Breaking News

Ely’s Hidden Valley Recreation Area is seeing expanding outdoor recreation opportunities this summer, with the addition of nearly 10 miles of singletrack mountain bike trails slated for completion by October.
The new trail system, designed by Minnesota based Dirt Candy Designs, consists of six loops ranging from beginner to advanced level.
The first loop, a progressive skills loop for riders to practice and hone bike handling techniques, was completed in 2019, just south of the Hidden Valley Chalet.
Since then, the City of Ely has contracted with Kay-Linn Enterprises of Boulder, CO to oversee the project, and signed a lease with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to include the existing Nordic ski trails as well as the new mountain bike loops.

by Tom Coombe
A come-from-behind victory was the highlight of an otherwise difficult week for Ely’s Junior Legion baseball team.
Ely erased a seven-run deficit Monday at Eveleth, rallying for an 11-10 win as Elliot Levens ripped five hits, including a three-run triple.
Down 10-3, Ely rallied to tie the game by the fifth inning and pulled ahead in the top of the sixth.
Jack Mathias got the win in relief, pitching four innings and striking out six while yielding only one earned run.
Mathias, a freshman-to-be, also helped his own cause with three hits, three runs scored. Deegan Richards also chipped in with two hits.
Ely is 1-5 overall, with four losses coming in last weekend’s z’UP North Realty Classic and another coming Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Field, when Virginia scored seven runs in the top of the eighth and prevailed 13-6.

Clarence Joseph “Buzz” Boutelle, 94, of Lawrence, KS, formerly of Texas and Minnesota, passed away on Sunday, May 30, 2021.
He was preceded in death by his former wife, Evelyn; daughter, Linnette; three brothers; and four sisters.
Buzz will be missed by his children, Pam Roberts, Cynthia (Tom) Korn, Jo (Tim) Marthaler, and Jon (Ellen) Boutelle; eleven grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; and other family and friends.
Graveside Service will be Friday, July 2 at 1pm at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, 7601-34th Ave S, Minnneapolis.

Dolores R. (nee Stricula) Moen, 92 of Valparaiso In, formerly of Ely MN, passed away Saturday, January 30, 2021. She was born April 13, 1928 in Chicago IL to John and Mary (née Bulak) Urban. Dolores made her career for many years as a bookkeeper in the Chicago area, before moving to Ely with her husband Ronald. While in Ely she obtained her college degree and also worked with the Federal Forest Dept as a senior citizen employee. After moving to Valparaiso IN Dolores stayed busy with her senior friends with breakfast, bingo and travels all over the world. Dolores will be remembered for her friendly personality and generous nature. She is a beloved wife, mother and grandmother who is dearly missed.

Murn, Dr. Brian F. "Bud",
age 93, of Brooklyn Center, MN. He was born in Ely, MN on November 26, 1927. He died on June 6th, 2021. Bud was the third child born to Thomas and Mary Murn of Ely, MN, where his dad was a school teacher. In the summers, Bud's parents managed Basswood Lodge inside what has now become the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). He guided guests from the lodge on Basswood Lake throughout high school and college and loved to fish throughout his life. Bud joined the Navy shortly after his high school graduation in 1945, and served as Seaman First Class until August 1946. Following his service, he attended the University of Minnesota where he earned his Doctorate in Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree in 1953. Bud met the love of his life, Donna Wimmer on a ski slope in Colorado in 1956, and they were married in 1957.

by Tom Coombe
Ely Memorial High School’s graduating class of 2021 mixed old traditions with new as they bid a fond farewell.
Commencement ceremonies were held outdoors, at Veterans Memorial Field, rather than inside at Washington Auditorium.
The graduates also took part in a parade through town after the event, continuing a tradition started only last year.
Yet the ceremonies themselves, minus the change of venue, resembled those of recent years and even decades ago.
The class was small in number, with 37 earning diplomas and 34 taking part in the commencement amid unseasonably warm temperatures.
Several hundred people watched from the stadium grandstand and the paved pavilion area at the historic ballpark, with the graduates, in full regalia, sitting in chairs on either side of home plate.
They gathered together at the end of an at-times bizarre school years, disrupted and altered because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

by Tom Coombe
In the eyes of a national publication, Ely is a must-see destination for those looking to vacation in a smaller community.
Smithsonian Magazine named Ely one of the “15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2021,” in an article published earlier this week.
As the nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and travel ramps up even further, the magazine highlighted small communities and said “perhaps more than ever now is a time to appreciate small towns.”
The magazine assembled a list and added “the best small towns to visit in 2021 are prime examples of perseverance and preservation, and reminders of all that we love about small towns in the first place.”
Ely joins a list of iconic and lesser-known communities including Dyersville, Iowa, home of the baseball field from the movie “Field of Dreams.”

Right now it’s hard to determine what’s harder to find in Ely: an available, affordable place to live, or a table at a local restaurant at 6 p.m. just about any night of the week.
Both are in scarce, scarce supply, as anyone looking to eat out or for a place to live can attest.
Both are also interrelated, and an obvious hindrance to Ely’s efforts to get back on its feet, return to normal and get economic development moving again in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pademic.
Let’s start with the positives. It’s great to see Ely bustling with activity again.
Last summer was busy even in spite of the pandemic and our town welcomed summer residents and thousands of visitors, some who found Ely for the first time as they opted for shorter trips or were looking for a new spot once Canada closed its borders.
Yet even before a crazy busy Memorial Day weekend in the Ely area, it was obvious that 2021 would be even more hectic on Sheridan Street.

The Northeast Range trap club team handed out awards following the spring season. Awards went to: Ariel Kalinowski - High Gun Female; Aili Bee - High Gun Female Runner-Up; Jon Hakala - High Gun Male, High Gun Overall and the John Nicholas Sportsmanship Award; Noah Backe - High Gun Male Runner-Up; Jacob Mackai received his first 25 straight patch; Letter Awards: Hakala, Kalinowski, Foster, Kale Beno, Mackai, Harry Dammann, Wesley Sandy, Bee and Backe; Top Squad for State - Foster, Hakala, Mackai, Backe and Kalinowski. The team is coached by Ed Zupancich and Julie Huseby.

In a letter to House and Senate Environment and Agriculture committee chairs, Governor Tim Walz announced his support of a proposal to transfer state oversight of cervid farms from the Board of Animal Health (BAH) to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The move is one of many steps lawmakers are considering to prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Minnesota’s wild white-tailed deer population.
State Rep. Rob Ecklund (DFL – International Falls), chief author of a comprehensive package of legislation to address CWD spread in Minnesota, is still advocating to incorporate the solution into a final Environment and Natural Resources budget package.