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White House chief of staff to visit Iron Range
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough is coming to the Iron Range on Tuesday, Dec. 22. He will meet with laid off miners, local officials and others affected by the ongoing downturn in the local economy. These factors have been caused by a glut of global steel supply and cheap foreign imports. I have…
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FARGO REVIEW: Season 2 Finale, ‘Palindrome’
The tenth episode and “Fargo” Season 2 finale, entitled “Palindrome” aired last night on FX. What follows is a Minnesota-centric review that contains spoilers. This year, “Fargo” takes us to Southwestern Minnesota in 1979, the same year I was born on the other side of the state. A small town family crime syndicate based in Fargo…
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NY Times paints grim picture for Iron Range mines
A business story in yesterday’s New York Times carries this headline: “If It Owns a Well or a Mine, It’s Probably in Trouble.” And since that describes many of the largest businesses on Northern Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range, we can rightly take warning. Companies that produce commodities — oil, iron, copper or the like —…
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FARGO REVIEW: Episode 9: ‘The Castle’
The ninth episode of “Fargo” Season 2, entitled “The Castle” aired last night on FX. What follows is a Minnesota-centric review that contains spoilers. This year, “Fargo” takes us to Southwestern Minnesota in 1979, the same year I was born on the other side of the state. A small town family crime syndicate based in Fargo…
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Iron Range Makerspace: Making something new
In 2014, engineering student Andrew Hanegmon of Hibbing was walking through downtown Pittsburgh when something in a window caught his eye. It was a person working with a laser engraver. He went into the building to find an active maker space, a sensory smorgasbord of computers, electronic equipment, lathes, saws, 3-D printers and more. “I…
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Season 3 of Fargo will be set 2008ish
As many here know, I review the TV show “Fargo” in between my usual fodder about news, politics and life in Northern Minnesota. Last week we learned that Noah Hawley and FX are bringing “Fargo” back for a third season. I even waxed poetic about how I would like to see a season set on the…
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Devil in the details for Steelworkers special session
Gov. Mark Dayton and Senate DFLers are still seeking a special session to help Steelworkers whose unemployment will run out between now and March. They also seek economic measures to address racial disparities in the state. As we discussed last week, House Republicans declined to support such a session unless Dayton established support for two controversial projects, the…
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Navasota project tied to Minnesota Power plan
Earlier this week, I shared a developing story about a new natural gas peaking plant proposed for the city of Cohasset, home of Minnesota Power’s giant Clay Boswell coal-fired power plant. After a great deal of initial confusion, we established that the $300 million proposal by Navasota Energy of Texas for a 400 MW plant…
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Tense Essar negotiations with Dayton, contractors
UPDATE: Today, Gov. Dayton’s spokesperson Matt Swenson issued this statement, which indicates that Essar is issuing new capital into its Nashwauk project: “Governor Mark Dayton spoke Thursday afternoon with IRRRB Commissioner Mark Phillips and Cathy Polasky from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), to discuss the status of Essar Steel Minnesota’s payments…
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FARGO REVIEW: Episode 8, “Loplop”
The eighth episode of “Fargo” Season 2, entitled “Loplop” aired last night on FX. What follows is a Minnesota-centric review that contains spoilers. This year, “Fargo” takes us to Southwestern Minnesota in 1979, the same year I was born on the other side of the state. A small town family crime syndicate based in Fargo is…
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Talking Iron Range woes on MPR
This morning at 11 I’ll be on Minnesota Public Radio News with Tom Weber talking about the economic slump that has hit the Iron Range mining industry. Other guests include Tony Barrett, an economics professor at St. Scholastica in Duluth, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk of Cook. I’ve written about the downturn in the iron ore…
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Rich history, stark present, unknown future for iron and steel
From the beginning, humans forged a special relationship with iron. Ancient people knew the mineral before they had the ability to mine it, discovering slabs of pure iron that fell from the sky in meteorites. The Sumerians and Egyptians called it “heaven stone,” according to Brooke C. Stoddard’s in his new book “Steel.” The strength…
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Happy Thanksgiving on the Iron Range
Happy Thanksgiving! To you, reader of MinnesotaBrown.com, however you got here, I am thankful for you. This blog doesn’t make much money and it hasn’t made me famous, but it has become a authoritative source for news, commentary, and discussion about Northern Minnesota, my home and the place I love. I didn’t make a…
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Everybody wants to save the Range
I can’t stand this indecision Married with a lack of vision Everybody wants to rule the world Say that you’ll never never never never need it One headline why believe it? Everybody wants to rule the world ~ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears So, that’s the tune, only try it…
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FARGO REVIEW: Ep. 7, ‘Did You Do This? No, You Did It!’
The seventh episode of “Fargo” Season 2, entitled “Did You Do This? No, You Did!” aired last night on FX. What follows is a Minnesota-centric review that contains spoilers. This year, “Fargo” takes us to Southwestern Minnesota in 1979, the same year I was born on the other side of the state. A small town family…