Breaking News

REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS FOR BREAD

Ely Public Schools – ISD #696 is seeking bread quotes for the 2020-2021 school year. The quotes must conform to the specifications that are available to interested parties and which are on file with the District Office. For specifications contact mwognum@ely.k12.mn.us. Quotes are due no later than 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2020.

City of Winton

The City of Winton will hold the April 13 regular meeting of the Winton City Council at 6:00 PM via Zoom and telephone. The City Clerk will be present at the Community Center. The meeting is open to the public via Zoom. Call the City of Winton at 365-5941 on Monday, April 13 to get a meeting ID and password.

CITY OF WINTON

The Board of Appeal and Equalization for the City of Winton and will meet on Thursday, April 16, 2020 from 10:00AM to 11:00AM at the Winton Community Center, 102 Main Street N, Winton, MN. The St. Louis County Assessor will be represented by telephone. Some City Council may also be represented by telephone. The purpose of this meeting is to determine whether property in the jurisdiction has been properly valued and classified by the assessor.

If you believe the value or classification of your property is incorrect, please contact your assessor’s office to discuss your concerns. If you disagree with the valuation or classification after discussing it with your assessor, you may appear before the local Board of Appeal and Equalization. The board will review your assessments and may make corrections as needed. Generally, you must appeal to the local board before appealing to the county board of appeal and equalization.

Eric Sherman saw a possible new product that could benefit from the state’s Stay at Home order: puzzles.
“With the COVID-19 thing and photography shut down I had enough time to think of new ideas and puzzles popped into my head,” said Sherman. “I put out the feelers and had 150 people say they wanted them.”
In just 12 days Sherman has sold 108 and believes they will be a big hit once he gets more in to sell. The first batch sold out right away. Sherman has ordered 320 more through the Ely Echo.
There are now nine different puzzles made from photos taken in the Ely area.
The puzzles are available at ericshermanimages.com and will be at local retailers in Ely. The 500-piece puzzles cost $39.99 plus tax.

by Ken Hupila
When I was young I would listen to my folks talk about growing up, and heard about things that they lived through that I had only read about. Stories about The Depression, before electricity came to the farm, WWII, my Dad using a chain saw for the first time, mobsters that would hide out in the northwoods – all kinds of great stuff! It seemed so distant and long ago, I felt they had grown up and “Lived History”. Little did I know that at my present age, I’ve lived a bit of history myself.

Prospective bear hunters have until Friday, May 1, to apply for a bear hunting license. Applications for the 2020 season should be submitted online or via telephone at 888-665-4236.
A total of 3,575 licenses are available in 13 permit areas. Bear licenses cost $44 for residents and $230 for nonresidents, and there is a $5 application fee. The season is open from Sunday, Sept. 1, through Sunday, Oct. 18.
Lottery winners will be notified by June 1. The deadline to purchase licenses awarded by lottery will be Thursday, Aug. 1. Any remaining unpurchased licenses will be available over the counter starting at noon on Aug. 5.

by Anne Swenson
An effort to bring people together by howling at a full moon was a hit not just in Ely, but other areas of the world as well.
Created by Adam Bisbee, the event grew via Facebook and likely included over 500 participants for, “Howl from Home - Community in a time of Social Distancing.”
Bisbee was more than pleased with the results on Monday night.
“If I estimated I’d say about 300 people participated in Ely, Winton and around area lakes. Another 50-200 around the state and country. The event was shared and duplicated by so many people it became tough to track,” said Bisbee.
The original question from Bisbee was, “Is the sound of community recordable? Can we hear our support of one another?”
With that in mind he picked Monday night’s full moon at 9:35 p.m. as the time for people to go outside and give their best howl to community members.

Starting this week, Ely High School will turn the lights on at its baseball and football fields and join a campaign that now includes approximately 250 Minnesota high schools.
Both Monday and Friday evenings, the lights at Veterans Memorial Field and Ely School Stadium will go on at 8:20 p.m., and stay on for approximately 20 minutes and 20 seconds.
With high school athletic activities suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic, #BeTheLightMN started last week and has quickly picked up steam.
From north to south, schools and in some cases entire conferences have come on board to turn on the lights one or two nights each week to show support for and solidarity with their students, staff and communities.
Lights have gone on at football/soccer/lacrosse stadiums, baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, all over the state.

Kevin J. Kutsi, 56, of Ely and formerly of Hoyt Lakes passed away April 8th 2020 at St Mary’s hospital in Duluth. He was diagnosed with a thyroid cancer a month ago and passed away from complications.

Kevin was born May 11, 1963 in Duluth to Wesley and Connie (Germ) Kutsi. He graduated from Aurora-Hoyt Lakes high school in 1981 and following school, he received an AA degree from Range Technical College. Shortly after graduation, Kevin met life challenges which kept him from pursuing a job using his intelligence.

Kevin enjoyed his Finnish – Bohunk heritage. He was proud that he acquired a HAM radio operator license. He also enjoyed the quest of ripping apart electronics and repairing them. In addition, Kevin had a love for classic cars – especially the “Cougar” line and had a passion to restore one. He loved listening to music his entire life. He acquired a great collection of lp’s, cassettes and cd’s.

by Tom Coombe
Two Ely motel rooms are being reserved for local residents who might need “safe place to shelter” if they test positive for the coronavirus.
It’s part of a countywide effort to secure up to 90 rooms for people who may be required to self isolate, with St. Louis County teaming with entities including the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency to book rooms in Ely, Virginia, Hibbing and Duluth.
Social media posts Wednesday confirmed that Ely’s Adventure Inn is participating in the program.
Mayor Chuck Novak declined to identify the motel but offered more details about the initiative after speaking with county representatives, and amid erroneous reports that people from outside the area would be sent to Ely.
“The rooms that are being contracted in Ely are for the purpose of being available in case someone here tests positive,” said Novak. “They are not planning to send people from anywhere else here at this point.”