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Breaking Broadband: progress in rural Minnesota
“If I were the hugging kind, I would hug you.” “OK, then.” I had clearly unnerved the surveyor on my township road, but I knew why he was there. He was mapping the route for new fiber optic cables near my home. You can see the little flags all over the Itasca County countryside.…
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What makes Minnesota alligators different?
Passers-by found a baby alligator along a bike train near Brainerd earlier this week. A reptile handler from a nearby wildlife center retrieved the creature, the aftermath of which you can see in this YouTube video: Authorities believe it was either someone’s pet that escaped or was released illegally. It’s safe to say that alligators will…
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The steel tariffs are working
The good news is that Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves is an avid reader of MinnesotaBrown.com. Apparently that is also the bad news. Tuesday, I received what I would describe as “corporate sass” from Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves after I asked a question at the public forum he and Gov. Mark Dayton held in Nashwauk Township. After the…
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Cliffs CEO promises iron clad future for Mesabi
Tuesday morning’s public forum with Gov. Mark Dayton and Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves sounded like a battle cry before a coming war. Though everyone hopes the war will be short and successful, many unknown factors lie ahead. The meeting’s primary announcement was stunning. Goncalves said that Cliffs is planning a major shift to direct-reduced iron (DRI)…
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Ruffian elk mobs held at bay, for now
When you drive around Minnesota, from the western prairies to the northern forests or southern farmland, you see scads of whitetail deer. They’re everywhere. And sure, they’re beautiful and all. We have that “Bambi” baggage from our childhoods, so we get excited to see them. But deer are plentiful. Even in the “down years” they are not hard…
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Cliffs CEO, Dayton to talk Essar on the Range
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves will come to the Iron Range on Tuesday, July 12. Their visit aims to showcase how a long suffering Iron Range mining project might find new life. Dayton and Goncalves will discuss the governor’s recent decision to cancel the mineral leases for Essar Steel Minnesota’s new iron…
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The future of the Iron Range is already here
“Where are all the young people?” Anyone involved in a graying committee, civic group, city board or arts organization has probably heard a comment like this. The words often come from someone who wouldn’t know what to do with a young person if they saw one, like the dog who caught the proverbial car. And…
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Cliffs seeks to buy Essar project, make value-added iron
Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration will not renew the mineral leases of the Essar Steel Minnesota project near Nashwauk. This comes to me from a source familiar with today’s private meeting between Essar Steel officials and the governor. Instead, Dayton will announce a deal between the state and Cliffs Natural Resources that would allow Cliffs to buy the…
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Clinton vs. Trump: a war within ourselves
It’s July 2016. Donald and Hillary are about to run the race of their lives. I’m referring, of course, to the two hogs who will sprint against each other this Sunday, July 10, as the main event in the Nevis Pig Races in north central Minnesota. It’s hard to say what motivates these cloven-hoofed animal athletes, but one…
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Essar mine project faces life or death moment
Essar Steel Minnesota may soon lose its mineral leases for its incomplete iron ore mine near Nashwauk, Minnesota. The beleaguered India-based company missed another deadline in repaying state grant money it received to build an innovative new steel mill, which Essar later scaled down to a traditional taconite processing plant. Losing the mineral leases would essentially…
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Politicians on parade
The marching band lined up along the avenue, belching snare taps and horn squawks. Retirees toddled back to lawn chairs left as markers along the parade route hours earlier, grandchildren in tow. The air hung heavy with the smell of fry bread and popcorn. Meanwhile, Congressman Dirk Fostle emerged from the back seat of a…
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Great Northern Radio Show is July 4 soundtrack
At 2 p.m. on Monday, July 4, Northern Community Radio will rebroadcast the most recent live episode of my Great Northern Radio Show. Let us provide the soundtrack to your holiday activities. Our June show was recorded in front of almost 600 people at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The show featured…
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Minnesota: charging toward greatness
Today is July 2, the actual birthday of the United States of America. (Ask John Adams about that. He abhorred that officials selected July 4, the date of the paperwork being filed, as the holiday). July 2 is also the anniversary of the charge of the First Minnesota Volunteers on the second day of the…
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Chisholm ‘movie studio’ boss arrested for fraud
A big time movie studio in the old Chisholm City Hall? A-list stars bellying up to the bar at Tom and Jerry’s? Sounds too good to be true. And it certainly was. Last year, Wayzata businessman Jerry Seppala, son of Iron Range expats, announced the opening of Ironbound Studios, a film studio that would occupy…
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The Potica Tour: Gov. Dayton to Croatia
Today, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is traveling on an economic, military, and diplomatic mission to Croatia, celebrating the ties between our state and this eastern European nation. “Our partnership with Croatia has produced tremendous benefits over the past twenty years, strengthening national security, enhancing economic ties, and growing civic relationships between Minnesota and Croatia,” said Dayton…