-
Local ownership critical to Range success
Locally owned and operated. These words represent more than just a good tagline for area businesses. They’re the ticket to success in our changing economy. Encouraging and expanding local ownership is a sure-fire way to bring economic strength to Minnesota’s Iron Range and beyond. Not surprisingly, it’s also a vexing challenge amid current conditions. After…
-
Why livability is key to Northern Minnesota strategy
The Iron Range, all of Northern Minnesota, and most of rural America share many problems, while maintaining some unique ones. Nevertheless, we could all make good use of one potential solution: We need people. Our small towns and rural institutions were built for a certain number of people. Not a ton of people, but a…
-
Northern Minnesota wolves maintain clear boundaries
Scientists with the Voyageurs Wolf Project study the behavior of wolves in Northern Minnesota’s Voyageurs National Park. One recent social media post shows how wolves maintain their territory. As you see above, collared wolves from different packs move a great deal in pursuit of prey. But they almost never encroach on the territory of neighboring…
-
Prominent indy TV festival coming to Duluth
Next October Duluth will host the Independent TV Festival. This gathering of independent television producers, directors and writers routinely connects major TV and streaming distributors with new projects. On Monday, the ITV Festival announced it would move from Vermont to Northern Minnesota. It’s a major coup for the arts scene in our region. The Oct…
-
Driving culture impacts Minnesota’s carbon footprint
If a cancer cell knew it was a cancer cell, would it change its behavior? Knowing that it will eventually kill its host, and thus itself, would it arrest its own growth? Would the cancer cell deny itself the satisfaction of its most pressing instinct for its own good? I’ve turned this question over in…
-
The fallacy of sunk costs on the Iron Range
“You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em; know when to walk away, and when to run. ~Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler” Observe the haphazard dashes of spray paint on plywood signs along the roads of the Iron Range. They tell you what people think their stuff is worth. “$2,000 or…
-
Around the world in 108 MHz
Despite many proclamations of its impending demise, radio lives on. In part, the medium survives because it has integrated with the internet. When I broadcast my Great Northern Radio Show last month, I heard from listeners in Alaska, Italy, Spain and beyond. And yet I still think of the casual listener driving across Northern Minnesota,…
-
Therapist with Hibbing roots highlighted for suicide prevention efforts
For the fourth straight year, human life expectancy in the United States declined. This has relatively little to do with longevity. After all, more people are living longer. But rather it has everything to do with how many people we lose to depression and addiction each year. The Huffington Post published a long form essay…
-
Event seeks Range voices on sustainable future
There aren’t many blogs about the Iron Range. You’re reading one of them. That means that if you google “Mesabi Iron Range” you find me. With this cool but largely unprofitable fact comes great responsibility. For instance, people e-mail me and want to know why the Iron Range is the way it is, how it…
-
Holiday spirit can be overinflated
It’s time for the holidays. Christmas, yes, and all that comes with it. It’s not really a holiday anymore so much as an economic and cultural event. Like the Roaring 20s, but for our credit card bill. Or like the Great Depression, but in reference to our actual depression. It’s not like the good old…
-
The story behind tariffs, steel and the Iron Range
Eight months ago, President Trump’s administration slapped significant tariffs on several classes of foreign products, including steel. These tariffs have been at the center of speculation over America’s economy, global trade and politics ever since. The conventional wisdom here on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range is that the tariffs have been good for us. Sure, they…
-
Mining gold near Togo? The rush is … on hold
So I binge watched “Deadwood” recently. I know, I know. No one wants to hear what I’m watching on TV. We’re all busy watching one of 9,000 shows on 50 different platforms, having independent experiences that confine us all to our own small community of strangers. Or we’re not watching TV at all because we’re…
-
What next for Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation?
Minnesota Gov.-elect Tim Walz launched his official administrative transition team this week. Walz and retiring Gov. Mark Dayton both hail from the Democratic Farmer Labor Party, so we can expect some continuity in policy and certain key staff positions. Nevertheless, many new people will hold high level state posts when Walz takes office in 2019.…
-
Iron Range districts eye shared school, new model
Student desks form even rows on hardwood floors. A chalkboard at the front of the room frames the teacher’s heavy, spacious desk. Heavy vinyl maps roll down from the ceiling. Most of us recognize this picture as school. In fact, this scene so imprints our minds that decades later we still dream about it. It’s…
-
Jim and Silent Bob pitch whiskey on Tonight Show
Bob Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, marks the changes in his sprawling career with bemused resignation. Nevertheless, some folks still wonder what the boy they knew as Robert Zimmerman is up to. Earlier this year Dylan announced his new whiskey label, dubbed Heaven’s Door. And while his “never-ending” concern tour keeps rolling, Dylan has adopted the…