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The last days of the Republic
People use the word “nostalgia” to describe fond remembrances of the past. But that’s not the real meaning. Nostalgia comes from the Greek words nóstos álgos, or “pain of homecoming,” or perhaps “pain from an old wound.” It referred to the specific psychological aching that comes from remembering something that is gone. We feel nostalgia…
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Quiet craftsman builds things to last; so can we
Sad fact is, most of the expensive junk we buy won’t last any longer than us. My wallet is wearing out. I could use a new cell phone. In just the past few years, I’ve dumped an entertainment center, television and propane grill at the county waste station — each a valuable item in its…
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U.S. Steel merger reveals complexity of foreign investment
My latest essay for the Minnesota Reformer, “Allies in Alloys” is out today. Check it out. After covering iron mining on the Mesabi Range for a couple decades, I’ve observed several mergers, acquisitions, shutdowns and assorted skullduggery. What I learned is that the mining business is a highly specialized analog to our political system. One must…
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Recent tests improve odds of big helium stake near Babbitt
In the early days of iron exploration on the Mesabi Range, the thrill of discovery was dampened somewhat by the slow process of assaying what they found. It’s a little like how we once had to wait for film to develop to see how pictures turned out. The Merritt Brothers’ carried around inspiration for years…
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Our housing crisis is a very, very fine mess
Get a job. Start a family. Buy a house. For many — even most — these simple-sounding goals become our life’s work. But jobs, families and housing have all changed significantly in recent years. It’s important to recognize those changes as we collectively seek “the pursuit of happiness” promised in the U.S. Constitution. Employment data…
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‘The Wild Mississippi’ starts close to home
“But I never saw the good side of a city, ‘til I hitched a ride on a river boat queen.” “Proud Mary,” by John Fogerty John Fogerty wrote “Proud Mary,” arguably the definitive song about the Mississippi River, for Creedence Clearwater Revival. But Fogerty isn’t from anywhere near the river. Rather, he was born and…
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What goes up ain’t ever coming back
My latest essay for the Minnesota Reformer is out today, entitled “A Fistful of Helium.” This one’s been floating around my office like an old birthday balloon for several months. In fact, the helium discovery near Babbitt is one of the topics I’m most asked about when I’m out and about. I hadn’t written anything…
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An emergency deferred
The 2024 session of the Minnesota Legislature provided all the overwrought drama and political resentments we’ve come to expect, but lawmakers managed to do one thing right. A new law passed with bipartisan support provides $24 million in short term emergency aid for rural emergency medical service (EMS) providers. The measure also funds an experimental…
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Heart du coeur del corazón
Years ago, my wife and I experienced magical moments when we heard our babies’ heartbeats for the first time in the ultrasound room. Even though a flickering pulse sounds like an old dishwasher through a walkie-talkie, we were moved by the hopeful cadence of new life. However, when I sat in the same room almost…
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Curtailing power of professional influence in Minnesota
My latest column for the Minnesota Reformer, “Democracy for sale or rent,” is out today. It’s about lobbying, specifically how the power-dynamic of our elected government is shaped by agents with an unfair advantage. Lobbying has been part of American politics from the beginning. In the colonial days, an elected delegate strolling the town square…
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The West rises on the Mesabi Range
A flurry of new exploration and extraction could shape the next few decades of iron mining on the Mesabi Range. The exact outcome, however, seems as uncertain as a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book. Local communities should read closely before turning the page. The general public just learned that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources…
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An ode to Pops
If you’re in your 40s and still have grandparents, you’re pretty lucky. I certainly am. In a couple days my grandfather turns 90, one of those big, round impossible numbers you hear about sometimes. Nonagenarians sometimes dole out advice, such as following a strict regimen of diet and exercise, avoiding all vices. But that certainly…
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Big promises cost small towns valuable time and energy
My latest essay for the Minnesota Reformer just went live. Remember in January when someone proposed building a space port in Hoyt Lakes? You’d be excused for forgetting. News turns over quick these days. But it happened. And while it’s technically possible that a multi-billion dollar space port will be constructed on the Iron Range,…
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Hopeful future combines STEM and humanities
Have you talked to a teenager lately? I see teenagers at work and home, so I talk to them plenty. It seems harder to choose a path in life than I remember at the same age. For one thing, careers have changed. Automation and new technology created enormous specialization across the economy these last 20…
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Mixed Blood theater spotlights Iron Range culture
Sometimes I hear folks here say they don’t have a culture. Other people have cultures — people on TV, people from someplace else. But us? We’re just … regular. Iron Range history demonstrates that a collision of many cultures produced a local culture so unique we share a distinct dialect studied by linguists. Outsiders talk…