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DEED program to provide grants for Tower, Ely business improvements

REGIONAL - The Northland Foundation and The Northspan Group hosted a presentation earlier this month at the Tower Civic Center to share updates and gather feedback about the Minnesota DEED Main … more

Jodi Summit | 8/24/22

Breitung Township votes to accept truck bid at special meeting Aug. 11

SOUDAN- The Township of Breitung held a special board meeting on Aug. 11 at the Breitung Community Center. The town board received one bid of $32,250 for the old International dump truck with a plow, … more

Rachel Brophy | 8/24/22

The January 6 Committee reminds us of what Congress can do

Watching the hearings held by the Jan. 6 committee as it delves into the events at the Capitol last year and what lay behind them, I’ve been struck by what you might think of as the … more

Lee Hamilton | 8/24/22

Obituaries: August 26, 2022

Joni L. DahlJoni Lynn Dahl, 39, of Genoa Location, rural Gilbert, died tragically on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, when her car was hit by a drunk driver on Hwy. 21 in Embarrass Township. She was a true and … more

8/24/22

Stauber votes no again

It seems nearly every missive from the office of Pete Stauber in recent months has left us here at the newspaper shaking our heads, jaws agape. We think we’ve grown used to the … more

8/24/22 | 7 comments

Sen. David Tomassoni, seated left, watches as Gov. Tim Walz signs the bill providing $25 million for ALS research and caregiver support.

Tomassoni dies after battle with ALS (updated 8/17)

REGIONAL- Longtime Iron Range legislator David Tomassoni, who championed a bill this spring to bring new hope to people affected by the degenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), died … more

David Colburn | 8/17/22

Curb and gutters were poured this week for the student and school bus drop-off loop in front of Washington school.

Working six days a week to get Ely school ready for students

ELY – Construction workers continue to put in six-day work weeks on the job site at the $21.5 million Ely school building renovation project. Following a recommendation by school … more

Keith Vandervort | 8/17/22

Conflicting COVID data reflects changes in reporting

REGIONAL- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Mayo Clinic had mixed COVID messages for St. Louis County last week, and the changes in the way that COVID cases are reported may well be the … more

David Colburn | 8/17/22

Walsh asks for partial recount in sheriff’s race

REGIONAL- St. Louis County election officials were scheduled to do a partial ballot recount on Thursday morning of votes cast in St. Louis County Sherriff’s race in several Duluth precincts at … more

David Colburn | 8/17/22

Cook man dies in rollover accident

ANGORA TWP- A Cook man has died from injuries sustained in a rollover accident Sunday on Hwy. 53 about six miles south of Cook.Glen Ellsworth Economy, 59, was traveling northbound in a 2011 Chevrolet … more

8/17/22

Quannah Chasinghorse and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, made a special appearance at Fortune Bay Resort Casino last week.

Following their dreams

VERMILION RESERVATION- Quannah Chasinghorse is an up-and-coming Native American model, actress, and environmental activist. And while she said New York City’s Met Gala was one of the most … more

Jodi Summit | 8/17/22

Mesabi Trust windfall likely led to Northshore idling

REGIONAL— Increased production and higher prices for Northshore Mining’s taconite pellets in 2021 sparked a financial windfall for a little-known royalty trust and likely contributed to … more

Marshall Helmberger | 8/17/22

FCC shoots down LTD broadband application

REGIONAL- The Federal Communications Commission last week rejected troubled LTD Communication’s $1.3 billion application to build high-speed broadband internet networks in Minnesota and across … more

David Colburn | 8/17/22

Driver charged in fatal collision in Embarrass

EMBARRASS— A Virginia man has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide after killing an Eveleth woman in a collision in Embarrass Township on Aug. 12 while driving with a blood alcohol … more

David Colburn | 8/17/22

Eagles Nest firefighters Terry Mattson and Ron Potter examine a nozzle during Saturday’s training exercise.

Training for the worst

EAGLES NEST- Last Saturday’s simulated fire and evacuation exercises at Eagles Nest Lake 4, involving both Eagles Nest and Morse Fall Lake Fire Departments, turned out to be more than mere … more

David Colburn | 8/17/22

Math in Motion

ELY - Cartwheels and handstands, jetes and pirouettes, shuffles and flaps, and some dance moves so innovative they don’t have names, demonstrated the artistry and energy of this … more

8/17/22

Be sure to check out the animal barn at the Embarrass Fair.

Embarrass Fair starts on Friday, Aug. 26

EMBARRASS- It’s time to get ready for the Embarrass Region Fair. This event has been held almost every year for over 80 years. It’s a chance to remember the area’s agricultural … more

8/17/22

Calvin Herrala, Ely’s oldest military veteran, was recently presented with a Quilt of Valor by Joan Novosel, of the Ely American Legion Post 258 auxiliary, and Michelle Sherwood, of the Quilts of Valor Foundation.

Ely pays homage to its veterans

ELY – Calvin Herrala, age 98, this community’s oldest veteran, was honored earlier this month with a Quilt of Valor for his service in World War II.Herrala and several other area military … more

Keith Vandervort | 8/17/22

A DNR crew member operates the recently-purchased air boat on Big Rice Lake. Cutting blades that hang out the back below the water line, slice off the leaf stems of the pickerel weed, setting the stage for a possible recovery of wild rice.

Big hopes for Big Rice

BIG RICE LAKE— For much of this summer, the roar of an airboat engine has regularly broken the sounds of nature that normally dominate the shores of this remarkable lake, tucked away in the … more

Marshall Helmberger | 8/17/22 | 1 comment

Drillers installing a new well at The Rock.

A short history of water on The Rock

You would think that when you live on an island and are surrounded by water that there couldn’t possibly ever be a problem with, well, water. Only here’s the rub. It’s all in the … more

April Wamhof | 8/17/22

New federal law will invest in public and private forests

REGIONAL— With President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act on Tuesday, the media has focused much of its attention on the big ticket items in the bill. Those include … more

Marshall Helmberger | 8/17/22

The moon speaks different names to different people

Call me a spoil sport, a curmudgeon, a sour puss, a grump, call me whatever you’d like, but I really do get annoyed, and have for years, at the media’s seeming love affair with, of all … more

David Colburn | 8/17/22

Lock him up

The same violent anti-government rhetoric that led to the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City has made a disturbing return to America in the wake of the FBI’s … more

8/17/22 | 1 comment

Obituaries: August 19, 2020

Frank A. Planton Frank A. Planton, 82, of Soudan, passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by all his family on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022. Funeral mass will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at St. … more

8/17/22

Sen. David Tomassoni, seated left, looks on as Gov. Tim Walz signs his bill providing $20 million for ALS research and another $5 million to assist caregivers for ALS patients.

Chisholm legislator David Tomassoni dies after battle with ALS

REGIONAL- Longtime Iron Range legislator David Tomassoni, who championed a bill this spring to bring new hope to people affected by the degenerative disease ALS, died from that disease Thursday … more

David Colburn | 8/12/22