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Sandstede wins House 6A DFL primary
As we reported last night, music teacher and union leader Julie Sandstede (DFL-Hibbing) advances to the Nov. 8 general election in Minnesota House District 6A. She’ll face Republican special education teacher Rob Farnsworth of Hibbing and active write-in candidate and union equipment operator Steven Hakly of Cherry. Sandstede’s win surprised many, including me. But looking at the…
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LIVE BLOG: Primary Night on the Iron Range
Welcome to the Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016 MinnesotaBrown primary election live blog. Your intrepid host Aaron Brown will provide analysis of Iron Range results throughout the evening. We’ll pay close attention to the House 6A DFL contest and St. Louis County commissioner races. 11:00: There will be more to write in coming days, but we can…
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Range DFLers hurtle toward Tuesday’s 6A primary
It’s Primary Election Eve in Minnesota. Tuesday, Aug. 9, brings the statewide primary election, in which local candidate pools will be narrowed and parties will sort out their nomination battles for state and federal offices. Today I’ll analyze the only major Iron Range legislative primary: the House 6A race to succeed State Rep. Carly Melin (DFL-Hibbing).…
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Inside fundraising in House 6A Range DFL primary
Last week at the blog we dove into a debate over who funds Iron Range campaigns. At the time we didn’t have access to the first major campaign finance reports. Well, the Campaign Finance Board released those reports Tuesday morning. You can view them for yourself here. So let’s explore the fundraising for Northern Minnesota’s…
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House 6A candidate decries lobbyist influence
An Iron Range DFL primary usually creates sparks, but until Friday the House 6A DFL contest had been remarkably quiet. One letter to the editor even complained that the candidates seemed too similar to make a decision. The race features four DFL candidates seeking to replace Rep. Carly Melin (DFL-Hibbing), including Nashwauk Mayor Ben DeNucci, teacher Julie…
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The future of the Iron Range is already here
“Where are all the young people?” Anyone involved in a graying committee, civic group, city board or arts organization has probably heard a comment like this. The words often come from someone who wouldn’t know what to do with a young person if they saw one, like the dog who caught the proverbial car. And…
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Chisholm ‘movie studio’ boss arrested for fraud
A big time movie studio in the old Chisholm City Hall? A-list stars bellying up to the bar at Tom and Jerry’s? Sounds too good to be true. And it certainly was. Last year, Wayzata businessman Jerry Seppala, son of Iron Range expats, announced the opening of Ironbound Studios, a film studio that would occupy…
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Forum to profile two hot Range primaries
On Thursday, June 23, candidates in the House 6A DFL primary and St. Louis County board district 7 primary will participate in a forum at the Hibbing City Hall sponsored by the Hibbing Area Chamber of Commerce. Even though the prior is a legislative race and the latter a county race, both districts overlap at their…
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The Iron Range soda boss who beat Coke
A few years back I traveled to Atlanta as the arm candy of my wife, who was attending a conference there. I spent time as a tourist in a town seemingly run by the Coca-Cola company. Coke was all you could drink. All pop (yes, pop; I’m from Minnesota) was called Coke, even if it wasn’t…
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Melissa Scaia to run for St. Louis Co. Board
Melissa Scaia of Chisholm, a well-known family advocate on the Iron Range, today announced she would run for the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners in the Seventh District. Scaia’s entrance into the race ensures a primary. Other candidates include Chisholm Mayor Mike Jugovich and county social worker and Hibbing School Board member Jeff Polcher. The…
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Range revitalization: From words to action
Last week, hundreds gathered to share ideas for the future of Minnesota’s Iron Range. In an MPR forum (listen to it here), specific pitches for diversifying the region’s economy encouraged new action and featured new voices in this oft-beleaguered region I call home. I wrote about my take on the event’s core theme in last Sunday’s column…
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Let us see what we believe
When immigrants came to America, their first image of the new land was the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. This wasn’t just some green lady. She represented freedom and opportunity. She was all of America, welcoming those in need. The Statue of Liberty told a story that was happening in real time. She…
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UPDATE: Interesting races on St. Louis County board
St. Louis County is a huge swath of land in Northeastern Minnesota. The county includes the region’s largest city of Duluth, more than half of the Mesabi Iron Range, and much of the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area — along with miles and miles of woods, waters and small towns. Geographically St. Louis is the state’s largest…
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Iron Range musher wins fourth Beargrease
Nathan Schroeder, a Warba native who lives near Chisholm, won his fourth John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon early this morning when his team crossed the finish line near Billys Bar in Rice Lake, just north of Duluth. Jason Campeau of Alberta finished second, while defending champion Ryan Anderson of Ray took third. Schroeder won in…
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Steelworker Mark Larson joins 6A DFL race
Mark Larson announced late yesterday that he’ll run for the DFL nomination for House of Representatives in the central Iron Range 6A district. Larson is a Steelworker at Minntac who lives north of Chisholm. He’s also a woodworker, a former associate pastor at Hibbing Alliance Church and married father of three. Larson lists four major issues in…