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LIVE at 8 a.m.: Only scheduled MN-8 debate via @theuptake
The 2014 election is now less than a month away, and while several Minnesota polls show statistically significant leads for DFLers Gov. Mark Dayton and Sen. Al Franken, other state races are very much coming down to the wire. Control of the State House of Representatives could come down to a few hundred votes in a dozen…
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Remembering my mentor and friend Mike Simonson
UPDATE 2: Mike’s full obituary ran in the Wednesday Duluth News Tribune. I was honored that his wife Jennifer asked me to write this, with her expert editing. UPDATE: Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 4831 Grand Ave., in Duluth. Visitation will be held…
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Great Northern Radio Show to rebroadcast Park Rapids show
UPDATE: You can now download the podcast here. This Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. you can hear the rebroadcast of my Great Northern Radio Show, which aired live last Saturday night from Armory Square in downtown Park Rapids, Minnesota. The show will air on Northern Community Radio, including 91.7 KAXE (Grand Rapids and…
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Hej, Bob: Swedish scientists sneak Dylan lyrics into papers
Living or working in Bob Dylan’s hometown means you form connections with people for unusual reasons, beyond your control and unrelated to your own ego. Some guy, class of ’59 I think, wrote a thousand songs and got so famous that people in China learn English just to decipher his lyrics (good luck with that, China).…
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The lights are on in Duluth
This piece in the Duluth News Tribune shared a fascinating find: photographic evidence of one of Northern Minnesota’s most iconic folk legends from the economic collapse of the early 1980s. As the story goes, shown to be true in the above snapshot, someone put up a billboard up on I-35 that year imploring “would the last one…
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Essar claims financing; Magnetation rolls pellets
It’s been a big week of economic news on the western Mesabi Iron Range. Late last week, Magnetation LLC, announced it was producing taconite pellets at its Indiana processing plant using iron ore concentrate recovered from Itasca County pits. “This first production marks another significant milestone in Magnetation’s history,” said Larry Lehtinen, CEO of Magnetation.…
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VIEW NOW: Watch Franken vs McFadden, Dayton vs Johnson
This morning, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) will debate GOP challenger and investment broker Mike McFadden for their first formal debate of Election 2014, which takes place just over a month from now. Tonight, Gov. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) will debate GOP challenger and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson in their first debate. The Uptake will…
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Iron ore stashed as rail delays snarl Upper Midwest
I just finished reading “Mesabi Pioneers” by Russell Hill and Jeffrey Smith, a new historical novel set in the early days of iron mining on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. I’ll have more thoughts about the book in my Sunday newspaper column, but the story did remind me of the central struggle facing the pioneering Merritt…
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It could be years, not months, for PolyMet progress
It’s been several months since the public comments period closed for the environmental review and permitting process for PolyMet, a controversial proposed nonferrous mineral mine in Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. Most had hoped for news about the completion of the Environmental Impact Statement and a clearer timeline for the final permitting by this fall. However, a Marshall Helmberger interview…
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‘Great Northern’ weekend in Park Rapids starts now
My favorite weekends are Great Northern Radio Show weekends. They are exhausting, invigorating and inspiring. And another one begins today. The Great Northern Radio Show, my personal twist on the old variety show format, will broadcast live from Armory Square in downtown Park Rapids, Minnesota, this Saturday from 5-7 p.m. on Northern Community Radio. At…
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Northern Minnesota restaurants lead per capita
It’s no secret that tourism is big business in Northern Minnesota. The hospitality and recreation industries employ thousands, while the ebb and flow of tourists are a big part of life here in the North Woods. I often write about Northern Minnesota’s economy, and how its actual composition compares with the idealized one usually discussed in the media. Mining, for…
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UPDATE: Where to find Minnesota fall colors 2014
UPDATE (Sept. 30): We have full peak colors in Northern Minnesota, and I’d argue we’re past peak in most of the parts that show dark red on the DNR maps. Any leaves still changing are only replacing leaves that have fallen. We lost quite a bit of the “canopy” on Sunday and Monday. You’ll still…
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Howie Hanson enters Duluth mayoral race; Ness responds
Though Don Ness has yet to announce whether he would seek a third term as mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, he nevertheless has a challenger today as blogger and city councilor Howie Hanson made an early announcement that he would run for mayor next year. Duluth city elections are held in the fall of odd years. Usually,…
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Today in Alt-History: North Minnesota and South Minnesota
A couple weeks ago I came across this feature from the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader in South Dakota exploring an interesting intersection of American history. In the time before Minnesota statehood and the dissection of Dakota territory, there was serious talk of splitting Minnesota on an east-west border instead of using the Red River as a north-south…
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Turn, turn, turn, D’oh!: 1,000 foot ship runs ashore in Duluth
The 1,000-foot freighter Paul A. Tregurtha ran ashore Saturday near Bayfront Park in the Port of Duluth, Minnesota, causing quite a stir in the Zenith City and prompting a localized surge in social media references to freshwater coal-hauling vessels. Hung up for more than three hours, the Tregurtha was freed with the help of two tugboats.…