The GOP-controlled Senate committees on commerce and the environment will hold a 2 p.m. hearing today at Hibbing Community College to talk about jobs, the economy and environmental permitting, a hot topic in local politics these days. Heard a rumor Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) might be in town. Checking on that.

UPDATE: No Cravaack, but HUGE crowd assembled to watch hearing. This isn’t the only mining-related conversation on the Range, but it sure is the fanciest.