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Hockey’s iconic Hanson Brothers are ‘home’ on the Range
The Hanson Brothers — real life brothers and pro hockey veterans — are practically legend for anyone who follows hockey in Northern Minnesota. The cult classic “Slap Shot,” starring Paul Newman, cast Jeff, Steve and Jack Carlson to play themselves … along with Dave Hanson, an actor cast to replace Jack when he was called up…
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Hear the Grand Marais Great Northern Radio Show
You can now hear the podcast for the most recent Great Northern Radio Show we did up in Grand Marais on June 13. The show went well: great audience, sketch material and guests were strong on this one and the music fit the place like a glove. In addition to being a free download, you…
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Brick Rolled: new look for downtown Duluth’s Superior Street
The first time I went to downtown Duluth, Minnesota, I was a kid and among the things that stood out to me was the brick face of Superior Street. Whatever brick streets or sidewalks we had on the Iron Range had long been scraped up before my time and the concept was novel. This year, after…
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First-ever Ely Marathon will be run Sept. 26
If you’d like to run a marathon in a place where there are more moose, bears and wolves than usual, you’ve got a chance Sept. 26 with the first-ever Ely Marathon. Starting on the north arm of Burntside Lake, the marathon route follows the historic Echo Trail down into Winton and eventually ending in downtown Ely.…
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Northern MN art teacher crowned Miss Minnesota
A Northern Minnesota high school art teacher was crowned Miss Minnesota last Saturday and will now use her campaign for the Miss America crown to highlight education issues. Rachel Latuff is the art teacher at North Woods High School serving Cook and Orr. You can catch the whole story in this Tom Klein article from the hometown…
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With contracts looming, Range mines crunch numbers
No matter your job or politics, ten dollars is always ten dollars. By some reports, that’s how much money some Iron Range mines need to shave off their cost for a ton of taconite iron ore to survive the coming global steel industry contraction. John Myers at the Duluth News Tribune reported on this last weekend, highlighting…
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See active Iron Range mines or tour virtually
This Thursday brings the first of the Hibbing Taconite mine tours available via the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm. The tours run every Thursday afternoon from June 25 to Aug. 6. The Hibbing Taconite mine tour takes you through an active iron mine and processing facility. You see how iron is blasted out of the ground and turned…
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Howie Hanson re-enters Duluth mayor race
Duluth blogger and city councilor Howie Hanson will resume his campaign for the city’s top job. He had announced his withdrawal from the race, but has changed his mind. He joins Emily Larson, boxing promotor Chuck Horton and auto mechanic Jim Mattson as announced candidates to succeed popular Mayor Don Ness, who is not seeking re-election. Filing doesn’t…
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Divers check rumor of ruby slippers beneath Range mine pit
Last week, volunteer divers from the Itasca County Sheriffs Department searched the bottom of the Tioga Mine Pit for an unusual reason. They were looking for the missing ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” stolen from a display in town several years ago. And sure, the Judy Garland Celebration in the famed actress’s hometown…
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Metsa’s Cats Under the Stars to reunite on the Iron Range
Paul Metsa, the Minnesota folk/rock troubadour, will reunite his signature band from the 1980s, Cats Under the Stars,” for a reunion concert in the Iron Range town where they formed 40 years ago. Cats Under the Stars will perform 7 p.m., Thursday, June 18, at the Lyric Center for the Arts at 510 Chestnut Street…
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The lobbying cycle that limits Iron Range progress
Last weekend, the Star Tribune continued its investigative reporting on Iron Range politics and economic development with a Jennifer Bjorhus story that focused on Iron Range lobbyist Gary Cerkvenik and one of his highest profile projects, Mt. Iron’s Silicon Energy. The story received almost no attention on the Iron Range, but I’d like to revisit…
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Bakk whips votes to save session, career
I’ll be stepping away from the blog for a few days, but it is clear at this hour that the special session to resolve the 2015 legislative business is still a rocky proposition. At this point, the delay is fixed entirely on the DFL Senate, where Majority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) still doesn’t have the…
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Great Northern Radio Show live Saturday from Grand Marais
(To the tune of “Do You Know the Way to San Jose“) Do you know the way to Grand Marais? I’ve been away so long. I may go wrong and lose my way. Do you know the way to Grand Marais? I’m going back up the North Shore to Grand Marais. 61 is a great…
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Minnesota’s self-induced legislative crisis nears end
Gov. Mark Dayton, House Speaker Kurt Daudt and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk have reached a tentative compromise on the bills vetoed by the governor, paving the way for an imminent special legislative session. Having already abandoned his demand for universal voluntary early childhood programs, and more recently the repeal of (probably unconstitutional) provisions that…
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Polymet review decision lingers on
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says it will need more time to finish the final review response for the controversial PolyMet nonferrous mine project. In this John Myers story in the Duluth News Tribune, Minnesota DNR commissioner Tom Landwehr explained that the official response to the review period won’t be ready until the end of the…