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Cliffs seeks permits for value-added iron
Cliffs Natural Resources faces several serious problems: huge debt, an anemic iron ore price, tougher global competition. Nevertheless, Cliffs is announcing that it the company is moving on its proposals to convert a production line at Northshore Mining to direct-reduced iron and to add a flux pellet at the soon-to-be-idled United Taconite. The Mesabi Daily News…
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A more fashionable future for the Iron Range
Fashion has never been my forte. I often dress in the dark by feeling for the most comfortable fabrics in the closet. Last semester, an art major sitting in the front row of my class informed me that my old grey shirt was, in fact, green. Time finally taught me why my father wears one…
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Iron Range-area lawmaker dies of cancer
State Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) died Saturday after battling a rare cancer. He was 60. He had been ill most of the year, but took a turn for the worse this summer. As we reported last week, Dill lived in Crane Lake near Orr but spent a good deal of his time operating a fly-in…
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Responding to the Cuyuna call
For months now, Aaron Hautala of the Cuyuna Cycle Crew down by Crosby and Ironton had been trying to get me to do a story on the changes related to their efforts to attract outdoor recreational visitors to these old iron mining towns. From mountain bikes to Yurts, paddle boards to SCUBA divers, the place has a…
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Gin Blossoms headline Merritt Days in Mountain Iron
This week the Iron Range city of Mountain Iron holds its annual celebration of Merritt Days, a series of fun summer events and live music in the “first city” of the Mesabi Iron Range. The event is named in honor of the Duluth and Iron Range family that opened up the Mesabi Iron Range for logging…
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Cliffs has bluster, but does it have luster?
Mining, despite its booms and busts, is still vitally important to the economy of Northern Minnesota, but its mechanics are typically so boring as to drive men to drink and/or high-rent metropolitan neighborhoods. For those who follow the doings of the Iron Range mining industry, the conference calls of Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves have become…
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The human story in every place
Most every Iron Ranger knows an old timer’s story about living off the land, harvesting timber to build the home where the children would be raised, the names of traditional foods and songs. Sure, some of us are Italian, some Slovenian, others Norwegian, Finn, Swede or Ojibwa, but the cold fact is that these stories…
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The politics of the ‘walleye session’
Today Gov. Mark Dayton holds a public forum on the hardships facing business owners on Mille Lacs after the DNR warned that it may have to suspend walleye fishing on the big lake in August. Earlier this week, the governor’s spokesman Linden Zakula made this statement: “Governor Dayton spoke today with both Senate Majority Leader…
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St. Louis County offers generous lease to Hibbing Taconite
This week, the St. Louis County Board approved a rather lopsided lease agreement with Hibbing Taconite. The deal gives the Cliffs-run mining company access to 21 acres of land for a one-time cash payment of $20,700 and annual lease payments of $1,650 for up to 25 years. If those numbers sound more like a home mortgage…
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Range-area lawmaker Dill faces serious cancer
Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) is gravely ill and receiving cancer treatment at the Mayo Clinic. The Tower Timberjay reported the news first, followed by the Duluth News Tribune and other media outlets. Dill and his family have not yet released a public statement explaining the situation, but several area officials have confirmed the serious…
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Sam Miltich & Co. to perform at B’nai Abraham on Iron Range
The B’nai Abraham Cultural Center in Virginia continues its free summer concert series with a show this Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. featuring Sam Miltich and his band. Sam Miltich is a Gypsy Jazz guitarist, born and raised in the woods of northern Minnesota. He is a musician by profession and plays regularly in…
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Cliffs to idle United Taconite in Eveleth
Today, Cliffs Natural Resources announced the indefinite idling of United Taconite on the Mesabi Iron Range, including the mine in Eveleth and the production plant in Forbes. The move affects about 500 employees. United Taconite is the mine that needs Highway 53 to move to access its next body of iron ore. A source tells…
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Actual Wolf to play hometown Tall Timber Days
It’s always fun to see Grand Rapids’ own Eric Pollard AKA Actual Wolf do some low key shows back home when he’s around. I don’t know if the rowdy streets of this northern paper mill town count as low key, but he and his band will be playing in the heart of the city for…
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Another restrictive deer hunt in Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced the regulations for the 2015 deer hunting season. Like last year, it’s a more restrictive approach. For the rifle season, most of the state will have a lottery for antlerless permits. However, several zones in the Northeast (including my family’s shack) will be bucks only. The primary rifle season…
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Broadband push just first part of new economy
Universal access to affordable broadband isn’t just about getting more people on the internet, it’s about giving more people in more places the opportunity to generate a sustainable balance of labor and wealth in their communities. Over the past 10 years I’ve written many pieces about the importance of high speed internet infrastructure throughout Minnesota and the potential…