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It’s official: ‘Fargo’ headed for Sioux Falls ’79
In the FX series “Fargo,” the EMMY-nominated Northern Minnesota-based caper, we met Lou Solverson (Keith Carradine). He’s the gruff ex-cop who now runs a cafe in Bemidji. His daughter is Molly (EMMY-nominated Allison Tolman), and he offers her sage advice and words of caution as she hunts down the evil criminal Lorne Malvo (EMMY-nominated Billy…
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I’ve (not) got the power
Last night’s storm knocked out power for 14,000 Lake Country Power customers, including MinnesotaBrown World Headquarters in Balsam Township. A storm like this knocked us out of power for three days two years ago. I drove into town for a work thing, so I’m going to go shave in the bathroom after I post this.…
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Timberjay reports stunning legal fees at St. Louis Co. schools
Marshall Helmberger and Tom Klein at the Timberjay newspapers report this week that more than $450,000 in legal fees have been paid by the rural St. Louis County School District #2142 in Northeastern Minnesota over the past two years. That’s a number that dwarfs what similar sized districts paid in the same period. In essence,…
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Highway 53 plan may create ‘highest bridge in Minnesota’
Iron Rangers might have seen some barges floating out on the Rouchleau pit near Virginia, Minnesota this past week. Crews are drilling the rock formations beneath the deep, cold water pits to see if the craggy mine waste and rock below can sustain the weight of what would become “the highest bridge in Minnesota.” In a…
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Eat, love, spray? Summer of the Skeeter
We all know that northern Minnesota’s summer was a little late this year. If you don’t recall the wailing and gnashing of teeth over that miserable second winter masquerading as spring, you’d only be blocking an important emotional crossroads we all faced together. As far as I’m concerned, no matter how hot this summer gets…
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Crowdsourcing comeback for Hibbing’s Bob Dylan hot spot?
This week my friends Linda Stroback-Hocking and her husband Bob Hocking launched a crowdsourcing campaign to reopen Zimmy’s, the Bob Dylan-themed bar and restaurant in Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota. The campaign uses the Indiegogo platform, and represents something of a grand experiment in saving one of the Iron Range’s most unique night spots. Zimmy’s,…
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LeBron James or pro-mining editorial?
Living most of my life on the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota I’ve always held an affinity for steel towns like Cleveland and Pittsburgh out East. That’s where the iron ore that passed by my house on steaming taconite trains would end up, and the fortunes of folks in those big cities often mirrored the ups…
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VIDEO: Trampled by Turtles drop ‘Wild Animals’ on Letterman
UPDATE: Here’s the video! It warms my heart to hear David Letterman talk about taconite. Good stuff, and a great performance. Progressive bluegrass/folk band Trampled by Turtles will appear on tonight’s Late Show with David Letterman on the very day their new album “Wild Animals” is released. This is Trampled by Turtles second appearance on Letterman,…
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Vermilion Range Old Settlers Picnic this Saturday
After talking about the Cuyuna Iron Range yesterday, we have to spend a little time talking about the Vermilion as well. I was just up there last month with my Great Northern Radio Show, and am happy to pass along word that the Vermilion Range Old Settlers Picnic will be held this Saturday, July 19…
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The secret of Minnesota baseball, where weather is hope
It’s probably for the best that the weather is a little cool for tonight’s Major League Baseball All Star game at Target Field in my state’s capital of St. Paul, Minnesota. After all, the national press will need to toughen up some before the Super Bowl held at our new open air stadium in January…
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Cuyuna Range mining talk hails old ghosts
What would you do if an old girlfriend or boyfriend called? Would you take them back? What if you haven’t talked in 10 years. Or 20? Try 50. This is the discussion going on in Northern Minnesota these days and it isn’t about love; it’s about mining. There were three active iron mining ranges in Northern Minnesota through…
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Duluth, Range airports vie for Oberstar name
When longtime northern Minnesota congressman and transportation titan James Oberstar passed away in May, everyone knew that an airport would deservedly be named in honor of his tireless work to expand aviation in northern Minnesota. The question, as the Duluth News Tribune now reports, is which one? Oberstar, a Chisholm native, was instrumental in the…
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Ruling on steel dumping short term relief for long term issue
On Friday, the United States Commerce Department ruled that recent low-cost imports of foreign steel violated trade rules and imposed tariffs on the predominantly South Korean steel products. This was the outcome domestic steelmakers, steelworkers and leaders here on Minnesota’s Iron Range had hoped for after the major rally against steel dumping held here two…
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Bringing aria to area: Northern Lights fest illuminates Range
Iron Range residents are often presented a simplified interpretation of the past: many of our ancestors came from overseas to mine the ore that built a nation. What is often missed in this description is why. Save for a handful of Cornish mining jacks, these men didn’t come here because they liked to mine heavy…
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‘Fargo’ nets 18 Emmy nods, likely 2nd season
The Northern Minnesota-based FX drama “Fargo,” inspired by the Coen Brothers movie of the same name, earned 18 Emmy nominations in the mini-series category yesterday, including nods for the four actors who portrayed the main roles. I filed episode-by-episode reviews of “Fargo” from my unique perch here in the real Northern Minnesota. I started watching the show…