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Solar winds of change in U.S. industrial policy
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. China invests untold billions into an industry before selling the product overseas at less than cost. That lets China capture global markets while driving competition out of business. You might think I’m talking about iron and steel, but today I’m talking about technology and renewable energy, fast-growing…
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De’myth’tifying Minnesota
A couple weeks ago I reviewed a new novel reframing the Paul Bunyan myth that still prevails in Minnesota tourism and culture. Today, I share a new essay for the Minnesota Reformer entitled “Paul Bunyan and the weight of myth.” This piece digs deeper into the Bunyan story and how it shaped the cultural perception…
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Only local birds
I live on a quiet little hill above a swamp at the end of a long dirt road in the woods. The nearest stoplight stands some 27 miles away. Out here, it’s easy to feel lonely. Or at least it seemed that way when we moved from town almost 20 years ago. Time, however, revealed…
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When a small town wins big
One of the best breaks I ever got was growing up in the tight-knit, hard-working community of Cherry, Minnesota. It’s not that Cherry is anything special to look at. The township is composed of scrub brush, trees and hayfields. The people work as miners, nurses and truck drivers — similar to a lot of folks…
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How to cover politics in northern Minnesota, and other quandaries
One of my life’s most interesting relationships has been with the word, “journalism.” I’ve always considered myself a journalist, even after leaving daily newspapers 21 years ago. But the nature of that relationship changed with time and trends. In college during the late 1990s, our journalism professor bemoaned “citizen journalism,” a reference to the idea…
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New book reimagines America’s folk history
What causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall? If you didn’t know, you might worry that these life-giving events could suddenly stop. That’s why many ancient myths formed, and why humans keep making myths in modern times. The amount we don’t know only grows as we open new realms of knowledge. Myths…
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Companies crowd to mine newly viable West Range iron ore
Last week, I met someone who knew my writing and he was shocked to see that I was “young.” I put “young” in quotation marks because it’s a relative term. I think in this case he was really saying that he was surprised that I wasn’t old, because he figured I would be. It’s true,…
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To build and rebuild
When I was young, I could spend a whole afternoon building a city of blocks, filling its streets with Matchbox cars. But if my mom asked me to spend one hour cleaning my room, I’d declare bankruptcy. I don’t have time for THAT! We like to build things, or have them built for us, but…
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What’s black and white and gray all over? New cars
Prince sang about a little red Corvette. Bruce Springsteen told of a pink Cadillac. It’s hard to picture a ’57 Chevy that isn’t that perfect shade of blue. Chances are, the car of your dreams rolls through your mind in living color. Nobody fantasizes about a white Toyota Camry, even though — statistically speaking —…
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New podcast: Meeting Mesabi
Discover the Range, the Iron Range tourism agency, recently launched a new podcast called “Meeting Mesabi. I appear on the second episode. We recorded last summer at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm. Host Ceasar Ortega, fellow guest Jordan Metsa and I talked about the fascinating history of the Iron Range and how it shaped…
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The tyranny of ordinary objects
Kids love balloons. Why not? They’re balls that float. I remember how helium balloons from the circus seemed like they could fly to the moon. The ones filled with dad’s cigarette smoke didn’t exactly float, but they were still fun. My parents bought us a whole bag of balloons once. I struggled to blow hard…
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Racing for solutions in rural EMS crisis
A financial crisis threatens rural emergency medical services across the country, especially right here in our own back yard. Increased attention to the issue in recent months has yet to improve the situation. But, at last, more leaders at every level of government are beginning to act. Their efforts will determine whether regions like ours…
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‘Crossing the Divide’ with big ideas
Every day we awaken to a choice. Will today be a day for hope, vision and big ideas? Or will we stick to what we usually do? Most of the time, we choose the latter. That’s OK. Often, we have work. Other days, we are tired and need a break. But if we go too…
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Skeptical Iron Rangers warm to electric vehicles in Ely
Last week, I drove an electric car for the first time. My review of the Tesla Model X can be summarized not in words, but rather as a sound: “eeeEEEAAAGH!” That’s the approximate noise my son Doug and I made after we accelerated from 0 to an undisclosed speed on the streets of Ely, Minnesota.…
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The Steelworkers strike back; Cleveland-Cliffs stands to gain
My latest essay for the Minnesota Reformer is out today: “Steelworkers strike back; Cleveland-Cliffs stands to gain.” I’ve already written a few pieces about the proposed merger of U.S. Steel and Nippon and given some interviews on local TV. In both cases, I surmised that Nippon would face flak in taking over the Steel Corporation,…