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Nothing but open road on route to MN-8 DFL nod
Last year I made a lot of hay out of the race for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth District. The end result ended up less climactic and influential than we all thought. U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN8) ended up winning by just over five points, becoming one of few Republicans to win open seats in an…
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Northwest Wisconsin congressman Duffy to resign
Some news from the other side of the Twin Ports harbor. Politico reports that U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI7) will resign from Congress at the end of September. Duffy told supporters in a Facebook post that he was leaving to focus on his family, including a new baby with health complications. He writes: With much…
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Inspiring Mesabi Range running back featured on ESPN
Taquarius Wair dons the green and gold of the Mesabi Range Norseman football team. A freshman running back from Minneapolis, he joins many on his team in following dreams of playing college football to the Iron Range. But his story resembles no other. Burned in a terrible house fire when he was a small child,…
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Zebra mussels in Range mine pit raise questions
Northern Minnesota has been standing sentinel against zebra mussels for a number of years. We worry our freshwater lakes could be overrun by this invasive species. Typically, however, we imagine the pests arriving on the hulls of traveling boats and trailers. That doesn’t seem to explain why they showed up in an Iron Range mine…
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Festival of Sail enters Duluth harbor
Tens of thousands of people pile along the lakeshore as the 2019 Duluth Festival of Sail returns with vintage ships and an enormous rubber duck. Here’s some video from today’s parade of sails as vintage replica ships like the U.S.S. Niagara enter the Duluth-Superior Harbor: The family and I took in the Tall Ships festival…
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Emblematic of his era, Iron Range lawmaker Joe Begich dies
I met Joe Begich in the late 1990s, five years after he had retired from the state legislature. He was a senior statesman of sorts, an uncle at the Iron Range DFL reunion who could offer either useful context or long-winded tangents. Begich was, of course, a dedicated laborite and fierce Iron Range advocate. He…
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Explaining the hot idle
If you’re a regular reader of MinnesotaBrown.com you’ve probably noticed far fewer posts that usual this summer. This is what I sometimes call a “hot idle.” The term refers to what the mines do when they halt production of iron ore but keep their equipment “hot” and ready for a quick restart. It’s usually something…
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The power of getting together for the Iron Range Fourth of July week
Last week, Andrew Krueger at Minnesota Public Radio interviewed me about the Fourth of July tradition on the Iron Range. The piece aired last Saturday. Independence Day brings one of the most fun weeks on the Iron Range. I explain some of the origin story and cultural significance of this week’s activities in the interview.…
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Glencore to take majority stake of PolyMet project
The preliminary results of PolyMet’s stock dilution scheme are in. Glencore, the world’s largest mining company and a lightning rod for labor and environmental criticism, will soon hold more than 71 percent of the Northern Minnesota copper-nickel project. “We thank all of our shareholders for their interest in and support for this project, and are…
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Prairie River Minerals scrambles to scram while iron market hot
Last April, I was first to report about Prairie River Minerals, a new company formed to process iron ore stockpiles on the western Mesabi Iron Range. It was a story that fell in my lap because a friend of mine is involved in the project. Thus, I’ve mostly left the story alone since then. But…
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Tune in for Dig Deep live call-in show
The Northern Community Radio political podcast “Dig Deep” will hold a live broadcast call in show Monday morning at 8:10. The podcast features Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns and myself. Heidi Holtan produces the show. Chuck represents the conservative perspective while I represent the liberal point of view. That said, our show is less about…
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UPDATE: Mesabi Metallics claims new partners to restart former Essar iron ore project
UPDATE: I’ve revised the June 6 post with new information and to clarify project ownership. On Wednesday evening WDIO-Duluth aired a report by Renee Passal about a potential new investors and management structure for Mesabi Metallics. However, on Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources rejected the company as lacking credibility. Mesabi Metallics keeps a…
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Great Northern Radio Show returns to Reif Center in Grand Rapids June 22
You might have noticed it’s been quiet at the blog these days. Regular readers can probably guess why. I’m busy with the book (more on that to come) and the radio show. Today I announce the next Great Northern Radio Show. I produce this live variety program for Northern Community Radio. The show will happen…
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Ely police talk down raging deer
When I was a reporter I would often have to translate police reports into normal human words. For countless journalists, this is a full time job. However, this tweet from the Ely Police Department requires no editing: Press Release: pic.twitter.com/V2HU9cHOT5 — Ely Police Dept (@ElyPolice) May 23, 2019 That’s one bad-ass momma deer ready to…
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U.S., Canada lift steel tariffs in shifting trade landscape
Well, the short, unnecessary trade war with our friendly neighbor Canada appears to be over. Last week, the United States and Canada jointly lifted countervailing tariffs on steel and aluminum. These two nations have long dickered over elements of trade policy, but have generally accepted that they’re good for each other. Canada buys more from…