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House 5B update: Door to door at ten below
I received some reports from boots on the ground in the House 5B DFL primary campaigns this weekend. And when I say boots on the ground, I mean big, honking clod-hopper boots on the cold, hard ground. On a pair of days in which the temperature barely reached zero here on the Iron Range, candidates…
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COLUMN: We who sail the seas set the course
This is my weekly column which ran in the Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. The column ran a day early because I was told that the large volume of letters to the editor regarding the House 5B special election pushed me off the Sunday page. That’s great, because the Saturday…
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Minus Kirby Puckett
Thirty-four below this morning as the sun peeked over the treetops, futilely hurling its hot solar rays at the ice box that is northern Minnesota. Henry’s school bus sounded like it had the consumption. It would get to school but not without protracted effort and considerable noise. Temperatures ran even lower just a few miles…
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Melin to host Saturday event featuring music from Paul Metsa
Carly Melin will host a candidate meet and greet from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22 at Zimmy’s in Hibbing. The event will feature live music from Iron Range native and well known Minnesota folk rocker Paul Metsa. Melin, a Hibbing attorney in the state judiciary, is one of five DFLers seeking the House 5B…
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Veda Ponikvar endorses Robinson in 5B special
Shelley Robinson earned a notable endorsement in the House 5B special election Thursday. Former Chisholm newspaper publisher and longtime Iron Range leader Veda Ponikvar offered her support to Robinson. From the campaign release: … Ponikvar reports that “for the past 20 years, Shelley Robinson has been a passionate advocate for the less fortunate among our…
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Primary drama, cold winds, hot Iron Range politics flood House 5B special
Open legislative seats on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range always attract drama, and not the sort of snappy, well-timed dialogue like you see in “The West Wing.” No, this drama is sometimes brutal, awkward, but extraordinarily rich, unflinchingly real, spanning generations like a great bridge. Today it begins anew. Seven candidates have filed for the special…
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Five DFLers, one Republican and one IP for Sertich seat special
The field is set. Five DFLers including Shelley Robinson, Carly Melin, Jeff Kletscher, Ray Pierce Jr., and the John Spanish will compete in a Feb. 1 primary election for State House District 5B. Republican Paul Jacobson and Independence Party candidate Cynthia Kafut Hagen will be waiting in the Feb. 15 general election for the DFL…
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Final day of filing for House 5B; full coverage of campaign at MinnesotaBrown
Today filings close on the Minnesota House of Representatives District 5B special election to replace former Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) who is now Commissioner of Iron Range Resources. DFLers Jeff Kletscher, Carly Melin and Shelley Robinson are already in, along with Republican Paul Jacobson. I have heard from one candidate, DFLer Cynthia Kafut Hagen, who…
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Snow poised to win labor dispute
Nothing says, “hello, this is what the apocalypse would look like,” like a snowplow driver strike in St. Louis County in January. It starts Wednesday, unless cooler (get it) heads prevail. Ideally, the union and management sweep aside their differences, piling up grievances out of the way or at least down the middle of the…
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Seeds of "military industrial complex" found in northern Minn. boat house
If you’re a fan of politics or history you might recall the legendary quote from President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address delivered 50 years ago today. The speech warned of the rise of a “military industrial complex” that would grow to drain our federal budget by entangling us in a series of nonstop overseas entanglements. Eisenhower’s…
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Jeff Kletscher adds name to DFL primary in 5B
Jeff Kletscher, entering his third fifth term mayor of Floodwood and current president of the League of Minnesota Small Cities, has joined the DFL primary fray in the House 5B special election. Kletscher has been in Floodwood city government for more than 18 years and works as a real estate broker after a career as…
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Paul Jacobson files as Republican for 5B special election
With DFLers Shelley Robinson and Carly Melin already in the race for the House District 5B Special Election, we now have a clearer picture who the primary winner will face in the general election. Republican Paul Jacobson filed today, resurrecting his unsuccessful campaign from last fall when he lost to former State. Rep. Tony Sertich,…
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DFLer Carly Melin will vie for 5B House seat
Carly Melin of Hibbing, an Iron Range attorney, is filing today for the open District 5B House of Representatives seat vacated by Rep. Tony Sertich, now Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources agency. Melin (pronounced Meh-leen) recently graduated from Hamline Law and now works for the Minnesota State Judiciary on the Range. She once worked…
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A heartfelt speech from Sertich
If you’re interested, check out the touching resignation speech from Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm), who stepped down today to start his new job as Commissioner of Iron Range Resources tomorrow. Related posts: No related posts.
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Filings for House 5B special election to open Friday, close Tuesday, Jan. 18.
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has officially posted the special election for House or Representatives District 5B, the seat vacated today by Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm). Filings open Friday, Jan. 14 and close Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. Information on how to file and the list of candidates who filed so far may…