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More woes for community college football in northern Minnesota
Here’s the news from International Falls. My analysis is below. RRCC ends football program; Provost cites college’sloan default rate as reasonBy LISA KACZKE, International Falls Daily JournalThe football program at Rainy River Community College has been terminated. Provost Wayne Merrell said Monday that the termination is related to the fact that RRCC had the highest…
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The cycle continues
It’s funny how historic trends just keep on rolling on the Mesabi Iron Range. Bad times, then good times, then labor trouble, then pretty good times, then a crash, then bad times … repeat. We’re just about to hit good times, so here comes the labor trouble. Iron Range Steelworkers prepare for contract talksBy Lee…
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Maybe I’m in the wrong business
As a writer, I find an article like this to be troubling: Reading’s new chapter?A study paints a grim picture of U.S. reading habits, renewing the debate on literacy and learning in the digital age. By Sarah T. Williams, Star TribuneLast update: November 19, 2007 – 12:01 AMIs reading at risk? Or is there a…
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High-Speed Rail: worthy goal for the Iron Range
My big goal in life is to participate in the modernization of the Iron Range. We’ve got a lot of work to do and I’ve often said that our current “economic development” funds should be spent on infrastructure and community enhancement rather than endless incentives for private companies. I’ve already written plenty about the need…
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Midweek flurry
I’m doing book interviews and a couple meetings today. I might only get an hour at my desk, so not much time for writing or blogging today after yesterday’s equally fruitless blog day. I’m still ticking away at the banana column for Sunday’s paper which may take a different turn before it’s done. Stay tuned…
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Bananas on deadline
I’m going to give readers a glimpse into the creative process. I write two things on a weekly deadline, a newspaper column and a radio essay. The radio essay topic is generally dictated by KAXE’s “Between You and Me” show topic that week. In a way, that makes this piece easier to write because it’s…
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Universal coverage closer than imagined
If you add your out-of-pocket insurance expenses to your taxes that support existing government health care programs, you’ll probably find that you’re already paying plenty for health care, more than enough to cover actual medical expenses. So converting to a universal system is really more a matter of getting the money we already pay devoted…
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New media punch, old media counterpunch
I’m no stranger to letters to the editor taking issue with something I’ve written, but today was a first. I got a letter opposing a column that never ran. In a recent column, Aaron Brown made several inaccurate statements as he reviewed my editorial from the Duluth News Tribune. That editorial was in support of…
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Ness wins Duluth mayor’s race
Don Ness will be the next mayor of Duluth. The two-term Duluth city councilor and former Jim Oberstar campaign manager will take office after the new year. Ness beat businessman Charlie Bell by about 1,600 votes for a 52-47 percentage point victory on Tuesday. Regular readers (notice I say “regular” and not “normal”) know my…
