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Rural identity crisis in Minnesota politics
Minnesota stands at a political crossroads. On one hand, the North Star State remains much the same. A majority Democratic Congressional delegation. High rankings for quality of life that come at the expense of relatively high taxes. High rates of health insurance and educational success. Minnesota seemingly remains a progressive place to live, if you can stand…
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Chinese president’s visit holds Iron Range implications
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Florida today to meet with President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago golf resort. This is the first meeting between these leaders of the world’s two largest economies, and the stakes are high. First of all, new nuclear saber-rattling from Chinese ally North Korea threatens the Pacific region. Reports from…
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Truth behind the numbers on mining jobs
Like screeching crows or the rattle of a train yard, Northern Minnesota’s never-ending debate about risks and prospects of new mining eventually fades into the background. You get used to it. It matters, but it doesn’t change. So it’s been interesting to watch a similar debate enter the national discussion. President Trump, during the campaign and…
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Biofuel politics puts loggers in a bind
Logging is a tough business. In the old days logging meant back-breaking labor with axes and saws — one of the most dangerous jobs on Earth. It still is one of the most dangerous jobs, but also one of the most economically challenging. Axes and saws have given way to hundreds of thousands of dollars…
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We’re (probably) gonna win Twins, we’re (occasionally) going to score
Javier Ponce? Pedro Jaramillo? Francisco Velasco? Who are these guys, and how did they end up on the roster of the Minnesota Twins? Major League Baseball kicks off its 2017 season on Sunday. The Minnesota Twins open Monday at Target Field. And it doesn’t look good. For instance, Ponce, Jaramillo and Velasco? Those are actually members…
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38% of U.S. jobs could be lost to automation within 15 years
A diagnostic scan of the economy along Northern Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range turns up several problems, and several causes of those problems. But nothing has contributed to more job losses in the Iron Range economy than the improved technology and automation of the iron mining industry. Those same changes literally saved the industry, while reducing the number of…
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Might as well jump: Indoor trampoline park slated for West Duluth
America’s Funniest Home Videos could broadcast an endless loop of trampoline accidents. Your local emergency room doctor owns at least one vehicle paid for by the victims of trampoline accidents. And yet, our nation’s fascination with trampolines continues. For some, trampolines provide the simple hope that the kids burn enough energy to at some point sit quietly or…
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Stunning North Woods buzzer beater advances Grizzlies
The Minnesota Boys Basketball Tournament is going on in St. Paul this week. The North Woods Grizzlies, champions of northeastern Minnesota’s Section 7A, are still in the hunt, thanks to this heroic shot by sophomore Cade Goggleye. Check it out: WDIO has the same shot from a different angle. The Duluth News Tribune also has…
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Boomtown Brewery to open in Hibbing at former Zimmy’s location
Amid tough times for small businesses on the Iron Range, one entrepreneurial couple bucks the trend. Eric and Jessica Lietz, owners of the iconic Whistling Bird Jamaican restaurant in Gilbert and Boomtown in Eveleth, will now open a brewery in Hibbing. The Boomtown Brewery will be located at the former Zimmy’s Bar and Restaurant in the…
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Dylan talks hunting, fishing and Northern Minnesota in new interview
Like most who grew up on the Iron Range, Bob Dylan reminisces about hunting and fishing. He also insists there’s a profound difference between Northern and Southern Minnesota. Dylan, born in Duluth and raised in Hibbing, doesn’t give many interviews. When he does, they become their own art form. His answers, rarely direct, ebb and flow around some ambiguous concept,…
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Shipping season begins on Lake Superior
Never mind the equinox until the lakers leave the equi-DOCKS! Ha! Get it? The Lake Superior shipping season reopens today, marking the actual start of Northern Minnesota’s spring. Of course, we celebrated the vernal equinox this past Monday. That’s nice and all, but only big honking ships full of taconite and coal can really get…
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‘The Ballad of Newton Badger’ and the spark of community potential
Every semester I ask my Iron Range college students to identify a “community problem” and then argue for a solution to that problem. In recent years, without fail, the most common problem identified is “nothing for young people to do on the Iron Range.” The solutions, of course, all include some variant on “here’s something…
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Iron mining’s cold war on the western Mesabi
As Iron Range economic development phantasms go, the Essar Steel Minnesota project near Nashwauk has always felt rather personal. The construction site sits just a few miles from my house. When the wind carried, I could hear them running equipment, crushing rocks for fill, and erecting the plant structures which today remain unfinished on the horizon of my…
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Hibbing J.C. Penney store to close
The Star Tribune reports that the Hibbing J.C. Penney store is among eight small town locations closing in Minnesota amid the company’s nationwide downsizing. Other locations include: Baxter, Fairmont, Faribault, Hutchinson, Red Wing, Thief River Falls and Winona. The inventory liquidation sales begin on April 17, according to the Star Tribune. The store will close June…
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Art project to brighten Bob Dylan’s Iron Range hometown
After Bob Dylan received his Nobel Prize in Literature, something clicked in Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota. A group of community members formed the Hibbing Dylan Project, with the goal of celebrating the legacy of the folk troubadour’s Iron Range roots. As I’ve written, I was active in Dylan Days, which enjoyed a 14-year run in Hibbing.…