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When it comes to fall yard maintenance, leaf it alone
The English-language etymology of the words for our seasons reveals their true nature. Winter is Old English, drawn from ancient words for “wet,” “wind” and “snow.” Spring is another Old English word, a verb, “to leap forth.” Summer is another ancient Old English term. More complex, it unites words for “together” and the halfway point…
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Slow progress beats no progress on sulfates
Last week, I attended a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency public meeting in Virginia to hear about a new plan for the tailings basin at Minntac in Mountain Iron. That’s the subject of today’s column (gift link). Tailings might be the Iron Range’s biggest secret. And I do mean “biggest” in the literal sense. The word…
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The test is now
My latest column (gift link) is designed to light a fire. Minnesota’s public college systems — Minnesota State and the University of Minnesota — both face enormous reorganization in the face of budget crises. This goes beyond traditional budget politics. Generations of administrative bloat, rising costs, shrinking youth demographics and shifting attitudes about college itself…
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Iowa steel mill hype reveals a riverboat gamble
Readers of my Monday column might have noticed that it was about 12 hours out of date. Vast amounts of research and reporting appeared to be blunted by a hasty announcement from the Oval Office. Such is the nature of these times, but I will remind that my original point still stands. Minnesota’s public interest…
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Adding value to Iron Range economy will take persistence
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Timber industry seeks new markets while under duress
It’s hard to understate how politically volatile the high gas and diesel prices are right now. People might uneasily tolerate gasoline at $4, but $6 diesel is a bottom line whack at several key industries. Case in point, the subject of today’s column (gift link): timber. A private logger uses hundreds of thousands of gallons…
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Duluth doctor shows direct primary care an intriguing, if limited, health care fix
We need another monthly subscription like we need a hole in the head. But today’s column (gift link) is about the intriguing possibility that a new subscription might save money for certain people. Direct primary care is when you pay a monthly fee to a doctor for medical visits whenever you need them. It’s not…
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How a food truck can feed a community
I hope reading today’s column (gift link) is convenient and appetizing, just like visiting a food truck. The Revive Virginia Food Truck Festival is this Saturday, Sept. 19 in downtown Virginia, Minn. I’m highlighting some of the entrepreneurial success stories among past vendors. In fact, Minnesota has several examples of food trucks turning into successful…
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The third rail of politics is now data centers
Let me begin by saying that I don’t think hyperscale data centers are the key to our economic future. Nor am I especially concerned with the economic fortune invested in them. Like sub-prime mortgages two decades ago, AI investment has now become the prime method of wealth building among an influential class of monied interests.…
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Launching small town ideas into action
I’m working on a theory of small town/regional politics that I’ll probably write about in future. We are living in the era of “Government by Facebook Group.” Now, I know that Facebook is not the social media choice of everyone, nor are the communication changes we’ve seen done changing. But for rural Boomers, Gen Xers…
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In America, museum visits you
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My day on a sacred island populated by hero trash birds
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Yes, the Blatnik Bridge project is necessary
Today’s column (gift link) is about the Blatnik Bridge replacement in Duluth. In this era of internet misery, no publicly visible change would occur if the first 100 people to comment on a Facebook post had their way. There wouldn’t be a single roundabout in northern Minnesota, that’s for sure. Every new business would cancel…
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When the drought goes underground
Today’s column (gift link) explores a somewhat rare phenomenon in northern Minnesota, something called a storage drought. We’ve all seen droughts before. No rain. Grass dries out and turns brown. Farmers lament a less productive harvest. We’re experiencing some of that this year, but something deeper is going on. Specifically, we’re losing our groundwater because…
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Klobuchar’s legacy is on the ballot
When Amy Klobuchar ran for president in 2020, I wrote a blog post about her political skills. In today’s column (gift link), I revisit those observations in the context of Klobuchar’s run for governor. I’ve long noted Klobuchar’s deft use of her dad’s quintessential Iron Range story. Jim Klobuchar was a celebrated newspaper columnist for…