ANNOUNCER: … in other news, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced its plan to block the advance of invasive Asian carp through the locks and dams of American rivers to the Great Lakes. The plan combines new lock engineering, complex noise, water jets, and electric barriers to turn back the carp. The scheme also… Read More →
Highway 53 bridge opening delayed
August 15, 2017 by 1 Comment
Though Bridge Daze celebrating the new Highway 53 bridge between Virginia and Eveleth will go on this week, motorists won’t cross the new tallest bridge in Minnesota until mid-September. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced that weather delayed their target opening date this week. Barring setbacks, officials hope to open the bridge to… Read More →
What’s in a name? Cleveland-Cliffs is back
August 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Cliffs Natural Resources is now Cleveland-Cliffs. That means that the grand old man of American iron mining now wears his old duds. Lourenco Goncalves , Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The historical name Cleveland-Cliffs is synonymous with our strong heritage, and is the perfect one for our next era of growth. As we did… Read More →
WWII anti-fascist film holds up disturbingly well
August 14, 2017 by 73 Comments
Like most folks, I’ve spent some time thinking about the flare up of white nationalist violence last weekend in the United States. For me, this is a disturbing continuation of trends we’ve seen in all corners of this country. Division, threats and death. What do I think? Why recreate what was so well articulated 74… Read More →
Fear itself: a backyard tragedy
August 13, 2017 by 5 Comments
During a storm last winter, a pine bough fell on the chain link fence in our backyard. The tree mangled the fence, but failed to knock it down. Bending it back together as best we could we figured we’d get to fixing the fence sometime next summer. Summer came, but the fence remained broken. Projects… Read More →
Nolan confirms re-election bid in MN’s swingin’ 8th
August 8, 2017 by 2 Comments
Ending weeks of parlor speculation, U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) told the St. Paul Pioneer Press last week that he will run for re-election in his Northern Minnesota swing district. That news had been implied, but not explicitly stated, when Nolan announced he wouldn’t run for governor earlier this summer. On one hand, Nolan feels… Read More →
Highway 53 bridge name contest down to final vote
August 7, 2017 by 4 Comments
Nearly complete, the Highways 53 and 135 rerouting project between the Mesabi Iron Range towns of Virginia, Eveleth and Gilbert will be Northern Minnesota’s largest, most expensive infrastructure project of our generation. The showpiece of the whole thing is a new Highway 53 bridge spanning the Rouchleau Pit outside Virginia. That bridge is almost done…. Read More →
Pinning hopes to billions we don’t have
August 6, 2017 by 14 Comments
Let us, for a moment, suspend the old debate about mining projects in Northern Minnesota. You know the one. Jobs vs. the Environment. “Twin Citiots don’t care about us” vs. “Dumb Rangers don’t know what’s good for them.” I’ve long argued this as a false choice. It distracts from the real problem in Northern Minnesota’s… Read More →
Iron Rangers say ‘porketta,’ Arby’s says ‘porchetta’
August 2, 2017 by 1 Comment
While language is probably the most important hallmark of a culture, food is a very close second. Everyone’s gotta eat, and what you eat tells a lot about where you live and which traditions you carry through the generations. Here on the Mesabi Iron Range in Northern Minnesota, a melting pot of cultures made a… Read More →
FURTHER NORTH: Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary
July 31, 2017 by Leave a Comment
“Further North” is an occasional series by Aaron J. Brown of MinnesotaBrown.com reviewing a travel destination or special place in Northern Minnesota. Today’s post is about the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary near Orr. You’d think the tour guides at the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary would be better prepared for bear puns. After all, this deep… Read More →
