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Hibbing backs out of long planned Range sewer project
Last night the Hibbing City Council opted out of the Central Iron Range Sanitary Sewer District, leaving Chisholm, Buhl and other nearby townships on their own for a new sewer plant. Read the entire account from the Hibbing Daily Tribune. This project has been in the works a long time and I don’t quite know…
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Younger workers, families at most risk in Range layoffs
U.S. Steel is not accepting voluntary layoffs to mitigate the affects on young families of the additional 250 job cuts at its MinnTac plant. The Duluth News Tribune reports. Arcelor-Mittal’s Minorca Mine did accept volunteer layoffs for their upcoming shutdown and many experienced workers agreed to take temporary layoffs to allow young families to keep…
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Dylan Days interview link
For those who missed it, this is the interview I did for Dylan Days on KAXE two Mondays ago. Dylan Days 2009 is May 21-24. I’ll be feeding you some Dylan Days tidbits through the month of May. Related posts: No related posts.
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Red dirt, green events
I’ve written about what I think “sustainability” means to Iron Rangers, but its worth noting that the legitimate concept of “sustainable living” seems to be catching on. The first annual Iron Range Earth Fest was last week and tomorrow, May 1, Hibbing Community College is hosting a Sustainability Fair from 4:30-8:30 p.m. The event features…
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From nursing home to … ‘man-camp?’
You might remember me writing about the closure of Golden Crest nursing home in Hibbing last fall. Not much has changed in the landscape of nursing home policy and funding issues, but the status of the building caught my eye this past weekend. It was advertised in the Hibbing Daily Tribune at a bargain list…
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Range town considers pulling out of sewer project
The Hibbing City Council is having a huge meeting tonight (Hibbing Daily Tribune). At issue, whether to opt out of the Central Iron Range Sanitary Sewer District, a longstanding effort to create one sewer service for Hibbing, Chisholm and other nearby small towns and townships. A vocal citizen’s group and some city councilors have long…
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250 more layoffs at MinnTac
250 more hourly worker layoffs at MinnTac, the Iron Range’s largest mine (from the Mesabi Daily News). About 2/3 of MinnTac’s workforce is on layoff right now. Related posts: No related posts.
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Why you love us, a series
From today’s Mesabi Daily News: Today we begin a new regular feature — “Power of the Press” — which will tell, through the words of our readers, the impact that Mesabi Daily News stories have had on their daily lives and the lives of others. It will run on various days of the week. You’ve…
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Range schools will consolidate, but how?
One of the “controversial” Iron Range political topics I’ve waded through since my earliest days as an editorial writer has been school district consolidation. Most Iron Rangers are raised to fight consolidation. In a place losing population like the Iron Range, consolidation always brings school closures. But at the same time, declining enrollment strangles our…
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Brown on the Air: Monday Morning Range Roundup
I’ll be continuing the new segment at 7:20 a.m. on the Monday KAXE Morning Show. This week we’ll probably explore some state and local political issues. You can listen at 91.7 FM or streaming online at www.kaxe.org. UPDATE: OK, so you should listen in but there is a chance this might not happen. If that’s…
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Measuring success
The Mesabi Daily News editorial page has a decent idea about how to objectively compare the House, Senate and Governor’s budget plans. Related posts: No related posts.
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Party all the time (before 5 p.m.)
A new city ordinance means no blaring music in the Iron Range city of Keewatin after 5 p.m. (Story from Anna Kurth at the Hibbing Daily Tribune). That means music that can be heard plainly from outside a house or more than 50 feet from the source. Violations could mean jail time. Knowing what I…
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Strong elected to LCP board
A friend of this blog, Donovan Strong, was just elected to the Lake Country Power Board of Directors. Congratulations, Donovan! Other results listed in today’s Mesabi Daily News. Related posts: No related posts.
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‘Pirates of Penzance’ in Hibbing
If you’re looking for a great piece of escapist art I strongly recommend Hibbing Community College Theater’s production of “The Pirates of Penzance” playing this weekend and next. We caught the show last night. Though the show relies on a much more benign perception of pirates than seen in the news lately, it’s a great…
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The third rail is the one with the juice
Those who follow Minnesota politics already know the basics of the state’s budget debate. We’ve got an historic, crushing budget deficit amid an economic downturn. All three “legs of the stool” — the GOP Governor, DFL State Senate and DFL House — have kicked in their budget proposals for consideration now and there isn’t a…