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Range paper hits Otto over mining lease vote
The issue of nonferrous mining in northeastern Minnesota is a virtual minefield for politicians, especially those within Minnesota’s Democratic Farmer-Labor party, the political home to both pro-mining labor forces and anti-mining environmental forces. The DFL divide over mining is often played up to force political leaders into specific positions, or punish them if they don’t.…
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Veterans Day: honor what vets did, but also why
Every year I attend the Keewatin American Legion annual Veterans Day Spaghetti Feed with my grandfather, a Korean War-era Air Force vet and 50-year member of the post. I am a rather poor member of the Sons of the Legion, a condition of my attendance at this venerated custom. It’s come to be an important…
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A view from Minnesota’s deer hunting season
For a picture of a crisp, quiet deer hunting season opener, you can do no better than Sam Cook of the Duluth News Tribune joining some Northern Community Radio friends of mine – Randy McCarty and John Latimar – in the woods outside Grand Rapids. This passage seems to capture Cook’s unique ability to capture…
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The Iron Ranger who would not hunt
In honor of the 2013 Minnesota deer hunting season opener (rifles, of course), happy hunting to all those participating. I dedicate this column to all the non-hunters struggling with day-to-day conversation this time of year. I live in northern Minnesota. I’ve lived here all my life. I don’t hunt. Yes, I eat meat. And the…
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MN8 GOP challenger stakes out early message
Stewart Mills is the MN8 GOP challenger to U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) in next year’s election. He’s a political newcomer who comes from a family that’s run a chain of popular fleet supply stores in Minnesota for generations. Devin Henry interviewed Mills in MinnPost, providing a somewhat clearer picture of Mills’ message and views…
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Range town mergers could protect jobs, services
One of the under-reported outcomes of last Tuesday’s off-year local elections was the overwhelming vote by the northern Minnesota communities of Carlton and Thomson to merge. In local media, this was portrayed as the simple matter of tiny Thomson’s overworked mayor and staff. In practice, however, these towns are providing a blueprint for many small…
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IRRRB OKs loans creating jobs, for a price
On Thursday the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board approved loan packages for two Iron Range business projects to create almost 150 new jobs. The first, which I mentioned yesterday, was a $5.9 million loan for Delta Airlines to expand its Chisholm ticket reservation center, a move that the company says will add 107 jobs…
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Delta reservation center in Chisholm to add 107 jobs
Delta airlines is proposing to remodel and expand its Delta reservation center in Chisholm that would add 107 new jobs at the facility. They’ll be approaching the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation for a loan package at today’s meeting in Eveleth. When Delta bought Northwest many thought the Chisholm ticket reservation facility wouldn’t make the…
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Hampton Inn plans Hibbing hotel
It was announced at the Wednesday Hibbing Economic Development Authority meeting that Hampton Inn and Suites plans to develop the former Ogle’s Foods lot into a new Hibbing hotel. The Hibbing Daily Tribune reports and will have more in tomorrow’s paper. Plans could involve construction beginning as soon as December. This is a bit of good…
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School levies prevail across northern Minnesota
Yesterday’s election didn’t provide many surprises here in northern Minnesota, and my hypothesis that schools would face a more difficult time passing referendums proved incorrect. Voters in Duluth, Hermantown and Hibbing all approved their levy referendums. Only Hermantown and the second Duluth question were remotely close, and even then not really in doubt. (Duluth’s second…
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Confessions of Ely: Post Secret + Northern Exposure
The other day I saw a Facebook community show in my feed out of nowhere, something from “friends” of “friends.” “Confessions of Ely” is like many online confessional projects (Post Secret, e.g.). The difference: Confessions of Ely is all about the people and sometimes bizarre, sometimes banal, always oddly fascinating activities of the people of…
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Top word of 2013: 404 (That’s bad, right?)
Every year the Global Language Monitor releases its “top words,” indicating which words represent our changing English language and world cultures. I have a little tradition of writing a column at the end of the year about the Global Language Monitor list, which I look forward to doing again next month. Past columns, replete with…
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City, school, county races top Tuesday’s Duluth vote
Northern Minnesota’s largest city, Duluth, holds city and school board elections Tuesday, along with a pair of school referendums. The Duluth vote has the potential of shifting these key boards on a variety of issues, so we’ll be watching closely. Duluth residents can find out how to vote here. Here are the candidates and questions.…
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Bellwether school vote in Hibbing Tuesday
Tomorrow a smattering of elections will take place around Minnesota. An interesting one I’m following is the school vote in Hibbing, up here on the Mesabi Iron Range. The school vote in Hibbing is over whether to renew a 10-year school bond operating levy that expires this year. Simple enough, perhaps, but the vote comes…
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12,000 feet, wings fell off, everyone OK (UPDATE)
UPDATE: The skydivers and pilots involved in this incident will be on Good Morning America Monday morning from 7-9 a.m. GMA will have a live crew on hand all morning. UPDATE II: It turns out that while GMA planned to send a crew to Superior, the skydivers were slated to be on NBC’s Today Show.…