Longtime readers know that for the past several years I’ve prepared a concise listing of Iron Range Fourth of July parades, street dances and fireworks displays. It was routinely among the most popular posts I produced each year as thousands read and shared the schedule with friends and families. I’ve decided not to produce this… Read More →
Talking resource politics
June 11, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Last week I spoke via Zoom to the Tamarack Water Alliance, an environmental group that formed recently in Aitkin County. As I explain in the introduction, I don’t take aggressive positions in these mining proposal debates because I’m trying to learn more and generate productive conversation. But this group asked me to speak and I… Read More →
Rural housing prices rise with changing times
May 25, 2023 by 1 Comment
Memorial Day weekend approaches, a time when residents of northern Minnesota welcome the residents of southern Minnesota for the long weekend. Perhaps before you log off to enjoy the next few days you might read my latest for the Minnesota Reformer, “The northland has its own housing crisis.” Summer custom dictates that visitors from the… Read More →
Curtain opens on new era of Iron Range performances
May 9, 2023 by Leave a Comment
You may have seen my column from last weekend, “Final Goodman show marks new era on Iron Range.” I marked the end of an era with the closure of the Goodman Auditorium and the dedication of the new Rock Ridge school. On Tuesday, I appeared on Minnesota Public Radio’s “Minnesota Now” with Cathy Wurzer to… Read More →
Greed and privilege fuel anti-democracy trend
April 13, 2023 by 1 Comment
My latest piece for the Minnesota Reformer is out today, “Democracy checks power; that’s why it’s in danger.” I realize it’s fashionable to comment on declining democratic norms in modern American politics, but I’m not sure everyone realizes how widespread this phenomenon actually is. Every large democracy in the world now wrestles with a proxy… Read More →
Speaking of the robot uprising
March 27, 2023 by 2 Comments
Are you ready for when the metal ones come for you? And they will. My latest column for the Minnesota Reformer is out today. Ostensibly, “Um, Like, the Humans Are Speaking,” is about public speaking and artificial intelligence. But, like all commentary about A.I., it’s really about humanity. Here’s a taste: Many of the analytical… Read More →
When past meets future
March 16, 2023 by Leave a Comment
I was on the Wednesday, March 15 KAXE Morning Show with my friend Heidi Holtan talking about my most recent column for the Mesabi Tribune, “Saving our energy for the future.” You can hear the interview at KAXE’s webpage. We talked about skepticism over electric cars, historical comparisons to the advent of automobiles 100 years… Read More →
For peat’s sake
February 21, 2023 by 2 Comments
Today, I share my latest column for the Minnesota Reformer, “Bog is Dead: The waning defense of Minnesota wetlands.” When most people think about northern Minnesota, they picture forests and lakes. That’s understandable. We have a lot of trees and lakes up here, to be sure. But many overlook the vast peatlands that span the… Read More →
Notes from the basement
February 16, 2023 by 2 Comments
The world seems awash with news and events I’d have blogged about in recent years. Mining industry scuttlebutt. Duluth fighter jets shooting down UFOs. Fortunately, some other writers are on the job, including Jerry Burnes and Leah Ryan of the new Iron Range Today. It was no surprise that former State Sen. Tom Bakk signed… Read More →
The old roads are rapidly agin’
January 9, 2023 by 4 Comments
Today you can read my latest column for the Minnesota Reformer. Don’t tell anyone, but there’s a Bible verse etched above one of the entry doors to the Mesabi East High School in Aurora, Minnesota. It reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18). Though the biblical meaning is distinctly conformist and… Read More →
