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Magnetation coming back, but Plant 1 in doubt
Like other Iron Range mining operations, Grand Rapids-based Magnetation was battered by the collapse in iron ore pricing and domestic steel demand last year. The homegrown Northern Minnesota company declared bankruptcy and lost ownership interest to a hedge fund amid financial restructuring. In 2014, Magnetation had four plants running, salvaging old mining waste from decades earlier and extracting…
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Thunderbirds vs. Lumberjacks, mythical feud
Tonight at 8 p.m., the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks will play the Bemidji Lumberjacks in the Minnesota Class AA State Hockey Tournament in St. Paul. Hockey is a big deal in Minnesota. It’s a cherished winter tradition and the source of a historic rivalry between the Northern and Southern portions of the state. (Or perhaps more…
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Secret Bob Dylan archive to be livin’ on Tulsa time
Today, the University of Tulsa and iconic musician Bob Dylan announced that a new archive of Dylan’s lyrics and papers would have a new home at the Oklahama college. The works will be housed not far from collection from that state’s famous son and Dylan’s early hero Woody Guthrie. The move comes as a surprise to many, for Dylan and…
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Blows to Chinese steel offer hope to Range miners
This week, twin blows to the Chinese steel industry offer hope, at least temporarily, to the struggling American steel and iron mining industries. Yesterday, the U.S. Commerce Department announced it was planning to impose a 266 percent tariff on Chinese and other foreign steel due in response to the longstanding practice of “dumping.” China’s steel industry…
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Key PolyMet environmental report expected Thursday
On Thursday, March 3, state regulators will issue its ruling on the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes. This will be the culmination of at least seven years of debate over the EIS. The controversy centers on whether the development company is accurately reflecting the environmental risk of this form of…
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Session to explore difficulty of covering Polymet
This Thursday at 5:30 p.m., I’ll be one of three panelists leading a discussion entitled “PolyMet: Reporting on Tough Community Issues” at a venue in west Duluth. This panel is part of a series of community discussions centered around journalism and storytelling for the “One River, Many Stories” project along the St. Louis River in Northeastern Minnesota.…
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Sanders, Rubio win Minnesota caucuses
On the night of Super Tuesday, Bernie Sanders won the Democratic caucuses in Minnesota, while Marco Rubio won the Republican contest. Sure, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton sailed to victory in eight of 12 other contests around the nation. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump racked up the most delegates as well. But Minnesota provided a symbolic victory for two guys…
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MN Caucuses: canary in U.S. political coal mine
This evening, Minnesotans head to their precinct caucuses to declare their preference for the next President of the United States. The Minnesota Caucuses begin at 7 p.m. I wrote about what to expect at your caucus in my Sunday column. (Also includes jokes). Meantime, 10 other states will hold primaries or caucuses today as part of Super…
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Obama OKs more enforcement to block steel dumping
Late last week, President Obama approved new measures to better enforce trade protections against illegal steel imports. The efforts would provide more funding to investigate allegations of steel dumping, or selling steel for less than it costs to make. The move comes amid some relief in steel pricing on the world market, a factor that…
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Biochemical firm craps out on Range project
When Segetis, a Golden Valley, Minnesota, biochemical firm first proposed a $105 million project near Hoyt Lakes, it stoked some badly needed hope for the Iron Range. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board approved a $21.5 million loan package with little opposition. Science! Smart people in lab coats would help save the local economy.…
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The front lines of democracy
Ever since control of the major parties was (at least partially) wrested from chain-smoking whiskey-soaked power brokers, Minnesotans have indicated their Presidential preference at caucuses. So what is a caucus? A caucus is a community meeting. Minnesota’s major parties hold them every two years in the late winter/early spring. Your caucus location is often, though…
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On new space in a bright, green place
Fundamentally, this blog is about place. One of the interesting things about place is how you can always zoom in to see how places are not uniform. Places can be divided into unique stories, times in history, people and plots of land. Now that I live in a rural section of eastern Itasca County, I have become…
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Lyric’s Range of Arts festival underway
Though the opening day was yesterday, it’s still worth noting that the Lyric Center for the Arts has kicked off its 13th Annual Range of Arts festival in Virginia, Minnesota. The Lyric Center for the Arts is a gallery and small stage on Chestnut Street in this Mesabi Iron Range town. It’s part of a…
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In union jacket, Bernie Sanders speaks in Hibbing
By Aaron J. Brown and Courtney Kerns / Photos by Wes Bailey and Courtney Kerns This morning Bernie Sanders brought his Democratic Presidential campaign to the historic Hibbing High School auditorium on the Mesabi Iron Range. Wearing a United Steelworkers jacket from Minntac Local 1938, the Vermont Senator took the same stage where a teenage Bob Dylan once played. Hibbing…
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Nolan staffer Tom Whiteside to run for 6A DFL nod
Today, former Rick Nolan staffer Tom Whiteside, 28, of Hibbing joined the growing field of DFL candidates for District 6A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. This central Iron Range seat will be open this year after Rep. Carly Melin (DFL-Hibbing) announced she would not seek re-election. “I am ready to serve and motivated to…