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On Letters of Hope
“Plant a nut, get a nut,” someone once told me about my son Doug’s antics. Approaching 9 years old, he has somehow outpaced my childhood obsession with historical trivia and the macabre. Last year, he wandered down to my home office and extracted a ten-pound American history textbook left over from my college days. “Can…
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Great Northern Radio Show from Pequot Lakes
The speed of life seems to have accelerated lately. End of the semester. Kids in school and activities. In any event, I’ve not talked about my April 9 Great Northern Radio Show from Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. The Pequot Lakes show was a lot of fun and turned out well. The musical lineup delivered big time. Reina…
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Mud for our modern world
Thus ends the afternoon meeting. You can hear him now, the co-worker who’d rather be fishing. He slaps open the conference room door as though exiting an outhouse. Then comes the husky voiced lady from the department that has no name, the one who smokes reds on the loading dock without blinking. “Clear as mud,”…
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‘If you want to predict the future, listen to the future’
Last week, students delivered informative speeches in my class at Hibbing Community College. One student spoke of the generational divide in how we communicate. He referred to Generation X, those of us born between 1965 and 1985, and said, “You know, like our parents.” Now, Gen Xers have been parents for some time. I’m 36.…
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Ideas at heart of MPR Iron Range forum
Every society has its elite. That might not seem possible here on the Iron Range, where ore dust still clings to old company houses and Mich Golden Light cans dot the ditches like poor man’s glitter. But even the Iron Range has its elite: the professional meeting-attenders, money-handlers and vote-collectors. They aren’t all bad people.…
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Radio Magic: Reina del Cid and me as a Centaur
This Saturday, April 9, I’ll be bringing my Great Northern Radio Show to Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. I previewed the show late last week here at the blog. Today (Friday), I leave my familiar environs here on the Iron Range, escaping to Minnesota’s Central Lakes region where one finds Pequot Lakes along Highway 371. We’ve got a full 36 hours of…
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Breaking the code
In a March 27 op-ed in the Mesabi Daily News, Republican congressional candidate Stewart Mills argued that environmental regulations aimed at reducing the carbon emissions from coal is akin to a “war on ore.” “As your congressman, I will fight the Environmental Protection Agency, which has been weaponized by Democrats in the fight against safe…
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Great Northern Radio Show in Pequot Lakes
Next week I’ll be hosting another of my traveling Great Northern Radio Show programs from the Central Lakes town of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. If you follow the blog, please consider attending the show or listening on the radio. Participate in social media during the show. This project is arguably my greatest passion. So many great…
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Ode to Deviled Eggs
Carnivores eat eggs. They have for a long time. I recall an artist’s rendition from my childhood “Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs” depicting a sneaky rodent-like dinosaur spiriting away some big egg from the Mighty Somethingosaurus. I imagined the crafty lizard cracking open that big egg, devouring the eggy goodness inside like slop from a trough. I…
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Let us see what we believe
When immigrants came to America, their first image of the new land was the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. This wasn’t just some green lady. She represented freedom and opportunity. She was all of America, welcoming those in need. The Statue of Liberty told a story that was happening in real time. She…
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Every man a king; one man an emperor
Spring air refreshes our winter-weary lungs, yet most of that delicious smell comes from rot. Such is the nature of change. Here in 2016 the political winds gust and swirl with unusual gusto, an El Niño year at the ballot box. Three out of the five candidates with any hope of a major party nomination…
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New vision for Range future
Life was hard for people who lived along Minnesota’s iron ranges 100 years ago. Working conditions in the mines were dangerous. Women had few rights. Nevertheless, it’s remarkable how much aspiration and hope these people delivered to future generations. Just read what they put on the walls. Found in the Keewatin City Council chambers are…
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The front lines of democracy
Ever since control of the major parties was (at least partially) wrested from chain-smoking whiskey-soaked power brokers, Minnesotans have indicated their Presidential preference at caucuses. So what is a caucus? A caucus is a community meeting. Minnesota’s major parties hold them every two years in the late winter/early spring. Your caucus location is often, though…
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How low can iron ore go? We’ll find out
To paraphrase an old cliche, do you want the good news or the bad news? Well, the bad news is that a recent commodities forecast by BMI Research predicts iron ore prices will find their floor in 2016, with prices falling further from their current lows through next fall. Iron ore is expected to trade at $35/ton on…
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Lost Mittens: A Love Story
It’s fitting that Valentine’s Day, a holiday celebrating romantic love, comes in the thick of Northern Minnesota’s sprawling winter. Just as many people have lost love over the years, so it goes for our gloves and hats after months of regular use. By now, gloves have been removed and placed in pockets more times than…