The beleaguered Excelsior Energy Mesaba Energy Project took another blow recently, as the federal government announced it is ending financial support for the proposal. The Duluth News Tribune's Peter Passi has the story.

This leaves the 11-year-old start-up company with the money it has collected so far, almost entirely from local, state or federal sources, to try to sell its proposed plant and/or energy to on the private market, something that even company admits is not immediately possible.

However, another of those sweetheart IRRRB clauses it won in recent years allows the company until 2019 to pay back its loans. This means they can wait and hope that better market conditions for a new natural gas concept allows them to build or sell the idea.

Waiting and hoping, the curse of 21st century Iron Range economic development philosophy.

But when the feds say its "not in the taxpayers' interests" to continue, that says something. We can now declare the original Mesaba Energy Project dead and only a more recent, smaller natural gas concept still alive, but in the most theoretical of senses. Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm) is "cautiously optimistic." I would argue that statement is neither cautious, nor sane.

Candidates for the State House seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Pike Township) will debate Aug. 7 in Virginia, Minnesota. All three DFLers, including Lorrie Janatopoulos, Jason Metsa and Dave Meyer, and both GOPers, including Jesse Colangelo and Dan Darbo, will participate in the debate.

This will probably be the last and best opportunity to size up the candidates before the Aug. 14 primary, which I discussed here last week. The House 6B debate will take place Tuesday, Aug. 7 from 6-8 p.m. at the Coates Plaza Hotel in Virginia. The event is organized by the Laurentian Area Chamber of Commerce and the Mesabi Daily News.

The city of Duluth and the surrounding area was hit hard by last month's historic flooding and then again when FEMA announced last week it would not provide disaster relief for individuals affected by the storm. But day-to-day life has largely returned to normal in the city, which is why Duluth has invested heavily in an advertising campaign to draw tourists back to the area.

Well, my family and I had planned a Duluth vacation well before the flood and decided right away that we'd stick to the plan. After years of industrial age decline, Duluth is breathing, growing and changing for the better. We wanted to support the Zenith City of northern Minnesota's Arrowhead Region. We try to get there once a year and our trip this year was probably better than any previous ones. While remnants of flood damage are evident in some places, travel in the city is easy and the major sites are all open.

We decided to include a portion of the North Shore on this trip. As residents of the Iron Range we took the overland route, which is what the locals do. You can cut through Makinen, Palo, Bassett, and Fairbanks and pop out in Silver Bay. It's a long haul and if you have young kids they will yell "booooooring." But adults in the car will enjoy the hilly scenery, hard woodland settled by the Finns when they were blacklisted from mines.

Our first stop was Split Rock Lighthouse north of Two Harbors. This was a major destination since our son Douglas recently announced that he planned to be a light house keeper when he grows up. We have tactfully held back the existence of GPS technology from him until he is old enough to handle the news. This is a remarkable historical site, a wonderful blend of natural beauty and the region's shipping history.


That's my son Henry walking on the rocks in the foreground. We continued on to Gooseberry Falls State Park, which was equally picturesque but also very hot (it is summer) and so we hurried on to Duluth and the Edgewater water park, which was kind of a big deal for the kids.

Now, in the spirit of the Olympics, international contests of strength and speed conducted by taut-bodied athletes the world over, I am not going to share pictures or further describe myself in a swim suit. I will summarize our stay as comfortable and very fun. It's a lot of work if your kids are younger (mine are 7, 5 and 5) but there is a nice hot tub for parents of kids who are able to do more on their own. We did not catch any diseases from the water park and it was very nice. Let's call that a win.

One of the highlights of the trip was something totally free, spending time down in Canal Park watching ships come in and checking out the Army Corps of Engineers Lake Superior Maritime Visitor's Center. Our boys loved watching the Lift Bridge go up and down and catching the ambiance of the harbor. In case you didn't know this, there are seagulls in Duluth.

The next day was site-seeing day. After some more waterparking, we visited the Lake Superior Train Museum. We went before Thomas the Tank Engine arrived (he's still there this week if you're interested. We saw Thomas last year and decided to try it with smaller crowds and more focus on the real trains.

That's Henry, Doug and George in front of the William Crooks, the first train to arrive in Minnesota and "Great Northern Railway #1." It pulled James J. Hill's personal cars for much of the tycoon's career. I drew a lot of inspiration for my Great Northern Radio Show from this visit. The boys seemed to enjoy seeing the engine cabs and the elaborate model train on display. One of these days I'll get to read all the little informational items on the walls there. I think that day will be when my children drop me off there on a field trip when I am in a home.

Next up was the Great Lakes Aquarium. This is a really nice facility with many stunning displays of the wildlife of Lake Superior. Several of their rotating displays include other kinds of fish. One of the nice things about the GLA is the number of interactive water activities for kids. Doug and George really loved the Great Lakes water table, which let them pilot boats through locks and dams to the Atlantic Ocean. Henry enjoyed the "wave maker," which lets you adjust the frequency of waves in water.

And hey, Duluth Mayor Don Ness has gotten a lot of attention for his work in moving the city forward and his response to the floods. On this random day of our random visit, we see the mayor involved in some kind of tour at the aquarium. He's everywhere! My boys think he's the mayor of everything because of how much he's on local news broadcasts.

The boys were exhausted after this, but we did manage to meet my sister for dinner and then some friends up at Enger Tower, the stony Norwegian spectacle perched atop Duluth's skyline. It's a little bit of a hike up the stairs, but the view is worth it.
 
Oh, there happened to be a sailboat race mingling with the normal shipping traffic at the Port of Duluth this day, so the view was even better. There was a group of Chinese tourists with us in the tower. We had to laugh because though we did not understand their language their tone of voice was identical to our boys' excited cadence. We're pretty sure they were saying some of the same things.

Back at the hotel we got to see a closer view of the ore ship and sailboats.


On our final morning in Duluth we stopped at the Lake Superior Zoo. Epicenter of the flood's damage, the zoo lost some animals in the flood and zookeepers had to retrieve an escaped polar bear and seals. The arctic exhibit is still closed for repairs (the animals are staying at the Como Zoo in St. Paul) and one of the trails is still damaged, but the rest of the zoo was open and functional. Morning is a good time to go because the animals are active and it isn't so hot outside.

You can see here that the creek that one month ago brought a torrent of water into the zoo has returned to its normal, beautiful self.

The zoo trip sealed the deal. I can heartily recommend Duluth in every possible way for a visit. The city represents a vision for northern Minnesota that includes the region's history and traditions, along with new industry, a vibrant arts community and plenty of activity for young families. I'd love it if some of that rubbed off on the Iron Range and, by golly, it just may.

This is my Sunday column for the July 29, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

Death and taxes can’t be stopped; unfairness can
By Aaron J. Brown

As the old saying goes, the only sure thing in life is death and taxes. But how you die and how you’re taxed is not inevitable. People’s choices make a difference. Here in Minnesota we must ask some serious questions about why government and taxation are becoming less efficient and effective for the century that lies ahead. While death may remain out of the purvey of human control, tax fairness is achievable. We know this because Minnesota has done it before.

Earlier this month, Myron Frans, commissioner of revenue, toured northern Minnesota, including stops here on the Iron Range. He carried with him a unique three-legged stool, one that no person would be able to sit upon safely. The uneven legs represent a growing problem in our state: how we pay for things is out of whack and increasingly unfair.

It works like this. For decades, the people of Minnesota have financially supported their state and local governments in three ways: the income tax, the sales tax and property taxes. There are other revenue sources, including fees and regional-specific taxes like the Range’s taconite production tax, but those are the big three. And for the longest time the three represented, more or less, about 1/3 each of the state’s revenue picture. However, in the 1990s and especially in the 2000s, that proportion began to change.

Frans said in the last decade, the tax blend has shifted to 40 percent reliance on local property taxes, 1/3 on the income tax and just 26 percent on sales taxes. The reasons for this change are many and the effects can be seen all around us.
For one thing, Frans said the political mood of the legislature in recent years has been to fix or even reduce income tax rates while cutting aid to local governments and schools. With Local Government Aid (LGA) and school funding on the ropes, communities and schools have had to increase property taxes, in many cases on the backs of people on fixed or low incomes who can’t afford the increases. Then last year the legislature cut the homestead tax credit for Minnesota homeowners, a double whammy of state cuts and inevitable property tax increases.

That, says Frans, is one of the main reasons property taxes have taken an increased role in funding government, something he says cannot be sustained in the future.

“We can no longer shift the burden of responsibility down to school districts and cities,” said Frans.

As property taxes have increased as a percentage of taxes, sales taxes have decreased, and it’s not because those taxes have been reduced. Rather, Frans said, the economy is changing. For one thing, since the recession of 2008-2009 people have been buying less than they otherwise would. But bigger than that, our entire economy is going through a transition from a goods-based model to one reliant on services. Services are taxed differently and often not at all.

So what does all this mean? Well, what I took from my conversation with Frans is that we have a series of unpopular choices available to us, the worst of which we’ll end up with by default if we don’t do anything.

We could increase state income taxes on high wage earners to pay back the money robbed from schools in the “shift” last year and possible ease the local property tax burden. We could expand the sales tax to services which would tax things we’ve never taxed before, like auto repairs, haircuts and ... writing newspaper columns as an independent contractor? Or we could continue to starve state government, watching high value suburbs adjust and small towns and urban areas suffer. That one is actually already happening and will only get worse through inaction.

Opponents of income tax increases for high wage earners often prefer to ignore the effect their policies have on local property taxes. “Don’t blame us; your city councilors and school board members did it.” That’s a very cynical approach. Minnesota became one of the nation’s healthiest, most prosperous states in the 1970s, even through the dark 1980s and into the ‘90s, because of tax fairness that factored in the cost of well-delivered government services at state and local levels.

If you want services cut and reduced quality schools, vote for that. But you’re not voting for a low tax utopia. You’re voting for fewer services.

There remains an honest reality to the tax situation in Minnesota. A tax is a tax, whether it comes from our house, our paycheck or our purchase. We are smart enough to figure out a fair system and let’s hope that happens soon enough to help the students and workers of the next generation.

Aaron J. Brown is an author and community college instructor from the Iron Range. He writes the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and hosts 91.7 KAXE’s Great Northern Radio Show on public stations.

Interesting. Former President Bill Clinton just endorsed Tarryl Clark in the MN-8 DFL primary. Clark announced the Clinton endorsement in the form of a fundraising e-mail.

Not sure what a personal endorsement does in this race. Rick Nolan has former Rep. Jim Oberstar, for instance. And Jeff Anderson has Northland native and comedian Maria Bamford, who was just on a very funny episode of "Louie" in which she has bad sex with Louie CK.

Really, this has been an unusual election.

Meantime, the DFL candidates debated last night in Grand Rapids. WDIO was there. Rep. Chip Cravaack was invited but the tone of the debate, focused largely on DFL primary issues, probably kept him away. As mentioned, he'll be on Almanac tonight.

UPDATE: I rather enjoy Jeff Anderson's response to this endorsement:

Duluth (Minn) – The following is a statement from Eighth Congressional District candidate Jeff Anderson in response to today's news that former president Bill Clinton has endorsed Tarryl Clark's campaign. 

"This endorsement perfectly encapsulates one of the primary differences between me and my competitors in this race.  While I have been talking to the people who live and work right here in the Eighth, my opponents have been racing all around the country to find outsiders like President Clinton to prop up their efforts. 

A simple review of this race's fundraising reports prove my point.  While I trail both in fundraising totals, they each trail me substantially in reported financial support drawn from the Eighth Congressional District.  While nearly half of my donors live and work in the district, and nearly all of it from within the state, Tarryl Clark has received less than two percent of her financial support from within the district, and Rick Nolan is under eight percent. 

There is a reason I have earned the endorsements of Tom Rukavina from Pike Lake, Tony Sertich from Chisholm, Don Ness from Duluth and Carly Melin from Hibbing.  

In the end of the day, I am more focused on winning the support of Wynona Clinton of Eveleth than I am the support of Bill Clinton of Westchester New York."  

The former president is just some friggin' guy from New York. That's hardcore Iron Rangerism.

Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) will appear on TPT's Almanac tonight, following up the MN-8 DFL primary debate last week. The visit should hearken the coming general election campaign. If you missed that DFL debate last week, check it out.

UPDATE: Here is video of Cravaack's interview:

With all the attention paid to the DFL primary in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District, state political watchers are missing out on an equally interesting DFL primary in State Rep. Tom Rukavina's soon-to-be former House district. For that matter, the new District 6B will also be home to one of the first Republican primaries in recent Range history as well.

I have a few thoughts on the candidates in this race, which I share below. I preface this with the disclaimer that I know two of the candidates fairly well, Jason Metsa since the 2006 campaign and Lorrie Janatopoulos since I was a teenager. I respect them both. This was a difficult post to write, but I did strive for fairness and honesty in my assessment.

Jason Metsa

Metsa is a union organizer in the classic sense; he has spent the last several years of his life organizing union political efforts on the Iron Range, including work on several pro-labor political campaigns. He comes from a long-standing Iron Range political family. His grandfather Elder Metsa was a well-known Mayor of Virginia. His uncle Paul Metsa is the well-known singer-songwriter. Other family members have run small businesses around the region where Metsa has worked over the years. If you've been affiliated with a DFL campaign that had business on the Iron Range, chances are you know Metsa.

Metsa fell short of the votes needed to win the DFL endorsement after Rukavina announced his retirement, but did come close. The 6B convention thus adjourned with no endorsement. But in rather large recent news, Rukavina himself endorsed Metsa this past week. This is probably the biggest personal endorsement one could get in this race, where political coalitions are still formed via old fashioned connections.

Metsa's strength is his campaign and organization ability. He works a room well and tends to win people over in person. His weaknesses come in questions over how he'd serve as legislator. Would he be an independent voice or one more tied to the central organization of Iron Range political, lobbyist and development leadership that continues to have a strong influence over Range politics? Like Jeff Anderson at the Congressional level, Metsa won a lot of Range support with a "mine first, ask questions later" approach to the issue of new mining east of the Range. I think an independent voice lies within Jason; but it remains to be seen how he'd demonstrate that if elected.

Lorrie Janatopoulos

Janatopoulos is also no stranger to organization, though her work has lasted a lot longer and occurred in a different realm. For years she's been the project manager for the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency, a public service organization that connects people in need to services. In essence, if there's some kind of problem -- home heating, lack of food or social services issue -- in a poor family's home, Janatopoulos has worked on solutions, often one-on-one.

She has the support of Ida Rukavina, daughter of the retiring representative, and has been friends with the elder Rukavina for decades. The Rukavina family is close, so the split endorsement here shows you just how tough this primary is for many DFLers on the Range.

Lorrie's strength is actually how she'd function as a legislator. With a depth of experience in state policy and how it affects real people, I can imagine her being a potent force in committee meetings and on the House floor. Her weakness is probably on the political side. She's been very outspoken on progressive issues and while she supports new mining she hasn't given developers a lot of lip service like most candidates do on the Mesabi. In the paternalistic world of Iron Range politics, she'll never qualify as a good old boy; she is very independent. Will her nontraditional candidacy be able to appeal to a very traditional Range electorate? That is unproven.

Dave Meyer, an Aurora construction worker, has also filed to run in the DFL primary. I spoke to him in May. His campaign has been very quiet, however. He did not speak at the local DFL convention, march in the parades or screen for any union endorsements, despite his union membership. So until I hear otherwise, I'm going to suggest that the race really comes down to Metsa and Janatopoulos.

It must bear mentioning that this primary is really an internal family disagreement. It would not have been uncommon to find Jason and Lorrie sitting at the same table at DFL meetings during previous campaigns. The fact that Rukavina the elder has endorsed Metsa, while Rukavina the younger has endorsed Janatopoulos shows that this is not as simple as a generational conflict, either. It has to do with whose style, organization and priorities will carry more weight in the Iron Range political world of the early 2000s. No small thing.

Some have said that the main advantage for Metsa is that with the Range losing political seniority and clout, a new representative needs to be in office a long time to gain that seniority and clout back, favoring a young representative. This argument was among the reasons Rep. Carly Melin won Tony Sertich's old seat back in a 2011 special election. (Metsa was Melin's campaign manager). I'd buy the argument if it came from young people, but young people on the Range are by and large concerned with the region's loss of culture, school quality and economic opportunity outside mining. The best candidate needs to address these things first.

But let's not ignore the elephant in the room. Mining. There is a litmus test within a litmus test on mining in Range political circles. You can't just agree to support the expansion of new mining, as both Metsa and Janatopoulos have; you have to preach it as the one true gospel. Metsa has done this. Janatopoulos has not. Is this what will decide the primary? I hope not, because both candidates can and should be judged on their other attributes as well.

In the Republican contest, endorsed candidate Jesse Colangelo of Eveleth, a registered nurse with a conservative, pro-union message is the favored candidate against Dan Darbo of Hoyt Lakes. Republican primaries are a bit of a mystery on the Range, however, where the GOP electorate is considerably more conservative than in other parts of the state.

Nevertheless, I expect Colangelo will prevail here to face a daunting but not unthinkable challenge in the general election. The degree to which mining politics could explode along with the MN-8 race in this general election should not be discounted.

Before the primary I'll invite the DFL candidates to share their thoughts on their candidacies to help people make an informed decision. I'll do the same with the GOP and DFL nominees in the general election. 

The famous St. Louis (Minn.) County Fair opens today at the fairgrounds in Chisholm and runs through Sunday. Dubbed the "Five Best Days of Summer" by, well, the people who run the fair, this spectacle is usually a signal of the end of another brief but memorable Iron Range summer. Find out more. I shared my thoughts about this fair in a post last year that you might enjoy.

Last week I spoke with my home state's Commissioner of Revenue Myron Frans as he made his way across northern Minnesota for a tax reform discussion tour. I always like to see the ways in which bland-seeming statistics can be applied to real problems in our communities. Frans and I had an interesting chat and you'll see the results in my Sunday column next weekend.

The picture above shows the visual aid Frans has used in his tour. Our tax dollars fund local and state government in three ways: property taxes, income taxes and sales taxes. For much of the 20th century the three taxes more or less balanced out at about 1/3 each. Recent policy changes and the evolution of our very economy from goods to services, however, have created an imbalance. Much more of government depends upon property taxes now and a lot less on the sales tax.

Because property taxes are regressive, which means they have nothing to do with your ability to pay the taxes, and because raising sales taxes would also be regressive unless counter balanced somehow, the state faces a real conundrum going forward.

If we want to maintain our current level of state services, something elected city leaders are insistent upon, something must be done. All the options are unpopular and political perilous. What will we do?

More on that Sunday.

Fans of northern Minnesota's music scene know well the progressive bluegrass band Trampled by Turtles. But have any of us ever contemplated what it would be like to actually be trampled by turtles? I think not.

The Consumerist has the story of 1,600 turtles who slowly escaped a Georgia turtle farm. Scrap metal thieves apparently absconded with the fencing and, well, turtles be turtles. I like how a turtle escape really is more of a demographic shift than a true "escape." Generations of turtles gradually make their way out into the world, colonizing different areas and cross-breeding with new genetic lines. In this regard, I am reflective of my family's "escape" from Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the early 1900s.

FYI: It's a buyers market for turtles. This guy's resigned disregard to losing his turtle farm population is remarkable.

Leslie Brooks Suzokamo of the St. Paul Pioneer Press penned this story about the latest attempted resurrection of Excelsior Energy's failed Iron Range power plant. As we've observed here before, the beleaguered decade-old start-up has proposed a natural gas plant now instead of its originally-planned coal gasification plant. Give the story a read.

Founded by a family of lawyers and lobbyists with Iron Range roots, this Twin Cities suburban-based company successfully won a vast amount of taxpayer and local Iron Range funding in the early 2000s, some of which went into the process of getting more public money through law firms with lobbying wings, the rest into a permit process that has hit obstacles with the company's ever-changing plans. The latest story paints a picture of a company on its last legs, now trying to compete on the open power market in economic conditions unlikely to provide them sanctuary.

My feelings are summed up in the Kirk Lyttle news graphic that accompanies the story:


Only I'd argue that the creature should be holding bags of money, because Excelsior hasn't actually produced any electricity, nor is such a thing likely.

I was a guest on the LeftMn Radio Hour with my blogging/speech instructor counterpart Aaron Klemz on AM 950 Sunday afternoon. I talked about the MN-8 DFL primary and the debate this past Friday on Almanac. You can hear the show in the embedded player below. My section is about halfway through.




UPDATE: Oops, now with Flash version.

This is my Sunday column for the July 22, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

We Support Ourselves; We Support Each Other
By Aaron J. Brown

We all remember how the year 2000 was once emblematic of the future. “In the Year 2000” was a phrase that meant “When we figure out our problems and enjoy a prosperous tomorrow.” The movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” showed us commercial flights to the moon and remarkable missions to Jupiter. Now, in 2012, all the year 2000 means is a time when the economy was better than it is today. Is 2020 the year we get to Mars? Is 2030 when the Iron Range is finally a secure, self-sustaining economic region? We shrug, and say “maybe.”

I’ve talked often of the economic changes going on here on Minnesota’s Iron Range as part of a larger shift in the workforce. Range mining jobs pay better and are more secure now, but there are fewer jobs available. Further, the strain on the middle class in this country continues to reduce the positive effects of a good salary, causing all kinds of political, institutional and social instability.

Beth Bily of Business North recently wrote about mining jobs in her publication as well as the Scenic Range News Forum. According to state employment data, mining jobs paid $356.9 million in 2011, up $70 million from the year 2000. However the impact of cost of living increases and spending power decreases makes that higher figure actually less potent.

One of the biggest reasons for this is the loss of raw jobs. Bily reports that an average of 4,245 miners did the work that 5,599 did in 2000. Remember, this is 2000, after the collapse of the 1980s. Nearly twice as many miners worked the ore formation in the late 1970s, albeit for less money.

Bily’s story speaks of new mining as one possible way we could see an increase in mining employment, but the 300 jobs at Essar and the 200 more that are possible at PolyMet (should PolyMet be permitted, which is not yet complete) would fail to seriously close the gap.

Around Hibbing one can easily find yard signs that read “We Support Mining” all over town. The other side of the sign reads “Mining Supports Us.” That’s a lovely sentiment, because mining really is a major part of the economy. But all the hand-wringing in the world over mining jobs won’t create the economic transformation necessary for the area to completely finish its recovery from the population and job losses of the 1980s. Not even close.

Economic development that relies on mining alone is economic development for some, but not for all. The region as a whole region needs more. Scores of low skill, undereducated workers are being churned out by our increasingly uncompetitive schools. The means to help these folks do better at community colleges is rapidly evaporating with rising tuition and reduced aid. Service jobs crop up to support the tourist and mining economy, but these wages and shifts remain woefully inadequate to raise families.

I’d like to print up some signs. “We educate our students.” “We believe in our future.” “We are in this together.” In short, “We Support Ourselves” on one side and “We Support Each Other” on the back. The Iron Range is reputed to be a place of smart, independent people. Let’s prove that. We are the keepers of a land of forests, water and resources. My goodness, we are better positioned than anyone gives us credit, ourselves included.

First you’ve got to train the workers. Then you have to create means of income and an environment supportive of entrepreneurship. Then you’ve got to bolster the public schools so that students 12 years from now are ready to compete at a world class level. This is difficult and quite likely expensive. Both innovation and sacrifice are necessary. But no candidate, plan or scheme that avoids these goals is worth a handful of taconite pellets. Democratic solutions, Republican solutions and independent solutions are all welcome. The absence of solutions is inexcusable.

Aaron J. Brown is an author and community college instructor from the Iron Range. He writes the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and hosts 91.7 KAXE’s Great Northern Radio Show on public stations.

On Friday night the DFL candidates for Congress in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District debated on TPT's statewide news magazine Almanac.

If you missed the debate, I encourage you to watch it below. Hosts Cathy Wurzer and Eric Eskola took candidates Rick Nolan, Jeff Anderson and Tarryl Clark through a series of questions about some of the top issues in the campaign, which hurtles toward an Aug. 14 DFL primary.

Though it was only 15 minutes, the candidates did manage to show some separation on more than just style, but a couple issues as well. The embedded debate video is below:



So many fascinating details in this debate.

• Nolan introduced his major mining and environment institute idea this week, but didn't mention in here. 
• Anderson was the only one to endorse the Cravaack mining amendment, but took a left hook from Nolan as a result in one of Nolan's best moments. 
• Anderson's passion in trimming mining regulations for job creation probably helped him among Range voters who see this. Did it hurt him elsewhere?
• Clark had the best answer about economic development and job creation outside of mining. She probably scored lowest on her personal connection to northern Minnesota and its history. She still just struggles to fight the outsider image and is often short on specifics. Don't get me wrong; this is politics and everyone is short on specifics some of the time, but she had to be pushed for an answer at least twice by the hosts.
• All three suggested revisions to the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," Nolan and Clark in the direction of single-payer coverage and Anderson less specifically toward efficiencies. 
• All three conceded the endorsement of the NRA by agreeing that the assault rifle ban should be reinstated. In the end that won't be a shock, because the NRA would certainly have endorsed Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8), the incumbent, anyway. But the DFL has enjoyed having an NRA-endorsed candidate in this seat for a long time. It's good for some votes here.
• Oh, and Cravaack was hardly mentioned. He didn't take nearly as many punches as you'd expect. So in that regard, GOP operatives were surely pleased with this debate, as they certainly are with this protracted primary fight. Cravaack gets a full interview on next week's Almanac.
• I'd score this debate in Nolan's favor, particularly for the primary electorate. Anderson did well and Clark did herself no damage. But time is ticking away. Just three weeks to go. Impressions formed now will stick. These candidates are out working the district. We will soon find out whose strategies were best conceived.

I'll be on Twin Cities AM 950's LeftMN Radio Hour with Aaron Klemz this afternoon from 2-3 p.m. talking about this debate and what lies ahead in MN-8. Tune in if you're down there or catch the archive at LeftMN. I don't do partisan radio often (or AM for that matter, sheesh), but when I do it's for the classy guys at LeftMN.

And if you would like another chance to see these candidates debate issues at greater length you can see another debate in Grand Rapids, Minnesota at 7 p.m. Thursday evening, July 26, at the Davies Theater on the campus of Itasca Community College. The event is sponsored by the Itasca Working Families Alliance and is open to the public.

I've resumed talks with Rep. Chip Cravaack's office and we are now looking to do the MinnesotaBrown interview with him after the primary. I am looking forward to that, as I'm sure are the many conservatives kind enough to read this blog despite my Red Finn heritage and public radio-producin' ways.

Amy Rea at the Flyover Blog recently visited the Iron Range. She wrote about it for WCCO as well. Sometimes seeing the place through a newcomers eyes can help us appreciate what the place has going for it, the impression it can leave.

On Aug. 14, DFLers in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District will vote for a party nominee to take on freshman incumbent Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8). The race has been heating up steadily. Tonight we might see some sparks as the candidates, Rick Nolan, Jeff Anderson and Tarryl Clark, spar in a live televised debate on TPT's Almanac on PBS. You can catch it locally on Channel 8 at 7 p.m. and, of course, on TPT in the Cities.

The Duluth based progressive bluegrass band Trampled by Turtles was on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson last night. Good stuff:

I'm late to the party, but I caught the recent buzz over Minnesota Public Radio's third-year, limited run show "Wits" and finally took in an episode of the comedy variety show. Hosted by veteran public radio anchor and all-around witty guy John Moe the program's June 30 episode was an enjoyable listen with some hilarious moments.

My favorite was this sketch featuring Moe, Amy Sedaris and show writers Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fame, a "Mad Men" spoof that plays on language and cliches.



Naturally, I can't think about a thing like this without wondering how it affects me. This is an affliction I have (no sympathy expected or requested). I wanted very much to dislike "Wits" because news that MPR/American Public Media is developing its next national variety show in-house means that my Great Northern Radio Show is unlikely to advance beyond status as an independent outsider. Besides, Garrison Keillor and his A Prairie Home Companion show no sign of slowing down. Keillor will likely host the show for years more. But in listening and laughing at Wits I also realized our programs strengths and possibilities as well.

Wits is the perfect kind of show for the hipper, educated millennial/Gen X set most likely to fuel NPR's future. Our Great Northern Show has something to offer that same demographic, but remains tied to place. We love Minnesota. We deeply understand northern Minnesota. We are interested in the outside world, too, and may go there with the show, but only if we get to tell stories about place. We make fun of our human weaknesses, but only with love for the place and the people whose shoulders we stand on. We would love to have celebrity guests sometime, but I rather like turning our stage over to extraordinary local young talents that might well become celebrities in their own right someday.

We are a painfully earnest smart-ass show, which is a way of saying that I am a painfully earnest smart-ass. Sorry about that.

So congratulations to "Wits," a show I certainly aim to listen to from now on. If you like "Prairie Home" or "Wits," you might like the new season of the Great Northern Radio Show, which kicks off Oct. 20 live from the Boardman Theater at Eveleth-Gilbert High School on 91.7 KAXE and rebroadcasts later on independent public stations around the state.

On Tuesday, I shared some statistical analysis of mining employment in northern Minnesota. Yesterday I heard from a friend in the industry of some different numbers, also from DEED:

(included part time, no benefits)   2000                   2011 (inflation equivalent)  2011 (actual)
Mines                                           $979                     $1278                                  $1617
Other Private Sector                    $531                     $693                                    $712
Difference                                    $448                     $585                                    $ 905

This shows how mining wages have greatly outpaced other private sector wages in the region, now by almost 50 percent. These don't change the other numbers, but show a different side of the story. If you ever wonder why these jobs enjoy such strong local support, this is your answer. Mining jobs have become the best jobs in the region for most workers.

UPDATE: The Duluth News Tribune has a story on this topic, "It's Boom Times on the Iron Range." And it is, for mining jobs. In case my argument confuses anyone, my argument is not against mining but rather for the diversification of our economy so that our communities are healthier in the future.

Meantime, on the western edge of the Mesabi, this is the most adorable story you'll ever read about a sinking riverboat full of theater-goers. Captain Dan even stayed in character.

Everyone is fine and it would appear that the 47-year-old "Mississippi Melodie Showboat" has been restored to its normal working condition. Such is life in the theater and also on the river.

Iron Range street dances get a little rough sometimes, but seldom this rough. Last weekend's Hibbing Jubilee Street Dance boiled over into a melee that may have had racial overtones. This is from Mark Stodghill's story in the Duluth News Tribune:

“It’s supposed to be a fun family event and it’s been a great event for our city,” [Hibbing Police Investigator Dale] Wright said of this year’s Hibbing Jubilee Street Dance. “It brings people from outside our city. There’s a parade, stock car races in the evening hours, three bands playing. This incident just got out of control. I haven’t seen anything this serious in all the years I’ve been working the street dance.”

They're still sorting out the exact nature of the incident, but six were arrested. Additional arrests were made across town for other incidents, all of them typical to street dances.

Meantime, the hometown Hibbing Daily Tribune put on a brave face with the subhead: "Average year for number of incidents, arrests." Nothing to see here! Just another possibly racially motivate beating and counter-stabbing, and/or stabbing and racially motivated beating. Or maybe it wasn't about race. Maybe it was about politics. Can we ever really know such things?

Did you know my wife and I hit it off at the Hibbing street dance 14 years ago? It's true! We often remark on the miracle that we found each other there.

Kate Angus, a Michigander writing for the popular borderline alcoholic snark blog The Awl, has done a fine job telling the story and the makings of the pasty to her jaded audience (myself among them). Her perspective on the pasty comes from a fine source, her upbringing in Michigan where the Upper Pennisula pasty is a mainstay in pasty culture. The pasty, which originates in Cornwall, England (just as the Browns did), moved out into the world with its emigrant miners.

Here in northern Minnesota, pasties arrived with the miners, many of whom were in Northern Michigan in the decades prior to the discovery of reachable iron ore in Minnesota. One-hundred years later,my little school still made and sold pasties as a fundraiser for the band, with the Cornish dietary stable long having been adapted by Finns and the many other ethnic groups who settled here.

Angus' post is replete with fun trivia and observations about the pasty, and you should check it out.

This morning Rick Nolan and Jeff Anderson held dueling press conferences on mining issues at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth as their race for the MN-8 DFL nomination rolls to an Aug. 14 primary election. Tarryl Clark is also running on the DFL side. The winner will face incumbent freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) in one of the nation's most competitive congressional races.

Nolan, the DFL endorsed candidate, issued a detailed policy proposal to create a major mining and environmental research facility in northern Minnesota. According to Nolan, the United States Technical Institute for Mining and the Environment (TIME) could employ up to 1,200 people and foster new mining innovation across the region. He said he's spent months preparing the details, modeling his idea after a similar coal mining-focused site in West Virginia.

Here's Nolan:

"As Minnesota’s next Eighth District Congressman, I intend to lead a national effort to advance mining technology in the United States. Building our nation’s mining industry while protecting the environment and the safety of our miners is an absolutely essential public policy challenge for America, as well as for our great mining regions here in northeastern Minnesota,” Nolan said. “The US Bureau of Mines was closed by the Congress in 1996. Since that time we have done little to help our domestic mining industry or the environmental community to solve the difficult issues we face as a nation in developing our strategic mineral resources."

Former Rep. Jim Oberstar, a Nolan supporter, added:

“Rick Nolan is onto something big here. This minerals institute will excite the imagination of the region’s young people, offering them hope for the future; it will complement the UMD School of Science and Engineering, the fastest-growing in the nation; it will nurture long needed public-private partnerships in mining and minerals processing; and the institute’s work product will help immensely to secure Northeastern Minnesota as a reliable source of non ferrous minerals as well as iron ore. This is an exciting initiative for the future of our entire region.”

Anderson, a Range native and former Duluth city councilor, has been running hard on the premise that he is the DFL's most voracious supporter of new mining projects in northern Minnesota. He issued a "mining challenge" to his opponents last weekend in which he demanded more clarity on Nolan and Clark's mining positions. Then, when Nolan scheduled a press conference yesterday to do just that, Anderson scheduled one in the same location 45 minutes earlier.

Said Anderson:

While I support the idea of doing more research into evolving mining technologies, the people seeking jobs in this district cannot feed their families with studies. They need jobs. Good, livable wage jobs.

Last week I challenged my opponents to join me in supporting a plan to streamline the mining permitting process and hold off on setting a permanent sulfate standard until the study which is currently underway gives us a true scientific base from which to work. We absolutely need to protect our land and water, but to hold mining operations to sulfate levels that are drastically below those of nearby waste treatment and agricultural facilities is simply not fair to the members of our idled workforce.

Anderson argued he is the only DFLer who has agreed to streamline the permitting processes and "normalize" the allowable sulfate discharge levels. He said the NRRI already does a large amount of mining research and that those law changes are the only way to create jobs.

One of the risky bets Anderson has made in his focus on mining is that while he's been very vocal and probably spent the most time wooing Range votes on the issue, Nolan and Clark's stated positions are similar. In fact, all the candidates have a similar position, including Cravaack. They want to permit the mines so that the new technology can be demonstrated as safe and open up a new era of mining in the region.

Anderson is more specific, but that comes at a price. The winner of the election must piece the DFL coalition of labor and environmentalists back together for a run at Cravaack, which is why Nolan and Clark have been more careful in their wording. Meantime, Nolan has put a substantial project out on the table, one that's open to some criticism for spending but that would also create jobs.

UPDATE: Tarryl Clark has added a statement:

"As an advocate and as a leader in the Minnesota Senate, I fought to protect and create good jobs for Minnesota workers. That consistent record is the reason that the United Steelworkers have endorsed me in this race and are actively campaigning with me across the Northland; the steelworkers are the backbone of the mining industry in Northeast Minnesota and they are supporting me because I have always stood with them. They know I'll fight for them and their jobs in Congress."

"Fostering economic development and new jobs- through workforce development, smart investments and increased public-private partnerships- is an urgent priority for Northeast and Central Minnesota. With the right advocate in Congress, we can build on our past successes and lead the world in 21st century mining that creates good-paying jobs while remaining responsible stewards of our environment. I have always supported an efficient and effective permitting process which guarantees protections for our workers, our water and our air. In Congress, I will continue to work on improving this process."

Tarryl Clark continues to campaign throughout Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District to unseat Freshman Tea Party Congressman Chip Cravaack. Clark’s twenty-four years of work on behalf of Minnesota’s seniors, children, veterans, and families, and unmatched funding make her the strongest candidate to win in November. Since leaving the Minnesota Senate, Clark serves as the national co-chair of the Jobs! 21 Initiative with the Blue-Green Alliance, where she continues working to create good, sustainable jobs in Minnesota and around the country.

So, Aug. 14 then.

Minnesota based and Duluth born progressive bluegrass band Trampled by Turtles will appear on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight. The show airs at 11:35 p.m. CST on CBS. In northern Minnesota that's Channel 3 over the air.

The band continues its breakout year, which has meantime elevated the status of northern Minnesota's music community.

I wish money weren't such an overwhelming influence on American politics. I intend to change that. And, to ensure that I do, please send me a check for $2,300. Oh, yes. I'll take your calls when I win. We're friends now!

Democrat or Republican, union political chief or conservative business owner, this conversation plays out mostly the same way across the spectrum. (Though we could quibble about which side is actually capable of turning out the most dollars in such a fashion). And here in northern Minnesota this reality of the American political system is making its first test run.

See, since 1974 the district had largely been written off as a fortress for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and their standard-bearer, Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN8). But with Oberstar's defeat to conservative tea party supporter Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN-8) in 2010, this district now enters the modern age -- where political gladiators do battle for air time and influence.

Oberstar had quite a war chest going into his final ill-fated campaign, but it was mostly money raised through Washington osmosis. As chair of the powerful House Transportation Committee he rarely had to ask for campaign donations. They came. And, until 2010, no one thought he could lose and he rarely had to spend much. This is very different from the current environment in which everyone knows there will be some bloodsport ahead and candidates desperately need funds to compete.

In fact, it seems that the normal "in-district" fundraising network for MN-8 badly lags other "swing" districts. People here just aren't used to speaking with their wallets. In fact, this may end up being the systemic disadvantage that follows the DFL here even as the district political index might lean a gentle shade of blue.

Politics in Minnesota sums up the tale of the (ticker?) tape in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District campaign fundraising for the second quarter:

CD 8: GOP incumbent Chip Cravaack raised $387,000 and has nearly $900,000 on hand. Tarryl Clark led the trio of DFL challengers, reporting $210,000 raised and $259,000 in the bank. DFL endorsee Nolan took in $128,000 and has $93,000 cash on hand, while Jeff Anderson reported raising $50,000 and $18,000 on hand.

One thing seems apparent. Cravaack and the GOP are ready for the campaign ahead, one being described as among the nation's most competitive House races. Clark has shown the most proficiency at raising money among DFLers but her fundraising appears to have plateaued. Nolan has raised some, but not what you'd expect from the endorsed candidate. Anderson has raised the least, yet seems to be making a go of it. But $18,000? Even if that were Canadian currency that's just not enough. Will the winner of the DFL primary on Aug. 14 be able to raise the million dollars one would hope to have for such a race?  

 Oh, boy. We've never tried that up here in the woods before! 

In short, we'll see. It's possible many donors are waiting for the primary to determine Cravaack's eventual opponent. It's possible, too, that the money just isn't there. It's in the Twin Cities, D.C. New York and out West.

If you'd like some interesting, if depressing, reading on what this system of campaign finance is doing to our democracy check out this item from Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire.

Earlier today Rick Nolan, the DFL endorsed candidate for Congress in MN-8, announced he would be holding a press conference at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth regarding a new mining policy proposal he's been working out. The presser was scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

Now tonight, Jeff Anderson, one of Nolan's two opponents in the primary, announced he'd be holding a mining issues press conference at 9:45 a.m. at the same location.

I've talked to Nolan tonight, but he's not releasing his plan until 10:30 a.m. I have no knowledge of what it is. Anderson has made his vocal support of mining a calling card in this race and it would appear that two things are happening:

• The NRRI is set to release some kind of report that shows something of importance regarding nonferrous mining in northern Minnesota.
• Jeff Anderson doesn't want Nolan's mining proposal to get all the headlines.

I haven't heard anything from the Tarryl Clark campaign but they'll surely be up and running with their ads touting her United Steelworkers union backing tomorrow. I'm sure she'll have comments as well.

The quick scrum over this issue shows me that mining will probably end up being the pivotal issue in the primary, with implications that extend into the general as well. Incumbent freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) is getting fawning praise from the Iron Range's largest (and most unremittingly pro-mining) newspaper, the Mesabi Daily News, for his work on the issue.

I'll try to sift through the news as quickly as possible Wednesday and let you know what it all means. I had already scheduled a post on the money race in MN-8 for tomorrow as well, which will surely add to the enjoyment of the wide-eyed political watchers who keep this little blog in business.

A story by Beth Bily in the July 12, 2012 print edition of the Scenic Range News Forum contained the following nuggets of data regarding mining jobs on Minnesota's Iron Range.

Total Minnesota Mining Wages
2011: $356.9 million (up 25 percent gross, down 7 percent adjusted for costs)
2000: $286.8 million; (adjusted for costs): $383.3 million

Total Minnesota Mining Jobs (average)
2011: 4,245
2000: 5,599 (down 24 percent)
I'll add one of my own not from the story:
1980: Approx. 15,000 (down 70 percent)


Now, those of you old enough to remember the Range in 1980 might not recall it being an economic paradise. I was a zero years old then. I remember enjoying the shag carpeting so common at the time. Nevertheless, it bears mentioning that trying to back-fill our economic losses since with mining jobs alone is a theory that uses 1980 as a best case scenario.

I'll be talking about this theme for my Sunday column in the Hibbing Daily Tribune, which you can read early Sunday at the paper's web site or later that day here at the blog.

Yesterday the DFL launched biographical ads for Rick Nolan in the MN-8 DFL primary, finally putting the endorsed candidate on the air. A DFL insider I spoke to expressed some confidence Nolan will win the primary, but I continue to believe that no one really knows until Aug. 14. Nevertheless, this is a clean, sharp ad showing Nolan in a variety of heroic northern Minnesota poses.



I wrote about the ad wars late last week. Though more ads are likely from all candidates, it appears that Clark has put up the best-produced offerings. The question remains, however, how much these ads will sway the voting public in a district famous for person-to-person political networks.

The winner of the Aug. 14 DFL primary will face freshman incumbent Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) in one of the nation's most watched congressional races.

UPDATE: Interesting press conference by Nolan tomorrow. Text:

Rick Nolan, the DFL-endorsed candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 8th District, will make a major announcement regarding the future of mining and environmental technologies research in northern Minnesota and across the United States tomorrow, 10:30 A.M. Wednesday, July 18, at the University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute.

This is my Sunday column for the July 15, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

To age firmly like the mighty oak
By Aaron J. Brown

The other day I went into a coffee shop to do some work on my computer and I noticed that the row of seats by the power outlets were almost entirely occupied by young, attractive women. One seat remained. I sat.

Attractive women have always intimidated me because I have resembled a middle aged father figure since I was 14 years old and that pretty much explains how high school went. My attractive wife managed to ignore my awkwardness long enough for me to get over it, so I’m married but still awkward in a general sort of way.

Now, however, I find that not only is the appearance of attractive women disarming to me, but their age. I am 10 years older than many attractive adults and this isn’t going to get better. Indeed, this is going to get much, much worse. Because there are always more young people but you never get younger. We’re on the Ferris wheel and it’s great, but they’re loading new people on now and you know they’re going to be on the Ferris wheel after you get off and when is that? Soon? If it’s not busy they might spin you around five, six extra times but if the line gets long, who knows? The guy with the levers. He decides.

People tell me I’m too young to think about things like this but I’ve thought about things like this since I decided that comfort was the most important thing about pants. That happened far earlier than it should have. There’s a line in “It’s a Wonderful Life” where George Bailey’s father tells his son, “You were born older.” That was me, too. Not so coincidentally I’ve found it impossible to leave the place I grew up, and endeavor Quixotically to “save it” from a dystopian future. Mr. Potter is everywhere. He is not a man. He is a matter of physics.

We had a big storm a couple weeks ago, maybe you heard about it. Trees down all over Itasca County, especially over in Grand Rapids. There are only a few ways to describe a storm that knocked down thousands of trees and if you live over in Itasca like me you’ve probably heard them all by now.

Well, I overheard two retired guys at the YMCA talking about the storm and the conversation followed all the typical patterns. But the way it closed was an indication to me why I cannot and must not ever retire. They were talking about the different kind of strong, healthy trees that had nevertheless fallen victim the storm’s wrath. One guy says, “And you know what, out of all those trees I didn’t see one single oak come down. Not one.” So the other guy says, without a trace of irony and in complete, unremitting sincerity: “I guess that’s why they call it the mighty oak.”

I told Christina this and she said that the comment was “cute.” A classic old man comment.

I heard this same comment and heard the distant rumble of thunder, a new storm of decades, capable of uprooting all it touches. My goodness, that could be me. I could say something obvious in response to something obvious and not because I was being polite, but because I think it would be a good idea.

Cold out there. Hot out there. You know what they say about politicians. You know what they say about keeping busy.

You know what they say. They say it. And it is so.

I can’t pull off a midlife crisis, not in these pants. I am left with my thoughts. The wind blows gently up on this Ferris wheel. Let me linger here. Then spin me. I do not mind if the spinning lasts longer than usual.

Aaron J. Brown is an author and instructor of communication at Hibbing Community College. He writes the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and hosts 91.7 KAXE’s Great Northern Radio Show on public stations.

"It's quiet."

"Yeah, too quiet."

We all know that movie cliche. This dialogue always comes before some sort of inevitable action sequence that we saw in the film's trailer. And in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District it is most certainly quiet, too quiet, as the Aug. 14 DFL primary to challenge incumbent Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) this fall approaches.

MN-8 is a wide swath of woods and waters in northeastern Minnesota, home to storied DFL proving grounds on the Iron Range and in the city of Duluth. It was long considered a DFL bastion under the 36 years of representation by Congressman Jim Oberstar until he was defeated by Cravaack in 2010's biggest Congressional upset. Part of the reason was a sharp rightward turn in conservative central Minnesota precincts added to the district in recent years, but lower turnout and a slightly lighter shade of blue on the Range also played a role.

In looking to the MinnesotaBrown series about the race published last year at this time, it bears mentioning that very little has changed since then. Everything that was expected -- Rick Nolan winning endorsement, Jeff Anderson running as a "homegrown" candidate and Tarryl Clark raising much more money than the others -- has happened. No one candidate has broken out as front-runner; their strengths have kept them in the race while their weaknesses won't really be tested until people go into the booths to vote.

One thing is certain. Cravaack is a strong candidate who is saving his money for the fall. He'll have plenty of outside help on advertising (the DFL will have some help too, but probably less). The only thing vulnerable about Cravaack is the district he represents, which is much less conservative than his voting record. Nevertheless, Cravaack has done a workmanlike job of constituent services and outreach, while becoming identified with popular regional issues like new mining near the eastern Iron Range.

In fact, it must be said that Cravaack is having a damn good summer, politically speaking. Yesterday, the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 49, endorsed Cravaack after screening him along with the three DFLers. This is not unprecedented, but labor endorsements of Republicans in MN-8 are very rare. The 49ers include many workers on the Iron Range, including the hundreds of new workers at Magnetation.

National political services rate the race as a pure toss-up, and conditions on the ground bear that out. In fact, this news would suggest that the eventual DFL nominee needs to have a very good game plan if they hope to win.

Endorsed Nolan has advantages, but needs to finish strong

When Rick Nolan cruised to the DFL endorsement last May his campaign saw an infusion of interest and energy. State DFL leaders have rallied around him, including former Rep. Oberstar, and Nolan now has access to DFL staff and voter data, resources that don't guarantee victory but probably are worth 5-10 points on election day.

Nolan has been pushing hard across the district, but so, too, are his opponents. Though he has outraised Anderson, the endorsement has not translated to the kind of fundraising success that Clark has seen. Interestingly, he hasn't been on TV yet. He missed an opportunity to introduce himself to the sorts of voters who don't follow DFL party workings. Word is he has ads ready and plans to deploy them closer to the election. But Nolan runs the risk of missing voters who might make up their minds earlier. It will be interesting to see what he's raised when his second quarter report comes out soon.

One thing in Nolan's favor, though, is his ability to counteract his biggest weakness, his age and the long gap in his political resume since he left Congress in 1981. He is an energetic stump speaker and campaigner, who fits in comfortably with one of the DFLs biggest constituencies -- traditionals and baby boomers.

Anderson stresses district roots, but needs blowout numbers from Range, Duluth

Jeff Anderson is running a sort of downhome campaign that sometimes seems better suited for a State Senate race. It remains to be seen if that's a disadvantage or some sort of brilliant strategy. The Eighth is a fairly traditional, parochial place and something about Anderson's style might seem comfortable to many voters, particularly his strong voicing of support for new mining in the area. He also seems to be getting the most support from the region's young leaders, folks like Duluth mayor Don Ness, Rep. Carly Melin and IRRRB Commissioner Tony Sertich and their political networks.

Anderson has been telling people that a high concentration of DFL primary voters are located in the northeastern counties of the district, loosely speaking the Range and Duluth. An Ely native and established Duluth business leader, former city councilor Anderson has focused very narrowly on these areas and, by appearances of signs and local endorsements, is likely to do well here.

However, Anderson needs to do better than well. To overcome Nolan's advantages in the southwestern precincts Anderson needs to crush the field on the Range and in Duluth. He's trying, and he's was up for a couple weeks with an ad that shows you how:



Anderson also did a particularly good job with handling the flood in his hometown of Duluth, suspending his campaign and focusing his fundraising efforts toward flood relief.



Anderson faces long odds, but is using a strategy that is distinct from the others. High risk, high reward. Of all the candidates, Anderson is the one whose win depends most on a three-way scrum.

Clark downplays glaring weakness, stealthily eyes the prize

Tarryl Clark remains the biggest threat to the endorsed candidate in the MN-8 DFL primary. The former St. Cloud area State Senator turned Duluth-based labor issues organizer holds a major advantage over her opponents in fundraising and paid media. Yesterday she announced a second quarter take of $232,128, which is large by MN-8 standards and respectable by most other standards.

Like Anderson and Nolan, Clark has maintained a ferocious schedule of local events. But most notably she's been maintaining a local TV ad blitz that includes three well-produced, positive messages.

Clark's most recent ad features her husband Doug:


Before that was an Iron Range steelworkers ad:


Clark's introduction ad started in mid-June:



Clark's biggest weakness, the fact that she lived and ran for Congress in a different district less than two years ago, remains her albatross, an issue that will certainly enter the fray in November (though, to be fair, Cravaack's family lives in New Hampshire now and that might neutralize the issue).

I must admit that I once viewed Clark's move as cynical, but seeing her in action I would now characterize her move as opportunistic (Neither word is particularly endearing, but there is an important distinction). Only because the DFL establishment in MN-8 wasn't ready to leave the Oberstar era is Clark even in this race and among the race's most competitive candidates. She wants to serve in Congress and, because she has some understanding of the region through her past work, including Steelworker support, she's running here.

I can imagine Clark falling short of expectations if criticisms stick, but it's easy to imagine her winning as well. If she does it's because she's running the biggest national-style congressional campaign in the field.

What could break the log-jam in this race?

You know, it looks close and I don't know what would change that. A credible poll with legitimate cross-tabs could show one of the candidates, most likely Nolan or Clark as a far-and-away front-runner. One of the candidates, perhaps Anderson, could be shown as the most competitive with Cravaack in a similar fashion.

This is unlikely, however, and perhaps not even a correct assumption. No one is aware of any non-campaign polling going on in the district and even the campaigns aren't stressing internal polls anymore. Truth is, the name identification of the candidates is quite low and polls won't reflect the behaviors of low-information voters who show up for their city or county primaries.

The reality is that for two years of nonstop blathering, fretting and campaigning, this is an instance where DFL voters in MN-8 will have their say and only then will we have the data needed to better understand this district in the 21st century. In November, we'll have the whole story.