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Political improv for a new Iron Range generation
A young professionals group on the Iron Range is bringing some cutting edge political humor to the Mesabi with a Saturday performance by the Theater of Public Policy improv group from Minneapolis. ReGen is sponsoring the show, which will be Saturday, March 14 at the Minnesota Discovery Center. Will they add some unique Iron Range…
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Annual rite of Minnesota ‘All Hockey Hair Team’
Many of you might have seen this already, but it’s honestly worth another look even if you have. Every year, John King details the best hockey hairdos of the Minnesota State High School Boys Hockey Tournament in a segment he calls the “All Hockey Hair Team.” Minnesota is a hockey state, where a significant number…
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Live to sauna; sauna to live
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines sauna as “a Finnish steam bath in which the steam is provided by water thrown on hot stones; also: a bathhouse or room used for such a bath.” Now research suggests that sauna might also be the ticket to a longer, healthier life. Back in 2013, I wrote about the traditional Nordic/Finnish sauna (pronounced “sow-na”) as a…
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Great Northern Radio Show airs live tonight!
Tonight from 5-7 p.m. the Great Northern Radio Show will broadcast live from the North Hennepin Community College theater in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. This is our first Twin Cities metro broadcast of the show I started on the Iron Range in the fall of 2011. We’ve done 13 unique programs from different locations around Northern…
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Another Range boy heads down highway for blood & spoils
Today I am on my way to the Twin Cities to prepare for tomorrow night’s Great Northern Radio Show in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. It’s our 14th program, the first show we’ve done in the metro area after almost four years of touring small towns and cities in Northern Minnesota. Growing up on the Iron Range — especially as…
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Amelia Earhart on the Iron Range
Almost 80 years ago, on Oct. 4, 1935, the famed pilot Amelia Earhart spoke to citizens in Hibbing, Minnesota, about advances in human flight and previewed some of her upcoming adventures. During her stop on the Iron Range she reassured a nervous crowd about air travel, dismissed the prevalence of air sickness, and explained why she thought…
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Political storm over IRRRB project rumbles on
Today, the Star Tribune‘s Jennifer Bjorhus follows up her Sunday story about IRRRB funding for a failed, then resurrected, Democratic telemarketing firm. This story focuses on state law’s that allow such transactions, even if they “smell bad” to the general public. Minnesota Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles said he would examine the loans made by the Iron Range…
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On ‘Love and Profanity’
It’s true, I haven’t written a book since my 2008 release “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.” I made one failed attempt at a novel, and have considered writing other nonfiction titles at different times, but frankly I got busy with the radio show and young kids. I write 5,000-10,000 words a week, just not…
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New future for Old Central?
Last year we learned that a group of investors was exploring the idea of starting a brewpub restaurant in the Old Central School in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Earlier this week community members met with architects for the project to ask questions and air their concerns about the idea. The idea is still very much in…
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Looking ahead for Duluth as Ness gives final State of the City
Monday night, Duluth Mayor Don Ness gave his final State of the City address as he looks ahead to his last year in office. In a Peter Passi Duluth News Tribune story today, Ness is quoted advocating for a new library at First Ave. E. and Superior Street and discussing improvements to trails and other…
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Range schools show strong grad rates, but challenges loom
Last week, the state Department of Education released graduation rates for Minnesota high schools. Graduation rates across the state increased to 81 percent last spring, and also increased for all groups of students tracked by the state. Here in Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range region, our rates were higher, often much more so. Here’s a rundown of what…
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Divining the economic power of the arts
Last week, the Creative Minnesota initiative released a comprehensive report on the economic impact of the arts in communities and regions across the state. Download it here. Nearly 1,300 independent arts organizations in the eight arts funding regions of Minnesota participated in the study, including hundreds here in Northern Minnesota. The top line numbers? The arts contribute $1.2 billion…
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Iron ore tumble highlights hole in mining debate
Over the past two weeks of the Minnesota legislative session, mining politics and environmental regulation has dominated the headlines here on the Mesabi Iron Range. I’m not sure how many people not directly involved in the debate read the stories. I can barely choke down the blend of rhetoric and repetition myself, but I suppose regular folks…
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Minnesota will take you back
With the notable exception of Minnesota Lynx WNBA fans, most who follow our state’s professional sports teams survive on memories of competitive Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves and North Stars squads. They must, in order to tolerate those same franchises, or their grammatically incorrect replacements (I’m looking at you, “The Minnesota Wild”) today. Last year’s Minnesota Twins…
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Great Northern Radio Show metro debut
It’s no secret that more than half of the people who read this site aren’t located on the terra firma of the Mesabi Iron Range. A goodly segment of you, the ones who aren’t spambots, live in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Perhaps, and I might be dreaming here, you’ve seen me talk about my Great Northern Radio…