Marshall Helmberger

REGIONAL— A Lake Vermilion resident is among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging a proclamation by President Donald Trump, issued July 17, 2025, that exempts all taconite plants in the U.S. from stricter mercury emissions standards established in 2024 by the Environmental Protection Agency. The proclamation, which suspends the requirements for two years, would cover seven plants on Minnesota’s Iron Range and one plant in Michigan.

Anglers ply the waters of Crane Lake just downstream of the Vermilion Gorge. Crane Lake is among a number of lakes in the region with fish that contain high levels of mercury.

The new Pyrite OHV Campground, near Soudan, is located atop a hill and is largely left open to accommodate OHV trailers. The new facility opens for camping June 12.

REGIONAL— For Duluth-based outdoor writer Stephanie Pearson, the best hikes in the USA aren’t necessarily in some western national park. Two of them, she’ll tell you, are right here in Minnesota.

As we reported recently, the Minnesota DNR is proposing to reduce the statewide daily walleye bag limit from six fish to four — the first such change since 1956. On the surface, the case seems straightforward: anglers are more effective than ever and ecological pressures are mounting. And with surveys showing at least majority support for the change, the timing may be right. But a closer look at the available evidence reveals a more complicated picture, one where the science is real but incomplete, and where the policy rationale blends legitimate conservation concerns with arguments that deserve more scrutiny.

50-49 vote a victory for mining supporters but legal challenge is likely

NETT LAKE — The Bois Forte Band is expressing “profound disappointment” in the wake of last week’s U.S. Senate vote to terminate a 20-year ban on mining and mineral exploration affective 225,000 acres of federal land within the Superior National Forest. The land in question is located in the Upper Rainy River watershed and drains into the 1.1-million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

TOWER — The city council here has given the green light to exploring the creation of a joint powers board to operate the Tower Area Ambulance Service. At a special meeting last Thursday, the council authorized council member Bob Anderson to spend up to $2,000 to consult with an attorney familiar with the process for establishing a jointly run ambulance service.

Stu Osthoff hoists a nice walleye hauled from a Boundary Waters lake. (Contributed photo)

TOWER— The city council here gave approval Monday night to a $1.23 million bid from Valint Construction to build a new rental hangar at the city’s airport. The big question still hanging over that decision, however, is who approved seeking bids for the project and when. At the council’s meeting in March, council member Bob Anderson had suggested pausing the hangar project given the large number of city projects already slated for the coming construction season. At the time, Mayor Dave Setterberg suggested waiting for the design documents and engineer’s estimate on the project before deciding whether to proceed — and that’s how the meeting adjourned.