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Talkin’ Dylan, Hibbing on Australian radio
As more evidence of the world’s constant drive to become smaller, I enjoyed hearing this Australian radio interview of my friend David Leaver, a marketing professor in Manchester, England. Leaver is a scholar of tourism, specifically music tourism as it relates to the hometowns of famous musicians. He visited Hibbing, Minnesota, a few years ago…
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Solution to Mars colonization ‘madness’ problem
If you ever look at a taconite mine pit on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range you might remark on it’s similarity to pictures of Mars. Film crews have even considered the Range as an ideal site for science fiction movie shoots for just that reason. If you ever spend a winter in northern Minnesota you…
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Nolan rankles environmentalists with pro-mining vote
U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) voted yesterday to support HF 761, a bill streamlining the federal permit process for new mines, such as controversial nonferrous mines proposed in northern Minnesota. Nolan was one of only 15 Democrats to support the bill which passed 246-178, mostly with Republican House majority votes. John Myers of the Duluth…
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New owner to buy International Falls paper mill
Packaging Corporation of America is in the process of buying an International Falls paper mill now owned by Boise Cascade. International Falls, a northern Minnesota border town, has relied on the paper business for all of modern memory. The move will not affect the previous announcement of several hundred layoffs at the plant as a…
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Today brings Iron Range Housekeeping Olympics
In these modern times hard labor often goes unseen. Network maintenance. The approval of your credit card when you pay at the gas pump. Such is these with hotel housekeeping, a phantom profession where only errors are noticed. But in this service economy, hallmark of the 21st century; these more and more people are doing…
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The giant Missabe visits the Daily Yonder
Today I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be writing occasional contributions to The Daily Yonder, an online publication dedicated to rural improvement. Published by the Kentucky-based Center for Rural Strategies, The Daily Yonder explores life and policy in the many different kinds of non-metro areas found in the United States. My first article is…
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Catch Tower Soudan Historical Society event
The Tower Soudan Historical Society will hold its annual meeting and dinner Tuesday night from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The speaker this year will be Pam Brunfelt, giving a talk entitled “Why the People of the Iron Range Matter.” Brunfelt is an instructor at Vermilion Community College and well-published author on Iron Range history. She’s…
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No hope on the Iron Range, but for hope we create
To drive the Iron Range spine of Highway 169 is to see a sleeping giant not unlike the region’s namesake, Missabe — the Dakota and Ojibwe “big man” resting on the divide between all that is north and south. Missabe’s body is not like that of a man. Its fluids are water. Its bones are timbers.…
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Minneapolis mayor candidate’s weird ad goes viral
So far I’ve entirely avoided talking about the Minneapolis mayor race, despite its crushing weight on my Minnesota Twitter and Facebook feeds. What could get me to break this radio silence? This now nationally viral ad by longshot candidate Jeff Wagner: Nothing beats watching this the first time, wondering — that’s not him, is it?…
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Iron Range compared to Mongolia (in a good way)
The publication “Business Insider” has posted an item entitled “Take a Tour of the Mongolia of America.” Mongolia of America? Where could that be? Turns out, I’m in Mongolia. They’re talking about northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. Bob Dylan once compared the region to Mongolia (favorably, if that helps) and they ran with that. Like Mongolia,…
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Inauguration poet Richard Blanco in Brainerd today
Richard Blanco, the unlikely modern poet who was selected to compose and read a poem at President Obama’s inauguration last January, will perform a reading today at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota. Blanco broke a lot of barriers in being selected to read a commemorative poem, something not every president includes in the ceremony.…
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Duluth’s sister city Petrozavodsk elects young reformist mayor Galina Shirshina
Barton Sutter, a Duluth, Minnesota, writer and an influential teacher of mine, described Duluth’s sister city this way: “a city in Russia that sounds like a brand of vodka made out of diesel fuel, Petrozavodsk.” Well, Petrozavodsk just elected a new mayor of some interest. Galina Shirshina, 34, is a journalist who is the first woman to…
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Community college education breaks barriers
Believe it or not, I don’t make a living writing hyper-regional tidbits for a sub-mid-level blog in northern Minnesota. I’m a teacher. Specifically, a teacher at Hibbing Community College (an institution not affiliated with my opinions here on the blog). I do, however, believe my role as a community college teacher is related to my…
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Minnesota music in the spotlight up north
The Minnesota music scene is drawing a lot of attention, both in Minneapolis and up in Duluth. Even further north the Iron Range Original Music Association encourages songwriters and a wide variety of musicians here in Bob Dylan’s original North Country. I host and produce the Great Northern Radio Show for Northern Community Radio, a…
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New web project shares Minnesota election results
For those interested in Minnesota politics, a new offshoot of Left.mn provides clear, visually appealing breakdowns of recent Minnesota election results by Congressional and legislative district. You can find it here: http://elections.left.mn Sure, we can always go to the Secretary of State’s website to find specific Minnesota election results, but if you’ve ever tried to get a…