To quote a line from William Blake, “Expect poison from the standing water.” True of water. True of spirit. True of Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range. The kind of poison I’m talking about comes from hopelessness. Our Iron Range economy has suffered in recent months, years and decades. We have watched young people leave, and worse… Read More →
Biking the red dirt trails of Cuyuna for The Daily Yonder
August 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Today is the day my big story about the Cuyuna Range is live on The Daily Yonder, a fantastic national publication dedicated to rural people and rural issues. The story is entitled “Pedaling New Hope for an Old Mining Town” and features a wide array of pictures, interviews and perspectives about a set of small… Read More →
Responding to the Cuyuna call
August 6, 2015 by 9 Comments
For months now, Aaron Hautala of the Cuyuna Cycle Crew down by Crosby and Ironton had been trying to get me to do a story on the changes related to their efforts to attract outdoor recreational visitors to these old iron mining towns. From mountain bikes to Yurts, paddle boards to SCUBA divers, the place has a… Read More →
Northern Lights Music Festival brings classics back to Range
June 30, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Northern Lights Music Festival is returning to the Iron Range this summer with its annual classical music and opera tour across the region. Last summer, I spoke with Veda Zupancic, the accomplished musician and director from Aurora who founded the event. This year, the Northern Lights festival kicks off today and includes events that run through July 20…. Read More →
Cuyuna cycling group sets goal of ‘3 days of riding’
January 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment
We’ve written before about the Cuyuna Iron Range’s tremendous success rebranding itself for fat tire mountain biking instead of just as a “former mining region.” Late last week, the Cuyuna Bike Crew — the organization created to organize and advocate for mountain bikers and trails — announced its comprehensive plan. While the plan is replete… Read More →
Cuyuna Range mining talk hails old ghosts
July 15, 2014 by 17 Comments
What would you do if an old girlfriend or boyfriend called? Would you take them back? What if you haven’t talked in 10 years. Or 20? Try 50. This is the discussion going on in Northern Minnesota these days and it isn’t about love; it’s about mining. There were three active iron mining ranges in Northern Minnesota through… Read More →
Hear the Crosby Great Northern Radio Show!
November 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment
You might recall that we did another Great Northern Radio Show in October from Crosby-Ironton High School in Crosby, Minnesota. This fall edition of my quarterly traveling live broadcast variety program was a big success, something I didn’t want to talk about here until I knew when the rebroadcast date and podcast would be available…. Read More →
Great Northern Radio Show in Crosby TODAY
October 19, 2013 by 3 Comments
It’s show day! There’s still time to make plans for a day trip to see a free, live broadcast performance of the Great Northern Radio Show in Crosby, Minnesota. We’ll be on the airwaves of Northern Community Radio from 5-7 p.m. Please be in your seats at Crosby-Ironton High School before 4:30 p.m. for the… Read More →
8 clues to Saturday’s Great Northern Radio Show
October 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This Saturday I’ll be hosting my Great Northern Radio Show live from the Mayberry Auditorium at Crosby-Ironton High School in Crosby, Minnesota. The show will air live on Northern Community Radio from 5-7 p.m. You can tune in at 91.7 KAXE Grand Rapids/Iron Range, 90.5 KBXE Bagley/Bemidji, 89.9 Brainerd, 103.9 Ely, streaming at kaxe.org. We’ll… Read More →
Great Northern Radio Show: The Company
October 16, 2013 by 1 Comment
This week I’m busy preparing the Great Northern Radio Show, which makes its Season 3 debut this Saturday, Oct. 19 at Crosby-Ironton High School in Crosby, Minnesota. Please, consider joining us for the live show in Crosby (seating before 4:30 p.m., free!) or tuning in on the radio or live online feed (5-7 p.m.). Throughout the week I’ll… Read More →
