-
Northern Minnesota colder than Mars this week
It’s cold in northern Minnesota. How cold is it? It is reported that temperatures in Duluth and surrounding region of northern Minnesota have been colder than Mars this week, according to reports from NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on the Red Planet. Embarrass and International Falls were both under 40 below (F) Thursday night, while the…
-
Hell’s Kitchen offers hot deal to Embarrass, MN
The cold weather across Minnesota dominated major headlines and local conversations today. The mere observation that northern Minnesota is as cold or colder than Mars is on track to be my biggest post of the season. But here’s a special deal for folks in Embarrass, MN, widely considered to be the coldest place in the…
-
Down in the Boondocks: Author Kate Ingrid Paul
Kate Ingrid Paul is a fellow Sax-Zim Bog spawn who, like me, found the experience worth writing about. She’s got a new book out entitled “Memoirs from Down in the Boondocks: A Spiritual Journey through Poem and Short Story.” Paul was featured in last Sunday’s Hibbing Daily Tribune. Here’s an excerpt from her talk with Tony…
-
Family Discovery Days slated at MDC this weekend
The Minnesota Discovery Center, an Iron Range educational and cultural attraction, is planning monthly family events that could ease the sting of winter temperatures. The first one is tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 4) and it looks like fun. Here’s the press release: CHISHOLM, MN, JANUARY 2, 2014 – Minnesota Discovery Center (MDC) in Chisholm has developed…
-
In Alt-USA, State of Superior is atop the map
Longtime readers know I’m a sucker for maps. Maps tell us what was, what is, what was known and what was imagined. Maps show what people care about. Maps show what one person cares about. So, when Dr. Andrew Shears and his alternative history map of the United States show up on my desk, I’ll…
-
Duluth organizer Gary Anderson joins DFL 7A field
Gary Anderson, a Duluth community organizer well known in DFL circles, will today announce his plans to run for State Representative in District 7A, the eastern Duluth seat being vacated by the retiring Rep. Tom Huntley (DFL-Duluth). The Duluth News Tribune reported on Gary Anderson’s candidacy a couple days ago, highlighting an event he planned…
-
Duluth firefighter Pete Johnson to join DFL 7A race
Pete Johnson will soon join the list of announced candidates for the Minnesota House District 7A seat in eastern Duluth. Johnson, a DFLer, is a Duluth firefighter and president of the firefighters’ union. UPDATE: Pete Johnson will declare his candidacy in a press event at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 9 in front of Duluth city hall.…
-
2014: The Year Ahead for Northern Minnesota
It was at least 26 below zero at the bus stop this morning, though our thermometer is near the kitchen window and it was probably colder. I saw someone post 40 below up near Bigfork, which is just a few miles north of us. It’s funny how the early cold snap in December had everyone…
-
NWS: Brainerd blast was likely a meteor strike
Windows and knickknacks rattled across the Brainerd area last Friday night. Then, an explosion. What was it? A meteorologist with the National Weather Service suspects the cause of a sonic boom and small blast near Brainerd late last week was probably a meteor. Meteors are rare in these parts and, unless someone finds the small chunk…
-
Northern Minnesota 2013 Year in Review
Happy New Year, dear reader. And Happy Cold Time of Pregnancy and Eating Bark, deer reader. (See what I did there?) I’ve already written about my excitement over turning Kirby Puckett (34) in the year of Hrbek (’14). So I have reason to be optimistic about the new year. But it’s also time to look…
-
Celebrating my Kirby Puckett birthday
It was my birthday this weekend. Nothing special. Let’s not get all worked up about it. My new age doesn’t end in a zero or a five. The year is indistinct: one of those years after I’m young, before I’m old, while I’m still alive. At least, that’s what I’d say if I weren’t raised…
-
Forum Communication to buy Brainerd newspaper
Forum Communication, the company that owns the Fargo Forum and Duluth News Tribune, has purchased the Brainerd newspaper, the Dispatch. Forum has been expanding its reach into Minnesota after buying the DNT a couple years ago. Like most newspaper companies, it is known for cutting costs, striving for higher profits. It’s also known for stepping…
-
Chisholm hoops coach Bob McDonald wins 1,000th game
Chisholm boys basketball coach Bob McDonald won his 1,000th game Thursday, as his Bluestreaks defeated Walker-Hackensack-Aikley in tournament play. Coach Bob McDonald is the first Minnesota basketball coach to win 1,000 games and remains the winningest coach in Minnesota history. Earlier this year McDonald announced this would be his final season after almost six decades…
-
A northern Minnesota Christmas review
Merry Christmas to my readers who celebrate this Christian holiday co-oped from ancient pagan solstice revelry. As Crudbump would remind us (NSFW) “it’s about respecting the holiday; you’ve gotta respect the holiday.” It’s time for another northern Minnesota Christmas and I’ll be taking a few days off from regular updates. We’re settling into the part…
-
Heartwarming reunion of Hibbing civil war brothers
The holidays are a time to reunite families. I was interested to read a June 7, 1913 story from the (Hibbing, Minn.) Mesaba Ore, reprinted Sunday on Jack Lynch’s history page in the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Two Hibbing civil war brothers, separated for 35 years, realized late in life they had been living in different…