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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…
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The Hunt for Bork, Bork, Bork October
This week, Europe is on high alert after Sweden reported picking up a distress signal from a Russian submarine in its territorial waters. The Scandinavian nation has cause for concern because the loose Russian sub might contain nuclear materials or weapons. Further reports indicate some kind of strange foreign-flagged ship seen in the area, possibly connected…
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Trampled by Turtles tackles Yes on AV Club
Northern Minnesota’s own Trampled by Turtles is now a repeat visitor to the AV Club’s Undercover series, in which mid-level bands struggling with their limitations in the harsh face of stardom cover one song from a list of tunes by other mid-level bands struggling with their limitations in the harsh face of stardom and/or radio…
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A dozen Iron Range concerts for price of one
Another season of the Mesaba Concert Association series is upon us. For a $35 membership, you have tickets to five shows at the historic Hibbing High School auditorium and other shows at the beautiful school theaters in Virginia and Ely as well. According to the Mesaba Concert Association, the schedule for this year is as follows:…
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Fed meteorologists back off polar vortex talk
Here in Northern Minnesota, lamenting winter is a growing cottage industry. Why, just think of it! Another polar vortex. Of course, the fact that winter is always cold here remains a fact that kills the buzz of trumped-up media reports, but only if you let it. Lately it seems that our cultural memory extends back…
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How to attend the Oct. 23 Joe Biden rally in Hibbing
Details have solidified for this Thursday’s Oct. 23 rally with Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Rick Nolan at Hibbing Community College. As many had expected, the event will be held in the college gymnasium with the doors opening at 11:45 a.m. The DFL is asking you to RSVP for the event here. That said,…
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A tale of two iron ranges
In the middle to late 1800s, prospectors discovered iron ore in a remote land far from the big cities, a place utterly insignificant in world affairs. This discovery, however, could not be ignored. The ore was too plentiful and valuable. The events that followed would bring people of many languages and cultures together to mine…
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Star Tribune eyes (noncontroversial) renaissance in Ely
What an interesting and exciting story in today’s Star Tribune. Pam Louwagie writes about a Missouri developer, a longtime summer resident in the Ely area, who has purchased a number of decaying buildings in downtown Ely with the goal of renovating and re-imagining their use for a modern town set amid the pines. Louwagie makes specific…