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The chilling effect of IRRRB board structure
Even as multitudes turn their eyes toward economic diversification on the Iron Range this week, today we confront with one of the biggest barriers to breaking unsuccessful economic patterns here: a parochial establishment seemingly unable to handle dissent. The Duluth News Tribune and others reported on Tuesday’s Cook County board meeting. At that meeting, County Commissioner Frank Moe proposed a resolution offering…
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Thomas X empowers with new rap on native issues
Red Lake rapper Thomas X is out with a new single and a powerful new video combining his unique hip-hop sound with the traditions of Northern Minnesota’s Annishinabe people. Here’s Rezolution, the latest single from Thomas X: Thomas X was a guest on last year’s Bemidji edition of my Great Northern Radio Show after his previous album “Have a Good…
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Highway 53 bridge progress seen from the air
The Highway 53 bridge project between Eveleth and Virginia, Minnesota, continues to develop at a fast pace. Sure, the mine that required the major state highway to be rerouted, United Taconite, is still idled. And yes, this project involves snaking a new road around a man-made mountain, constructing the state’s tallest bridge across a mine pit,…
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World’s largest coal company goes bankrupt
Today Peabody Energy filed for bankruptcy. Peabody is the largest privately-held coal mining company in the world. It has long been a titan of America’s Appalachian mining region. Reports indicate the company owes creditors more than $10 billion and holds only slightly less than $11 billion in assets. Peabody lost $2 billion just last year alone. It’s…
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It’s Iron Range week for state media
Looks like I picked a good week to take a few days off from the blog. State media are giving us plenty of Iron Range reading material. Today, of course, Minnesota Public Radio will hold its “Minnesota’s Iron Range: Ideas for the Future” forum at Hibbing Community College. The forum will take place from 6-8 p.m. in…
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Radio Magic: Reina del Cid and me as a Centaur
This Saturday, April 9, I’ll be bringing my Great Northern Radio Show to Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. I previewed the show late last week here at the blog. Today (Friday), I leave my familiar environs here on the Iron Range, escaping to Minnesota’s Central Lakes region where one finds Pequot Lakes along Highway 371. We’ve got a full 36 hours of…
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St. Louis County may allow ATVs on roads
St. Louis County commissioners may allow All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) to be operated on county roads with few restrictions as soon as May 24. John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune reported on the county plan to lift a ban on ATVs on county roads earlier this week. A majority of commissioners appear to support the idea.…
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Mills poll shows Nolan up 3 points in MN-8
A Republican pollster says the campaign for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth District is close. Nevertheless, the internal poll still shows Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) three points ahead of challenger Stewart Mills. Democrat Nolan defeated Mills by less than 2 points in 2014, with a third party candidate running to Nolan’s left. Mills is making another attempt…
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Duluth passenger rail project slows down to speed up
When I was writing daily newspaper editorials 15 years ago, I spent a lot of time extolling the virtues of passenger rail service. Looking back, it was a tailer-made issue for an editorialist. It cost money. It had statistics. There were maps. Plus, the opposition would have to go on the record against trains. Since trains are…
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U.S. Steel slashes 25 percent of salaried jobs
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, owner and operator of two major mines on the Mesabi Iron Range and co-owner of a third, announced Wednesday it would slash 25 percent of its salaried workforce. The job cuts are focused on its North American operations. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The steelmaker had 21,000 employees in North America as of…
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Embattled Hibbing school administrator resigns
Former Hibbing High School assistant principal Jac Fleming has resigned, according to a Tony Potter story in the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Fleming was at the center of a major community controversy over his conduct with female students. The state human rights department released a finding of discrimination based on gender against Fleming earlier this year. Fleming…
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Leech Lake elects new chair; LaDuke falls short at White Earth
After announcing the funding for the new Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School near Cass Lake on Election Day, Leech Lake Tribal Chairwoman Carri Jones was nevertheless defeated by challenger Faron Jackson, Sr. KOJB reports that Jackson won with about 53 percent of the vote t0 Jones’ approximately 31 percent. Five other candidates combined for the remaining support. Jones…
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Itasca County reinstates veterans official
After a turbulent month of local politics in Northern Minnesota’s Itasca County, veteran services officer Hugh Quinn has been reinstated by the county board. Last week, the county board fired administrator Trish Harren, who had been a central figure in the reorganization of all county services stemming from a comprehensive planning process. The veterans services…
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Essar misses deadline for $10 million repayment
While the half-finished project continues to jut from the landscape in eastern Itasca County, Essar Steel Minnesota is likely going to change considerably before work continues. In fact, it might not even be called Essar anymore if many involved have their say. Dee DePass at the Star Tribune reports today that Essar Steel Minnesota has missed a late…
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Feds finally fund new Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School
Many media outlets reported Tuesday that the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School near Cass Lake will finally get a new building thanks to $11.9 million in federal funding. Operated by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwa, the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School is housed in what was once a bus garage. In recent years it has fallen into serious disrepair. As…