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Northern Minnesota can sustain forest-powered grid
It’s repeated often around the Iron Range, certainly here, that our wealth of natural resources in northern Minnesota will keep us alive in some form well into the future. One of those resources (and a renewable one at that) got some mixed news this week, though probably a net positive According to a story in…
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"Wonkette" picks up strange Coleman ad story
Norm Coleman’s latest TV ad has made it all the way to the heart of U.S. political snark at Wonkette. The fact that it’s “real” no longer matters. (Though it still looks incredibly fake). We have not yet plumbed the depth of weirdness we will see in this high-profile race. Related posts: No related posts.
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Unusual spike in state unemployment rate last month
Minnesota 20/20, a progressive think tank, is touting an increase in Minnesota’s unemployment rate from April (4.8 percent) to May (5.4 percent) as a sign of deep trouble in the Minnesota economy. On one hand I want to say that half a point isn’t too bad and that even 5.4 percent is on the low…
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Ventura giving Senate run a strong look; chaos is coming
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura may likely run for the U.S. Senate this year, according to longtime adviser and briefly appointed U.S. Sen. Dean Barkley. If Ventura does run, take all your conventional wisdom about the Franken vs. Coleman race and throw it out. I don’t know that Ventura has a chance to actually win…
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Rural Minnesota’s problems go far beyond taxes
Charlie Quimby from Growth and Justice wrote an interesting analysis on the problems facing Warroad, Minn., in far northwestern Minnesota as the town’s big employer, Marvin Windows, expands to North Dakota instead of in its hometown. Though not identical to the problems the Iron Range and other rural towns face in coming years, there are…
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To honor Tim Russert: get tough, ask questions, be nice
I don’t have much more to add, except that American journalism lost its strongest questioner, best pundit and one of its nicest guys today at a time when the country needed him the most. It’s up to the rest of us to carry on Tim Russert’s work of holding politicians accountable and asking tough questions…
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Franken tours Minnesota today, including Grand Rapids stop
DFL endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken tours Minnesota today, including a stop at Brewed Awakenings in Grand Rapids at 5 p.m. I am working with the campaign on getting an interview with Franken for this blog. Unfortunately, I have business in Hibbing today and can’t get over to Rapids. But if you’re in the…
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Tell me again why Minnesota keeps clean coal alive?
The legislature in Illinois, a coal state, has done what Minnesota, a non coal state, didn’t have the guts to do. Illinois turned down an energy bill full of favors and subsidies for overpriced clean-coal technology. Minnesota exempted projects like Big Stone II over the border in South Dakota and Excelsior Energy’s Mesaba Energy Project…
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CONFIRMED: Complaint prompts legislative auditor to assess Iron Range coal gas project loan
Today, Brad White of the Office of the Legislative Auditor confirmed to me that his office is assessing a complaint that the $9.5 million loan by Iron Range Resources to Excelsior Energy for its coal gas Mesaba Energy Project was used inappropriately. After a month or more of assessment, White says the OLA will release…
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Dylan Days literary showcase today
Today at 2:30 p.m. I’ll be emceeing the Dylan Days Literary Showcase featuring the winners of the Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest, Toby Thompson and the world premiere of the first-ever Dylan Days One Act Playwright contest winner, Demetra Kareman’s “Lessons and Carols.” The event takes place at the Hibbing Community College Theatre. Admission is…
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‘Tangled Up in Ore: Bob Dylan and the Iron Range’
Dylan Days starts today. There’s plenty going on in Hibbing these next four days, but I’d like to point out the special Bob Dylan exhibit that opens today at Ironworld in nearby Chisholm. As Dylan Days co-chair, I played a role in the early stages of this project. But the hard work and vision came…
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Canisteo pit still watery and topographically higher than Bovey
From Sunday’s Grand Rapids Herald-Review: “DNR on Canisteo: Patience required to do it right“ Though it’s discouraging to see foot-dragging on an issue like this, this story shows an improvement over an earlier statement by the DNR commissioner that the Canisteo Mine Pit — a massive reservoir of water perched above the Iron Range town…
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The global pool of money
I’m becoming a junkie for “This American Life” on NPR. I know, I know, that’s so 2005 of me. Still, it’s an ideal show for anyone who drives a lot. This one-hour program details the mortgage crisis we’ve heard so much about in the news. Entitled “The global pool of money,” this episode tells how…
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Timberjay blasts corporate jive
Marshall Helmberger and the woefully underappreciated Timberjay newspaper is sticking up for the good guys in the battle for high speed rural internet access. Helmberger provides a much-needed balance for the corporate boosterism of the Iron Range’s largest newspaper, the Mesabi Daily News. True high speed internet available to all at a low price remains…
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Beer not recession proof
… says this. People are trading down from MGD to Milwaukee’s Best, according to the people at Miller Brewing, apparently because of the economy. That’s why I drink Busch Light. As I’ve said before, I like Busch Light not just because it’s easy drinking, but because they print “Easy Drinking” right on the side of…