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Iron Ranger wins Pulitzer Prize
OK, so he hasn’t considered himself an Iron Ranger for a long time (if he ever really did) but Bob Dylan won a special Pulitzer Prize today “for his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.” What better way to celebrate Dylan’s Pulitzer than by making…
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Rural electric cooperative, don’t fail me now!
Did I say “just over half a foot of wet, heavy snow” in my last post? Now that I’ve shoveled, I can attest that it’s at least a foot. And we just heard that we’re getting another foot tonight. What had been a somewhat dry winter in northern Minnesota is going to be moistened rather…
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Nashwauk steel plant still ‘go for launch’
Business North is reporting that a groundbreaking announcement on Essar Global’s Minnesota Steel iron mine and steel plant near Nashwauk is expected this month. So far, so good. Essar has a lot of “irons” in the fire, however, and I won’t pop open a bottle of anything expensive until I see really big shovels in…
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Opening Day brings irrational optimism to Twins country
A-hem: We’re going to win Twins,We’re going to score. We’re going to win, Twins,Watch that baseball soar! Knock out a home run,shout out hip-hooray! Cheer for the Minnesota Twins TO-DAY! So maybe this year’s Twins schedule features Michael Cuddyer on the front instead of Torii Hunter, Johan Santana or other players people might have heard…
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Dude says Moses was on drugs
I have to admit, I’ve never been part of organized religion. But seeing that one researcher believes Moses might have been on drugs when he saw the burning bush and received the Ten Commandments does leave me feeling a bit empty. If the basis of most of the world’s major religions is going to be…
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Iron Range rally to mark five years of misguided war
It’s been five years at war. As they say, I’m sure not against the soldiers, but this war has been the emblem of bad foreign policy from the start. For those interested: Iron Range Rally to End the War Who: Iron Range residents, members of MoveOn.orgWhere: Hwy. 53 & 12th Ave. S. (by Kmart &…
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Range bar cited for trying smoking ban theatre loophole
An excerpt from the story in today’s Duluth News-Tribune: Babbitt bar gets smoking citation for “Gunsmoke Monologues”Will AshenmacherDuluth News Tribune – 03/15/2008 What may have been the first ticket issued in connection with a bar hosting a “theater night” to get around the statewide smoking ban is now hanging behind the bar in a Babbitt…
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Franken sweeps Iron Range
I bring news from the Iron Range. DFL county unit conventions were held for Senate District 5 and Itasca County today in Hibbing and Nashwauk, respectively. Both use walking subcaucuses to elect delegates to the 8th Congressional District and State DFL conventions. Both were essentially proxy fights between Al Franken and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer for the…
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Cliffs hires away Hibbing PUC utilities chief to run biomass; a flash of what’s to come?
Today’s Hibbing Daily Tribune reports that Hibbing Public Utilities general manager Jim Kochevar is taking a job with Cleveland-Cliffs to oversee that company’s energy operations in Michigan. Kochevar was one of the leaders who developed the Laurentian Energy Authority, a biomass power generation project shared by the cities of Hibbing and Virginia. Cleveland-Cliffs recently announced…
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Augsburg claims biodiesel breakthrough
Researchers at Augsburg College in (Correction: Minneapolis … I was close), inspired by the work of an undergraduate student, now claim to have made a major breakthrough in the production of biodiesel fuels that could be used for vehicles and in energy production. Their new process is much more efficient than traditional biofuels and produce…
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Another blow to local news coverage in northern Minnesota
The Duluth News-Tribune, northern Minnesota’s largest newspaper, announced 10-15 percent job cuts in all its departments yesterday. This will mean cuts in the newsroom, further diminishing their ability to cover the paper’s large two-state readership area. Based on the recent departure of their Iron Range reporter, I infer this will mean reduced coverage of Iron…
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Environmental groups cleared for legal action against Northshore Mining
For those who follow mining news in northern Minnesota, it appears that two environmental groups scored a win Wednesday in their efforts to bring legal action against Northshore Mining. Minnesota Public Radio reports. Related posts: No related posts.
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"Tobacco Monologues" panned by Health Dept., "show" to close immediately
Minnesota Public Radio is reporting that the state health department is shutting down the popular “theater exemption” loophole used by bars around the state to get around the new statewide workplace smoking ban recently. I wrote a column on the subject last week. My piece only received two responses, one negative from a bar owner…
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If you can’t smoke ’em, drink ’em
State Rep. Tom Rukavina is one of the great characters of the Iron Range. I mean great in that he personifies our unusual culture rather well and that his heart is usually in the right place, too. That said, he has a knack for randomly enhancing the Range’s longstanding reputation as a place of loud,…
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Session battles cast eerie light
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) lashed out harshly after the legislature overrode his veto of the transportation bill. Today, the Senate is expected to oust Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau from her dual role as Transportation Secretary by denying her long-delayed confirmation. The Senate’s bonding bill does not match the governor’s (the House’s bonding bill is expected…