Two Harbors, Minnesota

Mayor’s Block Party!

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:00:27 +0000

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4 Day School Week – NOT?!

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 02:31:30 +0000

The State has rejected the proposal to move to a 4-day school week. There were some holes in the application that school administration is working to fill. The State has said they will fast-track a review of the updated application. If approved in time, the 4-day week could still happen, but I think each day that passes makes it more likely that we will see a 5-day week when school resumes in September. Thoughts anyone?

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Levy No / 4 day week coming

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 02:31:59 +0000

The complete failure of the school levy proposal has resulted in an immediate decision by the School Board to institute a 4-day school week beginning in the Fall.

“It makes a pretty strong statement,” Superintendent Phil Minkkinen said. “We are going to look for ways to economize.” source

This has been a very contentious issue and the voters have spoken. Now we all have to live with the results. Best wishes and thanks to the School Board for your efforts.

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School Levy Vote

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:22:07 +0000

There have been several Letters to the Editor on the upcoming school levy vote printed in the Lake County News Chronicle over the last several weeks. The school board has made efforts to get information out to voters as well. The official information from the school district can be found here.

There is more discussion about this on the Two Harbors Forum bulletin board.

When your ballot comes, please vote.

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Downtown Two Harbors

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:48:26 +0000

The condition of downtown Two Harbors has been a topic of discussion for many years. Businesses have come and gone. The local economy has come and gone. Generations of us have mostly gone. Mel Sando, the newly annointed Executive Director of the Lake County Historical Society has been making some noise (in a positive way) about our community over the last couple of months. Mel wrote a nice guest editorial in the Lake County News Chronicle (4-15-2010). There is also a Two Harbors Planning Commission that we don’t hear alot about. It would sure be nice if the ideas about improving our community would gain a little traction.

We hear about Grand Marais as a comparison to Two Harbors. The two communities are different in the way they are oriented on their respective pieces of lake shore. Two Harbors won’t be Grand Marais. Something I do notice when I visit Grand Marais though . . . . . the whole downtown area seems clean, neat and inviting. We could use some of that in our own downtown.

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Help Wanted – Like to Write?

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:19:09 +0000

Help Wanted!

Cheap help – the kind that works for free. TwoHarborsForum has been around for nearly 11 years now. The bulletin board has been the main drawing card for all of those years. But, things change. The bulletin board activity has slowed considerably over the last several months. I think there are multiple reasons for the slowdown. A relatively small pool of participants, occasional bad manners, and sometimes just running out of things to talk about. There are also more and more people using sites like Facebook to satisfy their urge for a little online communication between friends. Nothing wrong with that – personally, I love Facebook.

I think there is still a place for a site like this. Take a look at PerfectDuluthDay for an example of a blog site that is thriving. They do some interesting things there. I would like to see this little site become more active in a similar way. I’m going to be making some changes in the registration for the site, changes that will allow people besides me to post stories. Generally, stories will not appear until they are approved by a site administrator (me). Maybe eventually there will be a few writers that can help out with site moderation too.

Please post some comments with thoughts and ideas.

Thanks!

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Hoarding a Horde of Cats

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:43:33 +0000

Herding cats gives us a funny mental picture. Hoarding cats – not so funny. Hoarding behavior can include animals as well as “stuff.” Having 34 cats in a house in town is well beyond anyone’s definition of reasonable. There is a line in the Duluth News Tribune article that sums it up pretty well.

“And I can’t even say he wasn’t well-meaning. He might have been. Sometimes it’s just good intentions gone sideways.” Carrie Lane, Duluth Police Department Animal Control Officer

Even though this guy had solicited and received some donations over the last few years, he surely was not doing this for the money. I find myself agreeing with Carrie Lane.

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Plans reversed on Honking Tree | Lake County News Chronicle | Two Harbors, Minnesota

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:20:57 +0000

Plans reversed on Honking Tree | Lake County News Chronicle | Two Harbors, Minnesota

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Board Considering 4 Day Week for Schools

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:25:11 +0000

The School Board is working on funding for the District. There is good information in the most recent issue of “Good News”

“Benefits for the School in General:There are savings on utility bills, substitute teacher pay, school buses and building wear and tear. School days missed due to inclement weather can be more easily made up.”

There’s no doubt that this change will save money. From a financial standpoint it seems like a great idea. Fewer miles on buses, fewer meals to prepare, less days to keep the buildings warmer, etc. As far as how students cope with a slightly extended day, there are many studies that say there is really no net effect on student outcomes.

But, consider some other people. Some of the savings come from reducing paychecks. Many hourly staff will see reduced hours. Bus drivers, kitchen employees and custodial staff come to mind right away. What about office staff? 4 day weeks for them too? Most of the school nursing staff are hourly employees. Reducing to a 4 day week will cause some pain for these folks.

What about teaching and administrative staff? As I understand it, the school day will be extended by about 35 minutes. That is 2 hours and 20 minutes over 4 days. With the 5th day being cut, that represents a workweek for teaching staff that is perhaps 6 hours shorter. That’s a guess, but you get the point. I know the teachers agreed to a 2 year wage freeze, something that wasn’t easy for them either. Will the District ask for other concessions from the teachers? I would bet that there are many hourly employees who would love to have the option of agreeing to a 2 year wage freeze if they could continue to be paid for same number of hours whether they work them or not.

I don’t have any magical answers to the challenges of school finance. I am merely pointing out that there are many more things to consider than first meet the eye.

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Lake County is Unhealthy?

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:38:55 +0000

A study released today says Lake County, with a population of about 10,600, is the unhealthiest county in Minnesota. Link to full article in Duluth News Tribune

I appreciate that Paul Bergman picked up on the fact that Lake County ranks 16th in Health Factors. Dennis Henkel made some good observations about the data as well.

This study, like many, is good for a few headlines, but on closer inspection there is much to cause a person to reconsider the rather sensational headlines they generate.

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