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Hibbing native’s homegrown indy film premieres at LA Film Fest
Publicity still from “Pollywogs“ Hibbing native Karl Jacob (he goes by that, though is Wiiliainen by birth) filmed his independent movie “Pollywogs” here on the Iron Range in 2011. Last week it premiered at the L.A. Film Festival to good reviews. Chris Hewitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press recently wrote about the movie, which…
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Don’t mind the black smoke, it’s just the power plant
The Hibbing Daily Tribune issued a breaking news alert Wednesday reassuring the people of Hibbing that the black smoke visible over the city was not an uncontrolled fire, but actually the burning of biomass material in the city PUC plant. “There is smoke wafting through the city, but it’s not a from a fire,” [Fire…
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Dylan Days reach fever pitch today in Bob’s hometown
Dylan Days continues this morning with the famous Bobby Zimmerman bus tour, an interactive storytelling experience that takes visitors through “Bob’s” Hibbing. The tour departs from downtown Hibbing at 10:30 a.m. and lets out at 2:30 p.m. (refreshments available) at Howard Street Booksellers. Author M.L. Liebler will hold an event there at the end of…
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Dylan Days commence in Hibbing, Minnesota
Today Dylan Days starts in earnest in Bob Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota. Duluth poet laureate Sheila Packa will lead a poetry workshop from 1-3 p.m. at the Hibbing Memorial Building dining hall. At 3, M.L. Liebler and the Coyote Monk Band Great Northern Radio Show alumnus and Hibbing’s own Iris Kolodji will provide entertainment…
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Hibbing, Duluth team up to honor famous son Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan’s northern Minnesota heritage is in no doubt, but invariably there are squabbles over who really gets to claim Dylan. He was born in Duluth, where he lived until he was six. The family then moved to his mother’s Iron Range hometown of Hibbing where he was raised and graduated high school. So technically,…
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Dylan Days names 2013 B.J. Rolfzen writing contest winners
As many of you might recall, I am one of the co-organizers of Dylan Days in Hibbing, Minnesota. This arts and culture event celebrates Bob Dylan and the arts community of his Iron Range hometown. Dylan Days will be May 23-26, 2013. This year we’re celebrating Bob Dylan’s Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded last year…
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Iron Range media brushes aside Hillcrest neglect allegations
Last Thursday, the Star Tribune ran a Paul McEnroe story about allegations of neglect at the Hillcrest assisted living facility in Chisholm, Minnesota. It begins as follows: When the ambulance crew members arrived at the assisted-living facility in Chisholm, Minn., they entered a room so foul with the smell of urine that their eyes watered.…
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Group aims to re-engage Hibbing theater community
The cancellation of the award-winning theater program at Hibbing Community College amid the budget tumult of the past several years shook the Iron Range arts community. But there are green shoots here and there, notably with the foundation of a new community theater group called “Encore of Hibbing.” A group of actors and theater types…
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Owl the King’s Men
Crows (Photo: Mary Bailey) Highway 169 runs up the heart of Minnesota, congesting near the cities, pumping trucks up and down the center of the state. But once you get to Grand Rapids, Highway 169 becomes something entirely different. It stains red and becomes the Official Road of the Iron Range, connecting the Mesabi and…
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Riding the Iron Range’s urban rail service of yore
Many are surprised to learn that the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota once boasted an interurban rail service called the Mesaba Railway. Hourly trains between Hibbing and Gilbert served the St. Louis County side of the Mesabi Iron Range, a row of towns that follow a rich iron formation that gives the region its name.…
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The Ides of March: culture on the Iron Range
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Newspaper group to close Hibbing printing plant
Business North has broken the story that American Consolidated Media, owner of many small daily and weekly newspapers in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, will close its Hibbing printing and production plant. The Mesabi Daily News, Hibbing Daily Tribune, Grand Rapids Herald-Review and others will now be printed at the Duluth News Tribune‘s new printing facility…
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The ‘Pussyfoot’ behind Prohibition in northern MN
Students of Iron Range history might have heard the name William E. “Pussyfoot” Johnson. In addition to holding a fantastically literary name, Johnson holds significance in northern Minnesota history. After all, he was the man who famously brought prohibition to the Iron Range, a place that vehemently, violently didn’t want it. The Hibbing Tribune editorial…
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Looking in on Hibbing’s ‘Castle in the Wilderness’
WCCO’s Bill Hudson did a “Finding Minnesota” story about Hibbing High School, one of the most ornate and visually stunning school houses in the state. Most Iron Range locals take this place for granted, or at least are desensitized to its grandeur. This building and its history are a fascinating part of the area’s rich…
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Hill of Three Waters
