Breaking News

Anthony (Tony O) Orazem of Armstrong Lake, passed away on December 4, 2019.

He was born in Biwabik on January 12, 1945 to Anthony J. (Tony) and Anne (Kolak) Orazem. He grew up and graduated from Aurora-Hoyt Lakes High School, Eveleth Area Vocational Technical School and Bemidji State University with an Industrial Arts Degree. He also served in the Army in Germany.

He loved hunting and fishing with family and friends. Tony was a member the Aurora American Legion for 50 years and a member of the Aurora On Call Fire Department for 28 years. He was a past member of the All Slav Club and Slovenian Union of America.

Karl Rukavina, 88, of Winton, a proud Korean War Veteran, passed away on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at the Boundary Waters Care Center in Ely. Family arrangements have been entrusted to Kerntz Funeral Home of Ely.

Gregory Lynn “Greg” Askeland, 64, of Sioux City passed away Sunday, December 1, 2019 of natural causes. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday, December 6, 2019 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sioux City. Pastor David Carlson will officiate. Burial will be at a later date. Online condolences may be directed to www.meyerbroschapels.com.

Greg was born March 4, 1955 in Estherville, Iowa. He had recently relocated to Sioux City, Iowa, a city he loved and the place where he had raised his children, Katy Herbold and Eric Askeland, with their mother Susan Askeland.

Robert L. “Bob” Bodine, 80, of Virginia passed away Sunday, November 10, 2019 at Essentia Health Northern Pines Nursing Home in Aurora.

He was born February 25, 1939 in Soudan to Bernard and Lempi (Kultala) Bodine; grew up in Soudan and graduated from Tower-Soudan High School in 1957. Bob was active in the Tower-Soudan High School Band and the Soudan Band. He graduated from Ely Junior College and Stout State University in Menomonie, WI.

Bob was united in marriage to Paulette R. Nikkinen on April 9, 1960 in Ely. He resided in Ely, Tower and Babbitt and had been a Virginia resident since 1996,

He was a member of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Virginia, a former member of United Steelworkers Union local 4108 of Aurora. Bob worked as a lab technician for Erie Mining Company in Aurora, in the office for Reserve Mining Company in Babbitt and retired in 2001 as a heavy equipment operator for LTV Mining in Aurora after 37 years of service.

by Bill Tefft
The Ely Field Naturalists will make a presentation in Classroom CL104 at Vermilion Community from 6:30 until 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
This meeting will provide a wrap-up to many of the 2019 field naturalist activities and will prepare for upcoming Christmas Bird Counts, winter solstice celebration and 2020 plans.
The Ely Christmas Bird Count will be conducted on Ely’s Winter Solstice date, Saturday, Dec. 21. The solstice occurs at 10:19 p.m. CST on the Dec. 21. Many calendars show the date of the solstice as Dec. 22 which is accurate using the Universal Time Clock.
Information on all of the Christmas Bird Counts in Minnesota can be found at the Minnesota Ornithologist’s Union website calendar of bird count locations at www.moumn.org/CBC/cal/calendar.php

Camp Cholesterol finished the 2019 rifle season with two bucks in the freezer.
Daughter Megan and son Evan joined me for the final weekend but we couldn’t put another deer on the meat pole. Megan saw four does Sunday so there were some deer around, just not the kind we could shoot.
Earlier in the week I made a trip down Highway 1 and Lake County Highway 2, ending up just north of Gooseberry State Park.
My friend Forrest Johnson has a shack there and it had been over 20 years since I was there last.
Forrie owns the shack with two other guys, one of whom, Mark Smith, was there as well on Monday.
Camp Shack had changed quite a bit in those 21 years. A bunk room was added on the back and a sauna was built by the creek.
The biggest change was the forest around the shack. What had been clearcut just prior to my arrival two decades back had grown into a thick popple stand.

Dear Editor:
Become a valuable member of the VA Health Care System and Disabled American Veterans Volunteer Transportation Team!
Because so many sick and disabled Veterans lack transportation to and from VA medical facilities for needed treatment, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) operates a nationwide transportation network to meet this need.
It is with great pleasure to announce that rides are now available in Northeastern Minnesota for our veterans. This is a vital and extremely beneficial service to our veterans who have served our country.
All DAV drivers are required to be registered Minneapolis VA Volunteer Drivers. Volunteer drivers must have a state driver’s license, a clean driving record, personal auto insurance, no current health or mental issues and must be able to complete a physical and a background check.
In addition to the pleasure of serving Veterans, it’s a great way to enjoy conversations with Veterans and make new friends.

by Tom Coombe
As Lake County moves ahead with a new four percent lodging tax, the opposition that had formed in Fall Lake Township over the proposal seems to have waned.
Tourism officials who voiced angst several months ago now appear on board with the plan, which could be implemented sometime in 2020.
Kerry Davis, a longtime local resort owner and tourism industry leader, endorsed the proposal when Lake County commissioners came to the Fall Lake Town Hall for a Nov. 21 public meeting.
“I think overall there will be advantages to doing this,” said Davis.
Davis, other resort owners and Fall Lake leaders all voiced opposition when the plan first surfaced during the spring, but Lake County offiicals said they heard the concerns and worked to soothe them.

by Tom Coombe
Ely school officials were urged to step back and think big about a potential facilities project on campus.
That was the message Monday night from lobbyist Gary Cerkvenik, who is working on behalf of the district to gain as much as $10 million in additional revenue - from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board -for a major initiative.
“I would encourage you to think bigger and when you’re thinking bigger someone else will help you achieve that bigger plan, with not a lot of extra community support,” said Cerkvenik, a longtime, well-connected political operative who has worked with numerous Range entities and units of government.
“Instead of doing an $8 million (referendum) maybe you have a $10 million and somebody matches it, and now you have a $20 million plan. Now you have a good plan as $20 million accomplishes a lot.”

Leona June Krensing (nee Smith), age 85, passed away peacefully on November 26, 2019 at Carefree Living in Babbitt, MN after a long illness.
“Tootie” was born on June 2, 1934 in Clear Lake, SD and was raised in Browns Valley, MN where she met her schoolmate and future husband Keith William Krensing. They married on September 2, 1952. In 1956, after Keith’s tour in Korea as an army sergeant, they moved to Babbitt when Keith began working as a foreman with Reserve Mining Company (later North Shore Mining). Together they had six children. Tootie worked at the Babbitt Clinic as a medical secretary and spent many summers behind the counter at the Babbitt Golf Course. They loved their adopted home of Babbitt and enjoyed the area’s great outdoors, sporting events, services and activities at the local Catholic church, and their many friends and acquaintances.