Tuesday Group

Our Tuesday Group presentation on June 9, 2026 featured Jess Edberg discussing History Happy Hour and the Dorothy Molter Museum. It may seem like the work being done at the Dorothy Molter Museum is pretty straightforward but behind the scenes there are a variety of programs, initiatives, partnerships and collaborations that might come as a surprise to many and that's not even including the commercial root beer part of the organization. The Museum's vision of inspiring the next generation of Northwoods stewards to make a significant contribution toward a better world through the lens of Dorothy's remarkable life is getting closer through unique and sometimes unexpected initiatives, including History Happy Hour. Jess Edberg is the Executive Director of the Dorothy Molter Museum, a board member for the MN-Alliance for Heritage Response, MN Alliance of Local History Museums and St. Louis County Historical Society, as well as a member of the Ely Cultural Alliance and the Ely for Ely Steering Committee. Through her work she also creates and hosts the popular History Happy Hour program monthly October-May at the Boathouse Brewpub. Jess also plays on the local women’s hockey team Chix with Stix, takes advantage of the amazing regional natural resources with her spouse and two labs, volunteers for the International Wolf Center and travels when she can.

Our Tuesday Group presentation on June 16, 2026 featured Amy Yoelin, speaking on the Minnesota DNR grant programs. While I am originally from Colorado, I consider Minnesota my home. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, studying Geology and English, I went to the BWCAW for the first time and fell in love with this state. For the past year and a half, I have been working at the DNR in the Fish and Wildlife section, administering the Conservation Partners Legacy program. Prior to this role, I was at Save the Boundary Waters, Great River Greening, and other community-based non-profits. When I am not working, I try to get outside as often as I can and enjoy finding new restaurants across the Metro.

Our Tuesday Group presentation on July 21, 2026 featured Dr. Bill Rom speaking about his new memoir, Adventure is in His DNA. One of the most exciting times in medical research was at NYU/Bellevue with breakthroughs on tuberculosis, AIDS, lung cancer, environmental lung disease, inflammation, and cytokines. Upon arriving at NYU/Bellevue in 1989, Dr. William N. Rom recruited a research team that deciphered how cytokines are activated, elucidated how TB activates HIV replication, and determined how aldehydes in cigarette smoke cause lung cancer. He later studied toxic dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center and the effects on medical centers from the tidal surge of Hurricane Sandy, a sentinel event of climate change. In Adventure Is in His DNA: Exploring the Boundary Waters, Skiing, and Academic Medicine, Rom retraces his career as a physician-scientist, from founding the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Utah to working as a senior investigator at the Pulmonary Branch/National Institutes of Health and finally to NYU/Bellevue, where he was director of the NYU Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine; chief of the Bellevue Chest Service for twenty-five years; and program director of the NYU General Clinical Research Center for sixteen years. In addition to his medical career, Rom has spent a lifetime pursuing outdoor adventures across the globe. From his beginnings as a wilderness canoe guide in the Boundary Waters and Quetico Provincial Park, where he paddled practically all the lakes, he went on to conquer major rivers across North America and has summited some of the world's highest peaks, including Denali and Mount Doonerak in Alaska, Switzerland's Monte Rosa, and Kilimanjaro. The excitement he experienced on these expeditions led him to join the first team of Westerners to climb Geladaindong Peak, the source of the Yangtze River in Tibet, and, later, to follow in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton, crossing the Allardyce Range of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. Recent exploits have included a decade of ski racing in Aspen, as well as commissioning a life-size bronze sculpture of the canoeing voyageurs as a way to give back to his hometown, Ely, Minnesota.

Our Tuesday Group presentation on July 21, 2026 was our quarterly Meet New Elyites presentation. We hear from new members of the community about their journey to Ely and their hobbies and interests.

Our Tuesday Group presentation on August 4, 2026 featured Kathryn Hoffman from MCEA discussing Data Centers in Minnesota. If just 10 of the more than 20 proposed data centers proposed in Minnesota were built, they would consume as much energy as all the homes in the state. That kind of spike could leave utilities scrambling to meet the demand, potentially leading to delayed coal plant retirements or the construction of new fossil fuel plants. The potential strain on water is also alarming, not to mention the implications for metal demand in the state. With so much at stake, robust environmental review of these proposals in accordance with Minnesota’s bedrock laws is critical. Instead, we’ve witnessed project proposers try to short-circuit that process. MCEA’s Executive Officer, Kathryn Hoffman, will discuss the environmental risks posed by underregulated hyperscale data centers in Minnesota, as well as the legal strategy her organization is pursuing to ensure Minnesotans and our natural resources are protected. Kathryn Hoffman is the Executive Officer of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), a St. Paul and Duluth-based environmental law nonprofit that uses the law and science to protect Minnesota’s environment and defend the health of its people. Kathryn joined MCEA as a staff attorney in 2010 before becoming EO in 2017. The organization works on a wide variety of environmental issues, including water and air pollution, sulfide mining, climate change, and environmental justice. MCEA has also been leading the legal response to the environmental risks posed by hyperscale data centers in Minnesota. It’s filed several lawsuits challenging the inadequate environmental review conducted on proposals, including the hyperscale data center under consideration in Hermantown. Kathryn graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2006 magna cum laude and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Humphrey Institute at the same time.

Our Tuesday Group presentation on July 7, 2026 featured Trina Swanson. Trina Swanson is running for Congress in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. She recently retired from a 25-year career as a public servant with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services and became a founding partner of JET Global Solutions, LLP. Swanson held critical leadership positions with the federal government in Minnesota, Germany, Kenya, and Washington, D.C. However, her heart never left Minnesota. She grew up in Hermantown and attended college at the University of St. Thomas and law school at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, both in Saint Paul. Swanson is running to ensure affordable and accessible healthcare for all, while fighting for universal healthcare, and an economy that allows folks to comfortably support their families, afford groceries, and help their kids reach their goals, whether that means attending a trade school, a university, or following another path. It is time to put community before politics and elect a representative who isn’t afraid of holding an in-person town hall and engaging with both sides of the aisle. Swanson will be the representative who advocates for our community, rather than voting with blind loyalty to a party or president.

Our Tuesday Group presentation Tuesday, June 2,2026 featured Ian Francis Lah and the Cast of Broadway in the Boundary Waters, who will share a presentation introducing Ely to the visiting actors this summer. Join us as we kick off the 2026 Broadway in the Boundary Waters season with a special introduction to this summer’s company of artists from across the country and right here in our community. We shared a preview of the upcoming season, introduce the cast, and perform a musical number from this summer’s production (Oklahoma). It’s a chance to meet the artists bringing this season to life and get an early look at what’s coming to the stage in Ely this summer. The mission of the Northern Lakes Arts Association is to support and develop the visual, performing, and literary arts to enrich the quality of life in Ely and the surrounding area.

Our Tuesday Group presentation on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 featured Chris Baldwin, Andy Baldwin, and Mike Maleska, who will share a presentation called Views R Mine. There is an urgent need to develop a public will for protecting public health in Northeastern Minnesota by delivering factual mining pollution information to as many residents living here as possible. Widespread misinformation has confused the public regarding the issue of sulfate and mercury pollution caused by taconite mining. Mining companies seek freedom from environmental regulation. Economic fears grip the mining community and elections are grossly affected by politicians afraid to take a stand for the environment. Recent legislative action has removed our Citizens Advisory Council within the MPCA.