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Melissa Scaia to run for St. Louis Co. Board
Melissa Scaia of Chisholm, a well-known family advocate on the Iron Range, today announced she would run for the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners in the Seventh District. Scaia’s entrance into the race ensures a primary. Other candidates include Chisholm Mayor Mike Jugovich and county social worker and Hibbing School Board member Jeff Polcher. The…
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Red dirt, green ideas at Iron Range Earth Fest
Given the constant controversy about environmental issues that permeates Iron Range political thought, one might find it strange that the Iron Range Earth Fest is preparing its 8th annual offering this Saturday, April 23. But in truth the Iron Range is a perfect place to talk about the concept of sustainability. Without getting into the…
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Bemidjigamaag Powwow is Saturday
When the first-ever Bemidjimagaag Powwow was held last year at the Sandford Center arena in Bemidji, Minnesota, something powerful took place. In a community marked by past tensions between natives and whites, people from the three Ojibwe bands that border the city and those of non-native ancestry joined together for a shared powwow. Following up…
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Range revitalization: From words to action
Last week, hundreds gathered to share ideas for the future of Minnesota’s Iron Range. In an MPR forum (listen to it here), specific pitches for diversifying the region’s economy encouraged new action and featured new voices in this oft-beleaguered region I call home. I wrote about my take on the event’s core theme in last Sunday’s column…
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UWS student newspaper flap brings back memories
Last Saturday, the Duluth News Tribune ran a story about perceived outrage over a recent edition of the University of Wisconsin-Superior campus newspaper, recently renamed the Promethean from its previous name, the Stinger. It was an April Fool’s Edition in which the paper renamed itself the “Pessimist” and printed made up stories. The story brought…
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Essar faces spring crucible
Essar Steel has been in the news plenty these days. The stories can all run together, so let’s combine the things we’ve learned recently to form a clearer picture. In a nutshell, I think Essar is headed for a sale. Perhaps a partial sale, but a major new investor is likely necessary for this new Iron Range…
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‘If you want to predict the future, listen to the future’
Last week, students delivered informative speeches in my class at Hibbing Community College. One student spoke of the generational divide in how we communicate. He referred to Generation X, those of us born between 1965 and 1985, and said, “You know, like our parents.” Now, Gen Xers have been parents for some time. I’m 36.…
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The chilling effect of IRRRB board structure
Even as multitudes turn their eyes toward economic diversification on the Iron Range this week, today we confront with one of the biggest barriers to breaking unsuccessful economic patterns here: a parochial establishment seemingly unable to handle dissent. The Duluth News Tribune and others reported on Tuesday’s Cook County board meeting. At that meeting, County Commissioner Frank Moe proposed a resolution offering…
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Thomas X empowers with new rap on native issues
Red Lake rapper Thomas X is out with a new single and a powerful new video combining his unique hip-hop sound with the traditions of Northern Minnesota’s Annishinabe people. Here’s Rezolution, the latest single from Thomas X: Thomas X was a guest on last year’s Bemidji edition of my Great Northern Radio Show after his previous album “Have a Good…
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Highway 53 bridge progress seen from the air
The Highway 53 bridge project between Eveleth and Virginia, Minnesota, continues to develop at a fast pace. Sure, the mine that required the major state highway to be rerouted, United Taconite, is still idled. And yes, this project involves snaking a new road around a man-made mountain, constructing the state’s tallest bridge across a mine pit,…
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World’s largest coal company goes bankrupt
Today Peabody Energy filed for bankruptcy. Peabody is the largest privately-held coal mining company in the world. It has long been a titan of America’s Appalachian mining region. Reports indicate the company owes creditors more than $10 billion and holds only slightly less than $11 billion in assets. Peabody lost $2 billion just last year alone. It’s…
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It’s Iron Range week for state media
Looks like I picked a good week to take a few days off from the blog. State media are giving us plenty of Iron Range reading material. Today, of course, Minnesota Public Radio will hold its “Minnesota’s Iron Range: Ideas for the Future” forum at Hibbing Community College. The forum will take place from 6-8 p.m. in…
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Ideas at heart of MPR Iron Range forum
Every society has its elite. That might not seem possible here on the Iron Range, where ore dust still clings to old company houses and Mich Golden Light cans dot the ditches like poor man’s glitter. But even the Iron Range has its elite: the professional meeting-attenders, money-handlers and vote-collectors. They aren’t all bad people.…
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Radio Magic: Reina del Cid and me as a Centaur
This Saturday, April 9, I’ll be bringing my Great Northern Radio Show to Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. I previewed the show late last week here at the blog. Today (Friday), I leave my familiar environs here on the Iron Range, escaping to Minnesota’s Central Lakes region where one finds Pequot Lakes along Highway 371. We’ve got a full 36 hours of…
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St. Louis County may allow ATVs on roads
St. Louis County commissioners may allow All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) to be operated on county roads with few restrictions as soon as May 24. John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune reported on the county plan to lift a ban on ATVs on county roads earlier this week. A majority of commissioners appear to support the idea.…