My latest column for the Minnesota Reformer is out today, this one tackling the rising cost of housing and health care that most affects working class people. The piece is called “Cost of living is our harshest tax.” Here’s a taste: We’ve all experienced economic inflation this past year. Consumer costs rise along with commodity… Read More →
We are in the automated future
April 19, 2022 by Leave a Comment
It started long ago. Big trucks and steam shovels replaced small hoppers filled by men with spades. Machines took over for pinsetters at the bowling alley. Before long we were pumping our own gas. Now we scan our own groceries, making sure to check the codes on the bananas before ringing up our purchase, paying,… Read More →
Bakk decision makes big news
March 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Thursday’s announcement that State Sen. Tom Bakk would retire from the legislature made big news around Minnesota. My blog post yesterday was reprinted in the Minnesota Reformer, so check that out if you missed it. I also appeared on CBS 3 in Duluth and KBJR with analysis about the race. You can check out that… Read More →
As Bakk retires, unpredictable new era begins on the Iron Range
March 17, 2022 by 5 Comments
Though I have been on an extended hiatus from daily political blogging, I find it hard to leave certain events without comment. Thus, today, we observe the end of an era in Iron Range politics and the beginning of a shapeless and developing new order. This morning, State Sen. Tom Bakk (I-Cook) announced that he… Read More →
Clothing the next generation with independence
March 14, 2022 by 1 Comment
My latest column for the Minnesota Reformer is out today. The piece is entitled “A homespun stitch in time could save us.” I like to blend personal stories with my commentary and often write about my family. I’ve written quite a lot about my dad and grandfathers, but today I get to highlight some of… Read More →
Northeastern Minnesota seat shuffle shows how it is when nobody knows your name
February 21, 2022 by 3 Comments
My latest column for the Minnesota Reformer is up today. Entitled “Shifting lines and changing times on the big lake they call Gitchi Gummi,” this piece explores redistricting outcomes here in northern Minnesota. Specifically I take a look at the expanding geography and unique political culture of the Eighth Congressional District. For instance, this observation:… Read More →
Navigating mining’s perilous boundary between enough and too much
January 26, 2022 by 5 Comments
Today I have a new essay up with the Minnesota Reformer. It’s one that took a great deal of time and thought to write, and that leaves me yet unsettled. The title is “The troubled border between consumption and conservation.” For two decades, we’ve watched northern Minnesota’s mining debate bob up and down in the… Read More →
The 21st Century is a salvage operation
November 8, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Junk is all over the news. Steel companies are buying scrap at big prices. And yet, recycling loses money for local governments across the country. The climate crisis is running headlong into our desire for more and more stuff. Worse, our economy currently depends upon us making and buying that stuff. My latest column for… Read More →
Labor navigates northern Minnesota political crosswinds
August 31, 2021 by 3 Comments
My latest column for the Minnesota Reformer is out today. Let’s call it a Labor Day think piece. Northern Minnesota has been a wellspring of the American labor movement for more than a century. However, in more recent years, organized labor has shifted into the role of mature old power, increasingly wedded to politics and… Read More →
‘Generational amnesia’ helps us forget a past we would do well to remember
August 2, 2021 by Leave a Comment
My latest for the Minnesota Reformer is out today: The piece, entitled “These Old Timers Have Nostalgia All Wrong,” takes you on another of my journeys between past, present and future. This one explores what we forget. Our boundless ability to shed the past causes us to fear the future far more than we should…. Read More →
