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Results of major miners’ health study due Friday
On Friday, University of Minnesota researchers will reveal results of a highly-anticipated study on mesothelioma rates related to workers in Iron Range mines. Mesothelioma is a rare lung cancer often tied to asbestos found in industrial settings. Rates of the disease are 300 percent higher than normal among residents of the Iron Range. The big…
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Northern projects fare well in Gov. Dayton’s bonding bill
Gov. Mark Dayton revealed his suggestion for a $750 million bonding bill yesterday, including money for several northern Minnesota projects. A larger bonding bill is expected next year where many additional projects will be considered, along with those from this year that fail to make the cut. Local media lamented the lack of inclusion for…
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Nolan backs PolyMet project during recent tour
Last week, U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) toured his northern Minnesota district, making a few headlines along the way. Ron Bruchu of Business North reports on Nolan’s remarks to a Duluth Chamber event. Notable among Nolan’s remarks was an endorsement of PolyMet’s plan to mine copper and other minerals in northeastern Minnesota. Nolan said he’s…
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The Iron Range: Welding together a new future
People ask me, “What is the Iron Range?” It’s always some version of that question. Maybe it’s “What’s the deal with the Range?” or “I’d like to understand the Range so that I may perform some professional function there without being beaten with an old boot.” It all works out the same. Sometimes people call…
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Lines, roads and tracks CHECK! Now Essar can build
Construction of Essar Steel Minnesota’s major project northwest of Nashwauk continues to make spurts of progress. This week, Minnesota Power announced that the electrical infrastructure is now complete, meaning that we now have power lines, new roads and fresh railroad spurs leading to a big brown field adorned with massive concrete footings. Nearly all of…
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Owl the King’s Men
Crows (Photo: Mary Bailey) Highway 169 runs up the heart of Minnesota, congesting near the cities, pumping trucks up and down the center of the state. But once you get to Grand Rapids, Highway 169 becomes something entirely different. It stains red and becomes the Official Road of the Iron Range, connecting the Mesabi and…
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Iron Range original music on tap this Saturday
The Iron Range Original Music Association is an excellent example of a small grassroots effort that makes a big difference in the quality of life in a place like ours. This loose band of songwriters has helped cultivate a number of local bands that produce some true musical art and good times. They’ve got a…
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Iron Range Earth Fest 2013 is Saturday
Iron Range Earth Fest will be held this Saturday in Mt. Iron. They’ll have vendors, demonstrations and more. If you like growing things, eating grown things, making your own electricity, etc., they’ve got something for you. The flyer for the event is below the jump. (click headline) Related posts: No related posts.
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Ely, Minnesota, bans social media
It’s April Fools Day. Don’t worry, I won’t try anything. There’s always some bush leaguer saying they’ll shut down their blogs on April Fools Day. But they never do. My friend Paul Ryan, who succeeded me as editor of the UW-Superior student newspaper, did an April Fools joke back in 2001 in which he published…
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First saltie slated to arrive in Duluth Friday
The saltie Federal Hunter arrives in Duluth Friday. With temperatures rising — and I mean ever so slightly — we are starting to feel like it really might be spring in northern Minnesota. The best indicators are found in unusual places. The chicks have arrived at area L & M Supply stores (Every year the…
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On sulfur and service on the Iron Range
I found this MPR story by Dan Kraker to be a very helpful scientific explanation of the minerals involved in new nonferrous mining proposals in northern Minnesota. Refreshingly informative. “Sulfur is the great collector of metals in nature,” [UM-Duluth geologist Jim Miller] said. “If it wasn’t for sulfur, there would be no economic quantities of…
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Iron Range has 53 problems, mostly a highway
Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) jumped into the debate over the new route for Highway 53, strongly opposing the western route proposal that resurfaced late last week. The Mesabi Daily News reports that Nolan called the proposal a “nonstarter.” The public meeting described in the story sounded like a good representation of the local opinion I’ve…
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Skypocracy rules in northern Minnesota city
A state ruling indicates that Cohesset city councilor Dennis Blankensop did not violate the open meeting law when he attended a Jan. 8 council meeting via the internet video service Skype. The Grand Rapids Herald-Review has the story. The Minnesota Newspaper Association continues to argue that a city councilor attending a meeting from another state…
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West route for new Highway 53 now back on table
Officials are returning to the drawing board on the required relocation of Highway 53 between Eveleth and Virginia, including a controversial plan to locate the highway west of Eveleth. The Mesabi Daily News reports that costs and the immense value of the ore seem to be driving the project toward a dramatic re-imagination from how…
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Magnetation expansion could impact recreation
Magnetation continues its expansion on the western Mesabi, upping production of its iron concentrate to serve what will be its first taconite processing plant in Indiana. It’s also exploring the possibility of opening new iron mining near Coleraine which would be more involved than the company’s current scram mining (essentially reprocessing mine dumps with new…