Zenith City Online commemorates the 107th anniversary of U.S. Steel’s 1907  announcement that it would build a steel mill in West Duluth. It would be 1915 before U.S. Steel would actually produce steel, and that mill closed in 1987, but this occurrence dramatically shaped history for Duluth and northeastern Minnesota; keeping more of the labor…

Spring in northern Minnesota means dealing with setbacks. So, last weekend, two ships left the Port of Duluth to start the spring shipping season. Sure, they needed the help of ice cutters, but still: Spring! Well, according to Duluth Shipping News, those ships have been damaged by the crushing late season ice on Lake Superior…

For a lot of people coming out of school or the doldrums of winter unemployment in northern Minnesota, here is a ray of sunshine. The state is sponsoring a construction job workshop  in Duluth on Monday. Here are the details: Do you want to explore a career in the construction and trades field?  Attend an…

March in northern Minnesota is a season where spring is observed not necessarily in warmth, flowers and rain like in other places, but it other rhythmic patterns. For instance, this weekend they began chopping some big ships out of the icy prison of the Port of Duluth so they can begin the 2014 Great Lakes…

This afternoon in Duluth, Minnesota, brings the annual blessing of the port, a ceremony conducted before the opening of the shipping season. This is an additional reminder that though it does not feel like spring in northern Minnesota, it truly and technically is. From the Duluth Seaway Port Authority on behalf of the Twin Ports…

John Myers at the Duluth News Tribune reports that Lake Superior ice cover is at about 91 percent, down from 95 percent last month. This means that the hard winter of 2014 almost, but ultimately did not produce the rare total ice-over of the world’s largest freshwater lake. Though it may take several weeks and…

The Apostle Island ice caves in northern Wisconsin are this season’s hottest site-seeing destination for northern Minnesotans and Wisconsinites. Favorable ice conditions have allowed walking access to the sea caves for the first time in five years, and the sites inside the caves are truly spectacular. How do I know this, since I haven’t gone…

Northern Minnesota’s winter, like much of North America, has been abnormally cold this year. This frigid 2013/2014 winter has Lake Superior freezing over, a rare occurrence on the continent’s freshwater sea. The lake was over 90 percent ice this weekend, and speculation is that continued cold will lead to the first ice-over since 1996. (Locals…

Late last year, northern Minnesota’s internet elite united for one purpose: get a free Super Bowl ad for a local chicken farm. We voted and voted and voted in the online poll put on by Intuit, who was springing to buy the expensive ad for a small business that uses its software. Our northern Minnesota…

Nathan Schroeder, an Iron Range musher from Chisholm, Minnesota, won the 2014 Beargrease Sled Dog race today, crossing the finish line early this afternoon in Duluth. This is the second straight year Schroeder has won the Beargrease Sled Dog race, which is a qualifier for the most famous sled dog race in America, the Iditarod…

When you’re on media mailing lists it’s sometimes fun to see the combinations of things that arrive any given day. For instance, Monday I got a press release from Gov. Mark Dayton’s office about emergency assistance for those who can’t afford heat amid the ongoing propane price surge. Then, later, I got this press release…

The 2014 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon starts Sunday in Duluth, Minnesota, kicking off a grueling test of endurance for dogs and people alike. The race runs 384 miles and is expected to wrap up sometime on Wednesday, Jan. 29. This year you can follow the mushers and their teams using GPS, a first for…

We all know the days of the video cassette — the VCR, the tape, the “video” in reference to a black plastic rectangular container of magnetic tape — those days are gone. And perhaps tomorrow’s free-for-all VHS giveaway at the University of Minnesota-Duluth library is just another example of that. Or perhaps it’s the end.…

Duluth city councilor Patrick Boyle defeated former city councilor Jim Stauber in the special election for St. Louis County District 2 Commissioner Tuesday. Turnout was low, but the nonpartisan result came pretty close to the partisan index of the district — with the liberal Boyle claiming 65 percent and the conservative Stauber winning 35 percent.…

Well, this new Duluth building is not quite a skyscraper, but the new Maurice’s corporate building in downtown Duluth will be an impressive structure. Developers released a new composite of the building’s revised plans yesterday, which has been making the rounds in Duluth area media. The project would give one unified headquarters to the retailer Maurice’s,…