haider) Brown. She graduated from Ely Memorial High School in 1969 and then attended St. Cloud State University. On May 23, 1971, she was united in marriage to Richard J. Edel. They later divorced. For many years she worked in the office for Santa Fe Railroad in Fort Madison, Iowa. She later moved to Minnesota to be closer to her sister and children and resided in Goodhue and then moved to Red Wing in 1996. In her younger years she was a member of the Jaycees where she always enjoyed helping with the Tri-State Rodeo along with many other community projects and events that they hosted. She enjoyed painting, gardening and animals, especially her puppy dogs. She was affectionately known as “Puppy Grandma” to her grandkids.

Barbara Joan (B.J.) Hartfield Stoltz (formerly Barbara Avikainen of Ely), age 84, of Apache Junction and Showlow, AZ, passed away peacefully at home on March 13th, 2021 after a brief 5-month struggle with cancer.
Barbara was born in Hammond, IN and graduated from Thornton Fractional High School in Lansing, IL. She was a member of First Lutheran Church in Ely for 20 years. She worked as a photojournalist for the Ely Echo, the Mesabi Daily News, and the Oregon Herald newspapers, and The Lutheran Witness, and spent 20 years with her husband Jim traveling the country in a 5th wheel motorhome serving as part of the Mobile Missionary Assistance Program (MMAP). She was known for praying for everyone she knew, and seeing astounding results from those prayers.

Dear Editor,
In a letter to the editor last week, writer Terry Peterson made a couple statements that were inaccurate. Terry stated that I am “an elected official who should neutral attack Paul Piragis for daring to ask for a state grant” as part of an unusual statement to say the least. I’m sure Terry actually meant Steve Piragis.
First, I am not an elected official, I am a ‘selected’ volunteer commissioner and committee member who serves our community at the pleasure of the mayor and city council within the Planning and Zoning Commission, Police Commission, Cemetery Committee and the Projects Committee. My opinions are mine alone and do not represent the city of Ely in any way.

Being a grandparent of a soon to be five year-old girl brings with it a flurry of emotions with every visit.
Out in Moorhead last weekend Kinlee was a non-stop bundle of energy.
She served us meals from her toy kitchen and even had McDonald’s items to choose from. Based on our stop in Chisholm on the way over, I’m thinking Kinlee’s pretend food was as good or better.
She even wrote down our orders with an apron around her waist - first class service, no doubt.
On Saturday she had a play date at Sky Zone, a trampoline park in Fargo.
We got there at 9 a.m., which is a time set aside for the younger kids. After putting on special socks, Kinlee and her two friends were off and running.
First they climbed up several steps under the watchful eye of a teenage worker and jumped to a large trampoline below.

Not one but two Vermilion Community College baseball players have been recognized with weekly honors by the Minnesota Community Athletic Conference.
Freshman Terren Sugita has been named Northern Division Player of the Week and classmate Ryan Kling is Northern Division Pitcher of the Week.
The recognition comes on the heels of a week in which the Ironmen won five times in six games to improve to 7-3 for the season.
Sugita, who hails from Anchorage, Alaska, launched three home runs and had 13 runs batted in during his hitting spree.
For the week, he went 11-for-22 at the plate to raise his average to a crisp .452, and the third baseman had home runs in both ends of a Saturday afternoon doubleheader sweep at Northland.
Sugita leads the state in both home runs (three) and runs batted in (14).
Kling, a product of New Richmond, Wisc., was dominant on the mound Sunday when VCC blanked Northland 8-0.