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The universal solution to poverty?
It comes down to whether you think we can solve problems at all. Will we succumb to the psychological ease of hoping our political “side” gains permanent power, an outcome that assures corruption and stagnation? Or are we willing to lend our support to new ideas? Will we patiently experiment, replacing ideas that don’t work…
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Why we need work, not just ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’
Last November, President Trump polled well in the once-venerated Democratic stronghold of the Mesabi Iron Range. I pin this to the issue of “jobs.” Specifically, I credit the fundamental belief baked into our culture that those who work for pay are superior to those who don’t or can’t. People here have lost jobs, or fear…
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The cold comfort of adulthood
Everything is easy until you open the door. That’s true of life, but especially winter in Northern Minnesota. After Christmas, winter becomes an extended stay in a Residence Inn. We already know what keeps in the hotel fridge, how long to microwave the popcorn, the cost of every item in the vending machine. Our only enemy…
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The necessary drama of transition
As divisive as these times may be, at least Donald Trump won’t be sneaking into Washington, D.C., on a midnight train like Abraham Lincoln. After the election of 1860 Lincoln became the most anti-slavery president since John Quincy Adams a generation earlier. Six slave states immediately seceded from the Union, while others threatened to join…
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Building faith in free people
As 2016 rolled to a close, the musician George Michael died — one of many celebrity deaths that turned social media into a sea of crocodile tears. I wasn’t particularly connected to Michael or his music, but I grew up in the generation that watched his butt wiggle on TV as he sang “gotta’ have…
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Oracle of Sax-Zim Bog warns of 2017 dangers
The beaver wears a pinstriped suit. That’s how I know things have changed in the swamp. This year’s visit to the Oracle of the Sax-Zim Bog will be unlike any before. Until now, my New Year’s journey to the Oracle had wound through the frozen marsh like the familiar bends of Stony Creek. The Oracle’s…
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On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas
Hail, hail Christmas morning! The family gathers around the tree to behold the fruits of Santa Claus’s labor. The stockings spew forth troves of sugar and plenty. The spirit of giving crescendos as we exchange gifts selected with care, or that were perhaps on sale. RIP RIP WOW RIP RIP AHHHH RIP RIP THANK YOU!…
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Evergreen with envy
Even in the distant North Woods of Minnesota you can’t avoid our long cultural obsession with “the holidays.” By now, those of you who celebrate have likely put up your Christmas trees. The Noel tradition of decorating an evergreen tree inside the home dates backs centuries, even before Christianity itself. To discuss this tradition, today…
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Trusting the wolves, hastening our fate
May 25, 2000: The morning after LTV Steel announced it would close its Hoyt Lakes taconite plant, miners lined up outside the Workforce Center in Virginia, Minnesota. Each wanted to be first to submit a job application to another mine on the Mesabi Iron Range, none of which were hiring. Though employed to monitor youth…
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The nation’s rural reckoning of 2016
When the founders crafted our Constitution more than two centuries ago, they enshrined the rural agrarian roots of the United States. Country gentlemen trusted city folk about as much then as they do now, and for largely the same reason: power. For who would rule this nation? The farmers and loggers of the country, or…
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Flawed Obamacare bridge to better system
When President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, supporters celebrated the first major victory in a century of fruitless struggle to create a universal health care system in the United States of America. For liberals, the ACA was a triumph over what had seemed an impossible political barrier. To conservatives, “Obamacare” represented a…
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How to be right for the holidays
Across America divided politics rule our lives like no time in recent memory. We comb social media and cable news for evidence supporting our cause. Strong opinions stake out the limits of friendships and family ties. With Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, gathering loved ones may share views you find abhorrent. But don’t worry. You’re right…
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How to unite a divided Iron Range
For the first time since Herbert Hoover in 1928, a Republican presidential candidate won the Iron Range city of Hibbing. Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by seven votes in a town that typically boasts a 30-point advantage for Democrats. In 2004, before targeted campaigns were in vogue, Democrats urged a citywide Election Day door knock…
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In America today, who speaks for the many?
Human history traces one simple question, “Who speaks for the many?” Centuries show examples of brute leaders, disjointed committees and fragile democracies. Populist gadflies become heroes or villains. Hungry people rise to greatness, then fade into the mist. On the Mesabi Iron Range, the smart and powerful bought the land, but the workers paid the…
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Baseball’s Halloween fright: end of the world is nigh
This time of year brings many attempts to frighten the innocents. And no, I’m not talking about the election. I’m not even talking about creepy clowns (to the degree there is a difference). No, it’s Halloween — All Hallow’s Eve, a holiday dedicated to the ghoulish exorcism of October, the month mystics have long tied…