Like a cookie from the jar, another year has disappeared with startling speed. As such, it’s time to compile some of my favorite and most popular writing from 2024.
We’re now well past the era when I blogged daily in hot pursuit of the elusive viral clickstorm. Like I mentioned last year, I’m no longer tracking hits with any kind of seriousness. I’m mostly just sharing my columns now, but I’m writing a lot more of them (more on that to come).
This site is here for me and you. Together, we share knowledge and perspective on northern Minnesota and the broader world. I’ll endeavor to keep it going. All I ask is that you visit time to time, subscribe to my e-mail list, and share material in your circles when you feel it would be appropriate.
Rather than just spewing some long list of headlines, I identified my five top regional news stories that I covered this year, each followed by columns that I wrote on the topic.
5) “A Complete Unknown” brings Timothée Chalamet, Dylan mystery back home
The year began and ended with Bob Dylan news. First, in January, actor Timothée Chalamet came to Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing to research his role in the Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.” (“Chalamet lights up Dylan’s old stage,” Mesabi Tribune, Feb. 3, 2024) By year’s end, we were watching the movie in a special preview screening at Mann’s Cinema 8. (‘A Complete Unknown’ in Dylan’s hometown,” Mesabi Tribune, Dec. 21, 2024). I recapped the experience in the Minnesota Star Tribune (“In Hibbing, Dylan biopic taps the unknowable,” Dec. 25, 2024).
4) New industries take hold
In 2024, two major non-mining industries took a step forward on the Iron Range.
I really enjoyed learning about the helium industry for an explainer essay in the Minnesota Reformer (“A fistful of helium,” May 29, 2024) and an update in the Mesabi Tribune (“Recent tests improve odds of big helium stake at Babbitt,” June 15, 2024). Helium won’t drive significant job growth, but local and state tax revenue would be generated and it could spur other kinds of development in manufacturing and specialty services.
Meantime, Heliene expanded its solar panel component manufacturing plant at Mt. Iron while announcing a second plant in the Twin Cities area in 2025. This expansion was the product of last year’s political climate, however. Things could change, as I explained in the Minnesota Reformer (“Solar industry shines on the Range; will politics throw shade,” Jan. 3, 2024). Later, in the Mesabi Tribune, I talked about how the solar industry’s massive expansion might be seen as part of a U.S. industrial policy. (“Solar winds of change in U.S. industrial policy,” April 13, 2024).
I summarized all of this with some spicy political commentary in the Minnesota Star Tribune at the end of the year. (“Reforming broken rural economies in greater Minnesota,” Dec. 15, 2024). The statewide column drew snark in the comments from some of the most powerful people in local politics. I remind that we can have nice things without slobbering over mining companies or running all the money through a small coterie of lobbyists first. Independence is a crucial asset when negotiating for a secure, self-determined future.
3) Mesabi Metallics springs back to life
As a resident of the western Mesabi Range, I understand the emotional roller coaster that people in and around Nashwauk have experienced over an iron mine and steel plant first proposed 20 years ago. Essar Steel seemed viable in 2015 but then went bankrupt. Successive owners rebranded as Mesabi Metallics but then fizzled out. These assembled failures exasperated local contractors, state regulators and local citizens alike. Added to the mix: a desire by Cleveland-Cliffs to use adjacent land to supply iron ore to Hibbing Taconite, which will soon need it to stay open.
Now, the Ruia family has emerged from Essar Steel’s bankruptcy with a reorganized Essar Group. They’ve regained the Mesabi Metallics plant and have resumed construction and mine planning in earnest. I was there in October, detailing what I saw and the project’s topsy-turvy history for the Minnesota Reformer. (“Good news on the Iron Range $2 billion Mesabi Metallics is finally happening, for real this time,” Oct. 14, 2024). Will it really happen? I think it could, but if it doesn’t it’s because of some high stakes corporate chess that comes up later in this list.
2) Republicans sweep Iron Range House seats
From 2016 to 2024, the DFL party was routed out of nearly all legislative seats across the Iron Range. That sentence would have surprised most people who follow Minnesota politics as late as 2014, which shows that sometimes change happens slowly and then all at once. I could see that these seats would become competitive, but I had no idea the DFL coalition would collapse so utterly. This didn’t happen in a vacuum. National political trends relating to demographics (like education level, vocation and economic status) grew so powerful and pervasive, thanks to new communication systems, that the uniqueness of the Iron Range folded like a cardboard chair. I could see this in “On the eve of the election, both campaign offices in this Minnesota town were dark” (Minnesota Star Tribune, Nov. 5, 2024).
A majority of this new generation of Iron Range voters are now so reflexively right-leaning that it’s hard to imagine them ever voting for Democrats. Similar things were said decades ago about Republicans, and nothing is permanent, but it will take some new catalyst for the DFL to rise again.
I talked about this in the Minnesota Star Tribune before the election (“When a blue district turns red, the dirt stays the same,” Oct. 27, 2024), and then broke down the results in the Mesabi Tribune afterward (“Rightward swing will impact Range projects, prospects,” Nov. 9, 2024).
1) Nippon Steel merger with U.S. Steel tangled up in politics
The year began abuzz with news that Japan’s Nippon Steel would purchase U.S. Steel. (“U.S. Steel sale a cause for concern, but also curiosity,” Mesabi Tribune, Jan. 24, 2024). But not long after the big announcement in late 2023, political and industrial forces pushed back hard. (“The steelworkers strike back; Cleveland-Cliffs stands to gain,” Minnesota Reformer, Feb. 6, 2024).
President Biden, former President Trump, and, later, Vice President Harris each expressed opposition to foreign ownership of U.S. Steel, ostensibly for national security reasons, but really more for symbolic political reasons. The United Steelworkers led the way, rebuffing any attempt to negotiate for their support of the merger. At first, it seemed no one would support the merger. But, a case was building.
Nippon offered huge financial commitments to invest in aging American steel infrastructure. This included updating old blast furnaces, but also building new green steel technology to compete with the world’s biggest companies. This new tech also promises to reduce carbon emissions from one of the world’s most polluting industries.
In other circles, fears of Cleveland-Cliffs scooping up U.S. Steel if the deal was blocked opened questions about “efficiencies,” which are called “redundancies” in corporate speak and “layoffs” on the Iron Range.
Finally, the state of geopolitics might make a close, unbreakable relationship with Japan useful in our nations’ shared rivalry with China. The piece I wrote for the Minnesota Reformer drew a lot of attention, including from Wall Street types (“Allies in alloys,” June 17, 2024).
By fall, it became clear that, “With merger on the ropes, the fate of U.S. Steel will shape the future of the Iron Range” (Minnesota Star Tribune, Sept. 24, 2024). There are so many factors riding on this deal, no matter how it turns out.
Hibbing Taconite, co-owned by Cliffs and U.S. Steel, needs ore. Keewatin Taconite (U.S. Steel) abuts Hibtac and just received an important upgrade for higher grade production. The state’s largest mine at Minntac (Also U.S. Steel) needs to develop higher grade material. The western Mesabi is brimming with available rich ore suitable for direct-reduced iron production (“The West rises on the Mesabi Range,” May 11, 2024), but is currently a scrambled puzzle of small scram operators and the aforementioned Mesabi Metallics (“Reclaimed ore, high prices spark mining scramble on western Mesabi Iron Range,” Minnesota Reformer, March 18, 2024). That mess can’t be sorted out until Cliffs and U.S. Steel work out their parallel problems in the Hibbing area. But right now, they’re duking it out in public and private.
If a new owner pours money into U.S. Steel, some of these local mines might benefit. If a new owner also owns other mines, however, consolidated production plants might be a way for a company to implement new technology while saving money. This could happen anyway. So could automated haul trucks and conveyance systems. Or even “green” steel production on the Range. Each outcome carries very different results — some good, some bad — for the people who live here and a political system now wholly subsumed by the mining industry.
As we begin 2025, I’ll be watching this issue closely. I expect to write another column any day as President Biden will spend his remaining days in office deciding whether to back Nippon’s bid, block it, or punt the works to President-elect Trump on Jan. 20. What Trump would do is anyone’s guess, but I’d bet on something chaotic or self-serving — which is another way of saying anything is possible.
The personal and professional
I just turned 45, which is a perfectly nice age. Not so young, but not too old. This is life’s main event, and we really felt it. I spent a lot more time interacting with the health care system to help my mother, now two years post-stroke. This system is at a breaking point (“Health care ‘implosion’ threatens Greater Minnesota,” Minnesota Reformer, July 3, 2024). These life changes also prompted “In the quick of time — a dispatch from the ‘sandwich generation,’” (Minnesota Star Tribune, Oct. 8, 2024).
Stress and weight gain sent me to the doctor for some heart tests, which I tried to make funny (“Heart du coeur del corazón,” Mesabi Tribune, May 18, 2024). If you liked that one, just wait until my colonoscopy later this winter.
My children are fledging. My oldest left for a four-year college this year after graduating from Minnesota North. This was more emotional than I expected it to be, and inspired one of my favorite columns this year (“Baby birds fly when they must; so do our children,” Mesabi Tribune, Sept. 7, 2024).
Our twins are seniors in high school, so my Rube Goldberg Machine of emotion will be chattering all year long. We celebrated these many milestones with a family vacation last August (“Yellowstone amazes with fire brimstone, bison and bears,” Mesabi Tribune, Aug. 24, 2024).
My grandfather is probably the last living person to work in the underground mines at all the iron ranges: Mesabi, Vermilion and Cuyuna. This spring he turned 90, which inspired a rare poem (“An ode to Pops,” Mesabi Tribune, May 4, 2024).
I might live a long time or maybe not. I think about death all the time, the nature of it. I cope through writing. (“Life exists within a thin candy shell,” Mesabi Tribune, Nov. 23, 2024).
Minnesota Star Tribune
Professionally, the biggest news this year was my new role as a contributing columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune. I’m one of a batch of writers working for their Strib Voices project. I write two columns a month on top of my local column and other writing work.
My column lineup opened with “Old family photo reveals how much has changed on the Iron Range,” (Aug. 18, 2024). Then, I talked about the importance of bus drivers (“Without more drivers, wheels on rural Minnesota school buses can’t go ‘round,’” Sept. 3, 2024) and local musicians (“The music scene is alive and well in rural Minnesota,” Nov. 27, 2024). I even waxed nostalgic a little over changes in hunting. (“Hunting licenses in Minnesota will soon go digital. I get it, and I hate it,” Nov. 8, 2024).
This fall was a tough transition to a much more aggressive writing schedule alongside some new and challenging duties at the college. Some forget that I’m a full time college instructor at Minnesota North College in Hibbing, where also I hold leadership roles.
By December, however, it was starting to click. I felt my “big city” columns becoming a little more authentic by the end of the year while I connected with a new audience. Next year might bring my best work yet. (Copy paste for next year).
Mesabi Tribune
Barring death or dismissal, June will mark 24 years of writing columns for the Mesabi Tribune and one of its predecessors, the Hibbing Daily Tribune.
If I was tracking clicks, I suspect “Skeptical Iron Rangers warm to electric vehicles in Ely,” (Mesabi Tribune, Feb. 10, 2024) would have come out on top.
This was one of the most interesting columns I wrote last year because of both the experience and the reaction. I had never operated an electric vehicle before we took a trip to Ely for a demonstration taking place during Ely Winter Fest. It was fun. I reported positives and negatives about driving EVs in Minnesota. But there was a huge backlash, especially on social media, with huge skepticism pouring in from mostly conservative commenters. So many laughy faces! Like the stars.
Most questioned things I addressed in the unread column. They came to tell me they would never change their mind, no matter what. It was the first sign of the political and media storm clouds gathering in 2024, one in retrospect I should have taken more seriously. Nevertheless, the column shares my experiences while most of the comments were misinformed and hyperbolic, despite their quantity.
I’m try to limit my bird columns, but still cranked out three of them. They range from the heavily bird-centric (“Only local birds,” Mesabi Tribune, April 6, 2024”) to the heartfelt milestone column about my son leaving for college I shared earlier. A social media commenter called, “The hope in counting birds at Christmastime,” (Mesabi Tribune, Dec. 21, 2024) the best thing they’ve ever read about birds or Christmas. So that was nice.
I learned that “Our housing crisis is a very, very fine mess,” (Mesabi Tribune, June 8, 2024), not that this was a surprise to most of you.
We said goodbye to Rick Nolan, who was a fixture on MinnesotaBrown.com during my most active blogging period. (“Change defined Rick Nolan’s scrappy political career,” Oct. 26, 2024).
Did I talk about local history? You bet. Some columns looked back at events 100 years ago for perspective. (“100 years later, still waiting on the Prince of Wales,” Oct. 12, 2024; “Counting on sheep to reduce carbon hoof print,” Aug. 17, 2024; “Clock ticking for Hibbing city hall restoration,” Aug. 31, 2024).
I also looked into more recent history (“The last days of the Republic,” June 29, 2024) and even the massive changes in the journalism industry since I entered into it (“Re-watching ‘The Paper’ in the smartphone era,” Sept. 21, 2024).
This one was weird, but fun. “The future is all thumbs,” Sept. 14, 2024
I shared the story of a true craftsman with a message about building things to last (“Quit craftsman builds things to last; so can we,” June 22, 2024).
We celebrated a state boys basketball championship at my alma mater of Cherry High School. (“When a small town wins big,” March 30, 2024).
In a pleasant surprise, Noah Hawley brought back “Fargo” for one of the show’s better seasons. In addition to this column (Western myths, morality mark latest season of ‘Fargo’“, Jan. 13, 2024), I reviewed every episode at The Fargo Page, where all five seasons are fully analyzed from a Minnesota perspective.
Despite the stress of 2024, I managed to have some new experiences, often with my family. (“For whom the skunk sprays,” Nov. 16, 2024; “Green clovers, blue ribbons and bright futures,” Aug. 3, 2024; “Monster trucks mash hapless wrecks,” Aug. 6, 2024; “Now batting …,” July 20, 2024).
I goofed around in honor of the Summer Games in Paris (“Welcome to the Iron Range Olympics,” July 27, 2024).
I gave some well-received lectures last summer, which I summarized in two columns: (“Hate and hope on the Iron Range,” July 6, 2024) and public education (“Replanting the seeds of public education,” July 13, 2024)
Minnesota Reformer
You’ve seen that a lot of my favorite pieces this year ran in the Minnesota Reformer. I hope to continue writing occasional pieces for the Reformer, but this will be the last year of me as a regular contributor for now.
Here’s a few of my favorite essays that weren’t mentioned earlier in the post.
“Paul Bunyan and the weight of myth,” April 9, 2024
“From coal gasification to robot space mining, small towns fall pray to PR promises,” May 1, 2024
“Democracy for sale or rent,” May 14, 2024
I wrote a two part series about Minnesota’s climate risks. Start with “Children of the slash pile” (July 25, 2024) and move to “As flames rise, true progress beckons” (Aug. 5, 2024).
And finally, the book
Yes, I know. “Power in the Wilderness” remains unfinished. For the reasons above, I’ve been busier than ever. One important thing did happen. My editor at the University of Minnesota Press and I turned the corner and are now knocking out chapter edits on a modest but steady pace. We think that in the year 2025 we will at least deliver a release date, if not the book itself. I am well beyond making promises, other than this one: when this is out, I will go hard. I have some really cool stuff planned for the release, including what I hope will be a wide ranging tour. I will cultivate special features for free subscribers, so consider climbing on that train now rather than later.
Thanks for reading! I have no particular confidence that 2025 will be easy, but I do know that we may find happiness in small things wherever we go. I wish that for you and me both.
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