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Remer, MN: ‘Home of Bigfoot’
I have a nagging question about Sasquatch. If this giant ape-man of the northern boreal forests is real, where is he in the oral tradition of native peoples? Wouldn’t Sasquatch be all over those stories? It stands to reason that Sasquatch creatures would have been more plentiful and less inhibited in the days before industrialization, right?…
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Aldi grocery chain to build in Grand Rapids, MN
The Scenic Range News Forum reports that the discount supermarket chain Aldi seeks to open a store in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on the site of a former lumber store. In a subdivision deal, fast food chain Hardees will also open a restaurant on the same site. This lot is located across from the McDonald’s on Pokegama Avenue South. It had been occupied…
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State luring wood product plant to Northern MN
A large publicly-traded company that makes wood siding is considering building a new plant in Northern Minnesota. According to reports from Minnesota Public Radio and the Associated Press, the plant would employ about 250 people. The company is considering sites near Hoyt Lakes, Cook and Grand Rapids, as well as sites in other states. From Brian Bakst…
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Itasca County reinstates veterans official
After a turbulent month of local politics in Northern Minnesota’s Itasca County, veteran services officer Hugh Quinn has been reinstated by the county board. Last week, the county board fired administrator Trish Harren, who had been a central figure in the reorganization of all county services stemming from a comprehensive planning process. The veterans services…
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Itasca County fires administrator
Last night in an emergency closed session the Itasca County Board fired its administrator Trish Harren. This was the brief statement released by the county board: The County Board of Commissioners terminated the employment agreement of the County Administrator, Trish Harren, effective, April 15, 2016. April 15th was selected as the date because the County…
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Adam Levy in Grand Rapids postponed
UPDATE: The panel discussion and concert by Adam Levy are being postponed due to the winter storm today. They will be rescheduled. Adam Levy, front man for the Honeydogs, will do two special events today with Northern Community Radio in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Both are deeply personal. From the NCR release: Adam Levy’s new solo…
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Magnetation coming back, but Plant 1 in doubt
Like other Iron Range mining operations, Grand Rapids-based Magnetation was battered by the collapse in iron ore pricing and domestic steel demand last year. The homegrown Northern Minnesota company declared bankruptcy and lost ownership interest to a hedge fund amid financial restructuring. In 2014, Magnetation had four plants running, salvaging old mining waste from decades earlier and extracting…
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Thunderbirds vs. Lumberjacks, mythical feud
Tonight at 8 p.m., the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks will play the Bemidji Lumberjacks in the Minnesota Class AA State Hockey Tournament in St. Paul. Hockey is a big deal in Minnesota. It’s a cherished winter tradition and the source of a historic rivalry between the Northern and Southern portions of the state. (Or perhaps more…
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On the Anzelc-Layman race in MN-5B
This week Republican Sandy Layman of Grand Rapids announced her candidacy for Minnesota House District 5B in Itasca and Cass counties. She will challenge incumbent State Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township), who last week announced his plans to seek a sixth term. Layman is the former commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board…
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On golden pond hockey
Tomorrow morning, the puck will drop at 8 for the first game of a new pond hockey tournament on McKinney Lake in the storied hockey town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The North Woods Pond Hockey Tournament is modeled after the famous U.S. Pond Hockey Championship held annually at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. The tournament begins at…
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‘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,…
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Talkin’ middle school parking lot blues
Let me be clear. I do not plan to murder anyone. But if I did the crime would almost certainly take place in the parking lot of my son’s middle school. Winter parking in Northern Minnesota is hard enough. Ice and snow cover the yellow lines. Every slight maneuver involves spinning tires and the risk…
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Golden opportunity for broadband on the Iron Range
Many people reading this have access to reliable high-speed internet access for less than $60 a month. You use this bountiful bandwidth to work from home, communicate with family, attend college, or help kids with homework. But for people who live in rural townships throughout the Iron Range this service isn’t available. They pay twice…
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Navasota project tied to Minnesota Power plan
Earlier this week, I shared a developing story about a new natural gas peaking plant proposed for the city of Cohasset, home of Minnesota Power’s giant Clay Boswell coal-fired power plant. After a great deal of initial confusion, we established that the $300 million proposal by Navasota Energy of Texas for a 400 MW plant…
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Cohasset proposes $300 million power plant
UPDATE: New information offers more clarity to this story. Cohasset City Administrator Max Peters said that the city backed the Navosota project as a matter of routine for potential buyers for lots in its industrial park. Though there are other bidders for this project in the Upper Midwest, this is the only one looking at…