Times-Register

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

As the temperature rose last weekend, Kevin Mathis was one of the few who mourned the loss of the snow. Its absence puts a damper on dog sledding, a pastime he’s enjoyed for the last two years.

Mathis said he’s always had an interest in dog sledding, but finally decided to give it a try when one of his sons became intrigued after watching a movie.

“It seemed like a challenge,” Mathis said. “I like the outdoors and adventure.”

So he went about procuring a sled and other equipment and, of course, dogs.

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

Marquette councilwoman Pam Brodie-Fitzgerald says the city’s board of adjustment (BOA) could have issued a variance to property owner Dave Evans in order to temporarily keep a mobile home on his property at the Timber Ridge subdivision while he finishes building a permanent home. That’s contrary to what Marquette city attorney Jim Garrett told BOA members, when he said they did not have the authority to do so, noted Brodie-Fitzgerald. 

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

Following the appointment of Larry Breuer as mayor and Steve Eagle to the council at Marquette’s Feb. 16 council meeting, a group of residents began circulating a petition to force an election to fill the vacancies.

“There are two years left [on the terms]. That’s a whole term for mayor,” noted resident Rinda Ferguson, who resigned last month after six years on the council. David Schneider also resigned as mayor at the end of January. “I strongly believe it should go to the citizens.”

Saving McGregor’s Sullivan Opera House an investment in the future

Submitted by the McGregor Historic Preservation Commission

The paint is chipped, its walls are cracked and it hasn’t been inhabited for nearly 20 years. But for historic preservationists looking over the old hardware store/opera house on Main Street in McGregor, the building has great economic and cultural potential. With the help of the community at large, saving, restoring and reusing the building could not only serve as a landmark of McGregor’s past, but also a key to its future.