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WATER WONDER - A drone photo of the power dam and boats fishing in the foam on the opening weekend of the 2019 fishing season. Photo by Bryan Worth.

Martin Kubik of the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee on the Powwow Trail.

CELEBRATING with a ribbon cutting last week for the new CT scanner at the Ely-Bloomenson Hospital during an open house. On hand were Jason Zabokrtsky of the Ely Chamber of Commerce, hospital employees Susan McCormick and Victor Aime, hospital administrator Michael Coyle, Ely mayor Chuck Novak and Dr. Robert L. Savereide. Coyle thanked Jodi Martin for writing the grant used to purchase the machine.

HAVING FUN at the Ely middle school concert on Tuesday were Peyton Gregory, Emile Wojcik, Henry Zgonc, Gabe Mann, Sean Ogburn, Colt Kvistad, and Colton Bramley. Photo by Hailey Worth.

Mae Louise Pirila Zeise, 91, died Wednesday, May 8, 2019 in Summerfield, FL. She was born on May 6, 1928, in Ely, to Saima (Lahti) and Oscar Pirila. She graduated from Ely Junior College.

Robert "Bob" Cooper, 71, of Ely, passed away on Sunday, May 12, 2019 at the Ely Bloomenson Community Hospital. Family arrangements have been entrusted to Kerntz Funeral Home of Ely.

Edith Mae Olsen, 97, passed away Thursday, May 9, 2019 at Carefree Assisted Living in Virginia, MN surrounded by her family and loved ones.
Edith was the mother of four children and an educator on the Iron Range who was one of the last one room school teachers in Minnesota. She was a wonderful French cook and her great meals were central to her family life.
She is survived by her sons Hans (Eve) Olsen III and Paul Olsen, daughter Winnifred Olsen, grandson Hans (Skeet) Olsen IV and Chad Olsen, and granddaughters Marja Nelson and Christine Klein, and six great-grandchildren, Kayla, Erik, Christian, John, Lily and Anna along with many nieces and nephews and other family members living in the area. Edith also enjoyed the company of a few remaining friends of her own generation right to the end of her long, sweet life. She cherished those friendships. May Heaven keep her.

by Tom Coombe -

We’re creatures of habit. At least I am.
I tend to eat the same foods, watch the same tv shows and keep the same hours- early to bed, early to rise..
There is one new thing in my life though. When I turn out the bedroom light at night, the room’s ceiling is filled with interesting patterns as if etched in ancient plaster.
No, I haven’t been remodeling, the sight in my right eye went away two Saturdays ago and after visits to several doctors, we now know it is permanent. Nick, Mary, Megan and Evan are filling in for the new absence and the job now is to train myself to do without and learn to drive again.
A steelworker friend of mine in Illinois lost an eye by running and falling on scissors. He went on as an adult to walk steel beams on high rises, so I know it can be done.
Meanwhile I’m at work answering phones, opening and sorting mail and keeping up (I hope) with circulation.

Dear Editor:
Fifty-nine years ago, Francis Gary Powers was piloting a U-2 spy plane over Russia and taking pictures of something the CIA found interesting. Until that day, the U-2 had a stellar record of never being intercepted or shot down. That was about to change.
The Russian bear had built a new surface to air missile that could go high enough and fast enough to overtake the U-2 and knock it out of the sky- and that’s just what happened. The cold war was raging and the Bear was making hay over the spying incident to his advantage. Eventually, the two countries swapped spies and life went on, but the US had its nose bloodied, been embarrassed and needed to improve their odds of surviving in the skies over Russia.