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Sunday’s Iron Range news roundup
Here’s a roundup of Range stories from this morning. State Sen. Tom Bakk offers a tepid endorsement of Al Franken for U.S. Senate in today’s Mesabi Daily News. Bakk is one of a small cadre of Minnesota officials who were shocked, shocked!, to learn that Franken had once made a living as a late night…
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A dose of intrigue in Range House races
As I’ve said before, State Rep. and House Majority Leader Tony Sertich faces a primary challenge from Marc Pocrnich (check out his official website) this year and there is a Independence Party primary in my home District of 3A between Bill Hamm and Chris Pfeifer. I have way too many conflicts of personal interest to…
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Itasca DFL kicks off major effort on Wednesday
Readers come here for many different reasons. So, my apologies to those of you uninterested in DFL campaign news. At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30 at the Itasca County DFL headquarters in Grand Rapids there will be a volunteer training session, phone banking push and — the biggie — the delivery of Al Franken…
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Building trades officially "encourage" Bakk to run for governor
Are you growing tired of the “hard facts” of the 2008 election? Wouldn’t your rather resume the political analysis based on hearsay and guessing we all enjoyed last year? I have just the item for you. State Sen Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), one of two Iron Rangers and 50-plus other DFLers considering a run for governor…
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Generations, Part 3; Times a’ Changin’ on the Iron Range and in Duluth
Today I conclude my three part series on generational shifts that might influence races up and down this year’s Democratic (and, indirectly, Republican) ticket. Why? Well, I like to look at things through a historical lens and while history is known for taking a long time to transpire, there’s usually a tipping point where a…
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Cliffs plans biofuel-driven cleanup of Range mine emissions
I missed this business item from the Duluth News-Tribune yesterday when I was (ironically) down at the zoo in Duluth with my family. Cleveland-Cliffs is not only dropping $104 million on production upgrades at UTac, but they claim they can increase their overall production of taconite while reducing their carbon emissions, thanks to biofuels they…
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Essar restates desire to turn shovels soon on Minnesota Steel
The Grand Rapids Herald-Review reported yesterday on a presentation from Essar Steel to Itasca County about the giant Indian company’s impending groundbreaking for the Minnesota Steel project near Nashwauk. August, they say. And Essar officials are still talking like they plan to build the full steel mill with the iron concentrate mine, which has been…
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Generations Part 2; the SNL divide
Yesterday I talked about the generational divide that has influenced the race for President. Today I’ll talk about how this generational divide might be influencing our U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. Democrat Al Franken, an unusual candidate facing unusual challenges, is fighting to reestablish the narrative of a campaign which has been mired in talk…
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KSTP still crusin’ for a bruisin’ on the Range
CORRECTED to show use of Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, not FOIA. Word is that KSTP has submitted a Freedom of Information request (Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request) to Iron Range Resources for all e-mail correspondence between board members, staff and administration regarding Ironworld. Don’t worry; I didn’t get this in an e-mail. So…
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Generations, Part 1: Win or Lose, the Obama Era has begun
From the top to the bottom of the ticket, Democrats in Minnesota, indeed probably all over the country, face generational conflict this year. I imagine the same might be true of Republicans (but when your nominee is over 70 you might not be ready to talk about this yet). Politicos of all stripes are accustomed…
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Cliffs announces $100 million upgrade to Eveleth plant
Cleveland-Cliffs announced it is spending $104 on environmental and production upgrades to its United Taconite facility near Eveleth. This comes shortly after the company bought out the minority owners, assuming full command of the mine and production plant. From today’s Duluth News-Tribune: Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is proposing to spend approximately $104 million on improvements to its…
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This one is for the awards
When I worked in radio, there were stories you covered as part of your daily routine and there were stories that you were told were “awards” stories. These weren’t necessarily the top story of the day, but were compelling enough to enter in contests in order to win trophies and fodder for your resume. You…
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Forums set for Duluth House race
Two legislative forums have come to my attention for the hot Duluth House 7B race featuring a five-way DFL primary. There will probably be more. If you know of any, pass them along in the comments. Here is the first press release from Progressive Action: Progressive Action Hosts 7B Legislative Forum August 13 Progressive Action…
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Retiring Jaros endorses Stenersen in Duluth’s 7B
This is a nice endorsement for the Stenersen campaign. It’s not typical for a retiring legislator to make a full endorsement in a situation like this. Roger Reinert has many members of the Duluth city council on his side, so we’ll see who’s got the most sway. State Rep. Mike Jaros today says he will…
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OLA to release Excelsior Energy loan report
A while back, the Office of the Legislative Auditor confirmed it was reviewing specific complaints about $9.5 million in Iron Range Resources loans to Excelsior Energy for its Mesaba Energy Project, an expensive coal gasification plant that exists as part of a complex web of government grants, loans and regulatory exemptions. Several complaints over potential…