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Steelworkers, U.S. Steel reach tentative 3-year deal
U.S. Steel has a tentative agreement with leaders of the United Steelworkers. Local unions at U.S. Steel’s MinnTac and Keewatin Taconite plants will have to ratify the three-year deal. Cliffs and ArcelorMittal have yet to settle with the Steelworkers, but the U.S. Steel deal suggests the others will follow with similar deals this week. Details…
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Mine labor talks stop; Range labor gathering is Sunday
It appears that the United Steelworkers union and the major owners of mines in northern Minnesota and Michigan are taking a break from negotiations. The Duluth News Tribune is among those reporting the news. This means that tonight’s deadline will pass without a contract deal. The unions at the Cliffs mines had already authorized strikes,…
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No deal between Steelworkers, Arcelor-Mittal
The United Steelworkers may have agreed to a temporary extention with Cliffs, but no such deal is in place with Arcelor-Mittal, according to WDIO. Furthermore, the deadline is, in fact, tonight at midnight. My understanding was midnight last night, but such is the confusion that surrounds the hour “0.” Related posts: No related posts.
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Cliffs, Steelworkers hold off contract deadline
The United Steelworkers have reached a temporary agreement with Cliffs Natural Resources to continue operations at three Iron Range taconite plants past tonight’s midnight contract deadline. This would prevent any work stoppages at the Cliffs-run properties Hibbing Taconite and United Taconite in Eveleth. Cliffs’ Northshore Mining is non-union. Negotiations between Cliffs, U.S. Steel, Arcelor-Mittal and…
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Steelworker talks go to the wire; tune in Friday morning
We’re still waiting on word from Pittsburgh about the outcome of negotiations between the United Steelworkers and the three companies that operate taconite mines in northern Minnesota and Michigan. A deal may be reached today but would have to be ratified by membership, sight unseen, sometime before the Friday midnight deadline to avoid work stoppages…
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Steelworkers contract deadline nears, temp workers could be called in
Steelworkers at most Iron Range taconite plants await word from Pittsburgh where their union leaders are negotiating with Cliffs Natural Resources, U.S. Steel and Arcelor-Mittal, over a new contract. The current labor contract expires at midnight Friday. At least one major taconite producer, Cliffs, is preparing to bring in temporary workers if negotiations fail to…
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COLUMN: The blurring line between (218) and (612)
This is my Sunday column for the Aug. 26, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. The blurring line between (218) and (612)By Aaron J. Brown Growing up, we had a phone book back when that really meant something. That’s where the numbers were. You had to know your friend’s dad’s name. If a girl’s…
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Two ‘Great Northern’ alumni in Saturday Reif Center show
The Reif Center in Grand Rapids is holding the 3rd Annual Reif Top Ten Talent Search Saturday night at 7. This isn’t some random collection of wannabees, but rather a tested, auditioned group of 10 regional musicians, dancers and performers. I’m excited to see two performers from my Great Northern Radio Show in the mix.…
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Essar "about halfway finished" at Nashwauk plant site
Officials toured the new Essar Steel Minnesota site yesterday with the company’s India-based CEO. Essar says the project is about half complete. We western Iron Rangers have seen the enormous cranes from Highway 169, but the video from the tour shows what they’ve been up to. A whole lot of earth has been moved. Absent…
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Excelsior Energy gets fresh attention: permits, no customer.
Jennifer Austin at Northland’s News Center reports on Excelsior Energy’s Mesaba Energy Project. The PUC has allowed the permits already granted to stand while the developers search for a customer. Only Minnesota Power seems capable of making a deal happen and they are mum on the subject. MP and Excelsior have not played well together…
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In 6B primary, Metsa followed a winning playbook
Here’s another Chris Saunders graphic showing the DFL primary results in the Minnesota State House District 6B primary last Tuesday. The results went like this: LORRIE JANATOPOULOS, 2590, 41.16% JASON METSA, 3396, 53.96% DAVE MEYER, 307, 4.88% You can see Lorrie Janatopoulos had support in the southern townships, while Jason Metsa carried the Range cities.…
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Top notch accordion show on tap this weekend in Virginia, Minn.
My friends over at the B’nai Abraham Cultural Center, site of the last remaining functional Jewish culture site on the Iron Range, announce a concert event that should be of interest to any fan of good music. Mark Stillman and his Klezmer Musicians will perform there Sunday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. It’s a free…
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The changing Range takes center stage
I’m still working on a major post dissecting Tuesday night’s primary results and previewing the fall campaign. By now everyone knows Rick Nolan won and will face Chip Cravaack in the MN-8 election this November. Several legislative primaries occurred in northern Minnesota, all of which broke for the party endorsed candidates. So I’m focusing on…
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Oh boy, do we like secret guns in NE Minn. or what?
I caught this late but if you haven’t seen this map of concealed handgun permit density in Minnesota, you should. Northeastern Minnesota has a lot more concealed handgun permits per capita than the rest of the state. Minnesota Public Radio’s Dave Peters explores the question, why? It’s not hunting. Though the region has a conservative…
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LIVE BLOG: Primary Night in Northern Minnesota
Welcome to MinnesotaBrown.com Primary Election Night coverage for the races in MN-8, House District 6B and more. 11:35 — MinnesotaBrown.com projects Jason Metsa will win State House District 6B DFL primary and Jesse Colangelo will win State House District 6B GOP primary. Metsa and Colangelo will face off in race to succeed retiring Rep. Tom…