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IRRRB is set; so is the drama
If you hadn’t heard, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board is now set with appointments from Gov. Mark Dayton, House Speaker Kurt Zellers and the special Senate committee led by the majority with influence from Republican Majority leader Sen. Amy Koch. A variety of policies, rules and traditions influence the selection of these members,…
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Map tells the tale in 5B primary results
Here’s a map that Chris Saunders made of the precinct results in last night’s House 5B DFL primary. That top left corner is Hibbing, where Shelley Robinson won her home precinct and kept it somewhat close in some of the other precincts. That lower left corner is Floodwood and surrounds, where Mayor Jeff Kletscher posted…
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Hibbing native who lives in Cities accuses Hibbing native who lives in Hibbing of not living in Hibbing
No rest for the weary in House 5B. The Minnesota GOP today accused House 5B DFL nominee Carly Melin of residency violation, which is the same tack used against former Rep. and IRRRB commissioner Tony Sertich in 2000 when he first ran. Melin, who moved back to Hibbing last year to take a job with…
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Iron Range mining sounds on MPR
I’ve got a hot hand going over at Minnesota Public Radio. Marc Sanchez posted this real sound essay about Iron Range mining sounds Jan. 27. I did the interview in November and didn’t know I would end up (unwittingly) providing all the narration.The mining guys were too tight-lipped, apparently. I was born without that common…
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House 5B Primary Election Night Coverage: LIVE BLOG
As of this moment the voters in the House District 5B DFL primary have spoken, selecting one of five candidates for nomination in the special election to replace Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) on Feb. 15. We simply await their decision as results pour in from this large Iron Range district in northern Minnesota. I will…
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MinnesotaBrown debuts on MPR’s Morning Edition
I made my first appearance on MPR’s Morning Edition with Cathy Wurzer this morning. The topic was Iron Range politics and today’s House 5B DFL primary. You can listen below. We talked trends and what to watch for as results come in tonight. If you live in 5B, remember you can vote until 8 p.m.…
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The mighty din of the mining meeting
I neglected to bring up the results of last Friday’s joint hearing of the Minnesota State Senate Commerce and Environmental committees at Hibbing Community College. The topic was, first and foremost, mining — specifically nonferrous mineral mining within the Iron Range’s eastern environs. It could be fairly said that much of the proceeding included the…
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Polls open in House 5B special DFL primary
Ballots are being cast now in the DFL primary for the House District 5B Special Election. The polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. If you live in 5B and want to vote in this primary you can find your polling place here and read a commentary written by each candidate…
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Range DFL prepares for historic House 5B primary vote
I don’t have any predictions or endorsements to offer in the House 5B DFL primary. As a resident of 3A, just over the line, I can’t vote in this. But this race matters greatly to the whole Iron Range. So here’s the dynamic of the race as I see it. I’ll begin by saying that…
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House 5B update: DFL primary eve promises Tuesday intrigue
Pictured at right is what a January special election primary looks like on the Iron Range. Signs for two of the DFL candidates for House 5B perch atop a huge snow bank, just as they do in most of the snow banks around Hibbing. Republican Paul Jacobson, who first ran just last November, also has…
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DFL endorses Carly Melin in House 5B special election; primary is Tuesday
Carly Melin won the DFL endorsement in the House 5B special election primary at a convention held today in Hibbing. The primary will be held this upcoming Tuesday and the winner advances to the Feb. 15 general election against Republican Paul Jacobson and Independent Cynthia Kafut Hagen. Related posts: No related posts.
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Nuance, nuance, nuance!
Since the dailies on the Iron Range went behind an online pay wall last year I’ve not read my region’s largest paper, the Mesabi Daily News, as often as I once did. I live on the other side of the Range where I subscribe to the Hibbing and Grand Rapids papers. It is telling, however,…
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Looking back at ‘Bobby Die-lan’s’ Hibbing
In 1969, writer Toby Thompson drove from New York to Hibbing, Minnesota, to learn about Bob Dylan’s hometown for the Village Voice. These articles went on to become the landmark “Dylan book” of that era, “Positively Main Street.” This article, describing the world of the Iron Range in 1969, is a fun read regardless of…
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State Senate committees to tour Iron Range, talk jobs today
The GOP-controlled Senate committees on commerce and the environment will hold a 2 p.m. hearing today at Hibbing Community College to talk about jobs, the economy and environmental permitting, a hot topic in local politics these days. Heard a rumor Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) might be in town. Checking on that. UPDATE: No Cravaack, but…
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Some video clips from House 5B primary forum
Kathryn Kohlhase of the Hibbing Daily Tribune covered Wednesday’s House 5B DFL Primary Forum sponsored by HCC Student Senate. Today she has a story detailing the candidates’ answers to the questions. She also posted a YouTube video containing snippets from each candidate’s closing statement. It’s just a distillation of 90 minutes of debate and discussion,…