-
See this stunning collection of Iron Range images
The old Dupont power house, just before it was demolished thistime last year, shot by Minneapolis photographer Vance Gellart. I’ve paged through just some of the many photos shot by Minneapolis photographer Vance Gellart from his travels across the Iron Range trying to capture the unique colors, gritty ambiance and stunning contrasts found in this…
-
Spring (shipping season) arrives in Port of Duluth
The Mesabi Miner loads coal for shipment to Marquette, Mich. It will return to pick up iron ore this weekend. Spring in northern Minnesota has officially begun, despite the bitter cold, blowing snow and ice-snared harbor. Today the ship Mesabi Miner departs from the Port of Duluth and Superior by way of a channel carved…
-
Three great music acts perform tonight in Hibbing
Rachael Kilgour There’s a pretty cool-sounding concert slated for tonight at Hibbing Community College. I wasn’t aware it was Women’s History Month, but if that inspires people to put three of the best northern Minnesota singer-songwriter’s on one showbill I’m all for it. HCC Music Series presents, Women’s History Month Showcase featuring singer/songwriters Rachael Kilgour,…
-
Jobs, jobs, jobs at the mall, mall, mall
A major job fair will be held at the Thunderbird Mall in Virginia, Minnesota, today. Representatives from several companies hiring on the Iron Range will be on hand to take resumes and applications. Tell your kid. Tell your cousin. Tell your buddy. Related posts: No related posts.
-
Riding the Iron Range’s urban rail service of yore
Many are surprised to learn that the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota once boasted an interurban rail service called the Mesaba Railway. Hourly trains between Hibbing and Gilbert served the St. Louis County side of the Mesabi Iron Range, a row of towns that follow a rich iron formation that gives the region its name.…
-
Wisconsin Range viewpoints run thicker than cheese
The debate over potential iron mining in Wisconsin has turned the gaze of many a Wisconsin media outlet upon my native Minnesota Iron Range, where iron mining has gone on for more than a century. Some paint us as a picturesque paradise poised for economic strength, some call us a charming region of boom and…
-
Comet Theater in Cook launches existential Kickstarter
The small towns of the Iron Range once each had their own small movie theaters. There were several theaters in the bigger towns like Hibbing. Up in Cook right now, they’ve got longest continuous single-screen theater in Minnesota, open since 1939. But the Comet Theater is in danger, as this film shows: They need digital…
-
The Ides of March: culture on the Iron Range
The Death of Caesar, by Jean-Léon Gérôme Friday is the Ides of March, the famous day in which Roman Emperor Julius Caesar took a little walk down to the forum in 44 B.C. and was stabbed 23 times by 60 prominent conspirators. The term comes from a warning he received on the street, “Beware the…
-
Poll shows rising opposition to new mines
A poll paid for by the Minnesota Environmental Partnership shows flagging support for copper-nickel mining in northern Minnesota. For the first time in almost five years of polling, more Minnesotans say they oppose such new mining than support it. The question asked: As you may know, new mines are being proposed near the Boundary Waters…
-
Radinovich named to famed ‘Range Delegation’
State. Rep. Joe Radinovich (DFL-Crosby) has been officially granted membership in the Iron Range Delegation of state lawmakers. Here he is with Reps. Jason Metsa (DFL-Virginia) and Carly Melin (DFL-Hibbing). Radinovich is already on the record making elementary teachers swoon. Though in recent decades membership has been limited to representatives and senators with active mining…
-
Nolan argues for Range taconite mines at EPA
For all the kerfuffle during the 2012 U.S. Congress election in northern Minnesota’s Eighth District, it appears that the “I’m more for mining” argument really was just posturing. As one would expect of the member of Congress from the Iron Range, newly -elected U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) is arguing for Iron Range taconite mines…
-
Ze editorial! Ze editorial!
I’ma go ahead and link this Bill Hanna Mesabi Daily News editorial about the state budget forecast solely because he commits to a “Fantasy Island” motif in describing how government functions. Headline: “‘Ze Plane! Ze Plane!’ bringing money to St. Paul’s Fantasy Island“ Bill’s point is ultimately that government should focus on jobs, not government…
-
The understated coolness of the Mesabi Trail
There was a time I had a close relationship with my bike. When I lived in town I rode it to work, to interviews, to the Rotary meetings. My last night at the paper before I went to grad school, I rode the bike round and round over the thread bare carpet of the Hibbing…
-
Motorist delivers self into Range furniture store
Last May, a motorist plowed their car into a greeting card shop in downtown Virginia, Minnesota, producing this sarcastic offering from yours truly. (example: “I spent hours trying to pick the best car but ended up just sending this one.”) Well, it’s starting even earlier this year, as this morning a motorist ran into the…
-
Mining for economic answers, digging up riddles
We know from experience that mining is a boom and bust industry. Why, even the speculative future of mining is boom and bust! It all depends on who you talk to. Here, MPR’s Dan Kraker explores the dynamic of potential new mining near the eastern Mesabi Iron Range. You can (and should) listen to the…