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Friday, December 13, 2024
HomeEditorialThe Long Way Home

The Long Way Home

Today the Bohunk celebrates, in a decid­edly low-key fashion, the significant birth­day that makes us, for the next 49 weeks, the same age. For the most part, she has fared better than I and remains a dedicated watch­dog over all things at home, including our rather anemic finances.

Upon returning from the Devil Track Lake in Grand Marais last Sunday, where I’m hap­py to report I allowed no Spiny Waterfleas to leave the ramp, I found Becky on her laptop. “I’m ‘live chatting’ with Care Credit again,” she growled.

I’ve written about the apparent thievery by bank-owned credit card companies who regularly add extra fees, hoping that enough of us don’t notice and pay them, which just adds to their profits. The Bohunk, to my ev­erlasting satisfaction and delight, doesn’t miss these attempts at theft by the banking scoundrels. Thefts that are largely ignored by regulators and politicians who could put a stop to them.

In the current attempt, Care Credit charged us a finance charge, supposedly for new pur­chases. There were no new purchases. We have a balance with them in a ZERO interest promotion they did a bit ago. Zero interest means no finance charge.

After the Bohunk used the keyboard to express her frustration at the latest attempt to rob us, the “live chatter” at the bank re­moved the charge, with no effort to explain what they did or argue that we should pay it.

Synchrony Financial, a US bank with no brick-and-mortar banking operations, owns Care Credit. Synchrony is a major player in the private-label credit card industry, listing billions in assets and millions of customers.

It reported revenue of $21 billion last year, but it is hard to know what part of that turn­over was fraudulent fees. Its management was able to eke out $2.1 billion in profit, net in­come, or bottom line after paying bonuses and salaries—$2.1 billion with a B.

The $4.18 bogus finance charge they tried to slide by the Bohunk isn’t much money com­pared to $2.1 billion, but it sure wasn’t right. Imagine what part of the $2.1 billion Synchro­ny made in profit came from bogus charges that weren’t much money but paid by millions less diligent than my bride.

Since I’m revisiting previous topics, let’s take a look at “overtourism.” In May 2022, I wrote about discovering the word overtourism. Like all promising discoveries, this one happened when I was researching something else: the short-term vacation rental market. That col­umn, parked on my website, had over a thou­sand views—it is my number one post.

A friend of the Northshore Journal in Hov­land sent me a clipping from the daily Min­neapolis newspaper. It was a Washington Post story about residents of Barcelona, Spain, expressing their displeasure at out-of-control tourism. The article “Barcelona Soaks Tour­ists” describes disgruntled Spaniards armed with water pistols and carrying “Tourists Go Home” signs.

According to the Post, protesters were af­filiated with a group whose name translates to “Neighborhood Assembly For Tourism De­growth.” The group presented its manifesto, which contained 13 demands. The most inter­esting demand is “an end to tourism adver­tisements using public funds.”

Visit Cook County and Lovin Lake County, each use public funds to promote tourism in our region, with quite an effect.

I’m sad to report that I’m hearing from some business owners in Cook County that business is lagging this year. There’s still a long time left, and I hope they see things pick up before the leaves are off the trees. But a broad year-over-year decline demands atten­tion.

A rather anemic winter for skinny skiers, snowshoers, and snowmobilers didn’t help. BWCA closures from wind damage and flooding this Spring have resulted in canceled trips this summer. The rains may have also caused fishermen who would typically come to Cook County to travel to other waters.

Another factor for Cook County to consid­er is the success of tourism efforts in Lake County and the area around Duluth. Are peo­ple getting their North Shore experience with­out making the extra 100+ mile roundtrip to Grand Marais?

Where did I put my squirt gun?

Steve Fernlund
Steve Fernlund
Typically these “about me” pages include a list of academic achievements (I have none) and positions held (I have had many, but who really cares about those?) So, in the words of the late Admiral James Stockwell, “Who am I? Why am I here?” I’m well into my seventh decade on this blue planet we call home. I’m a pretty successful husband, father, and grandfather, at least in my humble opinion. My progeny may disagree. We have four children and five grandchildren. I spent most of my professional life in the freight business. At the tender age of 40, early retirement beckoned and we moved to Grand Marais. A year after we got here, we bought and operated the Cook County News Herald, a weekly newspaper in Grand Marais. A sharp learning curve for a dumb freight broker to become a newspaper editor and publisher. By 1999 the News Herald was an acquisition target for a rapidly consolidating media market. We sold our businesses and “retired” again, buying a winter retreat in Nevada. In the fall of 2016, we returned to Grand Marais and bought a house from old friends of ours on the ridge overlooking Lake Superior. They were able to move closer to family and their Mexico winter home. And we came home to what we say is our last house. I’m a strong believer in the value of local newspapers--both online and those you can wrap a fish in. I write a weekly column and a couple of feature stories for the Northshore Journal. I’m most interested in writing about the everyday lives of local people and reporting on issues of importance to them.
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