Back when I was editor of the erstwhile Hibbing Daily Tribune, the most passionate phone calls came after printing errors on the daily crossword puzzle. At the time I compared these angry puzzlers to junkies. I rationalized our error by telling myself that perhaps these lost souls needed a wake-up call just like this to… Read More →
It’s supply and demand, not dystopia
September 12, 2021 by 1 Comment
These days some of us fall too easily into patterns of dystopian thinking. Hurry up and get to the end of the world! Maybe it will be better that way! Every day I hear from someone who tells me that they’re glad they’ll be dead before the worst of it. It’s kind of a downer. … Read More →
Ancient crocodile needs our support
September 5, 2021 by 1 Comment
A local fossil needs your support. No, I’m not talking about an Iron Range politician. I’m referring to an ancient crocodile. This particular crocodile died in the muck near modern day Calumet, Minnesota, about 90 million years ago. You might think that it’s far too late to help this erstwhile reptile, but you’d be… Read More →
Technology draws new atlas for our future
August 29, 2021 by 4 Comments
Want to blow your mind? Look at the evolutionary history of whales. Whales are mammals, not fish. As such their ancestors were land animals, specifically the Pakicetus. Pakicetus was a sort of water-loving goat- or dog-looking critter that hunted alongside lakes and rivers about 50 million years ago. It had massive jaws and was probably… Read More →
The real value of a college education
August 22, 2021 by 5 Comments
Contrary to what you might think, personal growth doesn’t occur inside your head. It happens when you get outside your head. There comes a moment when a child thinks of another before he or she thinks of themselves. A teenager makes a sacrifice for the good of others. An adult realizes that their behaviors and… Read More →
Most dangerous migrants are the ones leaving our communities
August 15, 2021 by 4 Comments
In 2010 I wrote an article entitled “Wanted: Young People.” It was about the 2010 U.S. Census and what it could tell us about the towns and counties of northeastern Minnesota. Ten years ago, data showed that our economic problems stemmed from a lack of people to support existing business and community institutions. It wasn’t… Read More →
The view from inside the meme
August 8, 2021 by 3 Comments
It all started innocently enough. Last Monday I was sitting in my comfy chair watching the Olympics on the CBC. That’s the Canadian TV channel available to many of us here in northern Minnesota. I watched Canadian swimmer Maggie Mac Neil win Gold in the 100 meter butterfly. She didn’t realize she won because she… Read More →
No parallel for Olympic excellence
August 1, 2021 by 4 Comments
The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo unfold unlike any held before. Delayed until 2021 by the COVID-19 pandemic, new variants of the virus surge across the globe. Thus, thousands of athletes from around the world compete in front of mostly empty stands. It must seem deflating to work tirelessly for a young lifetime to achieve… Read More →
Preparing for life, not war, in challenging future
July 25, 2021 by 1 Comment
The wooden chipmunk statue in front of the Wa-Ga-Tha-Ka Resort stands as one of the defining landmarks along the Wabana Road in rural Itasca County. It’s been there for decades. But in recent years this whimsical woodland creature has quietly and quite unintentionally become a harbinger for the climate future of northern Minnesota. Each spring,… Read More →
Return of the company town
July 18, 2021 by 7 Comments
A typical early 20th Century Iron Range miner worked long hours before retiring to a home and bed owned by his employer. He returned his wages to the company in exchange for just enough food, clothing and tools to survive. If the miner had a wife she possessed even fewer choices. Her very survival, and… Read More →
