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Long arc of justice bends toward ‘Lincoln’ on the Range
Daniel Day-Lewis portrays Abraham Lincoln. Quite a while ago I read a story that Daniel Day-Lewis would portray Abraham Lincoln in a movie based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book “Team of Rivals.” I had an episode that would probably be categorized as “geeking out” but probably exceeded the norm. The world’s best actor. My favorite…
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Looking in on Hibbing’s ‘Castle in the Wilderness’
WCCO’s Bill Hudson did a “Finding Minnesota” story about Hibbing High School, one of the most ornate and visually stunning school houses in the state. Most Iron Range locals take this place for granted, or at least are desensitized to its grandeur. This building and its history are a fascinating part of the area’s rich…
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Dark chapter of Minnesota history gets national treatment
Last weekend’s episode of “This American Life” was entirely dedicated to Minnesota history. Holy cow, just let those words sink in. Monday’s podcast release made for a big day around here. The story, “Little War on the Prairie,” surrounds a Mankato native and public radio reporter John Biewen, now working at Duke University in North…
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For some larger context: story of Earth, abridged
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Longyear buys Grand Rapids site; marks West Range growth
More signs of economic growth on the western Mesabi: The Itasca Economic Development Corporation has found a buyer for its Itasca Eco Industrial Park in Grand Rapids. This was the former Ainsworth lumber plant that closed in 2008. J.M. Longyear, LLC, just bought the whole thing. GRAND RAPIDS, MN – On behalf of our board…
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Remembering the Mesabi Strike of 1907
One-hundred and five years ago this month the first major labor strike on the Mesabi Iron Range was busted by company strikebreakers. Finnish labor leaders were blacklisted from working in the mines. As a great-grandson of Finns (and Norwegians, Swedes and Cornish mining stock), I sit out here typing on a computer in the woods…
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A movie house divided cannot stand
The movie event of the year, according to me: Steven Spielberg directs. The script is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s fantastic book “Team of Rivals.” The best method actor of our times, Daniel Day Lewis, plays Lincoln. I spotted at least three guys in the trailer who could have played Lincoln, too. Related posts: No…
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Major opera production kicks off Range tour tonight
A casual drive through northern Minnesota’s Iron Range might give you the false impression that the Range is nothing but ATV shops and random industrial sprawl. Well, it is those things, but also more. People often overlook the artistic depth of the area, something illustrated by the number of opera houses and performance halls –…
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Soudan underground mine reopens after last year’s fire
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Before the Iron Range, there was iron Waynesboro
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Hill of Three Waters
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Would the real Iron Man please stand up?
Residents of northern Minnesota’s Iron Range know the iconic image of the Iron Man Memorial situated along Highway 169 in Chisholm. This statue, the third-tallest free-standing statue in America (a very distant third, behind the Statue of Liberty and the Arch of St. Louis), was dedicated in 1987. It took 11 years to commission and…
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KFAI profiles Range’s ‘Iron Lady’ Veda Ponikvar
Britt Aamodt of KFAI-Minneapolis profiled groundbreaking Iron Range newspaper publisher and civic leader Veda Ponikvar recently as part of the station’s series on Women’s History Month. The piece is about 30 minutes and gives you a good introduction to the Iron Range and the woman who rose from immigrant roots to great local and even…
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Range historian warms to former Ironworld
Hometown Focus, an Iron Range weekly newspaper, profiles the changes at the Minnesota Discovery Center in the last year. The MDC is the former Ironworld which famously closed down in 2009 after mismanagement occurred during its spinoff from state-run cultural site to a nonprofit. Among the controversial occurrences was the renaming of the facility with…
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The Lud Andolsek story, more than just hockey
Jayson Hron’s Historically Inclined has another fine post today about the early career of Chisholm’s Lud Andolsek, who emerged from Slovenian immigrant roots to build the sport of hockey in Minnesota, specifically the program at St. Cloud during the Great Depression years. Ostensibly this is a post about hockey and a guy who was good…