Outdoor shooting and archery range gets approval from Cook County Planning Commission

With the approval from the Cook County Planning Commission during the Dec. 13 meeting, Cook County moves closer to having a designated shooting and archery range.

Cook County is the sole Minnesota county without a recognized shooting range, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The request for a conditional use permit to establish a shooting range to operate an outdoor sports park, which will host a variety of shooting ranges, courses, and public and private events, is led by the Flintlock Range Association. The location of the proposed shooting range is on a county-owned 360-acre parcel located approximately nine miles up the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais on FS Road 304.

The Flintlock Range Association will enter into a lease agreement with the county to utilize the land. The initial term of the lease agreement is five years. The conditional use permit request and the lease terms still need approval from the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The commissioners will review the application during an upcoming meeting. In addition, the Flintlock Range Association will need to secure a road use permit with the U.S. Forest Service.

During the Dec. 13 meeting, Flintlock Range Association President Justin Rexrode said, “We believe that it’s time for the shooting sports enthusiasts and the outdoorsman to be able to have a place, an organized place to shoot for instruction for firearm safety, proper firearm handling, and to help with the abundance of shooting that goes on in gravel pits where oftentimes people don’t pick up after themselves.”

Within the conditional use permit application, the Flintlock Range Association proposed the shooting range will provide a training facility for law enforcement officials and an established location to host youth and volunteer firearm safety certifications. Currently, local law enforcement, including U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials, conduct required training in gravel pits or at the shooting range in Silver Bay.

The application included several letters of support, including Cook County Parks & Trails Commission Chair Randall Kundson, Minnesota DNR Conservation Officer Kylan Hill, Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen, Far North Tactical Owner/Instructor Jared Swader, and Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribal Chairman Robert Deschampe.

In a recent interview with WTIP, Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen said, “It’s been too long that we have not had a shooting range in Cook County.”

“For us law enforcement specifically, it would be great because we would have a place where we could do our training, which we’re mandated to do through the post board every year,” Eliasen said.

There were concerns expressed by a neighboring property owner, Mark and Randi Johnson of Harris, MN, about the proposal, particularly how the sound and potential noise of the shooting range will impact the owner’s property. Mark and Randi Johnson own 160 acres of undeveloped rural vacant property less than 1 mile from the proposed range. During the public comment period, Mark Johnson reiterated the concerns addressed within the conditional use permit application. Mark Johnson said portions of the property were purchased in 2020 and 2021 and intends to build a cabin or residence in the coming years.

The Flintlock Range Association conducted a sound study on the property and surrounding area in 2015 in collaboration with the Minnesota DNR. The sound study included three sites: the nearest private property, George Washington Pines parking lot, and Kimball Lake campground. Five different types of firearms were used in the study, each shooting three rounds. No site measured decibel levels over 40 dB of all the tests run. According to the dB level graph provided by Cook County officials in the application packet, 40 dB is an equivalent sound level to a refrigerator hum.

Following a handful of additional questions and discussions regarding lead mitigation, membership fees, access, and regulated shooting hours, the planning commission approved the conditional use permit. The recommendation will now head to the Cook County Commissioners for final approval.

Find the full Dec. 13 planning commission meeting here.

Kalli Hawkins December 14, 2023