-
Logging off from myths in forest products
Even today, logging shapes life in the North Woods. Sure, most people here aren’t loggers. Even in rural areas, most people don’t even own their own chain saws, though many do. But logging is all around us. It’s even the subject of my latest column. As I drive from Balsam to Grand Rapids these days,…
-
For peat’s sake
Today, I share my latest column for the Minnesota Reformer, “Bog is Dead: The waning defense of Minnesota wetlands.” When most people think about northern Minnesota, they picture forests and lakes. That’s understandable. We have a lot of trees and lakes up here, to be sure. But many overlook the vast peatlands that span the…
-
It’s time for Squatch Chat at Effie tavern
The legend of an elusive forest beast, more man than ape, spans cultures around the globe. We call him Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, Yeti or the Abominable Snowman. North American native peoples call him “Big Brother,” and think of him as a resident of another time or dimension, come to check on us. But you can’t…
-
Cheers to Craigville, where everybody knew your name
This photograph was taken by Russell Lee for the U.S. Farm Security Administration. If it looks familiar it’s because it’s the picture they show on the opening sequence of “Cheers” as John Ratzenberger’s name appears on the screen. Ratzenberger played the annoying but lovable mailman Cliff Clavin. But what I didn’t know is that Lee…
-
Loggers, classic cars and blueberries, oh my!
We now wind into the “flurry of activity before we realize the leaves are already changing” part of our Northern Minnesota summer. It’s hot and time moves fast. On the western Mesabi, Grand Rapids holds its annual Weekend of Wheels car show and swap meet, an event I always find preferable to the county fairs. My…
-
‘Rogue’ baby born in family van on Hwy. 38
Most babies are born the typical way, popped out in a hospital surrounded by medical personnel. But sometimes, babies quite literally “go rogue.” Last Saturday, Feb. 13, a Minnesota woman went into labor in the remote northern Itasca County logging town of Bigfork. While Bigfork has a hospital, it does not have an obstetrics unit,…