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No hope on the Iron Range, but for hope we create
To drive the Iron Range spine of Highway 169 is to see a sleeping giant not unlike the region’s namesake, Missabe — the Dakota and Ojibwe “big man” resting on the divide between all that is north and south. Missabe’s body is not like that of a man. Its fluids are water. Its bones are timbers.…
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Minneapolis mayor candidate’s weird ad goes viral
So far I’ve entirely avoided talking about the Minneapolis mayor race, despite its crushing weight on my Minnesota Twitter and Facebook feeds. What could get me to break this radio silence? This now nationally viral ad by longshot candidate Jeff Wagner: Nothing beats watching this the first time, wondering — that’s not him, is it?…
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Iron Range compared to Mongolia (in a good way)
The publication “Business Insider” has posted an item entitled “Take a Tour of the Mongolia of America.” Mongolia of America? Where could that be? Turns out, I’m in Mongolia. They’re talking about northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. Bob Dylan once compared the region to Mongolia (favorably, if that helps) and they ran with that. Like Mongolia,…
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Inauguration poet Richard Blanco in Brainerd today
Richard Blanco, the unlikely modern poet who was selected to compose and read a poem at President Obama’s inauguration last January, will perform a reading today at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota. Blanco broke a lot of barriers in being selected to read a commemorative poem, something not every president includes in the ceremony.…
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Duluth’s sister city Petrozavodsk elects young reformist mayor Galina Shirshina
Barton Sutter, a Duluth, Minnesota, writer and an influential teacher of mine, described Duluth’s sister city this way: “a city in Russia that sounds like a brand of vodka made out of diesel fuel, Petrozavodsk.” Well, Petrozavodsk just elected a new mayor of some interest. Galina Shirshina, 34, is a journalist who is the first woman to…
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Community college education breaks barriers
Believe it or not, I don’t make a living writing hyper-regional tidbits for a sub-mid-level blog in northern Minnesota. I’m a teacher. Specifically, a teacher at Hibbing Community College (an institution not affiliated with my opinions here on the blog). I do, however, believe my role as a community college teacher is related to my…
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Minnesota music in the spotlight up north
The Minnesota music scene is drawing a lot of attention, both in Minneapolis and up in Duluth. Even further north the Iron Range Original Music Association encourages songwriters and a wide variety of musicians here in Bob Dylan’s original North Country. I host and produce the Great Northern Radio Show for Northern Community Radio, a…
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New web project shares Minnesota election results
For those interested in Minnesota politics, a new offshoot of Left.mn provides clear, visually appealing breakdowns of recent Minnesota election results by Congressional and legislative district. You can find it here: http://elections.left.mn Sure, we can always go to the Secretary of State’s website to find specific Minnesota election results, but if you’ve ever tried to get a…
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Enrollment surge fuels expansion at Cherry School
Enrollment at the Cherry School on the Mesabi Iron Range, my alma mater, has increased by 45 percent since a controversial reorganization plan by the St. Louis County school district. Enrollment this year checked in at 453, up from 312 in the 2009-2010 school year. The Cherry School is small, granted, but this is a…
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Bemidji Axemen cometh
Last week we learned that a northern Minnesota city has attracted its first professional sports franchise: the Bemidji Axemen of the Indoor Football League. The Axemen will play a 14-game schedule that begins in February. The league consists of upper Midwest franchises and Bemidji’s central location was a key reason for the city’s selection. Twin…
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Iron Range pumpkin patch power void
This weekend the Hibbing Daily Tribune reported that Nordic Ridge Gardens in rural Calumet will no longer be in the Iron Range pumpkin patch business. While Nordic Ridge will continue some of its berry operations, it sold off the land where the locally famous pumpkin patch and autumnal adventure world were held. This was one…
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Iron Range mining commentary in the works
The nonferrous mining debate in northern Minnesota continues its holding pattern around the flaming, riot-scarred airport of Progress. I’ve written a two-part Iron Range mining commentary series for the Hibbing Daily Tribune, the first of which ran today. I have decided that instead of running the two-part series here on the blog, I’ll release an…
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Water skiing to school in Bemidji
I’ve mentioned the Saxton family from the Bemidji area before. They wrote and prepared a very amusing sketch for our Bagley show last March on just a few hours notice. They also ice skated across a lake to school a couple years ago. With a very warm week in northern Minnesota, last week the kids…
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Lake Superior Aquaman cleans up litter
Aquaman doesn’t get much respect in the pantheon of superheroes, his super power being the ability to politely request assistance from otherwise normal wild animals. But Lake Superior has its own Aquaman, in the form of Duluth’s Jim Richardson. WDIO had the story last night. Nutshell: Richardson dresses like Aquaman and dives underwater to pick…
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Bigfoot says ‘Good for you’ to area fitness walkers
As a resident of Itasca County in northern Minnesota, the western edge of the Mesabi Iron Range, I am growing to appreciate the whimsy this northern county shows in comparison to its larger St. Louis County neighbor. Case in point: Spud, the Bigfoot (pictured here). Get Fit Itasca commandeered this Bigfoot cut out from a…