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Duluth’s modernist library faces existential crisis
In November, we spoke about the unsettling news that the city of Duluth, Minnesota, faced with two unpleasant options — spend many millions to repair the Duluth Public Library, or many similar millions to demolish and replace the 35-year-old building. A few weeks ago, the steering committee formed to make a recommendation announced it favored rebuilding…
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Dayton’s $6B transportation bill includes Highway 53 funds
This week Gov. Mark Dayton (D-Minnesota) released details of his enormous $6 billion transportation package, which uses gas taxes to fund and otherwise accelerate highway and bridge repairs around the state. More than two-thirds of the projects would be located in Greater Minnesota, with the rest in the densely packed metro counties. The topic will…
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More miners diagnosed with rare lung illness
The Minnesota Department of Health announced yesterday that 21 more cases of mesothelioma in former Iron Range miners were diagnosed, bringing the region’s total to 101. The Duluth News Tribune, among others, has the story this morning. The news is significant because a major study by the University of Minnesota recently concluded with uncertain results,…
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Cliffs CEO details DRI hopes, swipes at Essar
Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves spoke yesterday morning at the company’s annual community breakfast in Virginia, Minnesota. WDIO was there: To stay strong in the steel industry, the company is very seriously considering making DRI grade pellets, which have a higher iron content. Northshore Mining has already tested this possibility. “We are working on three…
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Fond du Lac Band seeks elk renaissance
The Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwa has announced plans to restore the North American Elk to Northeastern Minnesota. Stephanie Hemphill wrote a fine story on the matter for MinnPost: Advocates say bringing the native animals back will increase diversity, encourage wildlife tourism, provide hunting opportunities, and restore the ecosystem more closely to what it was…
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RAMS posts for new future
The Range Association of Municipalities and Schools (RAMS) held their annual dinner last Friday in Hibbing. Attended by a smattering of city councilors, school board members and county commissioners, the event also featured a defiant speech by now former executive director and State Sen. David Tomassoni. According to one report, the speech was read verbatim…
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Glowing green mystery in the skies above Hibbing
Twilight fell upon an unusually cold day on March 28, 1950. Amid the dirty snow piles of downtown Hibbing, Minnesota, a short, thin, properly-dressed podiatrist pushing 40 and his wife, four years his junior, walked down Howard Street near the office where they would both work most of their lives. They looked up at the…
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Gov Dayton on Sen. Bakk: ‘I can’t trust him’
Sometimes the phone rings and you’re told that a relative was arrested for a crime — maybe drunk driving or maybe bank fraud, depending on your brand of family. To be honest it’s not surprising news, though the situation spurs family drama, deep uncertainty and consequences. Ultimately this could be a good thing if used as an opportunity to change…
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LIVE: MN political improv show to skewer pols in real time
Do you enjoy topical political humor presented in the form of improvisational sketches focused on the civic events and traditions of the nation’s 32nd state, which happens to be named Minnesota? If you do, well, big news. Tonight, the UpTake will present a live video feed of the Theater of Public Policy’s improv show at the…
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New MN House bills checking regulators would benefit mines
When Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) announced the formation of the Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee, and then stacked it with GOPers and mining-focused Iron Range DFLers it was plain Republicans had plans to advance pro-mining legislation this session. I commented on this for a Briana Bierschbach story today in MinnPost. I’ve also argued that such legislation will not likely…
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IRRRB to consider further Range broadband expansion
The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) will meet tomorrow in St. Paul to discuss an investment in broadband technology on the Range and funds for the Giants Ridge Event Center. Coming on the heels of about $2 million in state money for broadband infrastructure announced last week, the IRRRB will now consider an…
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The seasonal alchemy of frozen septics
Modern heating technology and time-tested knowhow makes living in Northern Minnesota much easier than it was for our ancestors. Sure, the harsh winter conditions might cause a few angry comments on social media (we get it, your face hurts). True, the cold creates real danger in certain situations, especially if people fail to wear adequate clothing or face other…
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Tomassoni declines RAMS job amid controversy
This morning State Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm) announced that he would decline the position of Executive Director of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools amid the continuing controversy over potential conflicts of interest. Sen. Tomassoni issued this statement: “Today the Campaign Finance Board issued the advisory opinion I requested relating to my role at RAMS.…
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Getting ‘Happy’ on the Iron Range
Because it’s Friday and because I’ve been so dang grumpy lately, here are the students and staff of Tower-Soudan Elementary doing a music video for “Happy” by Pharrell Williams: Have you heard this song before? Yes. Has this kind of video been done before? Yes. But I still share and recommend this work of art as anthropological…
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Al Michaels talks smack about Twins crowds
NBC commentator Al Michaels recently reiterated his past allegations that the 1987 World Champion Minnesota Twins pumped fake crowd noise into the late Metrodome to confound opposing teams. This Kevin Cusack story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press tells the tale: “Minnesota’s in the World Series against St. Louis, and it was ridiculously loud,” Michaels…