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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.…
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Vice President Biden revs up Range DFLers before tight election
Solar eclipses are rare, but not as rare as a vice presidential visit to the Iron Range. Both of them on the same day? Well, that’s once in a lifetime. The scene at Hibbing Community College last week included Secret Service agents, bomb-sniffing dogs and chattering staffers straight out of “The West Wing” swarming the…
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Brown on the Air: The Almanac Panel
For those of you who missed the show, here is the video of the political panel: If you want to watch the whole show, including the super cool bald eagle segment, watch this: I’ll be making my first appearance on Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac political panel tonight. The show starts at 7 on TPT in…
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The politics of retribution on the Iron Range
This week, Robbie Feinberg of City Pages penned a long form story about the nonferrous mining debate in Northern Minnesota. He spent time with supporters and opponents of projects like PolyMet and Twin Metals to compose his story, which I’d recommend reading in its entirety. The story treads over some familiar ground, but also does…
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LIVE BLOG: VP Joe Biden at Hibbing Community College
Vice President Joe Biden speaks at Hibbing Community College on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range today, Oct. 23, 2014, in a “get out the vote” campaign rally for U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8). The event begins at about 2 p.m. I’ll provide live blog coverage here with the help of students at the college who were granted…
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Iron Range music teacher profiled on MPR
Minnesota Public Radio will periodically profile the work of music teachers around the state. This week, MPR’s Daniel Nass talked to Virginia High School’s Matthew Krage. Krage reinvigorated the program at this eastern Mesabi Range school and brought back musical theater after a 15 year hiatus. You can read the interview here, or listen below.…
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DNR projects much smaller deer harvest
The Star Tribune reports that Minnesota DNR officials are projecting the lowest deer harvest in more than 30 years for the upcoming rifle deer hunting season. But that’s all part of the plan: By design, this year’s deer harvest will be one of the lowest we’ve seen in decades,” Leslie McInenly, big game program leader…