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The Day After Duluth, comments about ‘trade policy’
A few days before U.S. Independence Day, our neighbors to the north hold their own national holiday, Canada Day. They throw a big party at the Canadian consulate in Minneapolis every year. I interviewed Canada’s governor-general in 2015, so they’re kind enough to send me invitations. Haven’t gone, but I half wonder how this year’s…
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Hear ‘Dig Deep’ drill into 2018 campaign
As I previewed a few days ago, we held a Dig Deep live event at KAXE studios in Grand Rapids this week. Moderator and producer Heidi Holtan led a conversation between conservative commentator Chuck Marohn and liberal commentator, yours truly. We analyzed Minnesota politics as it stands today. Specifically we explore the uncertain race for…
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Dig Deep goes live tonight to talk 2018 races
Tonight at 6 the podcast Dig Deep broadcasts a special live edition from KAXE studios in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Dig Deep features moderator Heidi Holtan, conservative commentator Chuck Marohn and myself, the liberal commentator. You can join us to watch the event or listen on the radio. The event will later be released as a…
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President Trump to hold Duluth rally June 20
President Trump will hold a June 20 rally in Duluth, Minn., to sell his policies and stump for Republican candidates. The rally will be held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center at 6:30 p.m. June 20. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. UPDATE: The rally has been moved to AMSOIL Arena in the DECC…
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Activist Sorensen joins Minnesota 8th District race
Yesterday, Minnesota media reported on numerous tales of political intrigue as the state and federal candidate filing period closed. Here in the North, we learned that we’d have an unexpected Republican primary in the Eighth Congressional District, but we also got another candidate in the crowded DFL primary. Progressive activist Soren C. Sorensen of Bemidji…
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Welty jumps in 8th District GOP race
Former Duluth School Board member Harry Welty jumped into the Eighth District race for Congress as a Republican Monday. Welty, who has run for office as a Republican and as an independent in the past, will compete with GOP-endorsed St. Louis County Commissioner Pete Stauber for the Republican nomination. The Eighth District represents one of…
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Wild conventions roil Minnesota governor’s race
The 2018 race for governor of Minnesota keeps unfolding like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, each flip of the page leading to some strange twist. The race was always going to hold some intrigue. Two term incumbent Gov. Mark Dayton, a popular if sometimes perplexing political figure, leaves office in January. The state’s Republican…
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Rise of the rural recreation economy
Here’s an idea. Go outside. That’s a good idea for anyone on a personal level. But going outside increasingly forms a rural economic recovery plan, too. On Sunday, I wrote about the challenges of a changing economy. In particular, the retail sector is shedding jobs amid consumer trends. This has an outsized impact on rural…
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How position politics stymies our legislature
I’m going to explain why the Minnesota legislature ends in a flaming pile of tractor scrapings every year, but first you have to watch this vintage footage of a 1980s bicycle sprint. The first minute or so will suffice. Bicycle sprinting is a unique sport. The overall time doesn’t count. The only thing that matters…
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New order unfolds in Minnesota’s 8th District
On Saturday, Republicans endorsed St. Louis County commissioner Pete Stauber for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth District. Unlike the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s 10-ballot non-endorsement last month, Stauber won his blessing in a single-ballot coronation. Stauber does not expect to face a meaningful primary challenge. His DFL opponents, on the other hand, face a potentially bruising four-candidate contest…
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Open legislative seat spurs Iron Range DFL primary
We sense many disturbances in the 2018 Iron Range political force. (Apologies. It is May the Fourth after all). Setting aside the roaming Death Star of Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District race, the Mesabi Iron Range also stumbled into an open legislative seat in District 6B. Current State Rep. Jason Metsa is running for the aforementioned…
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Dig Deep explores ‘White Knight’ ideas to fix problems
The Northern Community Radio podcast “Dig Deep” took on a new series of topics last week. The ideas came from our live event at Itasca Community College on March 21. During the Q&A after our live podcast event, one gentleman asked a question. “Is it time for a ‘White Knight” to come in and take…
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Amid perennial politics, campaign workers unionize
My first experience with political campaigning came after I walked into the Democratic-Farmer-Labor campaign office in Virginia, Minnesota in 1996. I volunteered on the spot. My school just laid off some of my teachers. Further, I had no idea how my recently bankrupted family and I would be able to pay for college. Motivated, I…
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Stewart Mills offers surprising analysis on mining
When Stewart Mills announced he would not make another run for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth District this year, he offered decidedly sharp words for the Republican political establishment. Now it appears that Mills found a new occupation: blogger. Mills writes a new blog called Outstate, which reports on a blend of national and state political…
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Phifer drops out of Eighth District race
Leah Phifer announced today she would not seek the DFL nomination for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Phifer had lead all ten ballots at last Saturday’s MN-8 Convention in Duluth. “My goal, since first declaring my candidacy in October 2017, has always been to win the DFL endorsement, bring new voices to the table…