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Up to $12 million owed at Essar site
Northland NewsCenter jumps in with its own report about the work stoppage and financing issues at Essar Steel’s construction site near Nashwauk, Minnesota. The headline: Up to $12 million is owed Iron Range contractors for work already completed at Essar’s planned taconite mine. Oh, and I’m in this one, saying pretty much the things I…
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‘March: In like a lion’
“March: In Like a Lion” is part of my 2014 winter/spring sanity project. I will post original cartoons about modern life in northern Minnesota every Friday until the snow melts. Related posts: No related posts.
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WDSE’s ‘The Playlist’ celebrates 100 episodes
As you may recall, this blog advocates economic diversification in northern Minnesota and one of the ideas I push heavily is the arts. So I take a moment now to congratulate Karen Sunderman and the WDSE (PBS-North) program, “The Playlist,” on their 100th episode and five years on the air. The episode aired last night…
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Will Minnesota finally invest in rural internet?
This week, State Sen. Matt Schmit (DFL-Red Wing) will introduce a bill investing $100 million in state dollars into rural internet infrastructure in Minnesota. The Star Tribune published a story by Jenna Ross about the broadband expansion bill and the poor conditions facing internet workers in rural Minnesota. I am one of the rural internet…
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Contractor files lien on Essar; millions unpaid
More details about the shaky financial situation at the Essar Steel construction site near Nashwauk, Minnesota are coming to light: Nobody is working at the Nashwauk site now. Millions are owed to construction contractors and laborers. At least one contractor has filed a lien on the project. Essar says it hopes to have its financing…
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Joe Radinovich heating aid bill first to pass 2014 legislature
The 2014 legislature got off to a mostly useful and bipartisan start with emergency legislation to fund home heating assistance programs. The bill, carried by Rep. Joe Radinovich (DFL-Crosby), comes amid what has become a crisis of short fuel supplies, rising costs and enormous heating demand amid one of the coldest winters in recent memory.…
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The charred earth of the 2014 MN legislative session
The 2014 MN legislative session opens today in St. Paul amid the distinct sense that lawmakers in both parties would like to avoid having things get out of hand before this fall’s elections. That said, both Republicans and Democratic-Farmer-Laborites have distinct goals in this session. The most agreed-upon goal is a bonding bill. Even years…
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Business North: Grand Rapids Kmart to close
The Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Kmart store is about to ship its pants for the last time, according to Business North. Unofficial reports put the closure of the Grand Rapids Kmart sometime in June. City officials notified of the coming closure are now planning to work with the building’s owner to seek new tenants or alternative…
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GOP’s Zellers: ‘We are all Iron Rangers’
It might have made for a fun parlor game back in the late ’80s. “What set of circumstances would cause a Republican candidate for governor to use ‘We are All Iron Rangers,’ as a slogan?” One must admit the smart money then and perhaps even recently would have been on “horrific natural disaster.” The Iron…
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Bob McDonald loses last home game to son’s Ely team
Legendary Chisholm High School basketball coach Bob McDonald’s last home game was bittersweet for the 59-year, 1,000-win coaching veteran. His Bluestreaks lost, but they lost to an Ely Wolves team coached by his son, Tom. And it’s not over. Chisholm now heads to the playoffs where Ely and other opponents won’t be able to look…
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Robo-rooters clog commissioners with septic sniping
The Mesabi Daily News’ top Sunday story this week was about hundreds of robo-calls to St. Louis County Commissioners over a septic policy change. Two of the most targeted commissioners — Keith Nelson from the eastern Mesabi, and Mike Forsman from the Vermilion Range — feel the calls were inappropriate and filled with misinformation, according…
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What economic diversification looks like
All you really need to do is ask someone who used to live on the Iron Range, “what do you see when you come back to the Range?” While there might be nostalgia over happy memories or familiar sites, more often than not they’ll say, “What happened?” What happened to the businesses that used to…
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“Soon Prosperity”
I will continue posting original cartoons about northern Minnesota every Friday until the snow melts as part of my 2014 winter/spring sanity project. Related posts: No related posts.
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Filmmaker set to release Minnesota wolf documentary
Last winter, a California director filmed scenes for “Medicine of the Wolf,” a documentary on the Minnesota wolf featuring renowned wildlife photographer and writer Jim Brandenburg. Julia Huffman now seeks to finish her movie, adding some crucial interviews and perspective, and she’s almost halfway toward doing so on Kickstarter. The political battle since the onset…
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Tourists swarm Apostle Island ice caves
The Apostle Island ice caves in northern Wisconsin are this season’s hottest site-seeing destination for northern Minnesotans and Wisconsinites. Favorable ice conditions have allowed walking access to the sea caves for the first time in five years, and the sites inside the caves are truly spectacular. How do I know this, since I haven’t gone…