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MinnesotaBrown endorsements: Obama, McCain
2008 will be regarded as an historic turning point election in the United States. Someone always says that about every election, but this year we have some evidence. No modern U.S. election has ever featured such wide-open primaries in both parties. No modern presidency has ever left such deep ideological divides in this county as…
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How to win the Iron Range
This is the second long post in a series about the political climate on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. I cross post these kinds of things with www.mnblue.com and my own www.minnesotabrown.blogspot.com. Last week I talked about how Range politics centers on personal relationships. The region blends social conservatism with economic liberalism to create a unique…
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As sure as B.S. trails a boondoggle
Come on down, Iron Range! It’s time for another fun episode of “Logical Fallacy.” Yesterday, Xcel Energy — the largest and most influential energy company in the state — said they aren’t going to invest in any new coal plants until the government decides on firm carbon limits or until the cost of cleaner coal…
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Range ‘Boom’ talk continues to intesify
The Duluth News-Tribune has another story of note today, one that asks the question “Is the Iron Range ready for all the change that will come if some of these major economic development projects come to fruition?” The full story is available here. Exciting times, for sure. My only qualm is that it seems officials…
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Another ‘new’ mine in Iron Country
Steel Dynamics and Cleveland-Cliffs closed a land deal that will allow the Steel Dynamics iron nugget plant to begin construction on the East Range in the vicinity of the former LTV taconite plant. LTV’s demise in 2001 kicked off a mini-panic on the Iron Range that included other taconite plant shutdowns or closures and paved…
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Local paper: ‘Mayday’ for Range schools
The headline might be a little overly dramatic, but here is a sign that in all of our economic “hopin’” on the Iron Range we still have big problems. Since it would take at least five years for the economic development projects everyone is talking about (Essar’s Minnesota Steel plant, PolyMet, etc.) to manifest as…
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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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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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RIP Bruce Kasden
My friend Paul Ryan wrote a nice column about the passing of our advisor from when we both worked on the UW-Superior Promethean college newspaper. Bruce Kasden was a good man who left us far too soon. A lot of the funniest stories aren’t ones that I’d necessarily publish, but he was one of the…
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Game on!
Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Wednesday that state support for Essar Global’s Minnesota Steel plant near Nashwauk is back on after the company assured him it wouldn’t violate U.S. sanctions against Iran. The whole ordeal became a rather fast and scary lesson in international trade and politics. Fortunately, it has worked out in the favor of…
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Wind, biomass and hydro usurp coal for next decade
If you had a time machine and brought this article back in time, even as recently as 2002, I might have suspected it was a work of fiction. Minnesota Power, the biggest coal burner in the state, is predicting no new coal-fired generation for at least 15 years. Instead, the company is planning additional wind,…
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Sup Town is on our side
And here’s why I like Superior, Wisconsin: EDITORIAL: Pawlenty favors dogma, jeopardizes developmentThe Superior Daily TelegramPublished Tuesday, October 30, 2007 It appears Republicans are courting Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to run for vice president. Why else would he jeopardize a $1.6 billion Iron Range development to defend Republican terrorism dogma? Pawlenty is threatening to oppose…
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Update: After stinging report, gov seeks facts
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has officially asked the U.S. State Dept. for clarification about Essar Global’s involvement in Iranian oil. It’s a good thing he did this before he called a press conference blasting state support for Essar’s Nashwauk steelmaking project as Minnesota possibly funding terrorism. Oh, wait. D’oh! Pawlenty asks State Department for clarification on…
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Steel plant Iran away; we need to Iget it back
The shakeup over Gov. Pawlenty’s new found opposition of the Essar Minnesota Steel mining/steelmaking plant near Nashwauk continues. Local and state officials are uniting behind a cohesive message (for once): that the Iron Range wants to enter the global marketplace and that snap decisions and loaded rhetoric like Pawlenty’s Sunday diatribe harm the Range economy…
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Aarrrrrrgh!
Remember yesterday? The Iron Range seemed to be closing the deal on the Essar Global Minnesota Steel project near Nashwauk, the all-in-one iron ore to steel plant that has been in the works for a decade and a half. Yeah, that was cool. Until Gov. Tim “Lucy” Pawlenty pulled the football out from under our…