Like many of you I’ve become accustomed to attending meetings using video conferencing software. The COVID-19 pandemic demands no less. Entire segments of the economy and educational system have shifted to home-based work. Right now, all of my professional meetings take place on Zoom. I collaborate on a media project via Google Hangouts. Interviews. Civic… Read More →
Warning the future about ourselves
August 23, 2020 by 1 Comment
As a species, humans expend relatively little thought on a future beyond ourselves. We’re just not wired for it. The survival instinct keeps us focused on our next meal, how we feel now, and our social relationships. Don’t get me wrong. We’ve come a long way. We now spend up to two decades of our… Read More →
Sabotaging the mail harms democracy and rural life
August 16, 2020 by 8 Comments
When you grow up in the country you form a special relationship with the mail. Back at our family’s junkyard in Zim my sisters and I would fight over who got to run up the driveway to get the mail each day. One time I almost got hit by a truck because I lurched for… Read More →
Don’t call it a mall
August 9, 2020 by 1 Comment
I once hung out in Iron Range shopping malls for fun. I didn’t even need to “get my steps.” No, I went to the mall to meet friends, buy Vanilla Ice cassettes, and sip something called “cappuccino” while surfing this new thing called “the internet” at a locally-owned mall coffee shop. It was very exciting… Read More →
Media mergers in northern Minnesota and beyond
July 14, 2020 by 3 Comments
By now you may have seen the last column I wrote for the Hibbing Daily Tribune and the first that I penned for the newly merged Mesabi Tribune. Then last Friday I did a couple interviews about the merger of the Hibbing Daily Tribune and Mesabi Daily News. First I went on the KAXE Morning… Read More →
Competitive legislative races slated across Northland
June 7, 2020 by 3 Comments
NOTE: This post appears in today’s Hibbing Daily Tribune as part of a news sharing arrangement. Generational change. A historically contentious presidential race. Not one, but two major parties devoted to legalizing marijuana. These factors and more will influence several interesting northern Minnesota legislative races that formed after last Tuesday’s filing deadline. Though the presidential… Read More →
Even northern towns under curfew tonight after chaotic week in Minnesota
May 31, 2020 by 3 Comments
UPDATE June 1: A peaceful night passed on the Iron Range. Further review indicates that internet rumors prompted Range towns to set curfews. Efforts to organize peaceful protests in these towns became wildly misinterpreted. Original May 31: Today, peaceful demonstrations took place in towns across northern Minnesota, including Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Hibbing and Virginia. In… Read More →
Eveleth-Gilbert, Virginia voters approve school district consolidation
May 13, 2020 by 3 Comments
On Tuesday citizens in Eveleth, Gilbert and Virginia voted to approve the consolidation of two Mesabi Iron Range districts. More than 77 percent of Virginia district voters backed consolidation while almost 54 percent of Eveleth-Gilbert voters supported the move. Both districts needed to approve the measure for it to take effect. The new district will… Read More →
Former WNBA star to coach Mesabi Range mens basketball team
April 13, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Despite the lack of sports I still watch ESPN every morning. Mostly it’s nice to have a break from the grim specter of pandemic news. But today I wasn’t expecting Sportscenter to provide breaking Iron Range sports news. Former WNBA player Tamara Moore will coach the Mesabi Range College men’s basketball team next year. This… Read More →
Classical musical festival will now lead Iron Range Jewish cultural center
April 10, 2020 by 2 Comments
A happy Passover to all who celebrate. This high holiday of the Jewish faith often passes unacknowledged in northern Minnesota, but this was not always so. A vibrant Jewish population joined the pioneer communities of the Mesabi Iron Range. In fact, Jews were among the first people to arrive in many Range towns. These families… Read More →
