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The Old Fish and the Lake
Last month a Minnesota angler pulled a 52-pound lake trout through a 10-inch hole in the ice on Lac La Croix near Crane Lake. Because the fisherman was 100 feet over the Canadian border, he ran afoul of Ontario’s catch limits. His fish, likely a world record holder, was confiscated. Despite crushing the previous record…
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Hear the Virginia, MN, Great Northern Radio Show
You can hear our most recent episode of the Great Northern Radio Show this Saturday, April 5, from 10 a.m.-noon on Northern Community Radio. Later you’ll be able to download the podcast, allowing everyone to hear the broadcast we did in front of an audience at Mesabi Range College on March 22. We filled the…
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Winter wanes and what’s been done
No sense talking about weather. You know what’s been done. Another winter in northern Minnesota just passed, technically. The equinox came and went. We’re tilting toward the sun, into the warmth. Sure, the air is still cold. Sure, the wind still blows. Sure, we’re encased in ice. Still. For some time, too. Sure, all of…
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Dylan Days 2014 to continue despite Zimmy’s closure
As many of you know I’ve been part of the team that organizes Dylan Days in Hibbing, Minnesota, since 2001. This has been one of our hardest years yet, with the closure of Zimmy’s Restaurant, the spiritual and cultural hub of Dylan Days, where “Dylan pilgrims” have landed for decades. Well, Dylan Days 2014 will…
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My place in the woods
I’ve talked to city people who have a hard time falling asleep without the ambient noise of traffic or the hum of industry. And I know country people who say the same thing about the sounds of nature or wind through the trees. It’s a misconception that the woods are quieter than the city. True,…
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Great Northern Radio Show is Saturday night
It’s an exciting day: the live broadcast of my Great Northern Radio Show on Northern Community Radio is Saturday night, beaming out from the Mesabi Range College theater in Virginia, Minnesota. The Great Northern Radio Show broadcasts from small towns and offbeat theaters around northern Minnesota, telling the story of the place and its people,…
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Gathering crisis; hopeful challenge
I’m not sure how many of my birthdays I spent at Zimmy’s in downtown Hibbing, Minnesota; but I know my 21st was on the list, and so was my 30th, and several other random numbers I’ve since forgotten. I do know I’ve spent 13 Dylan Days — all of them — at Zimmy’s. I’ve given…
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Great Northern Radio Show in Virginia, MN on 3/22
My next Great Northern Radio Show will broadcast live from Mesabi Range College in Virginia, Minnesota, at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, 2014. Our traveling radio variety show doesn’t have a home theater; so being on the Iron Range is as close to home as we get. For this and several other reasons, I’m…
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WWII mystery over the skies of northern Minnesota
“I believe submarines Underneath deep blue seas Saw the flags: Japanese No one will believe me” ~ “Submarines,” by The Lumineers In 2014, history seems buried six feet under the bookshelves. Grandparents know a little more, doling out dusty recollections over the meat and potatoes of family gatherings. If there was a sculpture struck, a…
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Best picture of 2014?
KENT: Action! This is Kent Winsington with Movie Time Reviews. Joining me today is Aaron Brown. AARON BROWN: Hey, everyone. I like movies. KENT: Of course, we all like movies! And it doesn’t get any better than Oscar Sunday, when the best movies in the world compete for timeless glory, provided they are predominantly about…
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What economic diversification looks like
All you really need to do is ask someone who used to live on the Iron Range, “what do you see when you come back to the Range?” While there might be nostalgia over happy memories or familiar sites, more often than not they’ll say, “What happened?” What happened to the businesses that used to…
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Olympics have me wondering, ‘what’s my time?’
Watching the Winter Olympics always makes me glad we don’t have to walk around knowing where we rank at this point in our lives and how many seconds off the leader we are. If you’ve been watching the Olympics you know what I’m talking about. Alpine skiers screech down a mountain at 80 mph, faster…
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Notes on a changing Iron Range
The wheels of fate keep turning on the Iron Range. Over on the east central Mesabi, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert schools are considering a new shared high school. We await resolution of some sort on expensive, long anticipated mining projects like Essar Steel and PolyMet, all while the reality of our lack of economic…
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Bob Dylan pitches for Chrysler in Super Bowl ad
Folks who stuck with the Seattle Seahawks blowout in the Super Bowl were treated to one of Chrysler’s trademark American heartstrings ads: this one featuring Hibbing’s own Bob Dylan. The reclusive folk/rock troubadour waxed poetic about America, the road, and the Detroit-made goodness of Chrysler automobiles. My local social media feed did not lack the…
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Sports Ball Food for Humans
It’s Football Sunday in America. By now you should be making final arrangements for the perfect Super Bowl party, including cold beverages and delicious appetizers. But what if all this slipped your mind? What if you don’t follow football? What if you don’t have friends? What if you don’t eat food? What if, just maybe,…