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Statewide Blog
Michael Olson

Ely mayor trusting mining industry “up to a point,” taxing Minn. skinny, gouged at MSP

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Ely mayor putting trust in mining industry "up to a point"

CBS News: Once a big supplier of iron ore to the U.S. steel industry, the mines of Ely closed in 1967 as demand for American steel dropped. Today the town relies on 250,000 tourists drawn to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area every year.

"It's a big part of our community. It's what brings a lot of people here," said Ely Mayor Roger Skraba. But, "Does it produce all the money Ely needs to function? Absolutely not."

And while mining can be a boom and bust industry with a sketchy environmental history, Skraba is willing to take a chance.

"I trust the mining company up to a point," he said. "Up to a point. Like I trust the government up to a point. I have to trust somebody."

Punched Out: the life and death of a hockey enforcer

"The toll on Derek Boogaard's life as a hockey enforcer was physical and mental" reports The New York Times in an expansive multi-media series.

Op-Ed: The case for taxing soft drinks

"We drink a lot of it. With a tax, we'd drink less. We'd be healthier. The state would make money," opines Roger Feldman in the Star Tribune.

MF Global collapse has Minnesota farmers bracing for impact

"The shock waves from the collapse of commodities trading firm MF Global Inc. are hitting hard across rural America, where farmers, ranchers and agricultural business owners are nervously waiting to learn how much money they've lost," reports the AP.

Delta's hold on MSP costs travelers

"Fares out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport featuring competition between Delta Air Lines and low-cost carriers have been 27 percent less expensive than those on Delta-only routes, according to a new study" reports the Star Tribune.

Test of health care exchanges begins today

Minnesotans will be able to test drive the state's future health insurance marketplace when several prototypes of insurance exchanges are made available online Monday for public review (MPR News).

With former deacon accused of sexual abuse, St. Cloud Diocese listens to accusers

The Catholic Church in St. Cloud has called for healing after allegations of sexual misconduct by a former deacon, and the St. Cloud Diocese held a public meeting on Sunday at which church officials wanted to hear from the community about other potential victims (MPR News).

5 DFLers vying for Senate seat vacated by Pogemiller

The bid to narrow the field for the Northeast district is one of two primaries Tuesday. The other is in south Minneapolis reports the Star Tribune.

UND Fighting Sioux name dropped as Gov. signs bill

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has signed a law allowing the state's flagship university to shed its 81-year-old Fighting Sioux nickname. The measure signed Wednesday will let the University of North Dakota satisfy an NCAA request that it drop the name or risk sanctions (AP).

Bachmann hopes organizational strength will pull her through Iowa

As Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann prepares for the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3, her campaign is hoping what she lacks in popular support she may make up with her campaign organization in the state. Much of the coverage of the race has revolved around candidates' standing in the polls. But the caucuses tend to be much more of a test of a candidate's organizational strength, rather than a popularity contest. The caucuses will be the first voting of the 2012 GOP presidential nomination process to determine who will take on President Obama next year (MPR News).

Bachmann on God, marriage

"The choreographed repetition of modern presidential campaigns can turn the most personable candidate into an endless loop of talking points. But any close observer of Bachmann's political career would be hard-pressed to dismiss her as two-dimensional" reports the Huffington Post..

@ktumulty
Karen Tumulty. Pawlenty at #gridiron winter dinner: "it bothers me a little to be beaten by sarah palin's stunt double." 1 day ago via UberSocial for BlackBerry · powered by @socialditto