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IRRRB to seek loan restructure for Excelsior Energy
So, in case you’ve forgotten, Excelsior Energy, the beleaguered company forged by energy industry lobbyists with Iron Range ties more than a decade ago, still exists. It’s out of money. Its efforts to mandate a customer using political connections to finance the construction of a new power plant in Itasca County have all failed. But…
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Upcoming events fuel debate over northern MN mining issues
The nonferrous mineral mining argument in northern Minnesota hasn’t gone away, it’s just ensconced in a chrysalis, waiting for the first project, PolyMet, to share it’s updated plan with the EPA. This Tuesday, June 18, a free luncheon will be held entitled “The Economics of Sulfide Mining: Benefits and Costs.” The event is sponsored by…
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Land of the Loon arrives in Virginia, MN this weekend
This weekend brings Land of the Loon, a festival of arts, crafts, music and family events in Virginia, Minnesota. This Iron Range event kicks off a long summer of street dances, festivals and Fourth of July celebrations. A few years ago we saw a magician set his goatee aflame while trying to eat fire at…
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Cliffs to provide iron ore to Essar through 2024
Here’s an interesting item. Cliffs Natural Resources today announced that it has signed an extension of an existing iron ore contract to provide taconite pellets to Essar Steel’s Algoma steel mill in Ontario through 2024. They had already been providing ore to Algoma, India-based Essar’s foothold in the North American steel industry, while Essar completes…
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Mills mulls 2014 run against Nolan in MN-8
Stu Rothenberg reports that Stewart Mills III, scion of the Mills Fleet Farm stores, is considering a run for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. He would challenge U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) as a Republican. Rothenberg spends considerable time talking about how good looking the 40-year-old CEO is, but I keep going back to…
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Paul Bunyan slasher pic on national TV tonight
Sharpen your eyes, America. It’s time to see what’s in plaid sight. “Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan” airs TONIGHT on SyFy at 8 p.m. CST. Check your local cable or satellite listings. “Axe Giant” is the oddly enjoyable B-movie I’ve been advocating for no compensation, purely of my own volition. It chops down…
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Don’t mind the black smoke, it’s just the power plant
The Hibbing Daily Tribune issued a breaking news alert Wednesday reassuring the people of Hibbing that the black smoke visible over the city was not an uncontrolled fire, but actually the burning of biomass material in the city PUC plant. “There is smoke wafting through the city, but it’s not a from a fire,” [Fire…
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Highway 53 meeting to determine economic impact of reroute
State Rep. Jason Metsa (DFL-Virginia) is inviting people to a public meeting about the economic impact of the Highway 53 re-route from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 19 at the Mountain Iron Community Center. An economist doing an official study will be there and gathering comments from people affected by the required move…
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Great Northern Radio Show hits Reif Center stage June 29
We’ll be doing the summer edition of the Great Northern Radio Show from the stage of the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on Saturday, June 29. My seasonal variety show is, on one hand, a simple incarnation of the traditional radio variety program, on the other it’s a rather quirky exploration of northern Minnesota…
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Dylan tickets moving fast, but not cheap
This Robin Washington column from Sunday’s Duluth News Tribune shows that the tickets for the July 9 Bob Dylan concert at Bayfront Park in downtown Duluth are selling well, but that some remain if you head down to the DECC to get them. He also raises an important point, something that concert-goers in Minnesota have…
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‘Ghost’ of the Henry B. Smith found in Lake Superior
The Henry B. Smith, from YooperSteez.com If you missed it, Andrew Krueger at the Duluth News Tribune had a fascinating Sunday feature about the discovery of a century-old shipwreck on Lake Superior. Most have heard of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking (thanks to Gordon Lightfoot’s song) in the 1970s, but a similar iron ore ship disaster…
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Summer madhouse open for business
This is my Sunday column for the June 9, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Summer madhouse open for businessBy Aaron J. Brown The time is 6 a.m. One of our boys stands four inches from my wife’s sleeping face. We don’t know how long he has been there. “I’m bored!” he screams into…
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#springmapmadness wraps up with 45 states
This year’s Minnesota spring was a rough one, with record late ice-out on local lakes and a generally cold and snowy April. I got through it by requesting free maps and travel guides from all 50 states, allowing me to imagine warmer places, or at least gather the daily mail with excitement. After two months,…
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Arts camp for kids at historic Iron Range park
The 19th Annual Northstar Arts Camp will be held at the Iron Range’s famous Mesaba Park near Hibbing next week from June 17-20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The camp, which costs $90, “offers children ages 8-13 an opportunity to experience dance, music, theater and puppet making, as well as nature activities.” Mesaba…
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Paul Bunyan slasher pic gets Duluth showing
“Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan” was reviewed by Christa Lawler of the Duluth News Tribune today. The movie will enjoy a weeklong run at the Zinema 2 on Superior Street in downtown Duluth. I’ve actually watched the movie now and will post a review when a northern Minnesota showing is scheduled further. Apparently,…