-
Blazing trails to sustainable Iron Range economy
To quote a line from William Blake, “Expect poison from the standing water.” True of water. True of spirit. True of Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range. The kind of poison I’m talking about comes from hopelessness. Our Iron Range economy has suffered in recent months, years and decades. We have watched young people leave, and worse…
-
Firm hiring Iron Range replacement workers
Iron Range labor supporters were angered yesterday when the Mesabi Daily News ran a classified ad for a firm hiring replacement workers with experience in a “metal manufacturing and processing facility.” Applicants were warned that “this is a labor dispute situation — employees will be transported across a picket line.” Given the tenuous nature of negotiations between…
-
Sept. 5 ‘We are the Range’ concert at Olcott Park
On Saturday, Sept. 5, Iron Range musicians will unite for “We Are the Range,” a benefit concert for area food shelves, at Olcott Park in Virginia from 1-9 p.m. Admission is free, but everyone is asked to bring non-perishable food or financial donations. It’s a good lineup, with a quintessential Range sound. Headlining will be…
-
Highway 53 to the Danger Zone
Right now preparations are underway to reroute Highway 53, Northeastern Minnesota’s north-south corridor, to accommodate a nearly 50-year-old agreement with mining interests. The Cliffs-run United Taconite has put in notice that it wants to mine the area under the current highway, requiring a new one. Engineers say the new Highway 53 will track further east out…
-
Crowd rallies for Steelworkers on the Iron Range
The United Steelworkers held a large rally in the Mesabi Iron Range city of Virginia, Minnesota, last night. The event was well attended by union members and citizens supportive of the union’s ongoing contract negotiations. A pricing and market collapse in iron and steel has caused U.S. Steel and Arcelor-Mittal to demand concessions from labor…
-
Steelworkers warn of possible strike at Range mines
The United Steelworkers represents miners in most Minnesota iron mines. The union is currently negotiating new contracts with the mining companies. Though several companies own the mines of the Iron Range, the contracts are generally timed to expire at the same time, in this case Sept. 1. When there’s a labor problem on the Range it usually encompasses…
-
Sam Miltich & Co. to perform at B’nai Abraham on Iron Range
The B’nai Abraham Cultural Center in Virginia continues its free summer concert series with a show this Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. featuring Sam Miltich and his band. Sam Miltich is a Gypsy Jazz guitarist, born and raised in the woods of northern Minnesota. He is a musician by profession and plays regularly in…
-
Mesabi Daily News calls for economic diversification
Today’s Mesabi Daily News editorial, “Diversify, diversify,” cheers the news that Minntac will soon resume full production, but primarily demands leaders to dedicate new focus on economic diversification. So, yes, let’s rejoice in Minntac going back to full operation in about two weeks. And let’s also hope that the company’s Keetac facility on the west Range will…
-
Warm greetings from Minnesota’s northern hellscape
All through yesterday friends and neighbors collectively set ablaze my social media feed with a link to an article entitled “These Are the 10 Worst Places to Live in Minnesota,” posted on a website called RoadSnacks.net. To save you the suspense, Nick James of RoadSnacks.net lists the worst cities are as follows: Cambridge Brainerd Grand…
-
Iron Range Original Music Association to host street show
IROMA, or the Iron Range Original Music Association, is a loose alliance of active bands producing original music based out of Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. Its members include a couple acts I’ve booked for my Great Northern Radio Show and that you see on the marquees of a number of establishments here and around the state. On Thursday,…
-
Authentic Finnish music at the B’nai Abraham
This week, the B’nai Abraham Cultural Center and Museum will host a Finnish Music Festival Wednesday, July 22 at 7 p.m. Kanteleen Soittajat, a group of 18 enthusiastic American-Finns from Duluth and surrounding area perform on the kantele, an ancient instrument that originated two thousand years ago and is now Finland’s national musical instrument. Since…
-
Steelworkers negotiations underway in Pittsburgh
After a spring and early summer in which Iron Range mine owners tightened belts, idled workers and sought relief from taxes and environmental regulations, now we come to a new phase of the region’s simmering crisis. This week in Pittsburgh, the United Steelworkers, the union that represents most Iron Range miners, opened negotiations with ArcelorMittal…
-
Northern Lights Music Festival brings classics back to Range
The Northern Lights Music Festival is returning to the Iron Range this summer with its annual classical music and opera tour across the region. Last summer, I spoke with Veda Zupancic, the accomplished musician and director from Aurora who founded the event. This year, the Northern Lights festival kicks off today and includes events that run through July 20.…
-
Chris Pratt was born on the Iron Range
Last week, I joined the legions of Summer 2015 movie-goers to see “Jurassic World” starring everyman action hero Chris Pratt. I also delighted in a little known connection between this film and the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota. And no, it’s not this: Guy who unsuccessfully weaponized velociraptors in #JurassicWorld looks like MN Senate leader Tom Bakk…
-
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…