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A new world behind the trees
On a cold November morning, trucks rattle along an old dirt road behind a stand of timber across from our home in the woods of Itasca County. The chains rattle against the trailers in the crisp, clear air. Sound carries. Two miles, maybe three? This land has been logged several times over in the past…
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Hear the Crosby Great Northern Radio Show!
You might recall that we did another Great Northern Radio Show in October from Crosby-Ironton High School in Crosby, Minnesota. This fall edition of my quarterly traveling live broadcast variety program was a big success, something I didn’t want to talk about here until I knew when the rebroadcast date and podcast would be available.…
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Lake County DFL hits Nolan for mining support
Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) now faces criticism within his own party for supporting a pro-mining bill earlier this year. Last Friday, the Lake County DFL passed a resolution out of its central committee condemning Nolan’s vote for the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act, or H.R. 761. The story appeared yesterday in the Lake County News Chronicle. Here’s…
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Essar plans for Iron Range pellets in 2017
This month another flurry of activity kicked up on the site of Essar Steel Minnesota’s new taconite plant near Nashwauk, Minnesota. But questions remain as to how quickly Essar plans to integrate the Nashwauk plant into its North American steel operations. This long-awaited, heavily state-subsidized, “might-make-steel-someday-but-probably-not” project has been a major curiosity for residents of…
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Range newspaper resurrects 26-year-old boner joke
In 1987, the same year the Minnesota Twins won the World Series, a huge iron and copper statue of an iron miner was installed outside the Mesabi Iron Range city of Chisholm. He stands there still, the third tallest free standing statue in the country. It is the stuff of folk journalism lore that legendary Iron…
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Sleepy Duluth county board race holds quiet intrigue
The special election to replace the late Steve O’Neil on the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners has been a mostly quiet affair. The eastern Duluth county board second district primary will be held a week from today, Nov. 5, and features four candidates, with two candidates already having suspended their campaigns from the last…
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Governor urges caution on Northern Minnesota mining
Today the three largest newspapers on the Iron Range published another edition of their “MINE” special section. Like “MINE,” “MINE II” is a collection of stories about northern Minnesota mining, stressing its positive impact on communities. Normally I would just let this stand, but I did see something really interesting: Gov. Mark Dayton declared his…
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Duluth skyscraper? Well, almost
A new building in downtown Duluth will be a bit smaller than previously hoped. Nevertheless, developers are announcing a 12-story corporate tower on the site of the old KDLH TV studios in the heart of the Zenith City. It will be one of the tallest structures in this growing northern Minnesota city, altering the skyline…
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American Internet speeds: slower, more expensive
As this Mashable story citing a recent study shows, American internet speeds are slower and more expensive than in other countries. We pay more for an inferior internet product in the country that developed the internet. And this, of course, refers to people who live in major cities where there is more competition among high-speed…
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The Big Year? Birder discombobulated in bog
In the 2011 film “The Big Year,” Owen Wilson, Steve Martin and Jack Black star as birders (!) trying to break the record for most birds seen in one year. I’ve talked about this film before because it mentions the Sax-Zim Bog a few times, known internationally as a major bird-watching mecca. As I mentioned…
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Mining disaster-themed Halloween attraction bad idea
An Appalachian amusement park has taken down references to a Halloween attraction with a mining disaster theme called “Miners’ Revenge.” This according to the Daily Yonder. The controversy happened at King’s Dominion in the state of Virginia. As you’d predict, a lot of people who lost family in mining disasters, including some recently, thought the…
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Tamarack tinge to autumn’s last act
I don’t know why, but every year I briefly forget the way tamarack trees change color in the fall. “Oh, wait. That’s right!” Tamaracks are larches, one of the few coniferous trees which change color and shed their needles every year. Perhaps that’s why it’s always a surprise when the tamarack’s dark green needles turn…
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Ely guide who bushwhacked Quetico, BWCA tells tale
Jason Zabokrtsky emerged from an 80-plus-mile “bushwhack” of Quetico and the BWCA over the weekend. He’ll be doing a live chat with Minnesota Public Radio this morning describing his experience and taking questions. The Ely guide and outfitter Zabokrtsky closed his field journal with this statement: I am grateful for the spirit of adventure that…
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Earth’s surly bonds stretch thin
Northern Minnesota’s iron ranges hold special distinction in American history, but for reasons more than ore. I was down in Crosby preparing for a show last week. There I learned America’s Space Race, the technological marathon that spurred developments like computers and the Internet, got its unassuming start in a Cuyuna Range mine pit The…
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Trampled by Turtles cut live album, out Nov. 12
It’s been a while since we talked about those traveling troubadours, northern Minnesota’s old timey Strike Force, the ones known as Trampled by Turtles. The progressive bluegrass band is out with a live album “First Avenue” out Nov. 12 (preorder here). Trampled by Turtles are putting on a contest for free concert tickets in honor…