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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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‘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,…
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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…
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Walk-through inflatable body in Hibbing
This Saturday, Jan. 17, the 2015 Fairview Range Health Expo will be held at the Hibbing Community College gymnasium. A wide variety of medical organizations and services will display their work and doings, but that’s not why you clicked on this link and it’s not why you’ll drive over to the college this weekend. The…
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Cliffs CEO strikes positive tone with Range lawmakers
According the reports I’ve read and gathered on my own, Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves had two goals for the private meeting he held Monday night, Jan. 12, with Iron Range lawmakers: 1) to stress his company’s commitment to its Iron Range operations, and 2) to vehemently oppose state funding of the Essar Steel plant near Nashwauk.…
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McReynolds-Pellinen named to Virginia City Council
Last night on the east central Mesabi Iron Range, Mary McReynolds-Pellinen was sworn in as a Virginia (Minn.) City Council member. The city council appointed her to fill a seat left vacant when Larry Cuffe was elected mayor in the last election. McReynolds-Pellinen was the fourth highest vote-getter in the at-large council race in that…
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Our penchant for meat raffles nets LA Times story
Minnesotans just want to be acknowledged. We see the airplanes flying overhead, the contrail expanding behind them in the cold Northern skies. We want the people on those planes to look down and see us. Yes, that’s me waving! Yes, see me. SEE ME! New York and Los Angeles are false idols. We have peace…
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Cuyuna cycling group sets goal of ‘3 days of riding’
We’ve written before about the Cuyuna Iron Range’s tremendous success rebranding itself for fat tire mountain biking instead of just as a “former mining region.” Late last week, the Cuyuna Bike Crew — the organization created to organize and advocate for mountain bikers and trails — announced its comprehensive plan. While the plan is replete…
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Sitting Range senator takes job with lobbying group
UPDATE 3: Moments ago, State Sen. Tom Bakk, the Senate Majority Leader, issued this statement regarding Sen. Tomassoni’s new job: ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) released the following statement concerning Sen. David Tomassoni’s employment at the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools. “As Sen. Tomassoni has publicly indicated, he has…