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Five DFLers, one Republican and one IP for Sertich seat special
The field is set. Five DFLers including Shelley Robinson, Carly Melin, Jeff Kletscher, Ray Pierce Jr., and the John Spanish will compete in a Feb. 1 primary election for State House District 5B. Republican Paul Jacobson and Independence Party candidate Cynthia Kafut Hagen will be waiting in the Feb. 15 general election for the DFL…
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Final day of filing for House 5B; full coverage of campaign at MinnesotaBrown
Today filings close on the Minnesota House of Representatives District 5B special election to replace former Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) who is now Commissioner of Iron Range Resources. DFLers Jeff Kletscher, Carly Melin and Shelley Robinson are already in, along with Republican Paul Jacobson. I have heard from one candidate, DFLer Cynthia Kafut Hagen, who…
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Snow poised to win labor dispute
Nothing says, “hello, this is what the apocalypse would look like,” like a snowplow driver strike in St. Louis County in January. It starts Wednesday, unless cooler (get it) heads prevail. Ideally, the union and management sweep aside their differences, piling up grievances out of the way or at least down the middle of the…
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Jeff Kletscher adds name to DFL primary in 5B
Jeff Kletscher, entering his third fifth term mayor of Floodwood and current president of the League of Minnesota Small Cities, has joined the DFL primary fray in the House 5B special election. Kletscher has been in Floodwood city government for more than 18 years and works as a real estate broker after a career as…
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Paul Jacobson files as Republican for 5B special election
With DFLers Shelley Robinson and Carly Melin already in the race for the House District 5B Special Election, we now have a clearer picture who the primary winner will face in the general election. Republican Paul Jacobson filed today, resurrecting his unsuccessful campaign from last fall when he lost to former State. Rep. Tony Sertich,…
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DFLer Carly Melin will vie for 5B House seat
Carly Melin of Hibbing, an Iron Range attorney, is filing today for the open District 5B House of Representatives seat vacated by Rep. Tony Sertich, now Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources agency. Melin (pronounced Meh-leen) recently graduated from Hamline Law and now works for the Minnesota State Judiciary on the Range. She once worked…
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Filings for House 5B special election to open Friday, close Tuesday, Jan. 18.
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has officially posted the special election for House or Representatives District 5B, the seat vacated today by Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm). Filings open Friday, Jan. 14 and close Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. Information on how to file and the list of candidates who filed so far may…
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Shelley Robinson first to announce for 5B seat
Shelley Robinson becomes the first candidate to announce for the House District 5B seat being vacated by Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm). Her statement, made both here and on her Facebook page, is this: Shelley Robinson is announcing her candidacy for MN House District 5B seat vacated by Tony Sertich. Shelley is the Executive Director of…
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Duluth’s population challenge
Duluth Mayor Don Ness has pledged to put the city on a path to increase Duluth’s population to more than 90,000 people by the year 2020. The city has hovered in the 85,000 range the last two censuses amid northeastern Minnesota’s sluggish natural resources economy. Since the late 2000s, however, Duluth has enjoyed more economic…
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Tony Sertich and the seachange on the Iron Range
As previously reported, Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) will resign Thursday to take his new position as commissioner of the unique state agency Iron Range Resources. This agency overseas the tax revenue paid by mining companies in lieu of local property taxes. Though much maligned by foes, both of the informed and uninformed variety, IRR remains…
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Dayton officially announces Sertich pick at IRR
And it’s official. More on the way. Governor Dayton Announces Representative Tony Sertich to Head Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board Dayton, Sertich committed to economic development in Northern Minnesota St. Paul— Governor Mark Dayton today announced the appointment of Representative Tony Sertich as Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB). Sertich,…
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Sertich to be next Iron Range Resources Commissioner
The Mesabi Daily News is reporting something that’s been in the rumor mill around the Iron Range for weeks. Gov. Mark Dayton will appoint Rep. Tony Sertich to be the next commissioner of Iron Range Resources on Tuesday. Wisely, the MDN was granted an exclusive here. Later on Tuesday I’ll elaborate on the three big…
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GUEST POST: The raw, cold appeal of the Iron Range
From time to time I share guest posts from readers and those with an Iron Range interest. This one comes from Nicole Anderson who wrote this reflection after spending a year on the Range recently. The Iron Range at first comes off as depressing with its empty store fronts and ghost town feel, but that…
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MPR: "Iron Range needs answers more nuanced than ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’"
Minnesota Public Radio published my commentary piece today entitled “The Iron Range needs answers more nuanced than ‘jobs, jobs, jobs.’” This is the second one and I think I’m going to try a few more because we all know what starts happening after the third date, am I right? This piece strikes at some of…
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Iron Range 2011: Everything is wonderful, nothing is safe
Iron Range taconite production recovered in 2010, ending shy of its peak numbers from 2008 just after the recession started. The six taconite plants on the Range, ore dump salvaging Magnetation and the value-added producer Mesabi Nugget are expected to produce as much as 39 million tons in 2011. Keewatin Taconite is getting green lights…