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The music of civility amid the street din
The backlog of topics I’d like to write about keeps growing. News in the mining and steel industry. News for the upcoming election. Some exciting news about my MN-8 campaign coverage (stay tuned next week). Yet, I’m under the gun writing a script for the Great Northern Radio Show this week, so all that’s on…
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Whirling West on a metal bird
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” ~ Mark Twain, “The Innocents Abroad” I live in the woods of Northern…
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Steelworkers reach tentative agreement with U.S. Steel
The United Steelworkers of America and U.S. Steel reached a tentative labor contract agreement on Monday, Oct. 15. Union leaders will now present the terms of the deal to their membership for a ratification vote. About 14,000 workers at mills and mines across America would work under this contract. Steelworkers leadership seemed pleased and optimistic…
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Stauber opens lead in Minnesota’s 8th District
Republican Pete Stauber opens a sudden and commanding lead in race for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. This according to the latest New York Times/Siena College live tracking poll of the district. Stauber leads by a stunning 15 points in the poll, 49 percent to Democrat Joe Radinovich’s 34 percent. Thirteen percent remain undecided. Independent Ray…
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Trivia battle offers game show thrills
I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with game shows. On one hand, I like believing that I’m smarter than people on TV. That’s really the only bar to clear to stay happy in modern society. You just have to stay off those brainiac channels like PBS or Animal Planet. On the other hand, game shows…
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Steelworkers ratify contract with Cleveland-Cliffs
Members of the United Steelworkers of America voted to ratify a new labor contract with Cleveland-Cliffs this week. The new deal maintains their current benefits while increasing their pay. Cliffs operates United Taconite and, until next year, contracts to operate Hibbing Taconite. Their plant at Northshore Mining is nonunion. Negotiations with U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal…
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Northern Minnesota’s legislative linchpins
One of the prevailing trends during the Trump Administration is the ease with which we ignore other politicians or, really, political topics of any substance. For instance, two years ago I was the campaign manager for a DFL incumbent in a critical rural swing race in the Minnesota House of Representatives. We lost. Two years…
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Angry Lake Superior shuts down Duluth’s lakefront
An autumn storm infuriated Lake Superior today, sending large, dangerous waves into Canal Park and forcing the evacuation of much of the lakefront area. A gale warning remains in effect until midnight tonight. The Duluth News Tribune reported on the power outages, damage and flooding found along the shores of Lake Superior. Duluth photographer Andrew…
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One month left in Minnesota’s Fightin’ 8th
Just four weeks remain in the 2018 campaign. Unlike rehab, we’ll spend these next 28 days getting dirty. We should expect fireworks in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Here Democrat Joe Radinovich hopes to keep the seat held by his former boss, outgoing U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, in a district that veered sharply toward Donald Trump…
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Great Minds trivia battle coming up soon
On Tuesday, Oct. 16, Great Minds Learning Center holds its second annual trivia battle fundraiser and silent auction at the Blandin Foundation in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. I host the event as your B-List celebrity quizmaster. The silent auction runs from 5-7 p.m. The quiz battle starts at 6 p.m. The winning team gets prizes. Everyone is…
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Remembering George Perpich, special era of Range politics
On Sept. 26, former Iron Range State Sen. George Perpich died at age 85 in an Arden Hills, Minn., care center. He had suffered from Parkinson’s Disease for the past several years. Perpich was one of four brothers, sons of poor Croatian immigrants in Hibbing’s Carson Lake location. Rudy, Tony, Joe and George all became…
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Reading coded language of Iron Range landscape
The youngest parts of the Mesabi Iron Range are the century-old towns spotted along its back like so many pimples. The geology, the nature and even human occupation go back millennia. Nevertheless, most people who live here see “local history” as a mysterious narrative that begins suddenly during the Grover Cleveland Administration. It’s not hard…
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Drunk birds maintain Gilbert’s wet reputation
Some birds got drunk in Gilbert, Minnesota. They didn’t mean to. That’s not what they planned when they went out with their friends. But that’s what happened. And now their antics have reached the Washington Post. This isn’t the first time alcohol consumption has landed Minnesota’s Iron Range in the national press. Nor is it…
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Glimmers of hope in Steelworkers negotiations
Late last week, the United Steelworkers reached an agreement with Cleveland-Cliffs on a labor contract. Broadly speaking, the talks between Cliffs and the USW seemed to go well. The company acknowledged the improving state of the domestic iron ore and steel business, and shared some of the success with its workers. However, more contentious negotiations…
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MinnesotaBrown wakes up from California Dream
It’s been quiet the last few days here at MinnesotaBrown. It’s not that there isn’t anything to write about. Election 2018. Steelworker negotiations. The continuing saga of Northern Minnesota’s rough water landing in the future. But I had the opportunity to travel to San Francisco last weekend to conduct an interview for my book project…