EDA selects 2025 officers and hires SVN Northco to facilitate sale of golf course

The Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) will begin in 2025 with a new board president and commissioner.

During the Jan. 21 meeting, the EDA Board held its annual organizational meeting to elect 2025 officers, designate committee assignments, and set meeting dates. The EDA Board elected Commissioner Peter Clissold as the new board president for 2025. The former EDA President, Steve Surbaugh, finished his board term on Dec. 31, 2024.

The EDA re-elected Howard Hedstrom as vice president and Mark Shackleton as treasurer.

A new EDA Commissioner, Siri Anderson was also welcomed to the board during the meeting. Anderson has served as an associate professor at Bemidji State University and is the owner of Sail the North Shore.

After months of discussion about how to move forward with the sale of the Superior National Golf Course, the EDA Board unanimously approved a resolution to draft an agreement for professional services with SVN Northco, a full-service commercial real estate firm based in Minneapolis, Minn., to facilitate the sale of the golf course. SVN Northco was one of four commercial real-estate firms the EDA Board reviewed following a request for proposals (RFPs) in December 2024.

During the meeting, EDA Executive Director Heidi Krampitz said, “I thought it was amazing to get a response from four different firms.”

Clissold, who was part of the committee reviewing the RFPs said SVN Northco far outscored the other proposals from real estate firms.

With the approval of drafting an agreement with SVN Northco, Clissold suggested the EDA Board work on identifying stipulations to include in the golf course sale. Potential stipulations discussed during the meeting included that the property must remain a public golf course for a certain number of years, offering a first right of refusal to the Nelson family, among others.

The EDA Board will review the draft agreement during the Feb. 18 meeting.

In addition to approving the drafting of an agreement with SVN Northco, the EDA Board also approved an agreement for professional services with Mike Larson to act as liaison for the golf course sale. Larson, who is providing oversight of the golf course’s daily operations, will also work with SVN Northco throughout the sale process.

An official market value of Superior National Golf Course is still to be determined. During the meeting, Clissold briefly discussed the evaluation method and how golf course revenues factor into the criteria.

Clissold said the purpose of hiring a commercial real estate firm to facilitate the golf course sale is to protect the EDA and alleviate golf course responsibilities from the EDA Director. “We’re doing this with the express purpose of protecting the EDA and the EDA’s activity. Especially Heidi, to be focused on economic development and not get as has been in the past sucked into the golf course. Especially this year during the sale.”

In other EDA meeting news, the EDA Board approved an agreement with Redpath and Company, LLC to conduct 2024 audit services. The EDA Board also approved employment agreements for Heath Ekstrom, Aaron Davies, Garrett Eckmann, Dane Scheffler, and Andy Coronis for services at Superior National Golf Course in 2025.

Kalli Hawkins January 23, 2025