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Radio consolidation swells in Northern Minnesota
Back in high school in the 1990s, two radio stations impacted my life. The first was the one I listened to: KQDS out of Duluth. Classic rock ‘n’ roll, something I preferred to pop. You couldn’t always get KQ on the Iron Range, but you could on the jacked-up antennae my dad put on our roof…
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Cliffs to unveil ‘Mustang’ pellet project at UTac
On Thursday, Cliffs Natural Resources breaks ground on its “mustang” pellet project at United Taconite in Eveleth. The $64 million investment coincides with the imminent shuttering of the Empire Mine in Michigan, and resulting demand for specialized iron ore pellets by Cliffs’ customer ArcelorMittal. The revival of United Taconite (still called by its old name, “EvTac,” by your average Iron…
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Heat (and hustle) is on for big Range project
A $440 million wood siding plant on the Iron Range. More than 800 jobs. Economic diversification. It’s hard not to get excited about information like this. But, as usual, the big bluster requires closer inspection. For instance, how much of that $440 million will come from public sources? At least $40 million, according to this Bill…
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The night Ali lit the torch in Gilbert
I spent most of the summer of 1996 nocturnal. Even though I couldn’t tell you much about those days, the nights seemed hotter and more humid than average. This was Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range, a place where winter cold gets more press than the deceptive heat of summer. I was 16. It was my first summer with a driver’s license,…
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Mining’s musical chairs on the Mesabi
Iron Rangers are celebrating the reopening of United Taconite after parent company Cliffs secured a ten-year contract with ArcelorMittal. In fact, Cliffs is even moving up the opening of the plant to August, instead of October. But with this good news comes the reality that one of the Iron Range’s biggest public and private investments in the last…
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Cliffs signs new deal; good news for UTac
Today Cliffs Natural Resources announced it has reached a 10-year agreement to supply iron ore to ArcelorMittal. This is very good news for laid off workers at United Taconite in Eveleth. Earlier this year, Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said that reopening UTac depended upon winning this contract. Now a fall reopening of United Taconite seems…
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Cliffs eyes fall start for United Taconite
In a call to investors yesterday, Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves announced that his company will reopen Northshore Mining in May and plans to restart United Taconite in Eveleth later this year. Goncalves also announced that Cliffs made a profit during the last quarter, which wasn’t expected. However, Cliffs remains more than $2 billion in debt. A few weeks ago, Goncalves said United…
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Reforming the IRRRB is tricky business
For decades, reforming the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) has been the intermittent goal of “good government” advocates, gadfly Iron Rangers, and frustrated partisans ascending to or descending from power. Reforming the IRRRB has also been a political football bandied about at the legislature by both parties at different times for different reasons. The concept of “reforming…
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The chilling effect of IRRRB board structure
Even as multitudes turn their eyes toward economic diversification on the Iron Range this week, today we confront with one of the biggest barriers to breaking unsuccessful economic patterns here: a parochial establishment seemingly unable to handle dissent. The Duluth News Tribune and others reported on Tuesday’s Cook County board meeting. At that meeting, County Commissioner Frank Moe proposed a resolution offering…
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Highway 53 bridge progress seen from the air
The Highway 53 bridge project between Eveleth and Virginia, Minnesota, continues to develop at a fast pace. Sure, the mine that required the major state highway to be rerouted, United Taconite, is still idled. And yes, this project involves snaking a new road around a man-made mountain, constructing the state’s tallest bridge across a mine pit,…
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Dayton faces criticism, stands ground on Range
Gov. Mark Dayton was on the Iron Range Friday defending his decision to deny permission for Twin Metals to drill on public lands near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Technically, there were two meetings, both held at the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) headquarters in Eveleth. The Range Association of Municipalities and Schools (RAMS)…
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Iron Range economic imbalance, in one graphic
I’ve already written at length about the recent report by the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor. That document details serious management and governance problems at the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB). Today I’d like to talk about an aspect of that report that paints a broader picture of what ails the Iron…
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IRRRB reforms announced after tough audit
The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board will voluntarily reform itself to comply with findings from a recent Legislative Auditor’s report. Under a new plan, the IRRRB would retain its power to allocate funds from its unique regionally-funded state agency but those allocations would require the governor’s approval. This would address the Legislative Auditor’s finding that having…
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Cliffs eyes acquiring Essar plant
As snow fades from the ditches of Northern Minnesota, the Essar Steel construction site north of Nashwauk remains frozen in time. Minor movement in and out of the site is but partial salve for the idled hope of hundreds of jobs from the region’s largest new mining project in a generation. Essar has stated that it hopes…
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Confusion over deal for unemployed miners
On Friday, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill funding extended unemployment benefits for laid off Iron Range miners attached to controversial unemployment tax cuts for businesses. Though House DFLers opposed the pairing of those two issues, ultimately most Range DFLers argued for its passage so that unemployed miners without benefits could receive aid. Rep.…