I'll be signing copies of "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range" today at Woodward's in the Thunderbird Mall in Virginia, Minn., from 1-3 p.m. This book won the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award this year and is a good gift for people who like humor,' [...] 
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.
The press release from the Ironworld Development Corporation, regarding the situation at the Minnesota Discovery Center:
Major news will be breaking today and Friday about serious financial problems at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm (formerly Ironworld). Several inside sources have relayed information to me independently, enough that this cannot be a secret.
The Whistling Bird, the Iron Range's best (and only) Jamaican restaurant, has closed. For a decade, the "Bird" represented a pearl of uniqueness in the blue collar grit of the Iron Range. There is nothing funny about this. Nothing at all.
As a loyal WDIO viewer I missed a couple of interesting education stories from Northland's News Center (Channels 3, 6, 11, et al).
In other news, Mesabi Nugget plans to begin shipping its unique iron nugget product by mid-December. This reflects another slight delay but is small enough where we might be able to consider this a likelihood. [...] 
Maybe you heard about the Mesaba Energy Project Final Environmental Impact Statement released this week. Local newspaper readers were treated to this Bill Hanna Mesabi Daily News story in the Range's largest newspapers. The company is still pretending like it doesn't understand why the' [...] 
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. It represents the rare "notes" column on my part, in which I invoke the spirit of an elderly weekly newspaper editor to write about all sorts of things in [...] 
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. I performed a live dramatization of this script for the Nov. 7 edition of "Between You and Me" on KAXE, Northern Community Radio. Click over to that [...] 
The following is my weekly column for the Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Fans of the blog might recognize part of this column that ran as a post last winter. Check it out to see an image of the [...] 
My weekly contribution to the Saturday morning KAXE call-in and music program "Between You and Me" joins the show's topic of "Costumes," in honor of Halloween. I'll be exploring the strange world of children's costumes.
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece was featured on yesterday's episode of "Between You and Me" on 91.7 KAXE, which is taking part in its "Do It Yourself"-themed' [...] 
WDIO is reporting about a potential setback in the economic recovery on the Iron Range. Steelworkers suspect that the scheduled October restart of the idled U.S. Steel Keewatin Taconite plant will be postponed. It's not known how long the delay will last, but maintenance' [...] 
Today we explore the Minnesota gubernatorial candidacy of Steve Kelley. My candidate series is now nearing completion. Previous posts have included (chronologically) Tom Bakk, Paul Thissen, Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza, John Marty, Susan Gaertner, Tom Rukavina and Margaret [...] 
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece ran as part of the Oct. 10 edition of "Between You and Me" on KAXE.
The reviews are mixed for Bob Dylan's new Christmas album. This is the least surprising news I've ever heard. Regardless of your opinion, Dylan Days 2010 in Bob's hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, will be held well after Christmas, May 27-30.' [...] 
Offered without commentary because of its potential significance to local media:In another sign of distress in region’s newspaper industry, the owner of 11 dailies and weeklies in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin [...]
With two Iron Rangers vying for governor it should be noted that the Ranger most likely to ascend to high office next year is State Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm). According to Zack at the well-regarded liberal blog MNPublius Sertich is the leading candidate to succeed [...] 
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune, posted in advance of today's big Game 3 of the divisional series for the Twins. Go Twins!
I haven't been blogging regularly because of a variety of writing projects. Otherwise I would have told you about last night's DFL Expo in Grand Rapids which featured yet another forum for DFL candidates for governor. Though not all candidates were in attendance, seven of them [...] 
My day job collides with my fancy-free writin' and commentatin' Saturday morning on KAXE's "Between You and Me," a call-in and music program that highlights the people of northern Minnesota. I teach communication at Hibbing Community College and public speaking is the topic' [...] 
Just a reminder: I'll be speaking at 6 tonight at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm with a humorous look at how snowmobiles, hunting and other northern mainstays play a part in Iron Range culture. The lecture is part of "Snow Dogs: Snowmobiling in Minnesota."' [...] 
I was circulating some bad info on my Thursday night talk at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm. The event will begin at 6 p.m. If you show up at 7 all you'll see is the spent torches from the angry mob.' [...] 
Minnesota Public Radio is looking for stories of how the economy is affecting you. They are particularly interested in finding stories from the Iron Range and St. Louis County, the state's leading county in unemployment.' [...] 
I'll be giving a public lecture at the Minnesota Discovery Center (Ironworld) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 in the auditorium. Thursday nights are "free nights" at the center, so you can see the permanent exhibit along with the current special exhibit "Snow Dogs: Snowmobiling'" [...] 
A quick link today. This Sharon Schmickle story on MinnPost highlights what will be the untold central battle in northern Minnesota economic development: high speed internet. Private or public or both? To do nothing is a major mistake, as I have previously opined. [...] 
Here is my weekly column for the Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. I post this in advance of my Thursday night lecture at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm as part of the "Snow Dogs" exhibit and lecture series. [...] 
My interview with Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Steve Kelley had to be rescheduled last Friday. I'll post more this week when I have a new date and time. It shouldn't take long. [...] 
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this ran as my essay on a recent episode of "Between You and Me" on KAXE.
I'll break radio silence again to share this press release from the St. Louis County School District from last week. It illustrates the plight of many rural Iron Range school districts, in this case one that has already consolidated many times over.
The Saturday morning radio call-in and music sensation "Between You and Me" takes to 91.7 KAXE this week with the topic of hunting. Not just any hunting, but the vast array of small game and miscellaneous hunting seasons that begin this weekend. Scott Hall guest hosts [...] 
Though blogging has been slow lately (I have two big writing projects in the works) I have made some comments on recent good news in the Iron Range mining economy and will be sharing more of that analysis on the radio tomorrow. You can hear [...] 
Here's good news from the Iron Range. U.S. Steel's Keewatin Taconite will resume production after nearly a year of an indefinite shutdown. Of northern Minnesota's six taconite mining operations, KeeTac was the one that worried many insiders. Now five of six plants will be operating [...] 
This is my column for the Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.
Iron Range unemployment is down by about 
