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Truth in Taxation Public Hearing
Ely City Council - Council Chambers
November 27, 2018

CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Novak called the Truth in Taxation Public Hearing to order at 6:00pm.

PRESENT: Council Members A.Forsman, Debeltz, Omerza, Callen, D.Forsman and Mayor Novak
ABSENT: Council Member Kess

Mayor Novak state that the budget committee has met several times and the City is going to maintain the 3.08% levy that was proposed.

Mildred “Millie” Alice Soderberg Cooley passed away peacefully on November 29 2018, in Ely, MN at the age of 102. “Millie” was born in Soudan, MN, on August 1, 1916, one of 12 children. Her father, Gustaf “Charles” and Mother Signe Soderberg were Swedish immigrants who took advantage of the mining opportunities that were available on the Iron Range.
An independent person, Millie left the Iron Range in her late teens, and some years later, married James Cooley from South Dakota. WWII created some challenges but during the war, the US Navy moved them to Philadelphia, PA, followed by a move to Long Beach, CA. After the war, they made their home in Whittier, CA, area where they raised their two children, Linda and James.

Mark Fisher, 98, of Winton, died on December 5, 2018, in Ely at the Carefree Living facility, where he had been living for the past several months. Mark was born in Philadelphia in 1920 and moved some years later to Chicago, where he lived with his parents and five siblings, all of whom preceded him in death.
Mark was never married but he has several generations of surviving nieces and nephews. He would have been 99 years old next month.
Mark was educated at St. John’s Military Academy in Wisconsin and then the University of Chicago. He served in WWII, working as a radio operator and in the Signal Corps in Panama and on several assignments stateside. After the war he worked in Chicago for United Press International as a reporter, where he often covered the local police beat. It was in the early ’50s that Mark traveled to northern Minnesota to fish, where he discovered the stunning beauty of the area. He soon moved to Ely.

Advertisement for Bids:

The City of Ely Fire Department is requesting sealed bids until 2 pm Friday December 21st for the purchase of sixteen (16) Self Contained Breathing Apparatus rated at 4500 psi. A separate bid is also requested for the purchase of nineteen (19) additional masks and sixteen (16) additional 4500psi cylinders. If you are interested in bidding these projects more information can be requested by emailing Tom.Erchull@ely.mn.us or calling him at 218-226-5483. The City of Ely reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to award the equipment bid in the best interest of the City.

Ely Echo 12/8 &15/2018

by Tom Coombe -

Thomas Edmund Davis, 28, passed away on November 22, 2018. Tom was born to Laura Bauman Davis and William Witherspoon Woods Davis Jr. on September 17, 1990 in Glen Falls, New York.
Tom was truly one of a kind. Tom had the biggest heart, brightest smile and an amazing spirit. You are truly blessed if you are able call him your brother, son, nephew, grandson, cousin, uncle, or friend. We will forever hold his spirit and smile in our hearts.
His early years were spent in New York until his parents moved to Conroe, Texas. Tom grew up in a great family and neighborhood. He was active in local sports and played football in high school. After graduation, he attended college and trade school. He worked in his Dad’s Construction Company (FSSI) along with his brother, Bill. He was a valued part of the team.
Tom had great plans for the future, unfortunately his time with us was cut short.

Dear friends, I hope you’ve had a wonderful 2018. We’ve had much to be thankful for this year: no cavities, no car troubles, no overdraft notices. Plus we only had five trick-or-treaters on Halloween, so we still have plenty of goodies left for Christmas.
Not really.
It’s been a year of milestones for me. For one thing, my husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary in October. I’m not sure what he would say the secret to our long marriage is, but one of my tricks is hiding the newspaper when I write about him in a column.
We celebrated the big event with an Alaskan cruise. We had a glorious time and I hope we don’t have to be married for another 30 years before we get to go on another vacation like that one. I will say, a cruise ship is more luxury than we’re used to. It’s a rare thing for me to eat in a place where you have to “dress for dinner,” though I do always have something on.

When Pete Stauber announced he was going to run for Rep. Rick Nolan’s seat in Congress, he did so on the front steps of the Ely City Hall.
It was back in July and after starting in his hometown of Hermantown, Stauber came to Ely.
“I drove up here because Ely and the Iron Range matter,” Stauber said.
The question that day was would Stauber matter in a race that heavily favored the incumbent with a well-financed Republican likely to jump back in for another run.
All of that changed when Nolan announced he wasn’t running, followed by Stewart Mills. Instead of running on a prayer, Stauber became the front runner.
On Monday he returned to Ely as U.S. Representative-Elect Pete Stauber and participated in a legislative meeting with area elected officials. He was the only federal official to show up.
Is this a sign Ely will have as good of a relationship with our new Republican House member as we did with Democrat Nolan? We sure hope so.

The final numbers are in for the 2018 Tower Area firearms deer harvest.
After what was predicted to be a good year for hunters, the harvest was down in the Tower Area by 2.1 percent. This includes northern St. Louis and Lake Counties including Permit Areas 117, 118, 119, 130, 131, 132 176, 177 and 178.
DNR Tower Area Wildlife Manager Tom Rusch said the harvest was impacted by a number of factors.
• An early opener(Nov. 3 is the second earliest opening date), reduced deer activity during daylight hours and cold temperatures likely impacted hunter effort.
• Hunters reported a mixed bag of deer activity. Buck activity improved over the second and third weekends. Some hunters reported rutting activity while other hunters reported minimal deer activity with most of it occurring at night.
• Many hunters reported poor deer movement, especially opening weekend, which historically accounts for a majority of the deer harvest.

by Tom Coombe -