-
Joe Biden to campaign in Duluth this Friday
Vice President Joe Biden will campaign for the Democratic ticket in Duluth this Friday, Oct. 28. Biden appears in Duluth to support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who leads Donald Trump for president in Minnesota but trails Trump here in the Northeast. Biden also will drum up support for U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8), locked in a tight…
-
Dancing horses for Nolan-Mills in MN-8
The race between U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) and Republican challenger Stewart Mills is already among the nation’s most expensive and closely watched Congressional races of 2016. Yet, most of the coverage has been tied to the speculation that the race was close two years ago and will probably be close again. Today, I argue…
-
Footprints of the giant Mesabi
Once, a few years ago, I was overcome with the urge to climb a roadside berm at an Iron Range taconite mine. I drove by this spot all the time, but couldn’t picture what was on the other side. So I did it. (Don’t try this at home kids). I scrambled up the side to…
-
The quarterlife crisis of the Information Age
Like most “kids these days” I keep my cell phone with me at all times. I post etherial tidbits to social media and turn to Google to find the lyrics to a song or the location of a restaurant. I’m writing this column in the “cloud.” Nevertheless, I’m conscious of the fact that I taught…
-
New airplane manufacturer on Oct. 17 IRRRB agenda
The Grand Rapids/Itasca County airport (GPZ) could become home to an airplane manufacturing company employing 20 professionals at first, with the potential of more jobs once production ramps up. On Oct. 17, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board will consider loans for ACC Manufacturing, a subsidiary of One Aviation, that seeks to make airplanes in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.…
-
Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize for Literature
Bob Dylan, born in Duluth and raised in the Mesabi Iron Range mining town of Hibbing, Minnesota, has won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature. Though Dylan made several short lists for the prize in recent years, few thought the most prestigious writing award in the world would go to an artist whose primary medium was songwriting. This…
-
Minnesota’s Haley Bonar does NPR ‘Tiny Desk’ concert
Minnesota’s own Haley Bonar performed an NPR “Tiny Desk” concert this month, which was shared this week on NPR’s website. The popular series features up-and-coming musicians playing 2-3 songs on or near the music desk at NPR’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. NPR’s Stephen Thompson previews Bonar’s induction into the pantheon of Tiny Desk participants: The first time…
-
Hibbing elementary school mulls future of gun range
In one of those “only on the Iron Range” headlines, today’s top banner on the Hibbing Daily Tribune reads “Lincoln Elementary gun range may close.” The story isn’t that there’s a gun range in an elementary school. It’s been there for 60 years, and other Range schools have gun ranges too. The story is that after all…
-
Candidates debate in northern MN
With only a month to go before the Nov. 8 general election, folks are finally tuning into their local elections after 18 months of hardcore bloviation about the U.S. presidential race. Here in Northern Minnesota, legislative, city council and school board forums will take place over the next few weeks. These are often the best way to learn about…
-
Sunny outlook for Northern Minnesota … too sunny
Who doesn’t love the sun? The sun lights the world, warms the atmosphere, and keeps Earth from hurtling into the cold vacuum of space. It’s neither the biggest star in the universe, nor the most interesting. The sun is just a working class star that keeps the gas burning 24/7. Sure, the sun can cause…
-
Magnetation to shut down operations
A U.S. bankruptcy court ruling today released AK Steel from its contract with Magnetation, effectively ending the Grand Rapids-based mining company. Efforts by Magnetation officials to find a buyer for the project before this outcome were unsuccessful. Business North reported this week that Magnetation’s chief prospective buyer walked away from the project. The company will now proceed with closing Plant…
-
Warming up to cold fury of ‘Viking Chant’
The Minnesota Vikings are 4-0, defying expectations after injuries knocked out their two biggest star players. Powered by a suffocating defense and a scrappy attitude, the purple and gold offer genuine hope to beleaguered Minnesota sports fans in 2016. This, even though our skittish kicker is a Chekov pistol waiting to fire, wide and to…
-
Chisholm has a clown problem
The local paper doesn’t issue “Breaking News” alerts very often. Mine closures, fires and meth busts, mostly. But on Wednesday night the Hibbing Daily Tribune issued a breaking news alert about a clown. What’s the big deal? Well, the video below, which originated from a tweet by William Butkovich, shows someone dressed as a clown throwing around a…
-
‘Makers’ in the STEM spotlight on the Iron Range
The Range Engineering Council will host its annual Iron Range STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Showcase this Friday, Oct. 7, at the Hibbing Memorial Building. Among the exhibitors will be Iron Range Makerspace, the new company seeking to create space for creative people to build and design things using sophisticated technology that few garage tinkers…
-
Newsweek: Trump favored foreign steel in his projects
In this week’s edition, Kurt Eichenwald writes about a Newsweek investigation of presidential candidate Donald Trump’s construction projects. The magazine found that Trump favored cheaper Chinese steel and aluminum in two of his three major recent projects. Trump, the candidate, has attracted support from many former Democratic strongholds across the Rust Belt, including here on…