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Keep the Range school ‘boom’ in perspective
MinnPost.com featured a Catherine Conlan story yesterday about Iron Range schools preparing for the possibility of increased enrollment if several development projects bring new families and students to Range districts. Naturally, this idea comes to the forefront after groundbreaking for Essar Steel Minnesota’s Nashwauk mining and steel mill operation, slated for opening in 2012. The…
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Super secret sneak preview copies available for ‘Overburden’
Shhh! It’s a secret. Copies of my new book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” are available at Howard Street Booksellers in Hibbing, Northern Lights bookstore in Duluth’s Canal Park and the Duluth Barnes and Noble. Other stores will be on board soon. This book is a collection of essays and observations about life…
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500? Maybe more … (UPDATED x3)
The word is that a very large crowd is gathering right now over at the site of the Minnesota Steel project north of Nashwauk. Company officials are expecting 500, but I think there could be more. Also, we’ll be getting the new name of the company soon. My money’s on something that combines two “proactive”…
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Minnesota Steel groundbreaking approaches
From today’s Duluth News Tribune, a reminder of the monumental groundbreaking taking place Friday on the Iron Range: Groundbreaking ceremony is Friday for $1.6 billion Minnesota Steel Plant to be built near Nashwauk Duluth News TribuneThursday, September 18, 2008 What: Groundbreaking for Minnesota Steel plant Where: North of Nashwauk, near the former Butler Taconite plant…
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Massive new Iron Range steel project to break ground Friday
Here’s the press release, via the Mesabi Daily News: NASHWAUK — Groundbreaking for the new Minnesota Steel Industries LLC plant is slated to begin at 11:30 a.m. Friday. The public is invited. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., the CEO of Essar Steel Minnesota and local elected officials will speak. A new company name is expected to…
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Super Steel Tuesday on the Range
Tuesday is a huge day for Minnesota Steel, the mining and steel-making operation set to break ground in Nashwauk within days. The Itasca County Board has several key decisions to make during its meeting today. Tonight officials with Essar, the Indian company that owns the project, meet with Range lawmakers and other leaders to go…
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7B DFL PRIMARY FOCUS: Marsh Stenersen
MinnesotaBrown is running a series of posts this week featuring the DFL candidates for Duluth’s House District 7B in their own words. The winner of the Sept. 9 DFL primary will face Republican Allan Kehr and Independence Party candidate Jay Cole, who do not face primary opposition. So far this week we’ve featured, in alphabetical…
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7B DFL PRIMARY FOCUS: Roger Reinert
MinnesotaBrown is running a series of posts this week featuring the DFL candidates for Duluth’s House District 7B in their own words. The winner of the Sept. 9 DFL primary will face Republican Allan Kehr and Independence Party candidate Jay Cole, who do not face primary opposition. Tuesday, we featured Brandon Clokey. Wednesday featured John…
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As the rail authority turns …
The Itasca County Regional Rail Authority held a special meeting Tuesday. At stake, the future of a $1.6 billion project that has stood as the golden economic hope of the Iron Range people. Like I said, the Range often operates like the South in that vital decisions are made at the most obscure of public…
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The Big Picture on Rural Broadband
I just came across a great interview on a blog called “Another Signpost on the Information Superhighway.” The blogger, identified as “bfpower,” in a post called “The Rural Broadband Crisis” prints a transcript of an interview with Frank Odasz of Lone Eagle consulting, someone identified as an expert in rural broadband. I strongly encourage you…
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Coupon quest
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008 Hibbing Daily Tribune. Coupon questBy Aaron J. Brown Economic woes introduce many people to the world of couponing. It’s not that our current economy is oppressively bad; no one is selling apples on street corners or loading family possessions into cars to go pick…
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Iron Range steel project again faces Iran problem
Oh, global economy. Why must you be so complicated? Let me start this locally and spread it out. LOCAL: Here on the Iron Range, people have enjoyed great hopes of a massive economic boost from a combined iron mine and steel plant near Nashwauk, a proposed project now known as Minnesota Steel. This idea has…
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Newsweek to analyze the South; the North should take note
Newsweek is focusing this week’s edition on the changing and yet somehow unchanging nature of America’s South, where the shadow of the Civil War still looms large even in the 21st century. The cover story is truly compelling. Something about the South reminds me of my native Iron Range. Not necessarily the racial strife, though…
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Range editor, veteran makes insightful observation about ‘surge’
Hibbing Daily Tribune editor Mike Jennings made an interesting observation Sunday based on his experience serving in Vietnam in regard to today’s debate over the success of the so-called surge: Could we have sustained what seemed in 1970 a durable degree of security in Vietnam? Of course. All that was necessary was to keep American…
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This one is for the awards
When I worked in radio, there were stories you covered as part of your daily routine and there were stories that you were told were “awards” stories. These weren’t necessarily the top story of the day, but were compelling enough to enter in contests in order to win trophies and fodder for your resume. You…