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Chairman of the Bob: Dylan’s next album to cover Sinatra
“The Tempest” may have been William Shakespeare’s last play, but “Tempest” will not be Bob Dylan’s last album. Jay Gabler at The Current’s blog reports that Duluth-born, Hibbing-raised Minnesotan Bob Dylan will release a new album in 2015, one surely to raise some eyebrows. Dylan’s new album will be called “Shadows in the Night,” and will feature…
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LIVE BLOG: Northern Minnesota Election Night 2014
PROJECTIONS BOLD denotes MinnesotaBrown/media projection of winner; * denotes incumbent U.S. Senate: Al Franken* (DFL) vs. Mike McFadden (GOP) Governor and Lt. Gov.: Mark Dayton and Tina Smith* (DFL) vs. Jeff Johnson and Bill Kuisle (GOP) U.S. House MN District 8: Rick Nolan* (DFL) vs. Stewart Mills (GOP) vs. Skip Sandman (Green) MN State House…
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ELECTION DAY: Last minute advice for the undecided voter
There was a colony of insects working out in a field one fall day. There was much work to be done, and tempers were starting to flare. “Watch where you’re waiving that maxillary palp,” said one beetle. “Well, we wouldn’t have this problem if your big ol’ rostrum wasn’t in the way,” said the other.…
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What to Watch: Election 2014 in Northern Minnesota
UPDATE: The Election Day Live Blog is now fully operational. Minnesota voters are about to do something in a booth this Tuesday, Nov. 4. Or maybe not. Besides deciding which candidates to vote for, many voters are deciding whether or not to vote. Taken together, the temperament and turnout of people like you and me…
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Celebrity sillies in Minnesota’s election countdown
So, this happened. One commercial break during Sunday’s football game mostly included Christmas shopping ads, while the next commercial break was wall-to-wall political ads. That’s right. Christmas season has overlapped with election season. Since Christmas isn’t officially “holy” until Dec. 25, I’m going to declare this most unholy. I get a lot of press releases…
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Whither blow the winds of Northern Minnesota?
I spent my high school years working as an overnight disk jockey for an easy listening radio station on Minnesota’s Iron Range. This experience warped me in many incalculable ways, not least of which will be exhibited in the following analogy. Earth, Wind, and Fire is more than a 1970s pop supergroup, it’s an accurate…
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Wall Street Journal profiles MN-8 from Wall Street POV
After being featured on National Public Radio after Joe Biden’s visit, and other national media outlets, Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District campaign continues to turn heads. Kristina Peterson and Dante Chinni of the Wall Street Journal profiled the district in this Oct. 30 piece “Democrats Lose Their Grip on Voters with Keys to the House.” The…
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Conservatives attempt reverse psychology in MN-8
Minnesota’s hotly contested Eighth Congressional District race is no stranger to outside political spending. As the contest draws to a close, however, the conservative group American Action Network is trying to use reverse psychology to drive liberals from incumbent Rick Nolan to Green Party candidate Ray “Skip” Sandman. Many voters in the 8th received this…
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A schoolhouse divided will not stand
Last week, the Nashwauk-Keewatin School Board voted to dissolve its shared services agreement with the Greenway School District on the western Mesabi Iron Range. Days later Greenway also backed away from most elements of the partnership. This marks the end of an experiment exposing many hard truths about the future of school and community collaboration on the Iron Range.…
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My theories on turnout, MN8, & what to watch
On Monday, Oct. 27 I was on The Daily Report on AM 950 in the Twin Cities to talk about the current state of politics in Northern Minnesota, with special focus on the Eighth Congressional District. I go into some theories I have on turnout and what factors I think will determine the outcome of the…
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A story in data: Northern Minnesota’s next challenges
The Center for Rural Policy and Development issued its State of Rural Minnesota 2014 Report this week, including a number of compelling graphics about the current and projected economic status of Greater Minnesota counties. The report might prompt different conclusions based on who reads it, but since I write about Northern Minnesota, I see a…
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400 families respond to Itasca broadband push
Itasca County, continuing its push for broadband for all residents, gave an update on its progress since the reinvigorated effort to collect survey results from interested residents unserved or underserved by current broadband providers. The press release follows: Itascans want better broadband. Over 400 Itasca County families have indicated that they want better access to…
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National Christmas tree to be cut this week in Northern MN
Today, somewhere near Walker, Minnesota, in the Chippewa National Forest, a mature 88-foot white spruce enjoys its last meal of sunlight and carbon dioxide before being cut tomorrow to live forever in the hearts of America as the nation’s 2014 Christmas tree. On Wednesday, Oct. 29, Minnesota’s Logger of the Year Jim Scheff of Marcell…
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The DFL’s ‘Mad Man’ turnout blitz in Duluth
As we covered on the Almanac political panel last Friday, one of the biggest variables heading into next Tuesday’s midterm election here in Minnesota is turnout. While Gov. Mark Dayton and Sen. Al Franken, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party incumbents, both show significant leads in their races, control of the State House of Representatives and at least two…
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Essar restarts construction of new west Range mine
Essar Steel has restarted construction on its new taconite mine and processing plant near Nashwauk, Minnesota. This according to a Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014 story in the Hibbing Daily Tribune. What’s not known is who is financing the India-based company’s sometimes beleaguered Iron Range project, or if the financing package will ultimately include another partner.…