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Good news for Duluth air base
Here’s part of a story from today’s Duluth News-Tribune. The Air National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing has been in limbo for awhile as the government decides whether it would be part of the military’s plans for future bases or put on the list of those that might close. It would appear that the Air Force…
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New Al Franken bio ad is pretty good
I normally don’t post political ads on the blog for commentary, but I have decided to break tradition in posting this new Al Franken ad which is set for statewide air time this week. I post it not because I am supporting Franken (which I am), but because I thought it was an exceptionally good…
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Somebody really hates bears
Do you remember the big controversy last month when the DNR announced it was going to shoot one-eared female bear named Solo and her two cubs because they were hibernating underneath a cabin near the Vermilion Range town of Tower? Right, well, after the media flurry the governor “pardoned” the bear, asking the DNR to…
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A cheap swipe by Range’s biggest paper
The attitude expressed in this Mesabi Daily News editorial shows much of what’s wrong with the political climate in my beloved Iron Range. Iron Range residents who realize we are in a battle for the very economic survival of the region don’t need to hear from elected officials that they need more details on several…
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Floods are bad, mmm-kay
I promise: Last bonding bill post for the week. I forgot to mention an item yesterday. The Canisteo Mine Pit is still perched like a big, wet mountain lion over the town of Bovey on the Western Mesabi Range. However, Gov. Pawlenty did not include mitigating the problem in the bonding bill. I spoke with…
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Boots on the ground
The Minnesota caucus campaign is on. I’ve gotten calls from representatives of the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns in recent days looking for caucus support and organizers. The Clinton camp had a local activist call me last week. Obama’s people had a field organizer call me tonight. For being only three weeks out of…
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Steel plant bonding bill update
If you don’t like reading about steel or bonding bills, sorry, today’s not your day. As expected, Range leaders came out today stating that Pawlenty’s amount proposed for the proposed Nashwauk steel mill was too low. What I didn’t realize earlier was that more than 2/3 of his proposal involves money from the 21st Century…
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Pawlenty releases 2008 bonding bill
Gov. Tim Pawlenty released his proposal for the 2008 bonding bill in the Minnesota State Legislature. (See MPR’s coverage). This is the plan he would like to see pass, though he will be working with a DFL House and Senate that will have different priorities for borrowing and spending. Two encouraging things for northern Minnesota:…
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Ah, the first day of spring…
It may not be the first day of spring outside, but as a college teacher it’s the first day of Spring Semester at the community college where I work. I always kind of like the first day back. It’s exciting. You meet new people. It’s a chance to fix things that went wrong last year…
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Rochester column honors the Range
Greg Sellnow is an accomplished columnist from the Rochester Post-Bulletin. He ranks among Minnesota’s best daily newspaper scribes. He wrote a nice piece about the Iron Range recently. Check it out. See, Minnesota. We’re not the crazy relative; we’re the eccentric, lovable relative. Greg Sellnow: Feeling at home on Da RangeRochester Post-BulletinHIBBING — You can…
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Baby, you can boot up my car
Nothing gets people thinking about the past or future better than a bland, even foreboding present. Possible economic recession? Yuck. Uncertainty in the presidential election? Nothing but ulcers for political junkies like me. And since the past involves “quantified research,” it’s so much easier to just envision the future. That’s what folks did last week…
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Another look at redistricting
I hate to talk about legislative and Congressional redistricting so early, but I caught an AP wire report today and see that there are three potential plans to change how Minnesota will draw its new districts after the 2010 census. It matters because Minnesota may lose one of its Congressional seats and the Iron Range…
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Brown on the Air: Movies
My essay for KAXE’s “Between You and Me” with Heidi Holtan tomorrow will be about movies. As usual this remains consistent with the call-in show’s topic for the week. Expect a lot of talk about people’s favorite movies and what movies mean in our society. You can hear the show from 10 a.m. to noon…
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46 coal plants stopped in ’07
I got an e-mail this week from someone detailing 46 different coal fired power plant proposals that were cancelled or shelved around the United States this year. One of them is Excelsior Energy’s $2.3 billion boondoggle Mesaba Energy Project. There will be no new coal fired power plants — even if they use “clean coal”…
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Big U.S. Steel story remains unconfirmed
Here is what the Duluth News-Tribune is reporting about that credible rumor I heard the other day regarding U.S. Steel’s operations on the Iron Range. Mum’s the word on high-level meetings at Minntac MineLee Bloomquist, Duluth News Tribune Several top-level U.S. Steel executives made a rare visit to Minntac Mine in Mountain Iron this week…