Grand Marais transfer station construction makes rapid progress

With winter right around the corner, two major county projects are well underway. Earthwork on the Law Enforcement Center addition began earlier in the fall, and the official groundbreaking happened a few weeks ago. The other project, the construction of a new transfer station in Grand Marais, had an extensive site work phase over the summer, and construction began in the fall.

The larger transfer station project includes the construction of a Hovland transfer station, completed earlier this year, and future work on the existing Tofte transfer station. The work happening now focuses on the Grand Marais transfer station.

At the Nov. 12 Board of Commissioner meeting, Administrator Kristen Trebil-Halbersma gave an update, saying that the assembly of the precast concrete walls was going smoothly aside from one damaged panel. She added, however, that a replacement panel arrived quickly and the project is still on track. “That’s been fun to see,” Trebil-Halbersma said about the quick construction. “Everything is going really well with the projects.”

While the county is building the transfer station, they have a contract with North Shore Waste (NSW) for the operation of the current transfer stations in Tofte and Hovland, and the future Grand Marais transfer station. Dustin Hanson co-owns NSW, and told WTIP that this marks about the halfway point for the construction phase of the new station.

“Our completion date is expected sometime in May; we really want to have this completed prior to getting into full swing of tourism season,” Hanson said.

The transfer station project began as a NSW project, but has shifted into a joint effort with the county.

“The working relationship between Cook County and NSW has been going great,” Hanson said. “I am on site daily, naturally, just being across the street. Brook has been working closely with the project and meeting with Johnson Wilson and I regularly. Kristen has been communicating with both Brook and I to ensure the project continues to move along and meets the goal of the overall scope of the project.”

Hanson also told WTIP that his involvement in the project has extended into taking over some contracting tasks from Johnson Wilson Constructors, who are in charge of the build. He explained that for specific items like installing a septic system, having a well drilled, and ordering some large equipment, it made the most sense to hire local companies, instead of instructing subcontractors to find an additional company to do the work.

Taking on those tasks will also help save the county money on the nearly $8 million project. Hanson said, “This will save the overall project 4% construction management fee on these items. Every little bit helps!”

Kirsten Wisniewski November 16, 2025