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Range retains similar legislative delegation
Today a five-judge panel has released the final redistricting plan for Minnesota’s legislative and congressional maps. Though there are many large overviews of the plan in the state media, tonight I will spend some time analyzing the impact on northeastern Minnesota House and Senate districts and Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. In summary, the 8th CD…
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COLUMN: The map is dead; long live the map
This is my Sunday column for the Feb. 19, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Check back on Tuesday for my analysis of the new redistricting maps in Minnesota and how they’ll affect northern Minnesota politics. It will be a very busy week. The map is dead; long live the mapBy Aaron J. Brown…
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MNDOT drops most dramatic Range highway reroute
Minnesota transportation officials are scrapping the most controversial of the potential new routes for one of the Iron Range’s most important highways. The plan would have sent traffic from Duluth along the west side of Eveleth into Virginia and points north. WDIO has the story and corresponding graphic. The highway has to be rerouted to…
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Rural Range district feels pain of big plan gone awry
A fascinating story by Elizabeth Dunbar at Minnesota Public Radio details the woes of the St. Louis County school district and the consulting firm it followed in implementing a vast consolidation and construction plan last year. A plan narrowly approved by voters in the seven communities of the large, rural district closed or reduced function…
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The outside is filthy
Our oldest boy, a first grade lad prone to particularity, spent several minutes wiping mud off his gloves and coat this morning. “Why does the outside have to be so dirty? The outside is filthy.” And indeed it is. Here in Minnesota, a land sometimes known only for snow, we continue one of the mildest,…
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Love and Abomination, a poetry collection exploring gay rights & the Range
Iron Range native Jacob Woods, whose public writing about growing up gay on the Iron Range is documented at his blog Good as Gay, spent January preparing a book of poems, Love and Abomination. That book will be released this week for Valentine’s Day. In addition to themes of love, Woods seeks to oppose, in…
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Magnetation still considering Range, Superior sites
The saga of Magnetation’s proposed pellet processing plant at one of four proposed locations continues. It would appear from public discussions that the company is focusing on finding ways to keep the site in Itasca County in Minnesota’s Iron Range region or locating in Superior, where a recent economic boom has been happening. Minnesota and…
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Hibbing demolishes landmark Dupont building
I wrote two months ago about the city of Hibbing’s plans to demolish the landmark Dupont Blasting Powder power station. I wrote then with hope the city would reconsider its decision. The Hibbing Historical Society took a stab at preserving the site somehow, but lacked funds to pay for a study. When those efforts failed…
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MPR: The lesson in Superior’s surprising economic win streak
I have the commentary on MPRnews.org this morning, a discussion of the recent economic success in Superior, Wisconsin, and its meaning for the entire region, including here in northern Minnesota. As an added bonus it includes a poem I wrote in creative writing class at the University of Wisconsin-SUPERIOR. The easy, breezy relationship between Superior…
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Polymet delays environmental review in Range mine project
Also this week, Polymet has announced another delay in releasing its environmental review, a step in getting the necessary permits to mine copper and other minerals in northern Minnesota. The debate over nonferrous mining, or sulfide mining, continues to consume much of the region’s political energy. This news is perhaps welcome in that a more…
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Range reels as Magnetation considers other locations for plant
Yesterday, the Duluth News Tribune wrote about the reaction of some local leaders to the news that Iron Range-based Magnetation might locate its proposed taconite plant in Superior instead of near its scram mining operations in Itasca County. Give it a read. Notably, Rep. Tom Rukavina appears to be in open revolt. Yeah, after reading…
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Bluegills fight terrorists to the death
On the wall of my boys’ bedroom is a poster picked up at the county fair a few years ago. It’s a picture of a bluegill with the caption: “The Bluegill: A Creature of Fresh Water.” Bluegills hold a place of honor in our family. My father-in-law is an avid “pan” fisherman who eschews trophies…
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Laskiainen ‘slides’ into many Iron Range weekend plans
The Laskiainen Finnish Sliding Festival weekend is coming up. Saturday and Sunday bring this longstanding east Range tradition in Palo. The description: Finnish sliding festival celebrating the ethnic heritage of customs, crafts, music, sports, marketplace, foods and of course sliding! A true family event. Loon Lake Community Center is located 10 miles south of Aurora…
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Have I mentioned the junkyard before?
The other day I was driving the family somewhere and one of the boys pointed out a junkyard along the highway. “Hey, boys,” I said to my three sons. “Did you know Daddy grew up on a junkyard?” A pause, then George, 4, uttered a begrudging, “Yeah.” Then he sighed. My wife laughed at me.…
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Blogging from a ‘man camp’
Covering politics and economic development in the upper Midwest these days invariably brings about a conversation about North Dakota. Have you heard? North Dakota is booming. And it is, mostly owing to massive new oil drilling projects in the west. Conservatives like to point out North Dakota’s more lenient regulatory environment and lower taxes as…