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Hey, cash-strapped utilities, wanna’ buy this boondoggle?
Having been shut down at the state PUC (and by Xcel, Minnesota Power and most other energy companies) Excelsior Energy, proponent of the coal gas Mesaba Energy Project, is now trying to hook power purchase deals for its theoretical electricity with municipal utilities in Minnesota. Excelsior will be touring with the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association,…
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Name that delegation: The Super Fun Poll
Last week I posed a challenge to readers to come up with a clever nickname for the Iron Range legislative delegation, a moniker that would bring some levity to what appears to be a pretty grim session. As students of Minnesota politics know, the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota reliably elects Democrats but seldom elects…
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Iron Range Resources board back for ’09 UPDATED
This Bill Hanna story from Sunday’s Mesabi Daily News and today’s Hibbing Daily Tribune describes how the Iron Range Resources Board will likely remain unchanged this year. The board, which has a oversight powers over this unique Iron Range state agency, consists of ten elected legislators and three appointed citizens. All legislative members were re-elected…
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Ritchie has done right
In the swirly hurly burly of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount, still ongoing in legal challenge form, one thing is clear: Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has done a great job. If there’s anything wrong with this recount those faults lie in preexisting state law and election policies, not with Ritchie’s even handed execution of his…
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Squirrels strike again
Dating back to my time as editor at the Hibbing Daily Tribune (the early 2000s), squirrels have knocked out Hibbing’s power supply no fewer than 1,208 times. OK, that’s not true but it happens all the time, including yesterday. This phenomenon is mentioned in my book, “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.” Just mentioned,…
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Essar Steel, other Iron Range mining projects press forward amid bad economy
Yesterday, Business North published an exclusive story from Beth Bily about the forward progress on Essar Steel’s Minnesota steel project near Nashwauk on the Iron Range. In short, the project continues as planned, according to company officials, because they believe steel demand will return by the time construction is complete in a few years. And…
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Name that delegation!
As Minnesota’s legislative session begins I am left with a conundrum. I cover the whole state but pay special attention to the Iron Range. Thus, I am forced to type the phrase “Iron Range DFL legislative delegation” again and again. I’d rather have a short nickname I could use instead. No acronyms. (IRDFLLD just doesn’t…
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Session outlook for the Iron Range
Here’s an overview of the grim session outlook from Iron Range legislative correspondent Jon Collins from the Mesabi Daily News and other Range papers. Job creation, the federal stimulus package and “innovation” appear likely to receive support, though said innovation remains in a theoretical stage. Related posts: No related posts.
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On the future of the Iron Range
Today’s Mountain Iron community discussion on the future of the Iron Range, sponsored by Messiah Lutheran Church, was fascinating. I won’t recap it now but sufficed to say I heard some things in this discussion that suggest a bright future for this unusual region, provided enough people work hard to make it happen these next…
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Reminder: Come to Mountain Iron today! The future depends on you!
Just a reminder, I and others will be taking part in a discussion (round table? not sure) about the future of the Iron Range from 2-4 p.m. today at the Mountain Iron Public Library. I don’t know the guest list yet, but to keep things interesting I’ll just say that I heard someone, somewhere say…
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The only ace up the sleeve for the Iron Range (and Minnesota) is transportation
A new legislative session has arrived in Minnesota. I must admit, I am a bit sheepish that I have not written more about what might come out of this session, especially since it is the all-important biennial budget session. The truth is that the crippling state budget deficit situation makes this session less about what…
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The future of the Iron Range (needs you!)
I’ll be taking part in a round table discussion about the future of the Iron Range at the Mt. Iron Public Library Wednesday, Jan. 7, (tomorrow) from 2-4 p.m. I snagged the swank invite because my new book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” discusses that very topic, among other history, political, beer- and…
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Range paper says Senate should seat … Burris?
A Mesabi Daily News (Virginia, Minn.) editorial today suggests that despite all the controversy, leaders should seat the new U.S. Senator from the upper Midwest. No, not Al Franken. The editorial is silent on that one. But rather, the MDN says the Senate should seat Roland Burris, the appointee of disgraced and embattled Illinois Gov.…
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Finale to Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount best summarized by Iron Range paper
Marshall Helmberger of the Ely, Orr and Tower Timberjay is one of those independent small town newspaper publishers who still puts up a fight against all odds. Today, he offers (my opinion) the best view of the conclusion to Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount. We’ve had a fair and transparent recount. All eligible votes have been…
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Retail economics on the Iron Range
The magazine Finance and Commerce just published a story about a retail development in Mountain Iron. We still don’t know what box store is going to be in this development but it’s interesting to see a Range town get this kind of attention. Media outlets are finally remembering that the Range is an excellent barometer…