REGIONAL- Disruptions to student learning during the COVID-19 pandemic caused many students to be disconnected from their schools, and the St. Louis County Board has made a $5 million commitment to …
Marshall Helmberger
KUGLER TWP- A new $8 million facility here is expected to combine operations from the St. Louis County Public Works garages in Tower and Embarrass into one centralized location. The new public works “campus” is set for a construction start late next year and is expected to be built just north of the intersection of Hwy. 135 and County Rd. 26 on county tax-forfeit property, pending environmental review.
“This location was chosen because it is at the geographic center of the road network that will be maintained from this new public works campus,” said James Foldesi, county public works director. “It will allow us to operate more efficiently and provide a higher level of service.”
St. Louis County spends on mental health, paper mill
During their meeting Tuesday in Twig, the commissioners hailed the repurposing of the Duluth paper mill as a wise investment, agreeing to match the city of Duluth s $600,000 in property tax abatement. 4:28 pm, May 25, 2021 ×
The former Verso paper mill in West Duluth on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. (Steve Kuchera / 2021 file / News Tribune)
Presaging the reopening of St. Louis County buildings and offices June 1, the County Board has been on the road for more than a month now as pandemic precautions ease.
On Tuesday, it met at the Grand Lake Town Hall in Twig, where commissioners unanimously approved major expenditures to advance projects related to both mental health and the regional economy.
VIRGINIA â Keith Nelson was âmore than a little ticked off.â
A St. Louis County commissioner, Nelson, of Fayal Township, spent Tuesday criticizing three of his counterparts from Duluth for sending a letter to Minnesotaâs U.S. senators and the federal nominees for the Secretary of Agriculture and Interior stating their opposition of copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park.
The problem, he said during the latest county meeting, was that the majority of the seven-member board had long backed PolyMet and Twin Metals and just passed a resolution 4-3 expressing their support for such projects. âLetters intended to deceive should not be sent by elected officials on this board or any board or city council,â he said. âAnd that is clearly what this letter is is an attempt to deceive.â
St. Louis County Commissioner Keith Musolf, of Hermantown, was on track early Tuesday to become the new board chair and represent a leveling force between colleagues from the Iron Range and Duluth. But in a turn of events, he withdrew from expectations and instead supported re-electing Chisholm-based Chair Mike Jugovich as the leader of the seven-member board.
The win made history. The chair from the Iron Range is now only the second in 100 years to serve as chair for two consecutive years, according to a county spokesperson. Commissioner W.A. Swanstrom served as chair in 1921 and 1922. I am honored to again serve the people of St. Louis County and my fellow commissioners as the Board Chair in 2021, Jugovich said in a statement. While it s out of the ordinary, nothing has been ordinary during this pandemic, so I am pleased to have this opportunity to again serve as we move forward to hopefully brighter and healthier days in the year to come.