Mining on the Range: Half the story is half the truth
ELY, Minn. – On Feb. 29, according to WDIO.com, there was “Mining Support in St. Paul.” Unfortunately, it neglected to report the rest of the story.“Ely Mayor Roger Skraba said his community supports...
View ArticleGogebic Taconite cancels northern Wisconsin project
Minnesota Brown Citing dissatisfaction with a bill that would loosen environmental permitting, officials for Gogebic Taconite announced the cancellation of their plans to mine taconite near Ashland,...
View ArticleShedding light on a dark chapter of Range policy
Minnesota Brown MPR has an informative update on the provision to shed more light on development deals under the purvey of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. A law that effectively...
View ArticleSteelworkers suffer big defeat in Mesabi Nugget vote
Minnesota Brown Last Friday, the United Steelworkers conceded defeat in the unionization vote at the Mesabi Nugget plant near Aurora. The Mesabi Daily Newshad the story.According to Mesabi Nugget the...
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Mesabi Range Strike, 1907
Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical SocietyUnderground miner, Mesabi Range, c.1906.Tired of ethnic discrimination as well as dangerous working conditions, low wages, and long work days, immigrant iron...
View ArticleFirst MN-8 debate reaction: Fire and ice
Minnesota Brown The first debate between freshman GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack and former DFL Rep. Rick Nolan took place early Tuesday morning in Duluth. Though few probably got to see the debate live, it...
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Essar affirms plans for 2013 Iron Range taconite production
Minnesota Brown Essar Steel Minnesota is still eying 2013 taconite production on the Iron Range and will work through the winter on construction of its plant near Nashwauk.I spoke with Essar spokesman...
View ArticleThe Iron Range: Welding together a new future
Minnesota Brown People ask me, "What is the Iron Range?"It's always some version of that question. Maybe it's "What's the deal with the Range?" or "I'd like to understand the Range so that I may...
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Making the Range more welcoming, because apparently there's some damn test
Minnesota Brown Courtesy of Aaron BrownThese are some damn trees by my house. They're pretty. Hope that's good enough for you.MinnPost's Marlys Harris pens an interesting piece on what makes a people...
View ArticleMN Blog Cabin Roundup, 6/7
Congress, take back the wheel: NSA collection of phone numbers isn’t newfrom Brick City Blog by Sean OlsenThe sad reality, though, is that these programs that collect huge amounts of data aren’t new....
View ArticleMN Blog Cabin Roundup, 7/19
Growing wealth gap harms families and the economyfrom Minnesota Budget Bites by Caitlin BieglerOver the last 25 years, the wealth gap between white and African-American families in the U. S. has nearly...
View ArticleFreshman Iron Range lawmaker Rep. Jason Metsa hit on mining claims
Minnesota Brown I've been writing how this summer is building toward a contention boiling point on the nonferrous mineral mining issue. We're waiting for PolyMet to release its updated EIS after the...
View ArticleMN Blog Cabin Roundup, 8/2
A tale of two Marriage Equality Daysfrom Minnesota Brown by Aaron J. BrownFurther, anecdotal reports indicate that Range and rural DFL lawmakers are getting an earful about the issue at county fairs,...
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The most beautiful religious building on the Iron Range
Dedicated in 1909, the red brick synagogue of Virginia's B'nai Abraham congregation was called the most beautiful religious building on the Iron Range. In the early twentieth century, the synagogue was...
View ArticleIRRRB actions invest in schools, continue quixotic land plans
Minnesota Brown The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board gathered last Thursday for a meeting. The headline was a $3.65 million investment in education initiatives and jobs projects. Business...
View ArticleIRRRB’s paying Delta $36,875 per year per job for 32 jobs
The Deets Check out this headline:Delta Air Lines gets $5.9M to add 107 jobs to Iron Range call centerNow, check out the terms of the deal:The IRRRB board today approved the deal that requires Delta...
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Are NorthMet jobs the right jobs for the Iron Range?
My Minnesota Earlier today I was skimming through the Cumulative Effects section (Chapter 6) of the PolyMet SEIS. I'm fascinated by statements found on page 100 of Chapter 6.Construction of the...
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The Merritt family helped put the 'iron' in Iron Range
The discovery of iron ore on the Mesabi Range can hardly be credited to one person. In 1890, however, it was the family of Lewis Merritt that discovered merchantable ore and opened the Mesabi to...
View ArticleGOP’s Zellers: ‘We are all Iron Rangers’
Minnesota Brown It might have made for a fun parlor game back in the late ’80s. “What set of circumstances would cause a Republican candidate for governor to use ‘We are All Iron Rangers,’ as a...
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