They Make House Calls
The name has a mechanical quality: Lake Superior Medical Equipment. But the truism applies: Best not judge a book by its cover. The LSME store in Grand Marais exudes warmth and friendliness, offered on the day of a recent visit by owner Laurie King and employees Jodell Nelson and Marcy Olsen. And the services they provide require intimate, hands-on and long-term involvement in the lives of clients. This is anything but a “mechanical” operation.

Pump House Fitness Center: Back In Black
From the outside, the Pump House Fitness Center might appear unchanged. It’s the same gas pump in front of the door, the same sign hanging on the wall. But inside, new owners Mark and Mary Black are working to adapt the center so it can better assist local residents in meeting their fitness, nutrition and wellness goals.

Whooping Cough Makes a Comeback
When six cases of pertussis, commonly called “whooping cough,” were reported in Cook County recently, it was a big deal, claiming a front-page spot in the News-Herald and significant coverage on WTIP. There was good reason for that: While pertussis can bring prolonged discomfort to adults, it can be very serious for infants, who are not yet immunized. And adults who contract the highly contagious disease can pass it on before they know they even have it.

Pay It Forward with Blood Donation
It might sound like a vampire-only profession, but Memorial Blood Centers (MBC), a Twin Cities based non-profit which organizes most blood drives in northern Minnesota, works year-round to take your blood.

A Crescent Moon rises in Grand Marais
Mona Abdel-Rahman loves needlework, but of a very special kind: Abdel-Rahman is an acupuncturist, and with her husband, Tom Fiero, she has just opened a new office in the lower level of the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. It’s called Crescent Moon Acupuncture, and it has been a long time coming.