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McCollum bill seeks to protect BWCA from mining
As the mining industry readies its strategy for the next few years, those seeking environment protections in Northern Minnesota generated headlines this week as well. Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), representing the St. Paul metro district, introduced legislation that would prevent mining in the same watershed as federal wildernesses like the Boundary Waters Canoe…
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Ely, MN, bans drones, effective April 1
It’s April 1, which means Ely, Minnesota, is up to its annual shenanigans: Find out more about Ely’s campaign to ban drones. Related posts: No related posts.
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Grin and Bear it: Ely to host beard contest
This week brings Winter Fest to the unique northern environs of Ely, Minnesota. A mining town filled with hippies? Or a hippie town obsessed with mining? You never can tell, but this little burg sure has a lot going on if you know where to look. In this case, you’ll see snow sculptures in the city park in the Feb. 5-15…
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Ely pulls out of RAMS until Tomassoni matter resolved
Tom Coombe, editor of the Ely Echo, tweeted this breaking news tonight. The City of Ely is pulling out of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools (RAMS) until the controversy surrounding the hiring of sitting State Sen. David Tomassoni as the RAMS executive director is resolved. Amid firestorm over hire of new director, Ely…
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Remembering Ely storyteller Mike Hillman
As I travel around the state with my Great Northern Radio Show I’ve had the privilege of meeting many wonderful and talented people in all the towns we visit. Mike Hillman was one such person. Mike told stories in our Ely show last summer. One story was an old pioneer legend from the early day…
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Ely couple completes 2,000-mile canoe trip protest
Dave and Amy Freeman, two professional adventurers based in Ely and Grand Marais, just completed a 2,000-mile canoe trip through the Boundary Waters, out to the Atlantic Ocean and down to Washington, D.C. The reason for the trip was to highlight the natural beauty of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and deliver petitions opposing…
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The global X-factor in Range mining projects
Reeling from lack of investor confidence, Duluth Metals allowed itself and its Ely, MN, mining development Twin Metals be acquired by the Chile-based Antofagasta Mining Company two weeks ago. An earlier gambit to get Antofagasta to buy part of the company had fallen apart, and in a shrewd bit of international wheeling and dealing, Antofagasta ended…
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The politics of retribution on the Iron Range
This week, Robbie Feinberg of City Pages penned a long form story about the nonferrous mining debate in Northern Minnesota. He spent time with supporters and opponents of projects like PolyMet and Twin Metals to compose his story, which I’d recommend reading in its entirety. The story treads over some familiar ground, but also does…
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A dozen Iron Range concerts for price of one
Another season of the Mesaba Concert Association series is upon us. For a $35 membership, you have tickets to five shows at the historic Hibbing High School auditorium and other shows at the beautiful school theaters in Virginia and Ely as well. According to the Mesaba Concert Association, the schedule for this year is as follows:…
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Star Tribune eyes (noncontroversial) renaissance in Ely
What an interesting and exciting story in today’s Star Tribune. Pam Louwagie writes about a Missouri developer, a longtime summer resident in the Ely area, who has purchased a number of decaying buildings in downtown Ely with the goal of renovating and re-imagining their use for a modern town set amid the pines. Louwagie makes specific…
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Twin Metals boasts feasibility, but cuts staff
It’s been a topsy-turvy week for Twin Metals, one of two nonferrous mining projects near the Iron Range. Last week, the company triumphantly touted a “pre-feasibility” study showing that their proposed mine would be extremely profitable — costing $2.77 billion (possibly more expensive than any single private project in state history), but bringing in more…
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Rukavina, Hujanen face off in marquee local race
I was out of town when last week’s Primary Election results came rolling in. I’m back and it’s time to analyze some of the more interesting races. I’ll start with the race for St. Louis County District 6 Commissioner, where longtime Iron Range State Rep. Tom Rukavina of Pike Township seeks a return to elected office.…
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Bringing aria to area: Northern Lights fest illuminates Range
Iron Range residents are often presented a simplified interpretation of the past: many of our ancestors came from overseas to mine the ore that built a nation. What is often missed in this description is why. Save for a handful of Cornish mining jacks, these men didn’t come here because they liked to mine heavy…
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Northern Lights Music Festival in full swing
“You can’t love the opera if you never see it.” That’s what Aurora native, concert pianist, and founder of the Northern Lights Music Festival Veda Zupancic told me when I interviewed her this week for my Sunday column. Indeed, the Northern Lights Music Festival combines an educational component for beginning and advanced music students and…
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Ely explorers retrace Teddy’s fateful journey on Rio Roosevelt
During the last Great Northern Radio Show, broadcast live from Ely (click and save the podcast!), Amy Freeman detailed the North American expedition she and husband Dave embarked on last year. Dave couldn’t be on the show because he was on the Rio Roosevelt in Brazil, conquering the same jungle waters that almost claimed the life of…