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Keewatin Taconite will reopen in March 2017
WDIO reports that Keewatin Taconite will reopen in March 2017, ending a 19-month shutdown. U.S. Steel announced it signed pellet contracts with third party steelmakers, providing the spark to reopen the long dormant Keewatin plant. KeeTac was the last taconite mine on the Range still closed after last year’s steel downturn, which at one time had…
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Speaking the hope of tomorrow’s Northern Minnesota
A few weekends ago I found myself in the rural environs of Northome, Minnesota. Two of my sons had a LEGO robotics meet there, an insanely long Saturday of watching LEGO robots intermittently pick things up and put them down again. The occasion left lots of time to wander the halls of Northome School. Northome is a logging town located in…
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Proposition 54, where are you?
Last Saturday, the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party central committee voted down Proposition 54, a controversial resolution that would have placed the party in opposition to sulfide ore mining. Now, an aside. I earnestly considered whether or not to headline this post about a failed DFL resolution with pun that relates to a black-and-white TV comedy that aired before I was…
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Intriguing buyer seeks to acquire Magnetation assets
A year and a half after declaring bankruptcy, and nearly a year after fully idling its Iron Range scram mining operations, Magnetation might finally have a new owner. Company officials announced late Friday that ERP Iron Ore, LLC, a subsidiary of ERP Compliant Fuels, seeks to buy the idled Magnetation assets. A Dec. 15 bankruptcy court…
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Indian banks sue Essar over cost overruns
Essar Steel Minnesota, bankrupt and seeking capital from a new holdings company, is still providing headaches to its parent company Essar Global back in India. John Myers at the Duluth News Tribune reported Dec. 7 that banks in India are suing Essar over problems on the Nashwauk iron ore project. From the story: The Economic Times reported Wednesday…
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U.S. Steel vows (nonspecifically) to restore 10,000 jobs
In recent days, we’ve been talking about the general improvement of stock and commodity prices as they relate to Mesabi Range iron mines. One of my key observations was that despite the surge, U.S. Steel’s Keewatin Taconite remained closed after 18 months. Well, stop the presses. Maybe. On Wednesday, U.S. Steel CEO Mario Longhi said on…
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Iron Range uncertainty endures even as iron ore surges
Last night, history professor Jeff Manuel and I spoke to a patient, nice-sized crowd at the Grand Rapids Public Library about the past, present and future of the taconite industry on the Mesabi Iron Range. Our conclusion was as follows: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ OK, perhaps that’s a little glib. Point is, you look at the short term you…
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Writer explores inflated claims at Chisholm film studio
Time for another riveting tale of Iron Range economic development gone wrong. Today’s exhibit: the principal developer in Chisholm-based Ironbound Studios, Jerry Seppala. As you might recall, this is a story I’ve covered before. Seppala faces charges for defrauding investors of millions of dollars. During the same period he was pitching a film studio to be…
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Range editor Hanna survives harrowing health scare
On Thanksgiving, Bill Hanna of the Mesabi Daily News wrote a heartfelt personal column. That’s not an unusual assignment for the editor of the Iron Range’s biggest daily newspaper, but the subject matter probably surprised many. Hanna wrote of his recovery from a heart attack and near-death experience, publicly explaining why his byline has been…
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Iron Range’s 100-year housing woes
One of the most critical problems facing Iron Range communities is the age and aesthetic appeal of our towns. The downtowns present one particular problem. The housing stock presents another. My father, who moved to the Twin Cities area almost 20 years ago, often talks about his trips to visit us. He drives through the same Mesabi…
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Rawr: ‘Cougar’ catfight stirs controversy
Last week, a young hunter perched in his deer stand near Nashwauk got the story of a lifetime without even firing a shot. Here’s the description from an article by Dave Orrick of the St. Paul Pioneer Press: I wasn’t there, but I know this: Jordan Bowen saw a big wildcat try to attack a deer. The…
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Bankruptcy court lets Essar keep mineral leases
On Tuesday, a federal bankruptcy judge denied the state of Minnesota’s request to strip Essar Steel Minnesota of mineral leases. This move breathes new life into Essar, though perhaps only temporarily. It’s a significant setback for hopes that Cliffs Natural Resources could quickly take over the project. The beleaguered Essar, stuck with a half complete taconite…
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Shock election to create 5-4 partisan split on IRRRB
The legislature wasn’t the only thing that changed dramatically after Tuesday’s election. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) will introduce four new members when it reconvenes in the new year. In addition to the new faces, the board will have a 5-4 DFL majority. That means the IRRRB will include the most Republicans who…
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Celebrating 10 years at MinnesotaBrown
Polls just opened here amid the pine forests of Northern Minnesota and across the whole technicolor landscape of the United States of America. In this pause before the flurry of tonight’s election results, let me remark on 10 years of blogging. It was on this day in 2006, the day after the election, that I started posting original…
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Hunting for the heart of Northern MN
The firearms deer hunting season in Minnesota opens Saturday morning, kicking off a venerated November tradition in Northern Minnesota. This year’s season runs Nov. 5-20. How firmly entrenched is Minnesota’s deer hunting tradition? Behold this e-mail sent out to parents in my son’s 6th Grade class this morning: Attention Deer Hunters! If you are so fortunate to bag a deer…