-
Nolan says 3 Range mines have deal on haze standard
U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) announced yesterday that three Iron Range taconite mines have struck a deal with federal regulators to comply with Northern Minnesota’s haze standards. Federal haze standards relate to special air quality rules that apply to areas near national parks and wildernesses, of which there are several in the Upper Great Lakes…
-
On ‘Transportation Monday,’ a call for reform
Later this morning, Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN) will introduce his transportation proposal for this year’s legislative session. In the new Minnesota legislature — now featuring a Republican House and a returning DFL Senate — transportation was one of the issues some believed could unite the two parties. The new GOP majority in the House was…
-
56 years after Buddy Holly in Duluth, new Winter Dance Party
One of the interesting arts projects going on in Northern Minnesota is the proposed renovation of the Duluth Armory as a renewed concert and public event place in the heart of Lake Superior’s “Zenith City.” The Armory, like many armories, was once a bustling concert hall where many famous performers once played. Buddy Holly played…
-
A thirst for birch
Each day the sun cracks the ramparts of Northern Minnesota’s great boreal forest, filters through trees into my little blue house on the hill, illuminating a world quite unlike the televised universe of “Good Morning America.” Nevertheless, each day we let the TV talk our ears off while we ingest the coffee, toast and overnight…
-
Duluth airport gets Oberstar name; Hibbing gets plaque or something
The new Duluth International Airport terminal will be named for the late Rep. Jim Oberstar, a transportation and aviation titan during his 36 years in Congress. Duluth had been in competition with the Range Regional Airport in Hibbing for the rights to name their new terminal after Oberstar. Oberstar was instrumental in the development of…
-
Public lobbying group that hired Tomassoni now reeling
The controversy over State Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm) accepting a job as head of an Iron Range public sector lobbying group continues to churn, now consuming local politics as well as the crowded halls of the Capitol in St. Paul. As we discussed last week, Ely became the first RAMS member-city to delay renewing its…
-
Bob Dylan speaks of Hibbing, grandma & his dream career
Robert A. Zimmerman of Hibbing, Minnesota, didn’t know he’d become Bob Dylan when he left for Dinkytown, Minneapolis in 1959. But now that he is, Northern Minnesota’s most famous son is looking back with some nostalgia and reverence for the Iron Range town where he first dabbled with poetry and guitars. Known for his guarded reclusiveness with the…
-
Range museum to host murder mystery (with buffet)
This Saturday, Jan. 24, the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, formerly Ironworld, will host one of those murder mystery evenings that you sometimes hear about. They’re calling it the Clueseum. The Minnesota Discovery Center is a sprawling facility filled with mining artifacts, art and, until recently, stern and frightening papier-mâché sculptures depicting arguments over the contract…
-
Rhythmic Circus fancy-dances way through Hibbing
On Thursday evening at 7, the off-Broadway performers of Rhythmic Circus “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now” will perform at the historic Hibbing High School auditorium. Part of the Hibbing Community College Music Series (disclosure: HCC is my employer) and underwritten by the Hibbing Foundation, the show promises a “dynamic tap and music performance mixing high-energy percussive…
-
Ely pulls out of RAMS until Tomassoni matter resolved
Tom Coombe, editor of the Ely Echo, tweeted this breaking news tonight. The City of Ely is pulling out of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools (RAMS) until the controversy surrounding the hiring of sitting State Sen. David Tomassoni as the RAMS executive director is resolved. Amid firestorm over hire of new director, Ely…
-
President Obama’s State of the Union deserves attention
Two of the biggest domestic policy proposals that President Obama plans to introduce in his State of the Union address tonight are right in my wheelhouse: community and technical college being affordable for all, and broadband infrastructure throughout rural America. Their connection to one another? Both involve investing in people and their own ability to access…
-
Tailings basin concerns for Iron Range’s MinnTac mine
The state will be looking closely at permit renewal plans at MinnTac in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, after the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued concerns recently that the tailings basin at Minnesota’s largest taconite mine inadequately filters runoff into area waters, including those that flow into Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters Canoe area. The Star…
-
NPR debuts new Bob Dylan Sinatra cover album
Today, NPR debuted a single from Bob Dylan’s newest album “Shadows in the Night,” a collection of new interpretations of songs made famous by the great crooner Frank Sinatra. Here it is, “Stay With Me,” for your listening consideration. When it was announced that this would be Dylan’s next project, I responded with a notable amount…
-
‘Free community college’ not free, but necessary
For me, one of the biggest difference-makers in my life was going to college. What success I’ve found comes not only from the degree I earned, but from the growth I experienced trying to get that degree. Like many of my fellow 1990s high school graduates, I was taught that if you had the will,…
-
Range leaders beginning to talk broadband
This morning, the Mesabi Daily News and Hibbing Daily Tribune published a Bill Hanna story about rural broadband. It begins: ST. PAUL — The governor and lawmakers, both in northern and southern parts of the state, agree that better broadband is needed in rural areas, especially as an economic development tool. But there is real concern…