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Generations, Part 3; Times a’ Changin’ on the Iron Range and in Duluth
Today I conclude my three part series on generational shifts that might influence races up and down this year’s Democratic (and, indirectly, Republican) ticket. Why? Well, I like to look at things through a historical lens and while history is known for taking a long time to transpire, there’s usually a tipping point where a…
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Cliffs plans biofuel-driven cleanup of Range mine emissions
I missed this business item from the Duluth News-Tribune yesterday when I was (ironically) down at the zoo in Duluth with my family. Cleveland-Cliffs is not only dropping $104 million on production upgrades at UTac, but they claim they can increase their overall production of taconite while reducing their carbon emissions, thanks to biofuels they…
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Essar restates desire to turn shovels soon on Minnesota Steel
The Grand Rapids Herald-Review reported yesterday on a presentation from Essar Steel to Itasca County about the giant Indian company’s impending groundbreaking for the Minnesota Steel project near Nashwauk. August, they say. And Essar officials are still talking like they plan to build the full steel mill with the iron concentrate mine, which has been…
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KSTP still crusin’ for a bruisin’ on the Range
CORRECTED to show use of Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, not FOIA. Word is that KSTP has submitted a Freedom of Information request (Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request) to Iron Range Resources for all e-mail correspondence between board members, staff and administration regarding Ironworld. Don’t worry; I didn’t get this in an e-mail. So…
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Generations, Part 1: Win or Lose, the Obama Era has begun
From the top to the bottom of the ticket, Democrats in Minnesota, indeed probably all over the country, face generational conflict this year. I imagine the same might be true of Republicans (but when your nominee is over 70 you might not be ready to talk about this yet). Politicos of all stripes are accustomed…
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Cliffs announces $100 million upgrade to Eveleth plant
Cleveland-Cliffs announced it is spending $104 on environmental and production upgrades to its United Taconite facility near Eveleth. This comes shortly after the company bought out the minority owners, assuming full command of the mine and production plant. From today’s Duluth News-Tribune: Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is proposing to spend approximately $104 million on improvements to its…
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This one is for the awards
When I worked in radio, there were stories you covered as part of your daily routine and there were stories that you were told were “awards” stories. These weren’t necessarily the top story of the day, but were compelling enough to enter in contests in order to win trophies and fodder for your resume. You…
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OLA to release Excelsior Energy loan report
A while back, the Office of the Legislative Auditor confirmed it was reviewing specific complaints about $9.5 million in Iron Range Resources loans to Excelsior Energy for its Mesaba Energy Project, an expensive coal gasification plant that exists as part of a complex web of government grants, loans and regulatory exemptions. Several complaints over potential…
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The real story behind Iron Range mining taxes
Mike Jennings and the Hibbing Daily Tribune dig below the surface of the last week’s dust-up over the KSTP Ironworld story (by now I think KSTP has forgotten they even did the story). Read the story. What’s interesting about this is that Jennings compares how various states tax their mineral extraction. Minnesota’s model is rather…
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FiberNet’s Waterloo
Most of you know that I’m a big proponent of efforts to expand Internet speed and access on the Iron Range. I think it’s an initiative that has tremendous economic development benefits for this region. The FiberNet project has been trying to drum up support for a Range-wide municipal-owned high speed network. Thursday night, the…
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Taconite Ridge wind farm almost at full power
Minnesota Power announces that the new Taconite Ridge wind energy farm on the Iron Range will soon be, hearkening my favorite line from Star Wars, fully operational. As you approach or leave Virginia and Mt. Iron from the west side take a look at these turbines. I think they’re freaking awesome. Turbines like these built…
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KSTP sticking to story
No surprise here. KSTP official defends story on Ironworld; no retraction They’re sticking with the factually incorrect and misleading story they ran July 7 that implied that state taxpayers were getting robbed by the existence of Ironworld, even though the facility was operating with the Iron Range’s own mining revenue and is now fiscally solvent…
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The online frontier
Today’s Business North has two high profile stories by Beth Bily that detail Internet projects based on or near the Iron Range. One details the Herculean challenges faced by the “reverse publication” initiative over at Hometown Focus. The other details the activities of the KAXE Community Web Project (which has contracted me to do training…
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Iron Range Resources board hung up on budget
The Iron Range Resources board met yesterday and remains stymied over the 2009 budget. A provisional budget was passed and there will be yet another meeting scheduled to resolve the matter. (Read today’s story from the Mesabi Daily News). At issue were the complaints of Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) who was critical of the concept…
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Cleveland Cliffs: "Mmm … coal"
According to today’s Duluth News-Tribune, one of the Iron Range’s well-known eastern iron mining overlords, Cleveland Cliffs, is merging with Appalachian coal mining company Alpha Natural Resources. The new company will be called Cliffs Natural Resources, becoming one of the nation’s largest mining companies. It might not be a bad idea to buy this new…