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Ely man ‘Bushwhacks the Boundary Waters’
UPDATE III: From Ely Outfitting Company and Boundary Waters Guide Service: Post by Ely Outfitting Company and Boundary Waters Guide Service. UPDATE II: Marshall Helmberger of the Timberjay reported on this morning’s KAXE Morning Show that Zabokrtsky is nearing Ely and that friends plan to welcome him home sometime today. UPDATE: As expected, Jason Zabokrtsky’s…
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Mt. Iron Wal-Mart Supercenter to hire 300 next year
Construction continues on the new Mt. Iron Wal-Mart Supercenter, with the Mesabi Daily News reporting today that the company plans to hire 300 employees later in 2014. “We’re not hiring for the Mountain Iron store right now,” said Walmart spokeswoman Rachel Wall in a phone interview. She said that hirings for employees are not done…
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Northern Minnesota mining on Al Jazeera America
Your intrepid regional writer will be doing something quite new this evening. Tonight, at 6:30 CST, I’ll be a guest on “The Stream” on the new national cable network Al Jazeera America. You might know Qatar-based AlJazeera as a Middle Eastern news network but they’ve been expanding into an international news service for years, including…
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Northern Minnesota forests face existential change
This Star Tribune feature “Saving the great north woods” from this past Sunday is a must-read. It parallels the same line of thinking I used in writing my Sunday column “Now entering the Minnesota century,” only with more scientific explanation and expert testimony. Essentially, if you stop arguing whether or not climate change is happening…
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Al Roker seeks Iron Range reality show subjects
Apparently Al Roker’s production company is looking for Iron Range reality show subjects for the NBC weatherman’s new program. Talk comes from the Vermilion Chamber of Commerce in Tower. According to the chamber’s Facebook page, the casting company is looking for independent or family owned businesses, unique siblings and people who are the best at what they…
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GUEST POST: Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Dad
I’m busy producing the Great Northern Radio Show today, but have planned a special treat for you. Clint Edwards is a guy I’ve gotten to know through our modern world’s crazy techo-magic. He’s a fantastic creative nonfiction writer who got his MFA at Minnesota State-Mankato. Lately, he’s been blogging about being a stay-at-home dad with…
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PolyMet’s new ad seeks support amid controversy
PolyMet Mining is up with a new ad in the Duluth, Minnesota, TV market entitled “PolyMet, Yes.” It’s part of a larger public relations campaign. As you can see, Polymet’s new ad focuses on the products that would be made with the minerals PolyMet wants to mine. Structured around the word “Yes” the ad seeks…
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This is a bear playing tether ball
I’ve decided that I have two goals for the blog this week. The first goal is to make sure you know about the Great Northern Radio Show, this Saturday, Oct. 19, broadcasting live from Crosby-Ironton High School in Crosby, Minnesota. The second is to entertain you with posts about forest animals (here, here, and here).…
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MNDOT phasing out deer crossing signs
The AP is reporting that the Minnesota Department of Transportation is phasing out deer crossing signs and signs that say “Slow, Children at Play.” Research shows that no one pays attention to these signs and that they give people a false sense of security. Speaking as someone who lives in the woods where there are…
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Iron Range solar company dubbed ‘Made-in-Minnesota’
After last year’s somewhat contentious legislative debate over a rebate program for Made-in-Minnesota solar panels, an Iron Range solar manufacturer has become the state’s first certified Minnesota-made solar company. From Mt. Iron-based Silicon Energy: October 7, 2013 – St. Paul, MN – Silicon Energy’s locally made solar photovoltaic (PV) modules have been awarded official certification…
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Minnesota DNR to allow extra fishing on Canisteo Pit
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will open a liberalized fishing season on the Canisteo Pit near Bovey, Minnesota from Oct. 17 until Dec. 1. The Canisteo has been rather infamous in recent years as it had flooded the city of Bovey, which required several million dollars in state aid to mitigate. Times have changed.…
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Shutdown clouds northern MN mining controversy
Northern MN mining controversy remains in the news here. We had a steady go of it a couple weeks ago. Then the government shut down and yet the debate continues. A Star Tribune report late last week showed that the mining company PolyMet has acknowledged that its proposed mine’s tailings pond would require 500 years…
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‘Duck Dynasty’ trend blossoms in Iron Range towns
I was talking to a student the other day and she showed me a cell phone picture of her first grade son dressed up as Si from “Duck Dynasty” for a homecoming dress-up day at their school. I imagine several schools are trying that out this year. “Duck Dynasty” is one of the biggest cultural…
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Building small town economy with new attitude
I’ll point your attention to a fascinating post by Brian Gumm, who lives in rural Iowa and is the author of an Christian blog called Restorative Theology. In “Small town vitality: No community without economy” Gumm reviews the writings of several thinkers on the topic of restoring small towns — not just economically, but their…
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The Finnish sauna, proven cure for the busy mind
The BBC has a fascinating story on the cultural meaning of the Finnish sauna. Many people in northern Minnesota and the Great Lakes states owe their heritage to Finland. For that reason, sauna (and its correct pronunciation, SOW-na) has deep meaning in our part of the world as well. If you’ve ever wondered why saunas…