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Mt. Iron approves resolution opposing marriage amendment
I never got to follow up on this because of last week’s power outage, but if you missed it the Mountain Iron City Council last Monday approved a resolution opposing the marriage amendment on this November’s ballot. I had written about how the Iron Range region is a major battleground in this debate. Mountain Iron…
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On the Range, marriage amendment a contentious issue
Minnesota Public Radio has done an excellent story about how the anti-gay marriage amendment is playing in the Iron Range’s largest city of Hibbing. MPR’s Sasha Aslanian did a marvelous job talking to people on both sides of the issue as they organize ahead of this fall’s big vote. In my experience no issue causes…
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Range labor politics web talk was on MPR today
I did a live video interview with Michael Olson at MPR’s Minnesota Today this afternoon talking about labor politics on the Iron Range. You can view the conversation here at MPR or below. Yes, that is MinnesotaBrown world headquarters. I put the white fedora on my coin jar to class up the dehumidifier for the…
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Talking Range labor woes at 2 p.m. on @mntoday
I’ll be doing a live video chat over at Minnesota Public Radio’s “Minnesota Today” site at 2 p.m. talking about my recent post about the union vote at Mesabi Nugget last week. The Steelworkers lost that organizing vote in this Iron Range labor region by a 2-1 margin. I’m hoping that my satellite internet holds…
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Excelsior Energy tries new approach to failed Range project
So Excelsior Energy is still kicking around. This is the collection of energy industry lobbyists and lawyers who had proposed a $2.1 billion coal gasification plant that never got built because it was overpriced and unwanted by any potential customers. Nevertheless they received more than $40 million in local, state and federal taxpayer dollars. Now…
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Steelworkers suffer big defeat in Mesabi Nugget vote
Last Friday, the United Steelworkers conceded defeat in the unionization vote at the Mesabi Nugget plant near Aurora. The Mesabi Daily News had the story. According to Mesabi Nugget the vote was 57-21. The vote took place over two days, included a complete unionization drive by the Steelworkers and was overseen by federal labor officials.…
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Cravaack to hold press event about Polymet Friday
This appears to be a hot ticket. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) will hold a press event Friday at 10 a.m. at the MPCA office in Duluth to talk about the Polymet nonferrous mining project in northeastern Minnesota. Washington, D.C. – On Friday, U.S. Representative Chip Cravaack (MN) will host the quarterly roundtable discussion on the…
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IRRRB approves $31.2 million as mining revenue fully recovers
The IRRRB approved a $31.2 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year at its meeting this morning. The funds will cover many different projects around the Iron Range, among them a notable new effort to restore decaying housing stock in the old towns of the Range. This is an increasing economic and aesthetic problem in…
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Colangelo looks to reverse GOP fortunes on the eastern Range
One of the interesting legislative races to watch this year is the new 6B, where three DFLers and two GOPers are running to succeed retiring State Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Pike Township). Though the district partisan index continues to favor the DFL, where Lorrie Janatopoulos, Jason Metsa and Dave Meyer are running in a very competitive…
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Economic reality won’t be politicked away
One of the marks the current national mood is a general sense of uncertainty and financial strain. It’s not a Depression. We’re technically recovering from the “Great Recession” that began in 2008 and hit hard at the turn of 2009. It doesn’t feel like a recovery, though, and this is probably why: The net worth…
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Battlegrounds emerge in NE Minn. legislative races
Filings have closed for Minnesota’s legislative and congressional races. Here’s a roundup of some of the races in northeastern Minnesota that I’ll be following. District 3: This is the big new district that covers the outskirts of Duluth, the North Shore a vast chunk of northern St. Louis County and Koochiching County (International Falls). State Sen.…
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Oberstar endorses Nolan; MN-8 primary contest sharpens
At this hour former U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar is endorsing Rick Nolan in the DFL primary for Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Nolan was endorsed by the DFL last month and faces two primary challengers in former St. Cloud state Sen. Tarryl Clark and former Duluth city council president Jeff Anderson. The Oberstar/Nolan press conference is…
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COLUMN: Iron Range political universe to change in 2012
This is my Sunday column for the June 3, 2012 Hibbing Daily Tribune. Iron Range political universe to change in 2012By Aaron J. Brown When my father turned 30 I said, “Dad, you’re eligible to run for the Senate!” My goodness, I was 7. That’s the kind of kid I was. But dad, a mechanic…
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Some welcome independent problem-solving for MN communities
Friend of this blog and fellow KAXE contributor Chuck Marohn is the director of Strong Towns, a sort of think tank/consulting agency that helps small towns adjust to the new world of the 21st century. Among other things, including running a pretty interesting blog, Strong Towns helps towns get by without hiring in-house developers or…
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Meyer files for DFL primary in House 6B seat
Dave Meyer, an Aurora construction worker active in Laborer’s Union Local 1097, has filed to run in the DFL primary to replace Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) in one of the Iron Range’s hottest contests of 2012. “I’m going to fight to keep jobs here, to keep them from heading south,” said Meyer. Infrastructure investments top…