-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Is this the 1980s again on the Iron Range?
I grew up in the 1980s on a junkyard just a few miles south of Eveleth Taconite. Growing up on a junkyard is probably the best way to understand the things humans build, sell, use and discard. So let’s consider a new car. I’ve only ever bought one brand new car fresh off the lot. It…
-
Cliffs will idle another Iron Range mine through March
This morning Cliffs Natural Resources announced that beginning on Dec. 1 it would idle Northshore Mining in Babbitt and Silver Bay at least through March of 2016. Cliffs also announced that already-idled United Taconite in Eveleth would remain shut down at least that long as well. Company leaders say the shutdown will end when market conditions…
-
Polls open in House 3A special election DFL primary
Polls are open until 8 p.m. in today’s Minnesota House District 3A special election DFL primary. It’s been a fascinating campaign, full of inky barbs and clashes between Northern Minnesota political factions. Going into today’s election, Ecklund and Hansen have emerged as frontrunners, but with the potential for low turnout and the general unpredictability of this vast, rural…
-
Cliffs seeks permits for value-added iron
Cliffs Natural Resources faces several serious problems: huge debt, an anemic iron ore price, tougher global competition. Nevertheless, Cliffs is announcing that it the company is moving on its proposals to convert a production line at Northshore Mining to direct-reduced iron and to add a flux pellet at the soon-to-be-idled United Taconite. The Mesabi Daily News…
-
With contracts looming, Range mines crunch numbers
No matter your job or politics, ten dollars is always ten dollars. By some reports, that’s how much money some Iron Range mines need to shave off their cost for a ton of taconite iron ore to survive the coming global steel industry contraction. John Myers at the Duluth News Tribune reported on this last weekend, highlighting…
-
Cliffs lays off 100 Iron Range salaried workers
On Monday, Cliffs Natural Resources announced 100 job cuts at its Northern Minnesota mines affecting salaried workers at Hibbing Taconite, United Taconite in Eveleth and Northshore Mining in Babbitt and Silver Bay. Cliffs had declared optimism about avoiding Iron Range shutdowns just last week, but also unveiled a mine closure in Michigan and huge first quarter losses.…
-
Cliffs optimistic even as other Iron Range mines struggle
UPDATE: Post amended to add Cliffs plant shutodown in Michigan. We’ve spend an exhausting amount of digital ink and radio blathering on the struggles facing Iron Range mines amid a global contraction in steelmaking and iron ore. U.S. Steel properties in Northern Minnesota are preparing for shutdown that could last the rest of the year, while…