-
Digging deeper into environmental policy
This month, the “Dig Deep” podcast explores environmental policy, a ferociously hot topic here in Northern Minnesota. “Dig Deep” is a production of Northern Community Radio, and appears both on the radio and as a podcast. My friend Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns represents a more conservative approach to issues while I present a more…
-
Minnesota legislature launches into the unknown
This week the Minnesota legislature opened the 2018 session, a three-month sprint toward a May 21 deadline to do the people’s business. So, what is the people’s business? Good question. Right out the gate, we’re hearing about whether new Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach should be allowed to serve in her State Senate seat simultaneously. Fischbach,…
-
The steel war is nigh
Things are moving quickly when it comes to substantial new American tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. As I reported last week, President Trump signaled new tariffs in meetings. Two days later, his commerce department issued plans to raise steel tariffs by 53 percent. That’s a huge hike. Though the president has yet to make…
-
Notes from my interview with Rick Nolan
This week I interviewed Minnesota Eighth District Congressman Rick Nolan for today’s newspaper column. We spoke for almost an hour, so much of it couldn’t fit in an already overstuffed 900-word column. Here are a few more thoughts from the Feb. 15 Rick Nolan interview after he announced his retirement from Congress. Of course, you…
-
Michelle Lee seeks DFL nomination in MN-8
On Feb. 15, former Duluth TV news anchor Michelle Lee joined a growing list of candidates for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth District. Lee, who retired from KBJR-TV last year, represents a familiar face with an increasingly political voice in a wide open race to succeed Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan. Democracy is a messy, frustrating and…
-
Joe Radinovich enters DFL race for Congress
Former State Rep. Joe Radinovich of Crosby announced today he would seek the DFL nomination for Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Northeastern Minnesota is who I am, where I’m from, and what I’ll always fight for. I’ve spent my life fighting for working families, whether it be organizing for workers’ rights, promoting economic investment in northeastern…
-
Trump signals steel tariffs but unclear strategy
On Tuesday, President Trump met with senators to discuss strict new proposed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. Part of the meeting was open to reporters. Like any event involving the president, this convening quickly became theatrical in nature. Senators of both parties expressed a wide array of views on trade while Trump called back in…
-
North Branch Mayor Kirsten Kennedy enters MN-8 race
Today, North Branch Mayor Kirsten Hagen Kennedy announced she will seek the DFL nomination for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Kennedy made news most recently as the guest of Congressman Rick Nolan at President Trump’s State of the Union Address. At that time, Nolan was a candidate for re-election. Since then, he announced he’s…
-
North and South: St. Louis County debates split, again
The Associated Press reports that the St. Louis County Board is expected to oppose a proposal to divide into northern and southern counties. According to the story, board chair Keith Nelson won’t support the measure, saying it’s not keeping with the board’s mission. He is one of three Iron Range area board members. Four county board…
-
Candidates mull suddenly wide open MN-8 race
UPDATE: I’ve created a special MN-8 page to provide up-to-date coverage of this race. Amid Friday’s stunning news that Rick Nolan would retire from Congress, we now try to sort out who else might run now that the seat is wide open. Of course, we know that DFLer Leah Phifer was already challenging Nolan for…
-
Rick Nolan to retire from Congress leaving MN-8 wide open
U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) announced this morning he will retire from Congress at the end of his current term. This leaves a wide open race for one of the most closely contested seats in the United States House of Representatives. Several news outlets reported the news this morning. Nolan, 74, has represented Northern Minnesota…
-
IP touts Sandman candidacy in MN-8
Much has already been made of the contentious race in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. But it bears mentioning we’re still only in the first act of a long play that will feature an appearance by Ray “Skip” Sandman on the Independence Party ticket in November. The IP issued a statement Wednesday welcoming former Green Party…
-
Key takeaways from 2018 straw polls, precinct caucuses
Last night I joined a relatively small group of Minnesotans in attending my local party precinct caucus. I caucus with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, so we met at the Balsam Township Hall. The Republicans met in Grand Rapids at the middle school. Six people attended my caucus, including myself. I was prepared to remark that perhaps…
-
Trading steel and sun in a changing world
The sun above our heads and the steel that comprises our highways, buildings, cars and appliances might not seem like they have much in common. But there’s a powerful truth behind the sun. The final stage of a star’s life happens when nuclear fusion produces iron at its core, causing it to explode. At once,…
-
The hidden importance of Tuesday’s precinct caucuses
With the Super Bowl in the state’s collective rear view mirror, Tuesday night brings the biennial tradition of Minnesota’s precinct caucuses. And while it might seem a precipitous drop-off in excitement, this year’s caucuses offer real world implications. Precinct caucuses are a strange quirk of this moralistic state that once placed tremendous value on grassroots…