Photo: Melissa Turtinen, Bring Me The News

By Melissa Turtinen from Bring Me The News - June 17, 2021

The U.S. Coast Guard plans to close its North Superior Station in Grand Marais before next summer. 

Lt. Paul Rhynard, the regional spokesperson for the Coast Guard's Great Lakes Region, told Bring Me The News Thursday the plan is to consolidate the North Superior station with its Duluth station "sometime before the 2022 summer season."

The North Superior Station is a seasonal station with an area of responsibility that stretches from Taconite Harbor near Schroeder to the Canadian border, including Isle Royal. 

The station is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day and has averaged about one case per year over the past 10 years, Rhynard said. 

The station is staffed by crew members from the Duluth Station, who rotate in and out about once a week, with typically no more than four crew members in Grand Marais at one time, he added. The North Superior Station has a single small boat that's brought from Duluth at the beginning of the summer with the first crew rotation. 

This consolidation means the North Superior Station, which has a prime location on Artist Point on Grand Marais Harbor, could eventually be used by the local community.

Rhynard said in the short term, the property is going to be placed in caretaker status and they'll conduct an environmental assessment. 

To see more of this story, additional photos and read related articles, follow this link to the Bring Me The News website. https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/u-s-coast-guard-plans-to-close-its-grand-marais-station-by...