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… Read More →

FURTHER NORTH: Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary

“Further North” is an occasional series by Aaron J. Brown of MinnesotaBrown.com reviewing a travel destination or special place in Northern Minnesota. Today’s post is about the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary near Orr. You’d think the tour guides at the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary would be better prepared for bear puns. After all, this deep… Read More →

Stunning North Woods buzzer beater advances Grizzlies

The Minnesota Boys Basketball Tournament is going on in St. Paul this week. The North Woods Grizzlies, champions of northeastern Minnesota’s Section 7A, are still in the hunt, thanks to this heroic shot by sophomore Cade Goggleye. Check it out: WDIO has the same shot from a different angle. The Duluth News Tribune also has… Read More →

ANALYSIS: Rob Ecklund wins 3A race

Rob Ecklund was elected State Representative for Minnesota House District 3A Tuesday by a wide margin. The Koochiching County Commissioner and Boise Cascade union paper worker earned 64 percent of the vote to Republican Roger Skraba’s 19 percent and independent Kelsey Johnson’s 16 percent. Ecklund carried 80 of 83 precincts, losing a pair of small… Read More →

LIVE BLOG: MN House 3A Special Election today

Today voters head to the polls in Minnesota District 3A. This district is the state’s largest geographic House seat sprawling across Koochiching, northern and eastern St. Louis, most of Lake and all of Cook counties. This is a special election to replace the late Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake), who died last summer. Polls will… Read More →

In House 3A, geography & labor politics shaped outcome

On Tuesday, Koochiching County Commissioner Rob Ecklund won Tuesday’s DFL Primary in the Minnesota House 3A special election to replace the late State Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake). Ecklund beat Tofte businessman Bill Hansen by about 450 votes, or 6 percentage points. I live blogged the election here. There are a few different ways to interpret… Read More →

LIVE BLOG: MN House 3A DFL Primary

Today, four candidates — Rob Ecklund, Bill Hansen, Eric Johnson and Heidi Omerza — sought for the DFL nomination in the House 3A special election DFL primary. The winner will face Republican Roger Skraba and independent Kelsey Johnson in the Dec. 8 general election. I will provide news and analysis on the race throughout the evening in… Read More →

Hear the House 3A DFL showdown

Tonight at 7, the four DFL candidates in the House District 3A special election will participate in a forum at Vermilion Community College. The forum will be aired live on WELY and recorded for rebroadcast on Ely TV. The four DFL candidates are Koochiching County Commissioner Rob Ecklund, Tofte business owner Bill Hansen, International Falls… Read More →

House 3A special election will be Dec. 8

To update my earlier report, the House 3A Special Election to fill the seat vacated by the untimely death of State Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) will now be held Dec. 8, with a primary on Sept. 22 29, according to sources familiar with the situation. The Governor will likely issue his call for the special… Read More →

Range-area lawmaker Dill faces serious cancer

Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) is gravely ill and receiving cancer treatment at the Mayo Clinic. The Tower Timberjay reported the news first, followed by the Duluth News Tribune and other media outlets. Dill and his family have not yet released a public statement explaining the situation, but several area officials have confirmed the serious… Read More →