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The porcupine and the beaver
I love this cartoon from Wednesday’s Grand Rapids Herald-Review, submitted to the paper by Jeanne Newstrom.I don’t exactly get it, but I love it anyway. Here what I know. The issue is the sale of land from Itasca County to Essar Steel for its up-and-coming Minnesota mining and steel mill operations near Nashwauk. A faction…
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Range superintendent swap has consolidation implications
Greenway Schools Superintendent Rochelle VanDenHeuvel has been named the new superintendent of the Virginia School District on the East Central Iron Range (Mesabi Daily News). Greenway, serving Coleraine, Bovey, Marble and Taconite on the western Mesabi Range, is one of the most financially troubled districts on the Range. The departure of its superintendent is likely…
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A call for an Iron Range Congress
Last week, I attended a round table (roundish, anyway) discussion on the future of the Iron Range sponsored by a community outreach committee of Messiah Lutheran Church of Mountain Iron. Though the sponsoring group might seem odd for such a topic, I can personally attest that the Messiah congregation and its pastor, the Rev. Kristen…
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Tomassoni likely has clear path to IRR Board chair
An update to an earlier post: It now appears that State Sen. David Tomassoni will have a clear path to become chair of the Iron Range Resources Board this go-around. This was probably helped by his early announcement of candidacy in a recent Mesabi Daily News story. Things could change but my Ranger pals at…
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The Minnesota Re-Miracle: the fight is on
DFL House leaders introduced a bill to reform education funding in Minnesota, essentially restoring the “Minnesota Miracle” crafted in the 1970s that shifted the burden from property taxes to state income taxes. Here’s the story from Jon Collins, the legislative correspondent shared by the Mesabi Daily News, Hibbing Daily Tribune and Grand Rapids Herald-Review. It’s…
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Hey, cash-strapped utilities, wanna’ buy this boondoggle?
Having been shut down at the state PUC (and by Xcel, Minnesota Power and most other energy companies) Excelsior Energy, proponent of the coal gas Mesaba Energy Project, is now trying to hook power purchase deals for its theoretical electricity with municipal utilities in Minnesota. Excelsior will be touring with the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association,…
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Name that delegation: The Super Fun Poll
Last week I posed a challenge to readers to come up with a clever nickname for the Iron Range legislative delegation, a moniker that would bring some levity to what appears to be a pretty grim session. As students of Minnesota politics know, the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota reliably elects Democrats but seldom elects…
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Ritchie has done right
In the swirly hurly burly of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount, still ongoing in legal challenge form, one thing is clear: Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has done a great job. If there’s anything wrong with this recount those faults lie in preexisting state law and election policies, not with Ritchie’s even handed execution of his…
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Name that delegation!
As Minnesota’s legislative session begins I am left with a conundrum. I cover the whole state but pay special attention to the Iron Range. Thus, I am forced to type the phrase “Iron Range DFL legislative delegation” again and again. I’d rather have a short nickname I could use instead. No acronyms. (IRDFLLD just doesn’t…
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Session outlook for the Iron Range
Here’s an overview of the grim session outlook from Iron Range legislative correspondent Jon Collins from the Mesabi Daily News and other Range papers. Job creation, the federal stimulus package and “innovation” appear likely to receive support, though said innovation remains in a theoretical stage. Related posts: No related posts.
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The only ace up the sleeve for the Iron Range (and Minnesota) is transportation
A new legislative session has arrived in Minnesota. I must admit, I am a bit sheepish that I have not written more about what might come out of this session, especially since it is the all-important biennial budget session. The truth is that the crippling state budget deficit situation makes this session less about what…
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Range paper says Senate should seat … Burris?
A Mesabi Daily News (Virginia, Minn.) editorial today suggests that despite all the controversy, leaders should seat the new U.S. Senator from the upper Midwest. No, not Al Franken. The editorial is silent on that one. But rather, the MDN says the Senate should seat Roland Burris, the appointee of disgraced and embattled Illinois Gov.…
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Finale to Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount best summarized by Iron Range paper
Marshall Helmberger of the Ely, Orr and Tower Timberjay is one of those independent small town newspaper publishers who still puts up a fight against all odds. Today, he offers (my opinion) the best view of the conclusion to Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount. We’ve had a fair and transparent recount. All eligible votes have been…
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In all things, moderation
Thomas Friedman isn’t as bad as my fellow progressives think he is. From his latest column in the New York Times: … we don’t just need a bailout. We need a reboot. We need a build out. We need a buildup. We need a national makeover. That is why the next few months are among…
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And in the end …
I honestly thought I would write a comprehensive post about the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota before the end of the year, but it appears that I won’t have that chance. There’s a lot of information we just don’t know yet. There will be lots of armchair analysis from both sides on this race, but…