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PolyMet EIS out Friday; what happens next?
This Friday, U.S. officials will release the environmental impact statement for the proposed PolyMet mine near Hoyt Lakes in northern Minnesota. The project, which would mine copper, nickel, palladium, and other nonferrous minerals, has been part of a long-boiling political and cultural controversy for more than a decade. And while the EIS won’t resolve that…
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Ciao! Rustic Italian in Side Lake to close
Sad news over the weekend as the owners of Ciao! Rustic Italian restaurant in Side Lake announced they would be closing the restaurant at the end of the year. In a blog post, the owners said they have decided to pursue other opportunities that would not allow them to run the restaurant anymore. They did…
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Iron Range unemployment still above state average
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reports that the state unemployment rate has hit 4.8 percent, its lowest point since 2007, before the recession that began in 2008-2009. However, Iron Range unemployment remains higher: 6 percent in the Virginia area; 7 percent in Hibbing, and 7.6 percent in Grand Rapids. These numbers trail…
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Happy Thanksgiving from MinnesotaBrown
Related posts: No related posts.
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Rebecca Otto responds to Iron Range critics
State Auditor Rebecca Otto was on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range this week responding to criticism over her executive council vote against new nonferrous or sulfide mining leases on state-controlled land. The Mesabi Daily News has led a drumbeat of criticism that coincides with an anonymous “Dump Otto” campaign based on the eastern Iron Range. That…
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Court rules against Timberjay information request
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in a case with wide-reaching public information implications last week, declaring that a private contractor employed by an Iron Range school district did not have to divulge data to the Timberjay newspaper. The Timberjay information request, led by its publisher Marshall Helmberger, sought more information about the multi-million dollar St.…
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Vikings stadium to use foreign steel
It was revealed over the weekend that the new Vikings stadium will be importing some foreign steel despite provisions requiring “Iron Range steel” be used in the construction of the huge new complex. Contractors say that portions of the new stadium require a certain kind of steel so specific that it’s not available on the…
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KARE reports on Glencore involvement in PolyMet
KARE 11 filed this report about the PolyMet nonferrous mining project in northern Minnesota. Though it was already well known to those familiar with the project, the largest single owner of PolyMet (about 30 percent) is Glencore, an international company with mining interests all over the world. KARE 11 explored Glencore involvement in PolyMet in…
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Iron Range nursing program offers advanced degrees
This week officials announced that a new shared program by Minnesota State University-Mankato and Hibbing Community College will create the opportunity for nurses to earn their RN Baccalaureate degree, Masters degree in Family Nurse Practitioner or Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees on the Iron Range. Dubbed Iron Range Nursing and modeled after the successful Iron…
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Amazing video of deer rescue from lake ice
WDIO reports on a deer rescue on the ice of Nichols Lake near Cotton. You’ve got to see this video: The thin skim of ice over northern Minnesota lakes right now is thick enough to hold some weight, but highly dangerous. It’s common for deer (and people) to fall through this time of year. Unfortunately,…
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IRRRB’s Tony Sertich to lead legislative reforms
Sunday’s Star Tribune reported on Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton’s 2014 legislative strategy. The governor hopes for a short session focused mostly on modest reforms to improve government efficiency. One interesting tidbit: Dayton will tap Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board Commissioner Tony Sertich to shepherd his legislative agenda. Tony Sertich is three years into his…
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Chisholm coach Bob McDonald to retire after season
Big news in Iron Range boys basketball. This week, Chisholm coach Bob McDonald announced he would retire after this upcoming season. McDonald holds the record for most coaching wins in Minnesota history and has the most wins of any active coach in the United States. He’s also known here on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range as…
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Highway 169 expansion makes road project list
Big news on the western Mesabi: The 40-year dream of a “cross-Range expressway” is every-so-slightly closer to reality. From a Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township) press release: ST. PAUL, MN – Today, Governor Mark Dayton and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) announced ten highway construction projects slated to receive funding through the state’s new…
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Virginia Public Library celebrates centennial
As a teenager in the 1990s I spent untold hours in the Virginia Public Library in this Minnesota Iron Range city named for the ‘virgin queen’ of England. Always at dusk. Night came early in the winter. My sister had dance classes downtown and I’d drive her in from Cherry after school. The big chairs…
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‘Economic cauldron of neglect’ … um, in a good way?
Last summer I met Gene Rebeck, writer for Twin Cities Business, who covers northern Minnesota news for that publication. He was writing a column about the Iron Range economy and was kind enough to include my thoughts in his August 26 column “Forward, into the Past.” I must have been in quiet a mood that…