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Big change coming to Hibbing Taconite
Yesterday, Cleveland-Cliffs announced it would exit its agreement to manage Hibbing Taconite next year. On Aug. 1, 2019 owners will need to have a new management structure in place to run the second largest iron mine in Minnesota. Hibbing Taconite is owned by a combination of three companies. They include the world’s largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal…
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What to watch in today’s MN-8 primary
The polls just opened in Minnesota’s 2018 primary election. If you haven’t yet, get out and vote. Plenty of federal, state and local races are on the ballot no matter your party preference. The DFL and GOP races for governor will be closely watched. Insiders tell me Tim Walz, Erin Murphy, and Lori Swanson seem…
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‘Saving Brinton’ in Duluth this week
I had my 20th class reunion this past Saturday. It was a lovely day of telling stories about the past. One of the scheduled events was a stop at our old high school. The plan was to watch a video my friends and I made my senior year. This short film, shot and edited on…
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A taste of change on the Iron Range
On Thursday, the Iron Range Makerspace hosts its first pop-up restaurant event, highlighting another small possibility of change in this blue collar region. June Apple Kitchen, a small catering business operated by Megan Reynolds, will cook a four course Mediterranean and serve at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16. For $40, all you have to do…
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Last look at Minnesota’s 8th District DFL primary
Next Tuesday, Minnesota voters head to the polls for the state’s primary election. Here in Northern Minnesota, both Republicans and DFlers face a choice for the 8th District Congressional District. The winners will face each other and independent Skip Sandman in the Nov. 6 general election. Today I’ll re-introduce those candidates and share notes from…
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Iron Range DFL legislative primary pits Lislegard against Hainey
With so many races in the 2018 Minnesota primary, I’ve not spent much time analyzing the only legislative primary on the Mesabi Iron Range. It’s an interesting contest that will test some of my earlier theories about Iron Range politics in a new more volatile electoral environment. DFLers in House District 6B head to the…
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Talking Trump, tariffs and the Iron Range on MPR
Earlier today I was a guest on MPR News with Kerri Miller along with University of Minnesota professor political science Kathryn Pearson. The topic was President Trump, specifically his appeal in Midwestern states like Minnesota. How will the presidents policies and style play in several close congressional races in the region? I wheeled out a…
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Fargo series to return with Chris Rock in lead role
I wasn’t sure I’d get to fire up the MinnesotaBrown “Fargo” Review again. After all, showrunner Noah Hawley had said he’d only bring the show back if he found a good story to tell. Well, apparently he has. And he’s brought in a heavy-hitter from the comedy world to headline the cast. FX has announced…
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Mesabi Metallics internal fight casts shadow over project
So, I was gone for a week. As near as I can tell, I’ve returned to a world in which Nashwauk’s Mesabi Metallics owns half a mine with half a processing plant on it, run by two competing management groups. Last week, some of the money behind Chippewa Capital Resources, owners of the Mesabi Metallics…
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Further North: Back in the U. S. of A.
I’m back in the U.S.A. My family and I just returned from a week-long vacation in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We had a wonderful time in Canada. You know what’s on the news in Canada? Wildfires. Public policy (not politics … policy). Bears. Every day, the bears do something different. Sometimes they sneak into an old lady’s kitchen…
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Sweet summer’s last act, a pause
Sweet Summer’s Last Act Basswood leaves hang like dinner plates, flags drooping on the pole. The animals grow brazen now, I think that one’s a mole. Brown and white skinned road workers can no longer be distinguished. Last night’s maple log has yet to be extinguished. Biting flies rule the day; mosquitos rule the night.…
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Spend a summer night with Great Northern Radio Show
You might recall that the Great Northern Radio Show broadcast from the Reif Center last month. I write, host and produce the show for Northern Community Radio. We just released the podcast episodes this week. The first episode is titled “Nostalgia.” We put together a collection of music, comedy and stories exploring that fuzzy feeling about a…
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R-O-C-K in the Co-op, eh?
The Mesaba Co-Op Park sits on the border between Cherry and Hibbing. You can’t escape this place as a key setting for Iron Range history. This refuge for mostly socialist Finnish immigrants became a playground and a proving ground for 20th Century leftist politics in Northern Minnesota. And it’s still here! While the place continues…
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Digging deeper into immigration debate
Immigration policy burns at the heart of the political and cultural battle presently tearing this nation asunder. So, it made for a great topic for our most recent podcast of “Dig Deep.” This radio/podcast hybrid features conservative commentator Chuck Marohn and myself, the liberal commentator. My friend Heidi Holtan produces the program for Northern Community…
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Canadian company gives solar second chance on Range
Next month, a Canadian company will reopen a solar panel manufacturing plant in Mountain Iron, hoping to shake off the bad juju of a previously failed project. Heliene opens in August with plans of hiring 130 people by September. They’ll produce commercial-scale solar panels for sale in the North American marketplace. They enjoy the aid…