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Dig a mile in another man’s skid steer
As khaki-wearing bloggers go, I interact with a unusually high number of people who operate heavy equipment. These people move dirt for fun and profit using machines that suck diesel fuel the way a dry horse drinks water. I owe part of this to family ties. My Grandpa Brown, now an octogenarian, uses his skid…
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‘Be Prepared’ for change
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Only time knows ‘truth’ of Great River
With more than 1,000 lakes and many rivers, Itasca remains one of Minnesota’s most watery counties. And like the old adage goes, “whiskey is for drinking, but water is for starting wars.” The word “Itasca” comes from the inner syllables of the Latin words “Veritas” and “Caput,” meaning “Truth” and “Head” of the Mississippi River.…
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Researchers list ideas for Range economic resilience
Economic diversification on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range has been a hot topic ever since I learned how to spell those words, and surely long before that. The darnedest thing about the subject is that most folks will support the concept of diversification, but fewer will accept a role in making it happen. This is only amplified by what is,…
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T-bone fever: Tales from a meat raffle
Though humans evolved as omnivores, many people on earth do not eat meat. Early vegetarianism could be found in ancient Greece. Abstinence from animal flesh has been part of Hinduism and Buddhism since the 7th Century BC. One finds vegetarians in many parts of modern society, many swearing by the health benefits and moral authority…
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Breaking Broadband: progress in rural Minnesota
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The future of the Iron Range is already here
“Where are all the young people?” Anyone involved in a graying committee, civic group, city board or arts organization has probably heard a comment like this. The words often come from someone who wouldn’t know what to do with a young person if they saw one, like the dog who caught the proverbial car. And…
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Politicians on parade
The marching band lined up along the avenue, belching snare taps and horn squawks. Retirees toddled back to lawn chairs left as markers along the parade route hours earlier, grandchildren in tow. The air hung heavy with the smell of fry bread and popcorn. Meanwhile, Congressman Dirk Fostle emerged from the back seat of a…
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Hell on Earth
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‘Finding Dory’ gives ‘seagull treatment’ to Minnesota state bird
How could anyone forget the comic relief in the classic Pixar film “Finding Nemo” as the teeming, hapless seagulls scrapped over morsels of food? “Mine? Mine? Mine?” Heck, the scene was so iconic that the Minnesota Twins — an inland team — plays the gull catchphrase over the loudspeakers every time the visiting team hits…
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The night Ali lit the torch in Gilbert
I spent most of the summer of 1996 nocturnal. Even though I couldn’t tell you much about those days, the nights seemed hotter and more humid than average. This was Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range, a place where winter cold gets more press than the deceptive heat of summer. I was 16. It was my first summer with a driver’s license,…
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Bringing local food back home
We often hear the phrase, “you are what you eat.” It could also be said that “you are where you eat.” Here in Northern Minnesota, people subsisted off the land for millennia. But then came Wonder Bread, TV dinners, hot dogs and Cheetos: tasty, calorific foods that can be named but not necessarily identified. Cheap to buy, these…
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Fired up for the end of school
The Jack Pine must burn to live. While most everything in nature is adapted to avoid fire, the Jack Pine welcomes the flame. Old Jack’s branches and needles evolved to attract and spread fire. Indeed, most of its tightly-sealed cones contain seeds that will only be released by temperatures above 112 degrees. It’s amazing to…
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Congratulations, whoever you are!
The gold-lined invitation glinted from the pile of mail, classing up the usual stack of junk and bills. Addressed by hand, the heavy stock envelope coughed out yet another envelope from inside the first one. This envelope was smaller, but meant business. Inside this fat envelope was a collection of photos of a proud member…
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Rethinking strength of Iron Range towns
The small working class towns of Minnesota’s iron ranges were founded for a profoundly simple purpose. Each village cut into the thick forests of Northern Minnesota to provide housing and supplies within walking distance of an iron mine. Few towns grew beyond that purpose. Dozens were were abandoned after a decade or two. As the…