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On humans, machines and crows
I imagine that the animal world looks at we humans much the same way that we look at crows. We are not exactly beautiful, except to each other and especially ourselves. We are crafty, like crows; exploiting intelligence for what any other animal would call an unfair advantage (if those other stupid animals were smart…
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The Old Fish and the Lake
Last month a Minnesota angler pulled a 52-pound lake trout through a 10-inch hole in the ice on Lac La Croix near Crane Lake. Because the fisherman was 100 feet over the Canadian border, he ran afoul of Ontario’s catch limits. His fish, likely a world record holder, was confiscated. Despite crushing the previous record…
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Winter wanes and what’s been done
No sense talking about weather. You know what’s been done. Another winter in northern Minnesota just passed, technically. The equinox came and went. We’re tilting toward the sun, into the warmth. Sure, the air is still cold. Sure, the wind still blows. Sure, we’re encased in ice. Still. For some time, too. Sure, all of…
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My place in the woods
I’ve talked to city people who have a hard time falling asleep without the ambient noise of traffic or the hum of industry. And I know country people who say the same thing about the sounds of nature or wind through the trees. It’s a misconception that the woods are quieter than the city. True,…
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Gathering crisis; hopeful challenge
I’m not sure how many of my birthdays I spent at Zimmy’s in downtown Hibbing, Minnesota; but I know my 21st was on the list, and so was my 30th, and several other random numbers I’ve since forgotten. I do know I’ve spent 13 Dylan Days — all of them — at Zimmy’s. I’ve given…
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WWII mystery over the skies of northern Minnesota
“I believe submarines Underneath deep blue seas Saw the flags: Japanese No one will believe me” ~ “Submarines,” by The Lumineers In 2014, history seems buried six feet under the bookshelves. Grandparents know a little more, doling out dusty recollections over the meat and potatoes of family gatherings. If there was a sculpture struck, a…
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Best picture of 2014?
KENT: Action! This is Kent Winsington with Movie Time Reviews. Joining me today is Aaron Brown. AARON BROWN: Hey, everyone. I like movies. KENT: Of course, we all like movies! And it doesn’t get any better than Oscar Sunday, when the best movies in the world compete for timeless glory, provided they are predominantly about…
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What economic diversification looks like
All you really need to do is ask someone who used to live on the Iron Range, “what do you see when you come back to the Range?” While there might be nostalgia over happy memories or familiar sites, more often than not they’ll say, “What happened?” What happened to the businesses that used to…
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Olympics have me wondering, ‘what’s my time?’
Watching the Winter Olympics always makes me glad we don’t have to walk around knowing where we rank at this point in our lives and how many seconds off the leader we are. If you’ve been watching the Olympics you know what I’m talking about. Alpine skiers screech down a mountain at 80 mph, faster…
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Notes on a changing Iron Range
The wheels of fate keep turning on the Iron Range. Over on the east central Mesabi, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert schools are considering a new shared high school. We await resolution of some sort on expensive, long anticipated mining projects like Essar Steel and PolyMet, all while the reality of our lack of economic…
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Sports Ball Food for Humans
It’s Football Sunday in America. By now you should be making final arrangements for the perfect Super Bowl party, including cold beverages and delicious appetizers. But what if all this slipped your mind? What if you don’t follow football? What if you don’t have friends? What if you don’t eat food? What if, just maybe,…
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PolyMet hearings highlight our misdirected passion
The purpose of the meeting was to parse the language of a 2,000-page tome of geology, hydrology, chemistry and economics. That’s a tough sell. Even offered free donuts, average humans would duck a meeting of that description. But this particular meeting on Jan. 16, 2014 — first of three hearings for the PolyMet Mining environmental…
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Pride cometh before the fall
In the parade of the Seven Deadly Sins, it is often said that pride leads the procession. They also say “pride cometh before the fall” and that, too, is generally true. In a world of so many illusions, pride is the biggest, falsest illusion of all — so big, that it causes most other problems…
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Controtastrophegate Crisispocalypse
Where were you when you heard that they might run out of Velveeta before the Super Bowl? Maybe you were rushing the kids off to school, mindful of your long list of chores for that day, such as maintaining your social media persona. Perhaps you were on the phone with a friend or relative, chatting…
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Oracle speaks of turbulence in 2014 predictions
The Delta Connection Bombardier CRJ-200 dipped its frosty belly beneath the clouds, revealing the flat landscape of the winter bog, white canvas speckled with dark brown and black tamaracks. The captain’s voice filled the loudspeaker. “This is your stop.” The flight attendant had been nervously preparing my parachute since we took off from Minneapolis-St. Paul.…