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Northeastern Minnesota: jobs a’ plenty, wages a’ thppphtt
For the last year I’ve written fairly consistent economic observations of living and working on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range: There are jobs here, but most of them pay low wages and are found in the service sector, not in mining. An overwhelming majority of the region’s workforce is found outside the “traditional” blue collar careers typically associated…
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Captivating Iron Range history series shared by IRRRB
With the impending announcement of a new commissioner at the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), it’s worth explaining what all those words mean. Let’s start with “Iron Range.” Historian Pam Brunfelt, my Iron Range history mentor, shared a series of articles with the IRRRB for use on their website. Entitled “A Walk Through…
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Andrej’s famous Iron Range potica now at Tobies
For many on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range, Christmas time is potica time. This walnut-based dessert bread from the slavic states of Eastern Europe was long ago embraced by the whole region for its flavor and portability. (Like the pasty, Iron Ranger love foods that require no silverware and fit into the pockets of overalls). In addition…
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Mining debate geared up for new political terrain
This winter, Minnesota’s state legislature will convene with divided leadership — Democratic-Farmer-Laborites, under Iron Range Sen. Tom Bakk as majority leader, still control the Senate; while Republicans, under Speaker-designate Rep. Kurt Daudt of Crown, have taken over the House. Gov. Mark Dayton, a DFLer, will remain in the executive office after a decisive re-election campaign. A…
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Ya we talk ‘dat way, ‘specially up on da Raynch
The St. Paul Pioneer Press led its Sunday edition with an introspective look at a topic that is usually the first thing people notice about Minnesotans, but that Minnesotans pretend doesn’t exist: our accent. What struck me as interesting was that a significant portion of Andy Rathbun’s feature was dedicated not only to the Minnesota accent,…
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Ely couple completes 2,000-mile canoe trip protest
Dave and Amy Freeman, two professional adventurers based in Ely and Grand Marais, just completed a 2,000-mile canoe trip through the Boundary Waters, out to the Atlantic Ocean and down to Washington, D.C. The reason for the trip was to highlight the natural beauty of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and deliver petitions opposing…
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Report: Evidence of discrimination at Greenway school
Earlier this week I wrote a piece about the need for empathy amid racial discord on the Iron Range, mentioning the story of Isaiah Gatimu, a former Greenway student who faced racially-motivated harassment and later took his own life. The Scenic Range News Forum obtained a copy of the report from the Minnesota Department of…
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Answers like dust: miners’ health study closes with questions
Yesterday, researchers unveiled results of a $5 million University of Minnesota study exploring the connection between iron mining and the rare lung disease mesothelioma. What was billed as the final public forum about the study was held last night at the Hibbing Memorial Building. John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune had the story in…
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On the Range, Race and Healing
Race is one of the main variables of American life. This fact was written directly into our flawed Constitution more than two centuries ago, a truth demanding hard reckoning ever since. Sometimes it can be comfortable to pretend that race isn’t one of the main variables of life here in Northern Minnesota, however. This is an…
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Hibbing native pens Thanksgiving immigrant tale in NY Times
Marie Myung-Ok Lee, a Korean-American writer from Hibbing, had a Thanksgiving memoir of her family’s time in the Iron Range city published in the New York Times today. Her story is touching and real. The town simultaneous fought to help her father, at one time the town’s only anesthetist, stay in the country, but she and…
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Star Tribune pens glowing Essar Steel update
Today’s front page feature in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota’s newspaper of record, was a Dee DePass story entitled “After seven years, Essar’s giant Iron Range project finds a groove.” The story is about progress at Essar Steel Minnesota, the spinoff of Essar Global, an Indian company which seeks to build a new taconite plant on…
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UPDATE: MN DOT picks high bridge over mine pit for Hwy 53
Today the Minnesota Department of Transportation recommended its preferred alternative for the Hwy 53 Relocation project. MN-DOT wants the northernmost route, which will build the state’s tallest bridge — 1,100 feet — across the Rouchleau Pit outside Virginia. After hinting it would do so weeks ago, the DOT explains why it selected the northern route: After lengthy study of several…
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U of M seeks another chance to revolutionize mining
The story of mining on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range is sometimes mischaracterized as the simple story of some guys finding the richest supply of iron in the world followed by generations of mining. There have been some dramatic twists involving high finance by Rockefeller and Carnegie, political alliances between old foes to pass the 1964…
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Gov. Dayton calls for applications to lead IRRRB
Today, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton announced an open application process for the position of Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB). The position is being vacated by Tony Sertich, who will assume the presidency of the Duluth-based Northland Foundation in January. As I’ve written, this is an important position in the leadership…
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Iron Range battle for future of IRRRB
With last week’s announcement that Tony Sertich is leaving his post as Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) to lead the Duluth-based Northland Foundation, a sudden sense of drama has enveloped the Iron Range political scene. Gov. Mark Dayton will need to appoint a replacement amid a swirling sea of local political and…