It’s an initial artist’s conception, and Tim Johnson pointed out that the final design may look very different, but the Discovery Center just north of Marcell is beginning to take shape.

Planning is continuing this year with site renovation scheduled to be complete next year, according to Johnson, the rural community coordinator for the Edge of the Wilderness area.

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For the fourth year, the Itasca County Soil and Water District is offering native plants, shrubs and trees to county landowners.

This year there are some changes. Two wildflower and grass seed mixtures will be offered along with the plants, explained Andy Arens, forestry and shoreland specialist with the SWCD. An upland mixed height mixture will include 23 species of native wildflowers and 6 species of grasses. A wetland edge mix for seeding in wetlands, lake or river edges, depressions and other moist locations will include 16 species of wildflowers and 9 species of grass, sedge and bulrush.

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North Itasca Electric Co-op will sponsor a high school junior or senior from a Member’s family to join the national rural electric cooperative Youth Tour to Washington, D.C. June 9-15. The trip is an opportunity for youth from all over the country to gather in the nation’s capitol to learn about government, meet their Legislators and enjoy tours of the great monuments of our country as well as meeting new friends.

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Just the other day I was reading an article on ways to reduce your refrigerator’s energy consumption. And since I had written a couple of months back on saving money on your electric bill by making sure that your refrigerator was one of the newer, more energy efficient ones. I thought this might be appropriate.

North Itasca Electric Cooperative, Inc. customers will experience power outages Saturday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 24.

Outages will occur at 1 p.m. on both days for one hour. If temperaturfes are lower than 10 below, the outages will be rescheduled. All customers served by North Itasca Electric Cooperative other than the Northome area will be affected.

The planned outage is necessary for Great River Energy to tie in a new transmission line that had to be relocated for the expansion of the Deer River Hospital. On Feb. 17 the new line will be cut in, the following Saturday the line will be restored to normal.

North Itasca Electric Cooperative apologizes for the inconvenience.