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Parliamentary system is incoherent, but honorable
Who watched the Canadian election results last night? Me, me! I know I’m supposed to be depressed that the Conservatives won again, keeping Prime Minister Stephen “Getcha’ hands offa’ my Northwest Passage, eh!” Harper (pictured at right with the Canadian Minister of Cuteness and Awww) in power for another vague period of time determined by…
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Wild’s vague new mascot is ‘from the Range’
The Minnesota Wild, a team I have yet to fully embrace because of their stupid name, have named their new mascot. The Star Tribune has the story. “Nordy” is a “hybrid of several wild animals” who, according to team officials, was born in Eveleth and learned to play hockey on the ponds and lakes of…
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No joy in Mudville
Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains. Sometimes you wish it rained hell fire on the city of Chicago. Twins lose 1-0. We did a lot for a team full of people no one’s ever heard of. Maybe if we hadn’t blown those 20-odd games where we led going into the last innings…
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Supply and demand: why the markets matter (jn Twins Country)
It’s all about the markets. With three small children who are not as small as they used to be, our closets are laden with tiny Minnesota Twins outfits that no longer fit the boys. My wife, the Northern Cheapskate, is considering selling some of the outfits on eBay. The problem is that the Minnesota Twins…
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Minnesota (hearts) Detroit
When I was 12, my grandparents took me to Pennsylvania to visit my great-grandmother and other assorted relatives. On one rainy travel day we holed up at a motel in Gaylord, Michigan (or near there; at age 12, the name “Gaylord” stood out). There was a grainy old school mid-1980s color TV in the room…
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In the basement with Bob Dylan’s English teacher
I had written several times about StoryCorps, the NPR/nonprofit initiative to record, archive and broadcast interviews conducted between regular Americans and their loved ones. The mobile studio spent weeks in Grand Rapids talking to people all over northern Minnesota. The facilitators also went out on assignment, interviewing unique characters. At the StoryCorps blog, Alex shares…
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Meantime, in space
Oh, by the way. While we were debating about our Mideast quagmire, the Chinese were walking in space for the first time. They’ll return to the moon before us, too. Related posts: No related posts.
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We will quite possibly rock you!
Oh, but it’s not all bad news … TWINS WIN! TWINS WIN! FIRST PLACE! FIRST PLACE! If we can’t take care of the K.C. Royals this weekend we don’t belong in the playoffs. Well, I guess we don’t anyway, but you get the idea. But it sure would be nice to add to my collection…
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Keep it in the family, Joe
Looks like a little DFL family squabbling is getting out into the public eye. Former State Rep. Joe Begich kicked up a fuss at the aforementioned Sportsman for Obama event about bumper stickers and signs. This isn’t helpful, but indicative of the kinds of problems you have when the political infrastructure in our area is…
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&$#@&! Best. Norm ad. Ever.
You may have seen the new Norm Coleman ad that questions if Al Franken has the “temperament” to be a Senator (because having a touchy temper is VERY important in being the junior senator from Minnesota, but NOT AT ALL AN ISSUE in being president). The question is posed, then they show some video of…
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Cliffs merger update
Here’s another update on the attempt to merge Cleveland-Cliffs with a Appalachian coal company. Chisholm native and now-famous fund manager Phil Falcone is trying to put the brakes on the deal. This could get interesting. Related posts: No related posts.
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Minnesota Steel update from BizNorth
Here’s another take on this week’s Minnesota Steel news from this week’s Business North, including more assurances that the project will break ground this month. Related posts: No related posts.
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Cliffs invests in biomass fuels on the Range
Cleveland-Cliffs announced yesterday that it will build a biomass fuel plant near Orr in Cusson, a rural location just north of the Iron Range. The wood briquettes produced there would be used to generate power at Cliffs’ Range taconite plants. If permitted, financed and built as planned, the Renewafuel plant will employ 25 people. The…
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Countdown toward Minnesota Steel reality enters single digits
In a crucial move, the Itasca County Board approved the final structure of state bonding funds for Minnesota Steel infrastructure. This puts the groundbreaking and construction for the project even closer, with an announcement of timeline within days. I can’t stress enough how important it is to see actual groundwork taking place for the people…
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Here’s what you find in Range area online classifieds
From a local online listing: I’m looking to buy a non Casterated Boar. Fairly young. And wellmannered. We will haul. No ill-mannered non “casterated” boars, please. Just the nice, hot, young, polite kind of boars … to be hauled away for procreative purposes. Mmm. Boars. Related posts: No related posts.