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Celebrate with the Great Northern Radio Show
It’s been a wild fall here at MinnesotaBrown. An unexpected research trip to San Francisco. Election coverage that culminated with a live appearance on National Public Radio. And now I’m getting ready for Saturday’s Great Northern Radio Show at the historic Hibbing High School auditorium. It’s been a banner year for this mid-level regional writer.…
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Fire destroys Cook store, but not community spirit
Last Sunday, my family struck deer camp a week early. I got sent home with a large amount of cheese curds, which is never a bad deal. My uncles always pick up the cheese from Zup’s in Cook. Monday night, a large fire destroyed the Zup’s Food Market, Cook’s only grocery store and heart of…
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Northern Minnesota’s new political ethos
Rifle hunting season is almost over. That’s the sure sign of winter in Northern Minnesota. Though just a week ago, the hotly contested election of 2018 safely recedes into the past. The first weekend at deer camp was awash with political theorizing. But we spent last weekend arguing the merits and mechanics of mounting a…
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Oral history of this blog with notes
Earlier this week I appeared on the Duluth News Tribune Pressroom Podcast with co-hosts Christa Lawler and Brady Slater, produced by Samantha Erkkila. The podcast team and I had been trying for years to figure out when I’d be in Duluth on a weekday with time to spare. We finally found a moment after my appearance…
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LIVE BLOG: Election 2018 in Northern Minnesota
Today is Election Day 2018 in the United States of America. This post concerns itself with one small but consequential part of this great nation: my present environs in Northern Minnesota. Let the live blog commence: 11:30 p.m. One more post. To conclude our evening’s business, MinnesotaBrown projects that State Rep. Sandy Layman (R-Cohasset) has…
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Minnesota’s 8th District campaign rumbles to finish line
With a day to go, the race for Congress in Minnesota’s 8th District appears to be competitive again. Last month, it seems like Republican Pete Stauber had pulled ahead but now it seems that Democrat Joe Radinovich is catching up. Too little, too late? A thundering rally? Only tomorrow’s vote can say. The 8th District…
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NPR coverage of Minnesota’s 8th District
National Public Radio’s Morning Edition broadcast live from Duluth, Minnesota this morning. A team of NPR journalists was covering Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District with an eye toward the people who will be making the decision in next Tuesday’s election. I was honored to join the broadcast as a contributor. If you missed the show, here…
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State issues mining permits to PolyMet: Now what?
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued permits for PolyMet Mining on Thursday, ending one long chapter of this story and beginning another. The permits mean PolyMet is now free to mine copper, nickel and other minerals from its proposed location near the former LTV iron mine at Hoyt Lakes. But doing so is not…
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National Public Radio to broadcast live from MN’s 8th District
This Friday morning a team of journalists will broadcast live from Duluth, Minnesota, as part of National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. I’ll join the program as a local analyst. Host Noel King and fellow reporters toured Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District all week. They’re not following the candidates. Rather, they’ve been talking to voters and learning…
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Final MN-8 forum tonight amid release of controversial Stauber e-mails
A district judge in Duluth ruled this morning that St. Louis County must release e-mail messages exchanged between Commissioner Pete Stauber and the National Republican Congressional Committee using Stauber’s government e-mail address. UPDATE: St. Louis County released the e-mails this afternoon. The State of Minnesota previously issued an opinion that the e-mails were public records.…
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The music of civility amid the street din
The backlog of topics I’d like to write about keeps growing. News in the mining and steel industry. News for the upcoming election. Some exciting news about my MN-8 campaign coverage (stay tuned next week). Yet, I’m under the gun writing a script for the Great Northern Radio Show this week, so all that’s on…
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Steelworkers reach tentative agreement with U.S. Steel
The United Steelworkers of America and U.S. Steel reached a tentative labor contract agreement on Monday, Oct. 15. Union leaders will now present the terms of the deal to their membership for a ratification vote. About 14,000 workers at mills and mines across America would work under this contract. Steelworkers leadership seemed pleased and optimistic…
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Stauber opens lead in Minnesota’s 8th District
Republican Pete Stauber opens a sudden and commanding lead in race for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. This according to the latest New York Times/Siena College live tracking poll of the district. Stauber leads by a stunning 15 points in the poll, 49 percent to Democrat Joe Radinovich’s 34 percent. Thirteen percent remain undecided. Independent Ray…
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Steelworkers ratify contract with Cleveland-Cliffs
Members of the United Steelworkers of America voted to ratify a new labor contract with Cleveland-Cliffs this week. The new deal maintains their current benefits while increasing their pay. Cliffs operates United Taconite and, until next year, contracts to operate Hibbing Taconite. Their plant at Northshore Mining is nonunion. Negotiations with U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal…
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Northern Minnesota’s legislative linchpins
One of the prevailing trends during the Trump Administration is the ease with which we ignore other politicians or, really, political topics of any substance. For instance, two years ago I was the campaign manager for a DFL incumbent in a critical rural swing race in the Minnesota House of Representatives. We lost. Two years…