PLACES

What's up with the gorilla?

A proverbial riddle poses the question, “Where does an 800-pound gorilla sit?” The common answer: “Anywhere it wants to.” In the Alexandria lakes area, however, many residents and vacationers would answer that it sits on the east side of County Road 11. For years, a life-size cement beast of the jungle has been a landmark in Alexandria – its mighty figure adding intrigue to the wooded roadside, and functioning as a unique reference point for directions in the area.

By By Marit Aaseng, Intern Reporter , August 25, 2010

What's up with the gorilla?

A proverbial riddle poses the question, “Where does an 800-pound gorilla sit?” The common answer: “Anywhere it wants to.”

By By Marit Aaseng, Intern Reporter , August 25, 2010

Tettegouche arch falls into Lake Superior

The much-photographed arch at Tettegouche State Park carved out of the North Shore by thousands of years of Lake Superior waves has collapsed. Jim Bischoff, park specialist, said the first reports of the collapse came Saturday, but that it’s not exactly clear when the rock bridge fell into the lake. “Definitely within the last week, but probably in the last couple of days or we would have heard about it sooner, considering how well photographed that site is,” Bischoff told the News Tribune on Sunday. Bischoff said it appears there was no event or human activity that caused the collapse.

By News Tribune staff , August 24, 2010

Tettegouche arch falls into Lake Superior

The much-photographed arch at Tettegouche State Park carved out of the North Shore by thousands of years of Lake Superior waves has collapsed.

By News Tribune staff , August 23, 2010

Changing landscape: A look into the past at Makoshika State Park

GLENDIVE, Mont. — Visitors can travel to Makoshika State Park one weekend and the next see the same park, at least a park of the same name. One storm has the power to rearrange the landscape. “Being an erosion-based park, this park is consistently remaking itself,” Park Manager Ryan Sokoloski said recently. For example, a cap rock named Mrs. Butterworth because of her shape lost her head in 2004. “That’s the most recent cap rock which has gone to the wayside,” he said.

By Jennifer McBride , August 19, 2010

Norwegians to row down Mississippi

Eddy Ferreira has been waiting 30 years to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip down the Mississippi River. So what were another few weeks? Ferreira, 69, and Jan Broennich, 68, both of Norway, arrived July 26 in Bemidji expecting to begin their voyage within about a week. They figured the boat would arrive soon enough and they could get on the water after a day or two of getting their possessions and plans in order. The boat, Emma, didn’t arrive until late last week.

By Bethany Wesley , August 19, 2010

Changing landscape: A look into the past at Makoshika State Park

GLENDIVE, Mont. — Visitors can travel to Makoshika State Park one weekend and the next see the same park, at least a park of the same name.

By Jennifer McBride , August 19, 2010

Norwegians to row down Mississippi

Eddy Ferreira has been waiting 30 years to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip down the Mississippi River.

By Bethany Wesley , August 19, 2010

Whitewater, quiet wilds

ATIKAKI PROVINCIAL WILDERNESS PARK, EASTERN MANITOBA — A black ribbon of fast-moving water resembles silk and turns the river’s gentle current to tumultuous whitewater. Our eyes follow its flow as the rocky banks constrict, and we gauge our paddling ability against the power and volume of the frothing waves. It’s the biggest set we have encountered. Everyone is thinking the same thing: This could go either way.

By Fred Sproat For the News Tribune , August 15, 2010

Long grass an issue in small towns

DICKINSON, N.D. - Long grass is an ongoing battle in area small cities, officials say. Not only does it create an eyesore but it poses health risks, said Rex Herring, Southwest District Health Unit environmental health practitioner.

By Ashley Martin, The Dickinson Press , August 09, 2010

West Duluth downpour causes sewage overflow

Downpours that hit several West Duluth neighborhoods late Saturday night spurred the usual sewage overflows in the area, including a 285,000-gallon release at the Polk Street pump station operated by the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District. (Photo: File / News Tribune)

By News Tribune staff , August 09, 2010

Data shows dozens of oil spills in northern Minnesota over 30 years

DULUTH — As the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee awaits federal data on Enbridge pipeline spills, the News Tribune has obtained records from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency that show dozens of oil spills in northern Minnesota over the past 30 years, dating back to when the company was Duluth-based Lakehead Pipeline.

By John Myers, Duluth News Tribune , August 09, 2010

Weather service: 7 tornadoes may have hit east ND and western Minn.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — The National Weather Service says as many as seven tornadoes may have touched down in southeast North Dakota and western Minnesota.

By AP wire report , August 09, 2010

West Nile scarce in S.D.

SIOUX FALLS — There’s plenty of water and plenty of mosquitoes, but surprisingly low evidence of the West Nile virus in South Dakota, apparently because the sometimes-deadly disease didn’t get a foothold in the bird population this summer.
Only four human West Nile infections have been reported. Trapping and testing have found no infected mosquito pools, although traps collect only a tiny percentage of the vector mosquito population available to transmit the disease among birds and from birds to humans.

By Wayne Ortman , August 09, 2010

Coming nights might be right for viewing northern lights, provided clouds cooperate

The coming couple nights might be right for viewing the aurora borealis, according to the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks.

By Herald Staff Report , August 04, 2010