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Northern MN’s Locally Laid eggs up for Super Bowl ad
UPDATE: Voting continues today through tomorrow (Dec. 1). I’ve been impressed with Locally Laid’s grassroots campaign to drive “Vote Lola” supporters to the Intuit ballot page. One of the other companies up for the competition, GoldieBlox, got some big attention and then some big blowback for its demo ad, which was cool but barely showed…
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Paging Dr. Strangelove? Nuclear code was “00000000”
From 1962 to ’82 the nuclear launch code at all U.S. missile silos (if they were password protected at all) was set at “00000000.” Military leaders openly defied orders to tighten missile launch safeguards, in part using the lax nuclear code. Full security improvements weren’t implemented until 2004 when a guy published an article explaining…
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Iron Range unemployment still above state average
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reports that the state unemployment rate has hit 4.8 percent, its lowest point since 2007, before the recession that began in 2008-2009. However, Iron Range unemployment remains higher: 6 percent in the Virginia area; 7 percent in Hibbing, and 7.6 percent in Grand Rapids. These numbers trail…
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In Minnesota, turkeys pay their sentence in full
With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, the odd American ritual endures in which various leaders “pardon” turkeys before the big meal on Thursday. President Obama will pardon two Minnesota turkeys this week in keeping with the old tradition. The farm that is providing these turkeys for the ceremonial pardon selected the three best behaved birds in…
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Rebecca Otto responds to Iron Range critics
State Auditor Rebecca Otto was on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range this week responding to criticism over her executive council vote against new nonferrous or sulfide mining leases on state-controlled land. The Mesabi Daily News has led a drumbeat of criticism that coincides with an anonymous “Dump Otto” campaign based on the eastern Iron Range. That…
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Duluth Mayor Don Ness will decline pay hike
Last night the Duluth City Council voted 5-3 to increase the mayor’s salary by 25 percent. The proposal was advanced by City Councilor Sharla Gardner, who said that the salary hasn’t been increased since 2000. Today, Duluth mayor Don Ness said that he would not accept the pay increase, saying that adjusting the salary might…
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Christmas City of the North charade
Last Friday night brought the annual frozen spectacle of the Christmas City of the North Parade in downtown Duluth, Minnesota. What’s to say about the Christmas City of the North Parade? It’s a holiday parade with floats and high school bands from throughout the region. What makes it different? Special? Nothing, except for one thing.…
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Interactive Dylan video ‘channels’ new art concept
Though it’s already been around the internet for a week or so, this new interactive Dylan video is a groundbreaking must watch. Bob Dylan’s classic song, “Like a Rolling Stone,” has been named by the magazine Rolling Stone as the most important rock ‘n’ roll song of all time (to be fair, the magazine drew…
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Court rules against Timberjay information request
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in a case with wide-reaching public information implications last week, declaring that a private contractor employed by an Iron Range school district did not have to divulge data to the Timberjay newspaper. The Timberjay information request, led by its publisher Marshall Helmberger, sought more information about the multi-million dollar St.…
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Bentleyville flips switch on Northland holiday time
Bentleyville opened this weekend at Bayfront Park in downtown Duluth, Minnesota. The annual “Festival of Lights” display is a major event for many families, who enjoy the free holiday event featuring millions of lights and holiday cheer. Bentleyville’s opening weekend included the skydiving entrance of Santa Claus, a spectacle that went much better than…
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Vikings stadium to use foreign steel
It was revealed over the weekend that the new Vikings stadium will be importing some foreign steel despite provisions requiring “Iron Range steel” be used in the construction of the huge new complex. Contractors say that portions of the new stadium require a certain kind of steel so specific that it’s not available on the…
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Yule never believe these holiday creeps
It doesn’t surprise me that my children start talking about Christmas three months early. Kids don’t have any money (thanks a lot, child labor laws), so one understands why the arrival of Santa Claus would seem to them like Cold War air drops of life-sustaining supplies over the Berlin Wall. That is, of course, assuming…
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KARE reports on Glencore involvement in PolyMet
KARE 11 filed this report about the PolyMet nonferrous mining project in northern Minnesota. Though it was already well known to those familiar with the project, the largest single owner of PolyMet (about 30 percent) is Glencore, an international company with mining interests all over the world. KARE 11 explored Glencore involvement in PolyMet in…
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Iron Range nursing program offers advanced degrees
This week officials announced that a new shared program by Minnesota State University-Mankato and Hibbing Community College will create the opportunity for nurses to earn their RN Baccalaureate degree, Masters degree in Family Nurse Practitioner or Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees on the Iron Range. Dubbed Iron Range Nursing and modeled after the successful Iron…
