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Floods are bad, mmm-kay
I promise: Last bonding bill post for the week. I forgot to mention an item yesterday. The Canisteo Mine Pit is still perched like a big, wet mountain lion over the town of Bovey on the Western Mesabi Range. However, Gov. Pawlenty did not include mitigating the problem in the bonding bill. I spoke with…
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Steel plant bonding bill update
If you don’t like reading about steel or bonding bills, sorry, today’s not your day. As expected, Range leaders came out today stating that Pawlenty’s amount proposed for the proposed Nashwauk steel mill was too low. What I didn’t realize earlier was that more than 2/3 of his proposal involves money from the 21st Century…
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Ah, the first day of spring…
It may not be the first day of spring outside, but as a college teacher it’s the first day of Spring Semester at the community college where I work. I always kind of like the first day back. It’s exciting. You meet new people. It’s a chance to fix things that went wrong last year…
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46 coal plants stopped in ’07
I got an e-mail this week from someone detailing 46 different coal fired power plant proposals that were cancelled or shelved around the United States this year. One of them is Excelsior Energy’s $2.3 billion boondoggle Mesaba Energy Project. There will be no new coal fired power plants — even if they use “clean coal”…
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Highway 53 expansion prospects
The Mesabi Daily News has an interesting story today about efforts to expand State Highway 53, the major north/south byway of northern Minnesota and the Iron Range. Coupled with State Highway 169, (the Range’s east/west route) these highway improvements are absolutely necessary for a safer, more efficient infrastructure in our region. Highway 53 matching funds…
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New look at Ironworld
For those interested, Ironworld is going through some changes this year. Check out the Hibbing Daily Tribune story. Dylan Days — one of my many side projects — is working with Ironworld to put together a Dylan exhibit next May. Stay tuned for this and potentially even more exciting news. Related posts: No related posts.
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The shot heard ’round the Range
That old DWI could keep you out of CanadaThanks to post-9/11 border security, new crime databases and a tougher stance on DWIs, U.S. citizens get the cold shoulder. By LARRY OAKESStar Tribune, December 30, 2007 INTERNATIONAL FALLS, MINN. – Yanks with youthful indiscretions, beware: That faded citation for driving drunk or smoking pot might not…
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Holy Highway
The Star Tribune has an interesting story today about some Christians’ interpretation of scripture that I-35 is a “holy way” indicated in the Bible. The relevant verse is Isaiah 35:8, which reads: “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools…
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T-Paw saves disfigured bear from lethal injection
In northern Minneosta, bear stories are on the news all the time. If I blogged every one this thing would be called MinnesotaBear. But I feel bad I’ve waited so long to talk about Solo, the one-eared bear from the Vermilion Range. Solo and her two cubs are hibernating underneath someone’s porch. They called the…
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Compare and contrast
Check out this story on a potential new “clean coal” plant in central Illinois. A few interesting facts: The U.S. Energy Dept. is questioning the costs for the $1.8 billion price tag, expecting overruns. All the project supporters cite the geology of central Illinois and the close proximity of coal supplies as major reasons to…
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Project Firefly
Check out this press release about “Project Firefly.” I’ve heard about this before and it seems like an interesting way to enhance homegrown economic development near Ely. It would be a pilot project that could be duplicated across the entire Iron Range or any area like ours. Essentially, inventors are given funding to take their…
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As sure as B.S. trails a boondoggle
Come on down, Iron Range! It’s time for another fun episode of “Logical Fallacy.” Yesterday, Xcel Energy — the largest and most influential energy company in the state — said they aren’t going to invest in any new coal plants until the government decides on firm carbon limits or until the cost of cleaner coal…
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Dylan Days preview
I posted about Dylan Days earlier this morning so I figured I’d announce the preliminary plan for Dylan Days 2008. There’s more coming, including the announcement of musical acts and the specific schedule. Work is in full swing. Dylan Days is an annual event honoring Hibbing’s famous son Bob Dylan and the arts community of…
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Letter to the Editor: The Mesaba clean coal myth
Also from today’s DNT: A great letter to the editor from one of northern Minnesota’s best known writers: ‘Clean coal’ project is too good to be true As society begins its vital and inevitable transition from fossil fuels, the Mesaba Energy Project of Excelsior Energy is a litmus rest of collective intelligence and will. Politicians…
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Tangled up in puns
I’ve been involved with Dylan Days in Hibbing since 2001. One of the interesting things about Bob Dylan’s effect on the American psyche is how newspaper writers don’t really need a good reason to write about the things he does or says. Hence today’s DNT editorial. I am just about done hearing the phrase “Tangled…