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Hear the House 3A DFL showdown
Tonight at 7, the four DFL candidates in the House District 3A special election will participate in a forum at Vermilion Community College. The forum will be aired live on WELY and recorded for rebroadcast on Ely TV. The four DFL candidates are Koochiching County Commissioner Rob Ecklund, Tofte business owner Bill Hansen, International Falls…
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Senators seek $6 million tax break for mining companies
Last week, Ricardo Lopez of the Star Tribune reported on a $6 million mining company tax break scheme snuck into this year’s ill-fated tax bill by State Sens. David Tomassoni and Rod Skoe, both senior DFL committee chairs and members of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB). A week later I am finally getting back…
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Everybody to the primary in House 3A special
The local DFL will not hold an endorsing convention for the Sept. 29 primary in the House 3A special election to replace the late Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake). This settles an important question many had about the process spurred by the loss of the popular, moderate DFL lawmaker to cancer last month. That means Koochiching County…
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First day of buffering … buffering … buffering
For many districts across Minnesota, today is the first day of school for K-12 students. This is always an exciting time — for the kids, of course, but also for parents. So much hope and anxiety balled up in one occasion. With all the anticipation over locker combinations and seating arrangements, kids don’t share the…
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Big mix of candidates, intrigue in House 3A special election
Filing has closed for the Sept. 29 primary and Dec. 8 general election in the House District 3A special election to replace the late State Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake). Six candidates spanning the wide geographic and ideological spectrum that characterizes this enormous rural Northeastern Minnesota district will vie for one ticket to St. Paul. Early…
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House 3A special election will be Dec. 8
To update my earlier report, the House 3A Special Election to fill the seat vacated by the untimely death of State Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) will now be held Dec. 8, with a primary on Sept. 22 29, according to sources familiar with the situation. The Governor will likely issue his call for the special…
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DFLers already running in 3A special election
Though official word on the special election has yet to be announced, DFL candidates have already emerged in the House 3A race to succeed the late State Rep. David Dill. UPDATE: A supporter tells me that Ely City Councilor Heidi Omerza, current president of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, is also considering a run for State Representative in this…
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House 3A special election coming
UPDATE: Sources now tell me that the House 3A Special Election Primary will be Sept. 22, with the general election on Dec. 8. See my updated post. This Saturday, mourners will remember State Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) who died after a short battle with cancer last weekend. In coming days, state officials are likely…
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Iron Range-area lawmaker dies of cancer
State Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) died Saturday after battling a rare cancer. He was 60. He had been ill most of the year, but took a turn for the worse this summer. As we reported last week, Dill lived in Crane Lake near Orr but spent a good deal of his time operating a fly-in…
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The politics of the ‘walleye session’
Today Gov. Mark Dayton holds a public forum on the hardships facing business owners on Mille Lacs after the DNR warned that it may have to suspend walleye fishing on the big lake in August. Earlier this week, the governor’s spokesman Linden Zakula made this statement: “Governor Dayton spoke today with both Senate Majority Leader…
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Range-area lawmaker Dill faces serious cancer
Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) is gravely ill and receiving cancer treatment at the Mayo Clinic. The Tower Timberjay reported the news first, followed by the Duluth News Tribune and other media outlets. Dill and his family have not yet released a public statement explaining the situation, but several area officials have confirmed the serious…
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Broadband push just first part of new economy
Universal access to affordable broadband isn’t just about getting more people on the internet, it’s about giving more people in more places the opportunity to generate a sustainable balance of labor and wealth in their communities. Over the past 10 years I’ve written many pieces about the importance of high speed internet infrastructure throughout Minnesota and the potential…
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Warm greetings from Minnesota’s northern hellscape
All through yesterday friends and neighbors collectively set ablaze my social media feed with a link to an article entitled “These Are the 10 Worst Places to Live in Minnesota,” posted on a website called RoadSnacks.net. To save you the suspense, Nick James of RoadSnacks.net lists the worst cities are as follows: Cambridge Brainerd Grand…
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Free dental clinic in Duluth swamped; our state’s dental denial
Yesterday hundreds of low income or underinsured people flowed into the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center to lay on folding tables to receive free dental care from the nonprofit Minnesota Mission of Mercy. John Lundy describes the event, which continues today, in Saturday’s Duluth News Tribune. One way of looking at a story like this is to say that it’s good…
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The haircut heard ’round the Eighth
Stewart Mills, the 2014 GOP nominee in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, hasn’t announced officially whether he plans to run for the office again in 2016. But his famous hair seems to be leaning that way. Mills, scion of the well-known Fleet Farm family, lost to Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan by a little over one percentage…