Behold the news reports from Friday’s Essar Steel Minnesota groundbreaking near Nashwauk. I’ll update as I find more headlines. Here’s what I know: The Nashwauk Dairy Queen CHANGED ITS MARQUEE to say “Welcome Essar/MN Steel.” That NEVER happens. Now how will people know they are open “10 a.m. to 10 p.m.?” Doesn’t matter! In addition to Blizzards, we are making steel! (in about four years).
Duluth News Tribune: “Officials break ground on Minnesota’s first steel mill“
Actually, it’s the Iron Range’s first, but Duluth was the home of U.S. Steel’s mill for many years back in the red ore days. This Friday night story is largely based on Essar’s press release which was put out prior to the actual speeches on Friday early afternoon. Most of these stories seem to be influenced by that press release. My friend Tom Anzelc, state rep for this area, says it was a deeply emotional event for many there. That’s not getting across in these stories. (Disclosure: I am Tom Anzelc’s campaign chair).
WDIO TV (ABC): “Essar Steel Minnesota: New Name, New Beginning for Iron Range“
Northland News Center, Channels 3, 6 and 11 (NBC/CBS): “Essar Steel breaks ground on new Iron Range plant“
This one doesn’t have any attributed quotes, so you’ll have to watch the video to know who said what.
Business North: “Essar Steel breaks ground on slab mill for the Iron Range“
Today’s Range media should feature more of the local reaction. Stay tuned. I’ll update if there is more coverage. It will be interesting to see what the Hibbing, Grand Rapids and Virginia newspapers have to say about the event.
UPDATE: The Hibbing Daily Tribune and Mesabi Daily News both covered the event indepedently. Here are their stories from the Saturday morning editions:
Mike Jennings of the Tribune wrote this story, which focused on the narrative of the projects impact on young Iron Rangers, along with this sidebar about the regional impact (with some interesting nuggets).
Charles Ramsey of the MDN wrote a similar spot news story with a shorter sidebar that focused on the nitty gritty of the project.
Jennings puts the crowd at 800; Ramsey says 1,000. I wasn’t there, but knowing what I do about the site and the logistical information I have about the amount of chairs available, I still think the right number is about 500. On the Range, ghosts don’t vote, but apparently they do attend corporate groundbreaking ceremonies.
Ha! I’m kidding. Ghosts do vote here, big time.
The Times of India has a story about Essar’s move into Northern Minnesota.