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Notes on a changing Iron Range
The wheels of fate keep turning on the Iron Range. Over on the east central Mesabi, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert schools are considering a new shared high school. We await resolution of some sort on expensive, long anticipated mining projects like Essar Steel and PolyMet, all while the reality of our lack of economic…
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Flipping ‘The Odd Couple’ in Duluth
The Duluth Playhouse is doing a run of Neil Simon’s famous play “The Odd Couple,” about a mismatched pair of roommates learning to deal with life, change and each other. No big deal, right? Well, the play features lead actors Jody Kujawa and Jason Scorich, alternating the roles of Felix and Oscar each night. In…
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Internet access for all Minnesotans? Live coverage now
The Uptake is providing live coverage of the Border to Border Broadband conference presentation “The Future of Rural Minnesota Broadband.” I’m happy to share the coverage here on my blog at the bottom of this post. Coverage begins at 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5. I’ll post archive footage afterward when its available. The huge…
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Actual Wolf sings ‘Victims and Things’ live
You could do a lot worse things with three and a half minutes of your life than listen to this live recording from the Current featuring Actual Wolf and his new single “Victims and Things.” Actual Wolf, nee Eric Pollard and his band, is a northern Minnesota act headed to Nashville. They’ll have a full-length…
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‘Rhythmic biological pattern of life’ goes on
In Sunday’s Duluth News Tribune, Sam Cook writes of the last mail run of retiring postal carrier John Latimer, who doubles as the staff phenologist at KAXE-Northern Community Radio. (Phenology is a Tuesday morning radio show, and also the “rhythmic biological pattern of life”). While John might not be delivering mail in rural Itasca County…
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Dayton selects Tina Flint Smith for Lt. Gov.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton will announce his Chief of Staff Tina Flint Smith as his 2014 running mate this morning. Smith will join the ticket as the DFL Lt. Gov. candidate for Dayton’s upcoming re-election bid having been probably the most influential member of his first term administration. Here’s Blois Olson’s write-up from today’s Morning…
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Dylan Days in Hibbing calls for poems, stories
Every year a group of folks, myself included, throw together a grassroots event in Bob Dylan’s Iron Range hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, celebrating Dylan’s work and influence and the enduring art and culture of northern Minnesota. One of the things we do is a writing contest named in honor of the English teacher who turned…
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Historic changes to IRRRB quietly approach
Last week’s meeting of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board in Eveleth covered some rather groundbreaking territory with relatively little fanfare. So, let’s take a look. First, the required primer. The IRRRB is a state-run agency, but is funded with revenue raised from mining production taxes. Mines in northern Minnesota pay production taxes instead…
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Bob Dylan pitches for Chrysler in Super Bowl ad
Folks who stuck with the Seattle Seahawks blowout in the Super Bowl were treated to one of Chrysler’s trademark American heartstrings ads: this one featuring Hibbing’s own Bob Dylan. The reclusive folk/rock troubadour waxed poetic about America, the road, and the Detroit-made goodness of Chrysler automobiles. My local social media feed did not lack the…
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Sports Ball Food for Humans
It’s Football Sunday in America. By now you should be making final arrangements for the perfect Super Bowl party, including cold beverages and delicious appetizers. But what if all this slipped your mind? What if you don’t follow football? What if you don’t have friends? What if you don’t eat food? What if, just maybe,…
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Area chickens unsuccessful
Late last year, northern Minnesota’s internet elite united for one purpose: get a free Super Bowl ad for a local chicken farm. We voted and voted and voted in the online poll put on by Intuit, who was springing to buy the expensive ad for a small business that uses its software. Our northern Minnesota…
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Nation’s cold spot celebrates Laskiainen sliding festival
Northern Minnesota has drawn national headlines all month for its subzero Martian cold and hip hotspot catering cross-promotion. This weekend it will be the site of a beloved northern Minnesota Iron Range tradition: The Laskiainen Finnish sliding festival in Palo. Laskiainen is a midwinter custom that came over with the Finnish immigrants who were among…
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Chisholm musher wins Beargrease Sled Dog race
Nathan Schroeder, an Iron Range musher from Chisholm, Minnesota, won the 2014 Beargrease Sled Dog race today, crossing the finish line early this afternoon in Duluth. This is the second straight year Schroeder has won the Beargrease Sled Dog race, which is a qualifier for the most famous sled dog race in America, the Iditarod…
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Warm up with this picture of a jet truck
When you’re on media mailing lists it’s sometimes fun to see the combinations of things that arrive any given day. For instance, Monday I got a press release from Gov. Mark Dayton’s office about emergency assistance for those who can’t afford heat amid the ongoing propane price surge. Then, later, I got this press release…
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Stewart Mills reports fundraising haul in MN-8
Stewart Mills, the Republican challenger in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District, announced yesterday he raised $205,000 in the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing his totals from last year to about $450,000. That’s a respectable haul for a first time candidate, indicating that Mills will at least be able to afford a competitive challenge if circumstances allow.…