-
Duluth library faces dramatic, expensive fate
I’m 34, pushing 35. The other day I was thinking, hey there Me! I’ve lived some good life and still have plenty to go. Good for Me! Thanks, Me! And then I read this story about the 34-year-old, almost 35-year-old Duluth Public Library. Peter Passi reported in Sunday’s Duluth News Tribune on a grim view…
-
U of M seeks another chance to revolutionize mining
The story of mining on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range is sometimes mischaracterized as the simple story of some guys finding the richest supply of iron in the world followed by generations of mining. There have been some dramatic twists involving high finance by Rockefeller and Carnegie, political alliances between old foes to pass the 1964…
-
The global X-factor in Range mining projects
Reeling from lack of investor confidence, Duluth Metals allowed itself and its Ely, MN, mining development Twin Metals be acquired by the Chile-based Antofagasta Mining Company two weeks ago. An earlier gambit to get Antofagasta to buy part of the company had fallen apart, and in a shrewd bit of international wheeling and dealing, Antofagasta ended…
-
Gov. Dayton calls for applications to lead IRRRB
Today, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton announced an open application process for the position of Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB). The position is being vacated by Tony Sertich, who will assume the presidency of the Duluth-based Northland Foundation in January. As I’ve written, this is an important position in the leadership…
-
Hibbing VA clinic at center of controversy
The national controversy surrounding wait times and service at Veterans Administration hospitals and clinics has been pinpointed at a VA location close to home. A group of former employees at the Hibbing VA clinic is alleging they were ordered to backdate the appointment times for veterans on paperwork submitted to the VA to make the…
-
Why do we live here?
Like most Iron Range children of the 1980s, I once dreamed of a future in my state’s metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. My family’s rare visits to the Big City bright lights, shiny tall buildings and teeming freeways were such a contrast to the dull world of trailer houses, shuttered windows and forever…
-
The good ol’ boy litmus test
Before reading this post, please respond to the following quiz: Do you think everything that has been done in [any given Iron Range town] by its local leaders is pretty gawl-darn amazing, that the city is a flawless ideal of 21st Century prosperity, and should be celebrated far and wide, regardless of critical thought? Do new or remodeled industrial…
-
Under the deep clear waters of Tioga Pit
For your captivating view of the day, check out this video posted by Curtis Lahr of a scuba dive under the Tioga Mine Pit near Grand Rapids, Minnesota on the western Mesabi Iron Range. There’s an old rumor that there’s a train engine at the bottom of the Tioga. This dive doesn’t show them going…
-
Marking 39 years since the sinking of the Fitz
Today, ceremonies will be held in port cities across the Upper Midwest to commemorate the largest shipwreck in the history of the Great Lakes: the Nov. 10 sinking of the iron ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald. Some years I talk about this date, and some years I don’t. It caught my attention this year because my…
-
Iron Range battle for future of IRRRB
With last week’s announcement that Tony Sertich is leaving his post as Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) to lead the Duluth-based Northland Foundation, a sudden sense of drama has enveloped the Iron Range political scene. Gov. Mark Dayton will need to appoint a replacement amid a swirling sea of local political and…
-
Mixed election results pose clear challenge
As the first snow of the year falls, we see campaign signs vanish from roadsides, dissipating like the fading drone of negative ads that oozed from our TVs and radios last week. They are tomorrow’s yard sale signs and ideal mats for your garage floor to change oil or paint furniture. Like the elections themselves,…
-
Cook County candidates must draw Scrabble tiles to settle tie
UPDATE: Frank Moe was declared the winner in the drawing today, the account of which is here. The two candidates for District 1 Cook County Commissioner in far Northeastern Minnesota ended up tied after ballots from Tuesday’s election were counted. Now they will participate in a drawing to determine which will take office, unless a…
-
Deer hunting season begins with big announcement
The 2014 rifle deer hunting season opens tomorrow morning. Though the deer hunting looks to be tough this year, thousands of hunters are making the trip into the woods and wilds of Minnesota to participate in this annual tradition. The annual Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener is taking place in Bemidji this year. Like the Governor’s Fishing Opener…
-
The Undefeated Rick Nolan: Analyzing Election 2014
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan deployed the vaunted ground game of Minnesota’s quirky Democratic-Farmer-Labor party and a passionate closing message to eke out the toughest election of his career. Nolan’s years in Congress bookend an entire generation, serving first from 1975 to 1981 — then later returning in 2012. Though the political map surrounding his home in the Crosby area has…
-
Tony Sertich to step down as IRRRB commissioner
Later today, Tony Sertich, commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, is expected to announce he will step down before the second administration of Gov. Mark Dayton. Sertich will succeed the retiring Tom Renier as President of the Duluth-based Northland Foundation. The change means Gov. Dayton will need to appoint a new leader for the unique…