-
Bertha vs. Blizzard: Who will win Super Bowl … of pathos?
It’s Super Bowl Sunday … Weekend! This most American quasi-holiday arrives just as our easily distracted, irritable nation needs it most. Two football teams will enter the stadium and … well, both will walk out as well. But one of them will be Super Bowl Champions, a fact that surprisingly few people will remember in about…
-
Mesabi Nugget to shut down 6-8 weeks
Mesabi Nugget, a unique newer iron nugget plant on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range, announced yesterday it will shut down for about 6-8 weeks, waiting to burn off excess supply in a sluggish market and rough financial situation. Officials say the shutdown will begin sometime in February or March. The plant employed about 130 people last year.…
-
The Great Iron Range Keystone Light Caper
A recent crime story in Hibbing, Minnesota, has nabbed a lot of attention and plenty of social media shares in my circles. Early in the morning on Wednesday, Jan. 28, a man broke through the door of the Some Beach Liquor Store on the southern side of the Beltline near the Eastern European performance art…
-
Anderson edges Schroeder in 2015 Beargrease sled dog race
The 2015 John Beargrease sled dog marathon is in the books. Past champion Ryan Anderson of Ray, Minnesota, out-dueled defending champion and three-time winner Nathan Schroeder of Chisholm (by way of “the big city’a” Warba), pulling in at 2:53 a.m. Wednesday. Schroeder pulled in about half an hour later at 3:21. One of these two…
-
Sleeping Giant: subtle view of Range people, places, color
About three years ago I had the honor of working with Minneapolis photographer Vance Gellert as he planned a major project centered on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. I consulted with him on a few shoots, gave him some ideas, and he went about his business. Well, after a preview show in 2013, the final results…
-
Mining career event at MN Discovery Center this Friday
Those interested in exploring a career in mining should check out the state Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Mining Industry Day at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm this Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Often my work here at MinnesotaBrown is painted as “anti-mining” and I really don’t care for that characterization. Five…
-
Campaign Finance Board offers vague OK to Tomassoni
Earlier this week I wrote that I was worried that the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, lacking jurisdiction on the matter of Sen. David Tomassoni’s new job as head of a lobbying organization, would issue some vague shrug-turned-nod in his direction. That, after all, was probably why Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and Sen. Tomassoni requested the…
-
How to Survive Blizzards (Maybe), with Love from Minnesota
Dear East Coast USA, We see on your TV channels that you are experiencing a large blizzard of historic proportions today. Two feet of snow is a lot, you guys. We would know. Hi, this is Minnesota. Maybe you’ve heard of us? Bob Dylan is from here, and so is Prince. We know those guys have…
-
Nolan says 3 Range mines have deal on haze standard
U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) announced yesterday that three Iron Range taconite mines have struck a deal with federal regulators to comply with Northern Minnesota’s haze standards. Federal haze standards relate to special air quality rules that apply to areas near national parks and wildernesses, of which there are several in the Upper Great Lakes…
-
On ‘Transportation Monday,’ a call for reform
Later this morning, Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN) will introduce his transportation proposal for this year’s legislative session. In the new Minnesota legislature — now featuring a Republican House and a returning DFL Senate — transportation was one of the issues some believed could unite the two parties. The new GOP majority in the House was…
-
56 years after Buddy Holly in Duluth, new Winter Dance Party
One of the interesting arts projects going on in Northern Minnesota is the proposed renovation of the Duluth Armory as a renewed concert and public event place in the heart of Lake Superior’s “Zenith City.” The Armory, like many armories, was once a bustling concert hall where many famous performers once played. Buddy Holly played…
-
Duluth airport gets Oberstar name; Hibbing gets plaque or something
The new Duluth International Airport terminal will be named for the late Rep. Jim Oberstar, a transportation and aviation titan during his 36 years in Congress. Duluth had been in competition with the Range Regional Airport in Hibbing for the rights to name their new terminal after Oberstar. Oberstar was instrumental in the development of…
-
Public lobbying group that hired Tomassoni now reeling
The controversy over State Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm) accepting a job as head of an Iron Range public sector lobbying group continues to churn, now consuming local politics as well as the crowded halls of the Capitol in St. Paul. As we discussed last week, Ely became the first RAMS member-city to delay renewing its…
-
Bob Dylan speaks of Hibbing, grandma & his dream career
Robert A. Zimmerman of Hibbing, Minnesota, didn’t know he’d become Bob Dylan when he left for Dinkytown, Minneapolis in 1959. But now that he is, Northern Minnesota’s most famous son is looking back with some nostalgia and reverence for the Iron Range town where he first dabbled with poetry and guitars. Known for his guarded reclusiveness with the…
-
Range museum to host murder mystery (with buffet)
This Saturday, Jan. 24, the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, formerly Ironworld, will host one of those murder mystery evenings that you sometimes hear about. They’re calling it the Clueseum. The Minnesota Discovery Center is a sprawling facility filled with mining artifacts, art and, until recently, stern and frightening papier-mâché sculptures depicting arguments over the contract…