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Essar mine project faces life or death moment
Essar Steel Minnesota may soon lose its mineral leases for its incomplete iron ore mine near Nashwauk, Minnesota. The beleaguered India-based company missed another deadline in repaying state grant money it received to build an innovative new steel mill, which Essar later scaled down to a traditional taconite processing plant. Losing the mineral leases would essentially…
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Great Northern Radio Show is July 4 soundtrack
At 2 p.m. on Monday, July 4, Northern Community Radio will rebroadcast the most recent live episode of my Great Northern Radio Show. Let us provide the soundtrack to your holiday activities. Our June show was recorded in front of almost 600 people at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The show featured…
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Minnesota: charging toward greatness
Today is July 2, the actual birthday of the United States of America. (Ask John Adams about that. He abhorred that officials selected July 4, the date of the paperwork being filed, as the holiday). July 2 is also the anniversary of the charge of the First Minnesota Volunteers on the second day of the…
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Chisholm ‘movie studio’ boss arrested for fraud
A big time movie studio in the old Chisholm City Hall? A-list stars bellying up to the bar at Tom and Jerry’s? Sounds too good to be true. And it certainly was. Last year, Wayzata businessman Jerry Seppala, son of Iron Range expats, announced the opening of Ironbound Studios, a film studio that would occupy…
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The Potica Tour: Gov. Dayton to Croatia
Today, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is traveling on an economic, military, and diplomatic mission to Croatia, celebrating the ties between our state and this eastern European nation. “Our partnership with Croatia has produced tremendous benefits over the past twenty years, strengthening national security, enhancing economic ties, and growing civic relationships between Minnesota and Croatia,” said Dayton…
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Historic Northland Building faces demolition
The Northland Building in the Iron Range city of Virginia, Minnesota, now faces demolition despite its status on the National Register of Historic Places. St. Louis County is planning a new government services office in Virginia which would pull offices out of their current location in the Northland Building, which county officials deem too expensive…
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AAAOOO! New Minnesota parks license plates
Here’s something cool. MPR and others report that the state has announced its finalists for the new Minnesota state parks and trails license plate design contest. Each design was submitted by a citizen artist to reflect the state park experience. One of the designs depicts Itasca State Park, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Another…
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Happy Paul Bunyan Day!
I woke this morning to news that it was Paul Bunyan Day. So, Happy Paul Bunyan Day, I guess. I’m afraid I didn’t get you a card. I’m already dressed, so I’m not even wearing plaid. Paul Bunyan is, of course, the American folk giant who worked as a lumberjack in the heyday of the…
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Appeals court backs man who cut garage in half
I feel obligated to mention the latest on the bisected garage still spurring conversation along Itasca County Highway 8 out in my neighborhood northwest of Nashwauk, Minnesota. Last week, a state appeals court ruled in favor of Roger Weber, the former state House candidate who cut his late father’s garage in half with a chain saw as the…
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Forum to profile two hot Range primaries
On Thursday, June 23, candidates in the House 6A DFL primary and St. Louis County board district 7 primary will participate in a forum at the Hibbing City Hall sponsored by the Hibbing Area Chamber of Commerce. Even though the prior is a legislative race and the latter a county race, both districts overlap at their…
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Great Northern Radio Show is Saturday @ 5p
This Saturday, June 18, my Great Northern Radio Show will broadcast live at 5 p.m. from Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Grand Rapids is a city at the western gates of the Mesabi Iron Range. (It is an academic argument which side of the gate it may be found). Having grown up along the east central Iron Range, Grand…
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Duluth looking to remodel, not replace library
Last year it seemed the city of Duluth was barreling toward the demolition of its distinctive library building along Superior and Michigan avenues in favor of a new $35 million building. At the time, the consultant hired by the city was saying that it would cost $31 million to perform necessary repairs and remodeling to the…
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Heat (and hustle) is on for big Range project
A $440 million wood siding plant on the Iron Range. More than 800 jobs. Economic diversification. It’s hard not to get excited about information like this. But, as usual, the big bluster requires closer inspection. For instance, how much of that $440 million will come from public sources? At least $40 million, according to this Bill…
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Mining’s musical chairs on the Mesabi
Iron Rangers are celebrating the reopening of United Taconite after parent company Cliffs secured a ten-year contract with ArcelorMittal. In fact, Cliffs is even moving up the opening of the plant to August, instead of October. But with this good news comes the reality that one of the Iron Range’s biggest public and private investments in the last…
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‘Fargo’ heading to St. Cloud with Ewan McGregor
St. Cloud sits at the center of Minnesota like a spleen. What’s a spleen for? Probably something, right? Whatever it is, you’d have to take a college class to know for sure. St. Cloud is one of the regional centers of the state. Yet, unlike Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Mankato or Duluth, Minnesotans have a tough time…