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The Day After Duluth, comments about ‘trade policy’
A few days before U.S. Independence Day, our neighbors to the north hold their own national holiday, Canada Day. They throw a big party at the Canadian consulate in Minneapolis every year. I interviewed Canada’s governor-general in 2015, so they’re kind enough to send me invitations. Haven’t gone, but I half wonder how this year’s…
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Iron Range parades, street dances and fireworks
As a young kid I marched in the Keewatin Fourth of July parade as a patriotic penguin, Donald Duck, and other flag-festooned creatures. As an older kid I remember piling into a car with my friends, touring Range towns for street dances and fireworks. Before cell phones we would often try to anticipate where we…
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Hear ‘Dig Deep’ drill into 2018 campaign
As I previewed a few days ago, we held a Dig Deep live event at KAXE studios in Grand Rapids this week. Moderator and producer Heidi Holtan led a conversation between conservative commentator Chuck Marohn and liberal commentator, yours truly. We analyzed Minnesota politics as it stands today. Specifically we explore the uncertain race for…
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Dig Deep goes live tonight to talk 2018 races
Tonight at 6 the podcast Dig Deep broadcasts a special live edition from KAXE studios in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Dig Deep features moderator Heidi Holtan, conservative commentator Chuck Marohn and myself, the liberal commentator. You can join us to watch the event or listen on the radio. The event will later be released as a…
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President Trump to hold Duluth rally June 20
President Trump will hold a June 20 rally in Duluth, Minn., to sell his policies and stump for Republican candidates. The rally will be held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center at 6:30 p.m. June 20. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. UPDATE: The rally has been moved to AMSOIL Arena in the DECC…
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Summer 2018 brings color to Range communities
I drive through Nashwauk, Minnesota, most days. It’s a nice little town, but a little worn down. That’s not unusual for the cities of the western Mesabi Iron Range. These boom towns bloomed in a white pine wilderness a century ago, each at the mouth of a specific iron mine. Now that mining is more…
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Activist Sorensen joins Minnesota 8th District race
Yesterday, Minnesota media reported on numerous tales of political intrigue as the state and federal candidate filing period closed. Here in the North, we learned that we’d have an unexpected Republican primary in the Eighth Congressional District, but we also got another candidate in the crowded DFL primary. Progressive activist Soren C. Sorensen of Bemidji…
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Welty jumps in 8th District GOP race
Former Duluth School Board member Harry Welty jumped into the Eighth District race for Congress as a Republican Monday. Welty, who has run for office as a Republican and as an independent in the past, will compete with GOP-endorsed St. Louis County Commissioner Pete Stauber for the Republican nomination. The Eighth District represents one of…
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Wild conventions roil Minnesota governor’s race
The 2018 race for governor of Minnesota keeps unfolding like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, each flip of the page leading to some strange twist. The race was always going to hold some intrigue. Two term incumbent Gov. Mark Dayton, a popular if sometimes perplexing political figure, leaves office in January. The state’s Republican…
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Great Northern Radio Show in Grand Rapids June 23
On Saturday, June 23 we’re bringing the Great Northern Radio Show back to the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. If you’ve followed this blog, you know that every few months I fire up this massive, sputtering contraption and have some fun with live radio somewhere in Northern Minnesota. And I’d love it if you…
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Bankruptcy petition mires Iron Range mine project
Creditors filed a petition last week to force Tom Clarke’s ERP Iron Ore into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Minnesota Power shut off electricity to the former Magnetation property. Clarke told the Duluth News Tribune that ERP would pay back most creditors this week and work out a solution to the impasse with Minnesota Power. ERP…
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Summer brings 2018 Duluth-Superior Film Fest
The Duluth-Superior Film Festival opens Wednesday with a movie called “Virginia, Minnesota.” The film’s title refers to a character, not the Iron Range town. Nevertheless, this Minnesota-made film represents the creative spirit of this annual celebration of cinema here at the head of the Great Lakes. First, “Virginia, Minnesota” opens the festival with a special…
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Rise of the rural recreation economy
Here’s an idea. Go outside. That’s a good idea for anyone on a personal level. But going outside increasingly forms a rural economic recovery plan, too. On Sunday, I wrote about the challenges of a changing economy. In particular, the retail sector is shedding jobs amid consumer trends. This has an outsized impact on rural…
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How position politics stymies our legislature
I’m going to explain why the Minnesota legislature ends in a flaming pile of tractor scrapings every year, but first you have to watch this vintage footage of a 1980s bicycle sprint. The first minute or so will suffice. Bicycle sprinting is a unique sport. The overall time doesn’t count. The only thing that matters…
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Remembering my old neighbor Jack Lynch
During my blogging hiatus last week I received word that my old neighbor Jack Lynch passed away May 16 at the age of 83. Jack was a longtime reporter and editor for the Hibbing Daily Tribune, technically retired but still a fixture in the newspaper. Kelly Grinnsteiner, editor of the Tribune, wrote a lovely story about…