Dark sky friendly business awards debut in Grand Marais

Chuck Olsen | December 16, 2025

Cook County’s annual Dark Sky Festival returned in mid-December with presentations, exhibits and stargazing celebrations focused on preserving our region’s famously clear night skies.

New this year was the launch of the Dark Sky Friendly Business Awards, an initiative recognizing local businesses that have taken steps to reduce light pollution.

The awards were created by Visit Cook County and Starry Skies North, a nonprofit chapter of Dark Sky International that works to restore the nighttime environment, and to protect communities and wildlife from the harmful effects of light pollution through outreach, advocacy, and conservation.

The inaugural awards were held Dec. 13, 2025 at Johnson Heritage Post Gallery. Awards were given to Lake Superior Trading Post, Cook County Higher Education, North House Folk School, Grand Marais City Hall and Liquor Store, Roam & Whimsy, and Timber & Tide Cabins.

Bob King demonstrates light shielding

The awards ceremony followed a presentation on light pollution by writer and amateur astronomer Bob King, known as Astro Bob, who framed the issue as both cultural and practical.

“It goes back to primitive times of being afraid of the night,” King told the audience. “In our culture, many people react to add more light whenever possible. More is not necessarily better. Wise use of light is the best.”

King said unnecessary lighting not only obscures the night sky but wastes energy and money. “Light pollution is basically putting light where you don’t really want it or where it’s not needed,” he said.

Following King’s presentation, Starry Skies North board member Mark Morgen explained the criteria behind the new business awards.

“We’re here to award the Dark Sky Friendly Business Awards to businesses in Cook County that are compliant with our requirements,” Morgen said. “That includes shielded lighting, lighting that doesn’t trespass past their property, color temperature of 2700, which is kind of a warm yellow glow.”

Each award recipient received a certificate and a window decal identifying them as a dark sky friendly business, meant to benefit both businesses and customers.

Morgen said holding the awards during the Dark Sky Festival was intentional. “With Visit Cook County, Linda and I decided that it would be a good promotional thing for the businesses and for us,” he said. “We would like to make this an annual award ceremony so that as we accumulate dark sky friendly businesses throughout the year, we can have one time to recognize them and celebrate.”

Starry Skies North has also worked with the Grand Marais municipal campground to reduce nighttime lighting. Morgen said a new message has been added to reservation confirmation emails.

“Please be respectful of our community. We’d like to keep it as dark as possible,” the message reads, encouraging campers to keep lights pointed downward and use yellow lighting when possible. “That goes out to all the thousands of campers that we have every year,” Morgen said.

The effort, he said, has real benefits. “You can see the Milky Way from there,” he said.

Reducing light pollution also has broader impacts. “There’s the obvious health benefits for both us and wildlife,” Morgen said. “Bright lights can distract migrating birds from their paths. With that distraction, they can tire out and be injured and die.”

He also framed light pollution as a uniquely solvable problem. “It’s probably the only pollution that we have that when we get rid of it and clean it up, we don’t have to put it in a landfill,” Morgen said. “You just turn it off and it’s gone.”

Referencing night sky photographs by David Johnson on display in the gallery, Morgen said most people in Cook County are lucky to see the Milky Way and aurora right outside our doors.

“Boy, we want to keep it that way,” said Morgen.