Northome Area News  

It's just 9 issues old, but already it's been an adventure for Irene Maggert of rural Northome and Linda Dreher of Mizpah.

The project began as Irene and Linda and their husbands Joel and Rick were discussing about how, without a newspaper in the community, so much was lost. "We don't even know when people pass away," Irene recalled the group thinking. "Or what’s going on in the neighborhood."

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Grant application deadline Monday, April 6
Operation Round Up® trustees to hold grant meeting  

Thanks to the generosity of nearly 80 percent of the Members of North Itasca Electric Co-op., the Board of Trustees for Operation Round-Up® will have over $10,000 to distribute to various communities and organizations in the area.

The deadline for grant applications is Monday, April 6 at 4:30 p.m. Application forms along with instructions can be obtained by calling the office at (218) 743-3131 or 1 (800) 762-4048, by e-mailing me, online HERE, by contacting your North Itasca Electric Co-op., Inc. Director or by contacting one of the Trust Board Members listed below:

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Check out North Itasca Electric’s rebate programs
Summer is just around the corner!  

March is here and we all are starting to think about summer. The warm weather will be a nice change after the cool November December and January we had this past year. Along with summer comes those hot days where some people need cooler temperatures and are looking at installing air conditioners.

When considering purchasing a A/C unit, look at a air source heat pump (ASHP) which will cool your home in the summer months but at the same time will heat it in the winter months. Air source heat pumps can produce three to four times more heat than the energy it takes to operate them, reducing your heating bills in the winter months. They also can be placed on the Dual Fuel program lowering your energy cost even further.

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Roxanne’s Sales Talk  

Several of you have already called in and talked to me in regard to the letter from Powercom and the notices from Arvig that you received this last month. I will be the first to agree with you that it was very confusing! I will try to explain it a little better for those who are Arvig customers.

First of all, the charge mentioned on your phone bill last month: $1.25 is a monthly charge that Powercom put in place before Lambeau Telecom agreed to buy them out. So this charge will still apply. This is a cost recovery charge as mentioned on your last bill.

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Empty Bowls Project in Bigfork 

On March 19 it will be possible to have a wonderful meal, take home a handmade pottery bowl, have fun and help the Northern Itasca Food Shelf all at the same time. How can you beat that? The event is held at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Bigfork. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. The cost is $10.

Empty Bowls is an international movement to fight hunger and is repeated throughout the country during March. In the Edge of the Wilderness area, an Empty Bowls Project was started five years ago. Bigfork School Art Teacher Roberta Steinhart thought that there were enough artists and soup makers and certainly enough need in the area to make Empty Bowls successful here.

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Perchjerkers & St. Urho's Day  

Saturday, March 14 in Squaw Lake - Perchjerkers

On Saturday, March 14, be sure to wear your green and purple when you come to Squaw Lake.

The colors represent grapes and grape leaves – that’s the Finnish crop that was saved from grasshoppers by St. Urho. You hadn’t heard about the grapes from Finland? That might be because they were exported before the Ice Age.

It’s part of a legend created on the Iron Range in the 1950s as an answer to the Irish St. Patrick’s Day. Bemidji State University professor Dr. Havumaki passed the legend along in his class, where one of his students, Bruce Leino, brought it to the family restaurant in Squaw Lake.

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March 2009 Calendar of Events 

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