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Hibbing VA clinic at center of controversy
The national controversy surrounding wait times and service at Veterans Administration hospitals and clinics has been pinpointed at a VA location close to home. A group of former employees at the Hibbing VA clinic is alleging they were ordered to backdate the appointment times for veterans on paperwork submitted to the VA to make the…
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Vice President Biden revs up Range DFLers before tight election
Solar eclipses are rare, but not as rare as a vice presidential visit to the Iron Range. Both of them on the same day? Well, that’s once in a lifetime. The scene at Hibbing Community College last week included Secret Service agents, bomb-sniffing dogs and chattering staffers straight out of “The West Wing” swarming the…
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LIVE BLOG: VP Joe Biden at Hibbing Community College
Vice President Joe Biden speaks at Hibbing Community College on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range today, Oct. 23, 2014, in a “get out the vote” campaign rally for U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8). The event begins at about 2 p.m. I’ll provide live blog coverage here with the help of students at the college who were granted…
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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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How to attend the Oct. 23 Joe Biden rally in Hibbing
Details have solidified for this Thursday’s Oct. 23 rally with Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Rick Nolan at Hibbing Community College. As many had expected, the event will be held in the college gymnasium with the doors opening at 11:45 a.m. The DFL is asking you to RSVP for the event here. That said,…
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A tale of two iron ranges
In the middle to late 1800s, prospectors discovered iron ore in a remote land far from the big cities, a place utterly insignificant in world affairs. This discovery, however, could not be ignored. The ore was too plentiful and valuable. The events that followed would bring people of many languages and cultures together to mine…
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Rail delays prompt Hibbing Taconite to haul pellets by truck
Last week we talked about how rail delays were causing huge stockpiles of iron ore at Iron Range taconite mines. This afternoon it was announced that Hibbing Taconite, a Cliffs Natural Resources mine, has made the rather bold decision to begin hauling its pellets by truck to the Twin Ports. From the press release: HIBBING, MN –…
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Hej, Bob: Swedish scientists sneak Dylan lyrics into papers
Living or working in Bob Dylan’s hometown means you form connections with people for unusual reasons, beyond your control and unrelated to your own ego. Some guy, class of ’59 I think, wrote a thousand songs and got so famous that people in China learn English just to decipher his lyrics (good luck with that, China).…
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New Cliffs leadership commits to iron ore strategy
After a dramatic company shake-up last month, the new CEO of Cliffs Natural Resources is vowing to focus on mining, processing, and shipping iron ore from the Great Lakes region, especially from the Mesabi Iron Range. Cliffs operates and co-owns half the mines on the Iron Range, including Hibbing Taconite, United Taconite in Eveleth and…
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Beware Iron Range hyperbole in Election 2014
Last week I was called into town to do another “Iron Range political pundit” interview with Northland’s NewsCenter’s Nick Minock. The story was about something presumptive Minnesota GOP U.S. Senate nominee Mike McFadden had said about nonferrous mining projects in Northern Minnesota. McFadden had suggested that projects like PolyMet and Twin Metals, which have been mired in environmental…
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Hibbing, Duluth, Brainerd among new Dunkin’ Donuts locales
UPDATE: Grand Rapids, MN is also on the list of new locations. A Hinckley, Minn., couple is developing seven new Dunkin’ Donuts locations in Northern Minnesota, including Duluth, Hibbing and Brainerd. That according to this Paul Walsh article in today’s Star Tribune. [New franchisee Brian] Weidendorf said the Duluth locale will be in a remodeled…
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Hibbing’s Kate Lange signs pro volleyball deal in France
Here’s a neat story: Hibbing native, (former student of mine) and University of Minnesota-Duluth star Kate Lange just signed a professional contract to play volleyball in France. She’s the first UMD player to sign a pro deal. Northland’s NewsCenter had the story yesterday: I don’t know anything about professional volleyball, but I do suspect that…
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Crowdsourcing comeback for Hibbing’s Bob Dylan hot spot?
This week my friends Linda Stroback-Hocking and her husband Bob Hocking launched a crowdsourcing campaign to reopen Zimmy’s, the Bob Dylan-themed bar and restaurant in Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota. The campaign uses the Indiegogo platform, and represents something of a grand experiment in saving one of the Iron Range’s most unique night spots. Zimmy’s,…
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Duluth, Range airports vie for Oberstar name
When longtime northern Minnesota congressman and transportation titan James Oberstar passed away in May, everyone knew that an airport would deservedly be named in honor of his tireless work to expand aviation in northern Minnesota. The question, as the Duluth News Tribune now reports, is which one? Oberstar, a Chisholm native, was instrumental in the…
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The Iron Range’s 240-ton pink mining truck
Motorists in Hibbing were treated to a special sight along the Beltline Thursday as the giant pink mining truck bucket of a 240-ton production truck at Hibbing Taconite winded its way through town. Cliffs Natural Resources, part-owner and operator of Hibbing Taconite, will deploy the pink mining truck to raise awareness of breast cancer screening and women’s…