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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.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Range mine extracts holiday spirit with clever video
One of the big 2013 success stories in northern Minnesota’s Iron Range has been Magnetation. The scram mining operation is hiring workers and turning over old mine dumps to extract iron with new technology. But, importantly, Magnetation’s recent holiday video shows that iron concentrate isn’t the only product Magnetation produces. Why, look, they’re helping out…
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Great Northern Radio Show warms up Fosston
Last Saturday, Dec. 14, we broadcast our winter/holiday edition of the Great Northern Radio Show live from the Fosston Library Arts Center in Fosston, Minnesota. The show featured Reina del Cid and the Cidizens, Katie Wig, and several talented voice actors and guests from the surrounding community. Now that it’s done, I can officially say that…
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USMC officer Donna Bergstrom seeks GOP nod in 7A
As of Friday, Dec. 20, three candidates have announced their intention to run for the Minnesota House of Representatives in east Duluth’s District 7A after the announcement earlier this week that Rep. Tom Huntley (DFL-Duluth) would not seek re-election in 2014. Among the candidates are DFLers Jennifer Schultz and Linda Krug and Republican Donna Bergstrom. DFLer Pete Johnson is also strongly considering a run, but…
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Duluth city councilor Linda Krug enters 7A DFL race
As of Friday, Dec. 20, three candidates have announced their intention to run for the Minnesota House of Representatives in east Duluth’s District 7A after the announcement earlier this week that Rep. Tom Huntley (DFL-Duluth) would not seek re-election in 2014. Among the candidates are DFLers Jennifer Schultz and Linda Krug and Republican Donna Bergstrom. DFLer Pete Johnson is also strongly considering a run, but…
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Health care expert Jennifer Schultz makes 7A DFL bid
As of Friday, Dec. 20, three candidates have announced their intention to run for the Minnesota House of Representatives in east Duluth’s District 7A after the announcement earlier this week that Rep. Tom Huntley (DFL-Duluth) would not seek re-election in 2014. Among the candidates are DFLers Jennifer Schultz and Linda Krug and Republican Donna Bergstrom.…
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U.S. bank OKs loan for huge new Australian iron mine
A U.S. bank has approved a $694 million loan to a new Australian iron mine despite concerns by Minnesota officials that the deal will affect the market for Iron Range taconite. This new Roy Hill mine will soon outpace all U.S. iron ore production and could potentially affect prices in the Asian market, key to the growing…