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True knowledge in the north woods
This is my weekly Hibbing Daily Tribune column for Sunday, May 11, 2008. I archive my columns at my writing site. True knowledge in the north woodsBy Aaron J. Brown The other day, my almost-three-year-old son Henry and I walked down to the lake to throw sticks, a favorite pastime of Henry’s and a ritual…
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Update: Forums scheduled for hot 4A race
Here’s an update from the House District 4A race. This is the seat that popular incumbent Frank Moe (DFL-Bemidji) is abandoning to pursue a Ph.D. and focus on his family. We’ve got endorsement fights on both sides of the aisle. DFLThere are still only two announced DFL candidates for endorsement: Leech Lake band member and…
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More steel and speculation in this week’s Biz North
Wayne Nelson and the writers at Business North do a fine job of covering the economic news of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. This week’s edition has a couple of interesting Iron Range stories. First, this story reviews Essar Global’s North American steel ambitions, something I talked about earlier in the week. This is the company…
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Great news! The Range is getting shafted by lobbyists!
Maybe you heard on the TV the great, fantastic super duper news that lobbyist-run Excelsior Energy got a gabildyzillion dollars in tax credits for their boondoggle Mesaba Energy Project. Wow! That’s great! Except that the tax credits apply only if they build the plant, a prospect that requires private investment and a customer willing to…
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Getting along
Minnesota Public Radio has a story today on why Republicans and Democrats can’t get along. Iron Range State Rep. Tom Rukavina is quoted near the end. His diagnosis: not enough free beer. His solution: more free beer. Makes sense to me. Related posts: No related posts.
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City Pages reports on Iron Range past, present
I’m not sure what drew them to us, but City Pages — the Twin Cities’ alt weekly — profiles a snippet of Iron Range history and provides a surprisingly detailed look at new nonferrous mineral mining technology on the East Range in this week’s web edition. The history portion in particular puts a bit of…
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Excelsior petitions for delay in PUC ruling on Mesaba project
Excelsior Energy’s Mesaba Energy Project will not be on the docket for Thursday’s Public Utilities Commission meeting. The PUC had been expected to rule on two key aspects of the proposed coal gas plant, but Excelsior asked for and received a delay. Why? Some mumbo jumbo about an appeal to a previous administrative decision. The…
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Obama blasts through cable news flak
Well, I watched several consecutive minutes of cable television news last night and at no point did I feel the need for alcohol. That’s a good night. Barack Obama has Fort Clinton surrounded on all sides. He should offer to pay her campaign debt and end this thing. Meantime, let’s take a look at his…
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Obama, Clinton bar fight reaches "hard to watch" stage during awkward moment between de facto conclusion and police arrival
So you all know I’m in the tank for Obama so I’ll spare the feigned objectivity here. I am, however, finding ways to enjoy this protracted race for the Democratic nomination even though it hasn’t been very good for my guy. Have you ever been to an Iron Range bar? At night? Sometimes, around 11…
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Nashwauk is just one push pin on a big map for global steel company
It’s been said before, but Essar Global’s ongoing purchase plans of the Minnesota Steel project — a proposed iron mining and steel-making operations near Nashwauk — sends the Mesabi Iron Range deep into the complicated global steel market. For two decades, Iron Rangers have come to view the prospective mine and steel mill on the…
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Anzelc speaks truth on Mesaba boondoggle
In this Mike Jennings story rescued from last Saturday’s edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune, my friend and colleague Tom Anzelc becomes the highest level public official to acknowledge the foolishness of the Mesaba Energy Project: Efforts to sort out the legal and administrative tangle that has ensnared Excelsior Energy will continue next week, but…
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Oberstar gears up for campaign today
The Eighth Congressional District DFL Convention opens today in Duluth. I’ll be covering the convention from the audience of Hibbing Community College Theatre’s production of “Born Yesterday” (tonight at 7:30 with a Sunday matinee!) via my cell phone that will be switched off. I expect my coverage of the convention to be among the worst…
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The Empire Strikes Barack
Got five minutes to burn on Friday afternoon? Familiar with the Star Wars series? Support Barack Obama? Or, do you support Hillary Clinton and want to see the what these crazy kids voting for Obama can do with all their digital editing software and idle time? Check out this video. That’s right, folks. We can…
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Taking Requests: Minnesota Steel, sure thing or just a myth?
This is the third and, for now, final installment of the randomly occasional “Taking Requests” segment, in which I blog about Range issues on the minds of MinnesotaBrown readers. Today’s topic, at the prompting of a couple e-mails I’ve received, is the Minnesota Steel project near Nashwauk. For the past decade, the biggest of all…
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Flash: Iron Range Stalin voters breaking for Clinton
I just love the crime section of the Grand Rapids (Minn.) Herald-Review. Most of the dailies up here on the Iron Range gloss over the small town crime, trimming out the details that make weekly and twice-weekly crime blotters more interesting. This is from Wednesday’s Herald-Review: The words, “Hillary for President,” were spray-painted in green…