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Politicians on parade
The marching band lined up along the avenue, belching snare taps and horn squawks. Retirees toddled back to lawn chairs left as markers along the parade route hours earlier, grandchildren in tow. The air hung heavy with the smell of fry bread and popcorn. Meanwhile, Congressman Dirk Fostle emerged from the back seat of a…
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Great Northern Radio Show is July 4 soundtrack
At 2 p.m. on Monday, July 4, Northern Community Radio will rebroadcast the most recent live episode of my Great Northern Radio Show. Let us provide the soundtrack to your holiday activities. Our June show was recorded in front of almost 600 people at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The show featured…
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Minnesota: charging toward greatness
Today is July 2, the actual birthday of the United States of America. (Ask John Adams about that. He abhorred that officials selected July 4, the date of the paperwork being filed, as the holiday). July 2 is also the anniversary of the charge of the First Minnesota Volunteers on the second day of the…
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The Potica Tour: Gov. Dayton to Croatia
Today, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is traveling on an economic, military, and diplomatic mission to Croatia, celebrating the ties between our state and this eastern European nation. “Our partnership with Croatia has produced tremendous benefits over the past twenty years, strengthening national security, enhancing economic ties, and growing civic relationships between Minnesota and Croatia,” said Dayton…
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AAAOOO! New Minnesota parks license plates
Here’s something cool. MPR and others report that the state has announced its finalists for the new Minnesota state parks and trails license plate design contest. Each design was submitted by a citizen artist to reflect the state park experience. One of the designs depicts Itasca State Park, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Another…
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Hell on Earth
I heard someone at the gas station say that the world is going to Hell. The shootings. The drugs. The politics. But I don’t believe in a literal Hell. I know a lot of people do. To me, logic dictates that God is a benevolent force, or at least not a malevolent one. A literal…
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‘Finding Dory’ gives ‘seagull treatment’ to Minnesota state bird
How could anyone forget the comic relief in the classic Pixar film “Finding Nemo” as the teeming, hapless seagulls scrapped over morsels of food? “Mine? Mine? Mine?” Heck, the scene was so iconic that the Minnesota Twins — an inland team — plays the gull catchphrase over the loudspeakers every time the visiting team hits…
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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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‘Fargo’ heading to St. Cloud with Ewan McGregor
St. Cloud sits at the center of Minnesota like a spleen. What’s a spleen for? Probably something, right? Whatever it is, you’d have to take a college class to know for sure. St. Cloud is one of the regional centers of the state. Yet, unlike Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Mankato or Duluth, Minnesotans have a tough time…
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The deescalating ‘army worm’ threat
Last night I was texting with a colleague who described her evening thusly: “trying to sit outside but all we hear is army worm [poop emoticon] falling from the trees.” The forest tent caterpillar, also known as the “army worm,” is a June mainstay in the North Woods of Minnesota. Shortly after the forest turns bright green…
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China vows ‘zombie’ hunt in steel wars
One of the frustrations in living through the booms and busts of the Iron Range economy is the simplistic way our mining-based economy is portrayed in the media. It’s either, “The Range will die soon,” or “EVERYTHING IS GREAT!” The problem is neither of these statements have been true at any point in history. It’s especially true…
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Bringing local food back home
We often hear the phrase, “you are what you eat.” It could also be said that “you are where you eat.” Here in Northern Minnesota, people subsisted off the land for millennia. But then came Wonder Bread, TV dinners, hot dogs and Cheetos: tasty, calorific foods that can be named but not necessarily identified. Cheap to buy, these…
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Great Northern Radio Show homecoming June 18
They say you’ve got to pick a genre and stick with it. Don’t be newsy if you want to be funny. Don’t be regional if you want to reach people in other places. Don’t talk about the arts if you want to talk about politics. This is what bloggers are told if they want to build…