-
Special session for miners remains elusive
Gov. Mark Dayton and Minnesota legislative leaders met again Thursday, Jan. 21 to discuss a possible early special session, but again failed to agree to terms. Dayton’s proposed special session would address, among other things, an extension of unemployment benefits for Iron Range miners laid off during the ongoing mining downturn. Dayton, State Senate Majority…
-
From twilight darkness comes new dawn
Last weekend, Star Tribune columnist D.J. Tice penned a piece entitled “The long twilight struggle of the Iron Range.” Certainly aware he’d elicit grumbling from Iron Rangers, Tice’s argument was that the Iron Range has been in a managed decline for several decades. He asks why we debate paying for miners to stay unemployed in this region when…
-
Fit, just a bit
I recently went to the thrift store to buy “surrender pants.” This is the periodic occasion where I acknowledge that, yes, most of the pants in my house no longer fit. Nevertheless, I am not willing to pay normal prices for new pants. What a waste! Or rather, waist. Both, I guess. Why not? Because,…
-
Panama Canal expansion sails both ways
When President Theodore Roosevelt relentlessly advanced the digging of the Panama Canal more than 100 years ago they called him crazy. In the politics of the moment, it seemed like a long slog. Financial and political delays plagued the project. Workers died by the score, if not from malaria than from some other disease or…
-
Iron Range Rep. Carly Melin won’t seek re-election
Today State Rep. Carly Melin (DFL-Hibbing) announced that she would not seek re-election to the House of Representatives. Her announcement was a surprise to many, but those in politics knew the challenges she faced in balancing her job as a lawyer in Hibbing with a young family and legislative service. Melin won a special election to…
-
Bridge outage snarls Canada’s main highway
Over the weekend the Nipigon Bridge in Ontario heaved amid extreme cold and high winds, closing what is essentially the only road across part of Canada. For a time it seemed likely that the closure would route trans-Canada traffic through Northern Minnesota on Highway 2. Today, however, Canadian officials were able to open one lane…
-
Iron Range lessons from Mars
Every time NASA beams down new pictures from Mars we are reminded how much this desolate planet resembles an Iron Range taconite mine. The red landscape. Pits like craters. Dumps like dunes. Yet, every time commodities prices tumble in topsy-turvy global trade we are also reminded that economic survival here can seem just as difficult…
-
FLASH: Minnesota cold in winter, especially outside
Minnesota is cold in the winter. Minnesota is the coldest state in the Lower 48 United States. Alaska is colder, but far away. Minnesota has a football team called the “Vikings.” The Vikings are named for the Nordic ancestry of many people here. Vikings were Scandinavian pirates who lived in cold places. They spent years sailing on cold waters. Eventually…
-
The hope and woes of Iron Range special session
Before Friday, chances for a special session to address expiring unemployment benefits for laid-off Iron Range miners seemed bleak. Today, state leaders express more optimism. Nevertheless, with the clock ticking, legislative leaders have very little time to plan before some Iron Range miners will lose their benefits. At issue is the fact that Minnesota’s legislative session…
-
Essar layoffs signal project hibernation
Around 3 o’clock Friday afternoon, the streets of Nashwauk were busier than usual, a dozen full sized pickups parked outside the town’s two bars, DeNucci’s and Wizards. The bars face each other at the last stop sign I see before heading past Essar Steel, north to my home in the woods of Itasca County on the western Iron Range. “That’s…
-
Cold war bombs in the bogs of Northern MN
I came across a fascinating piece of Northern Minnesota history in this Doug Easthouse article “Bombing the Big Bog” in the Minnesota DNR publication, Minnesota Conservation Volunteer. Northern Minnesota gets a lot of attention for its timber and minerals, but it’s also home to many thousand of acres of rich peat bogs. Some of these…
-
Oracle breaks winds of change in 2016
The gas burner spews a flame of blue, red, orange and yellow into the ghostly white sphere above. I’m trying to type on an old manual typewriter, no easy task on a hot flying monstrosity operated by a muskrat. “Gnnaaaaagh!” shouts the muskrat. Steamy breath in cold air, his jaunty captain’s hat adding authority to…
-
Radinovich to lead Nolan’s campaign
Last week, U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN8) announced that former State Rep. and IRRRB assistant commissioner Joe Radinovich would helm his re-election campaign in 2016. This move has been in the works for some time, but the announcement was held until Radinovich had made official his departure from an administrative position at the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation…
-
MinnesotaBrown’s Top Posts of 2015
Each year, my top posts are usually a hodgepodge of Northern Minnesota interests. Sometimes, however, they present a real trend. That’s certainly the case this year as my posts about troubles in Northern Minnesota’s mining industry and related musings dominated my annual list. More on that below. Before we dive into the specifics, let me again…
-
‘Microaggression’ top word of 2015
Before I begin, have you checked to see what you’re supposed to be outraged about today? See, it’s important to know, because the bulk of small talk in our times dwells on anger over etherial, untouchable matters. That might be a red cup at a coffee shop. The comments of a mayor in a small…