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VIEW NOW: Watch Franken vs McFadden, Dayton vs Johnson
This morning, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) will debate GOP challenger and investment broker Mike McFadden for their first formal debate of Election 2014, which takes place just over a month from now. Tonight, Gov. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) will debate GOP challenger and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson in their first debate. The Uptake will…
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Iron ore stashed as rail delays snarl Upper Midwest
I just finished reading “Mesabi Pioneers” by Russell Hill and Jeffrey Smith, a new historical novel set in the early days of iron mining on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. I’ll have more thoughts about the book in my Sunday newspaper column, but the story did remind me of the central struggle facing the pioneering Merritt…
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Take a trip in the tortoise time machine
Think back to childhood. Do you remember that one nontraditional pet you had? I’m not talking about a dog or cat here. Dogs and cats see their names stitched in Christmas stockings. They wear sacred vestments, such as collars and sweaters. Dogs and cats insist upon themselves in ways that caged animals usually don’t. Non-traditional…
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It could be years, not months, for PolyMet progress
It’s been several months since the public comments period closed for the environmental review and permitting process for PolyMet, a controversial proposed nonferrous mineral mine in Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. Most had hoped for news about the completion of the Environmental Impact Statement and a clearer timeline for the final permitting by this fall. However, a Marshall Helmberger interview…
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‘Great Northern’ weekend in Park Rapids starts now
My favorite weekends are Great Northern Radio Show weekends. They are exhausting, invigorating and inspiring. And another one begins today. The Great Northern Radio Show, my personal twist on the old variety show format, will broadcast live from Armory Square in downtown Park Rapids, Minnesota, this Saturday from 5-7 p.m. on Northern Community Radio. At…
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Northern Minnesota restaurants lead per capita
It’s no secret that tourism is big business in Northern Minnesota. The hospitality and recreation industries employ thousands, while the ebb and flow of tourists are a big part of life here in the North Woods. I often write about Northern Minnesota’s economy, and how its actual composition compares with the idealized one usually discussed in the media. Mining, for…
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UPDATE: Where to find Minnesota fall colors 2014
UPDATE (Sept. 30): We have full peak colors in Northern Minnesota, and I’d argue we’re past peak in most of the parts that show dark red on the DNR maps. Any leaves still changing are only replacing leaves that have fallen. We lost quite a bit of the “canopy” on Sunday and Monday. You’ll still…
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Howie Hanson enters Duluth mayoral race; Ness responds
Though Don Ness has yet to announce whether he would seek a third term as mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, he nevertheless has a challenger today as blogger and city councilor Howie Hanson made an early announcement that he would run for mayor next year. Duluth city elections are held in the fall of odd years. Usually,…
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Today in Alt-History: North Minnesota and South Minnesota
A couple weeks ago I came across this feature from the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader in South Dakota exploring an interesting intersection of American history. In the time before Minnesota statehood and the dissection of Dakota territory, there was serious talk of splitting Minnesota on an east-west border instead of using the Red River as a north-south…
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Turn, turn, turn, D’oh!: 1,000 foot ship runs ashore in Duluth
The 1,000-foot freighter Paul A. Tregurtha ran ashore Saturday near Bayfront Park in the Port of Duluth, Minnesota, causing quite a stir in the Zenith City and prompting a localized surge in social media references to freshwater coal-hauling vessels. Hung up for more than three hours, the Tregurtha was freed with the help of two tugboats.…
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Iron Range GOP candidate facing lawsuit for garage chop
Nearly a year and a half ago, the small band of daily commuters on Itasca County Highway 8 noticed that this happened. I posted the picture to social media with a silly Paul Bunyan joke. What we hadn’t realized at the time was that this garage-halving operation was part of a looney, decades-old family property…
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Notes from the Northern Swing
Here’s your thought experiment for the day. Go watch some kind of live coverage of Congress. It doesn’t matter what they talk about, just look at them. Ancient partisans, middle aged careerists, twitchy young up-and-comers emit loud nothings into microphones then whispering crucial somethings out of earshot. Watching Congress in action shows why an unshakeable…
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Poll shows slipping support for PolyMet
The proposed PolyMet mine at Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota, is still waiting for news about its permits with a ruling to come from federal and state regulators late this year or early next. But the effects of the long wait and ceaseless statewide debate over the merits of opening new kinds of mineral mines in important Minnesota…
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Great Northern Radio Show in Park Rapids on 9/27
If you’ve wondered why posting has sluffed off some here at the Iron Range’s fastest-growing news and culture blog there is good reason. I’ve been writing the latest edition of the Great Northern Radio Show while balancing my usual mix of writing, teaching and cloak-and-dagger projects. I’m happy to announce that the script is done…
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U.S. Steel cancels KeeTac expansion plan
Business North reports that U.S. Steel announced several strategic decisions today, one of which was to cancel expansion plans at Keewatin Taconite on the Mesabi Iron Range. From the story: U. S. Steel executives said they considered its future raw materials needs for iron ore and coke, and found its current production capability sufficient. The…