Dylan Town: Minnesota Brown Talks About Life on the Iron Range and Its History, Past & Present (Part 2)

Minnesota's Aaron Brown

This is part two of a fascinating interview about the Iron Range with Minnesota Brown blogger/journalist Aaron Brown. Yesterday he shared some of the backstory about the expansion of the Oliver Mining Company that resulted in moving a third of the city (home and buildings) to a new location. He also shared how the culture shifted during the 20th century.

In this blog entry we'll look at the political landscape, including one of the biggest political issues facing the region, the battle between environmentalists and the mining interests as regards copper and other metals. Aaron Browns articulate insights will shed light on why these issues are not black and white.

A link to yesterday's post will be at the end of this one.

EN: The Northland once had a strong CPUSA component. During our Great Depression more than 10,000 people, especially Finns, were persuaded to join the future and go to Stalin’s Russia, primarily deceived by propaganda. How much did that happen here on the Range?

Aaron Brown: Yes, early 20th Century Iron Range mining communities had lots of socialist and some communist activity. And I've heard, more second hand than first, of some who left for Russia after the revolution. These were mostly Finns and they headed for Karelia, the region that borders Finland. There was already a large Finnish population there. Keep in mind, these were mostly people from Finland, who still spoke Finnish as their first language. I can't cite you dates or specifics, but I have heard that it proved to be a very bad decision for those who went. After about a year of living in a socialist utopia, with some American elements like baseball thrown in, Stalin grew wary of the Karelian Finns and threw most of them in the gulags. Some survived but most didn’t. It was a cautionary tale about revolutionary communism. These people who went were true believers in the cause. They didn't anticipate how quickly men like Stalin would consolidate power at the expense of the original ideals of the movement.

Humphrey campaigning for presidency, 1968.

EN: Hubert Humphrey made a name for himself by extricating the Communist Party USA from the DFL. CPUSA was a labor movement with strong roots in the Northland. Can you give a brief summary of that history for those who are not from this region?

AB: Of course, this is book. I’ll give you a paragraph.

When immigrants came from Europe to America, and then to northern Minnesota to find work, they brought with them many European languages and cultures. Some of them also brought political ideologies like socialism, anarchism, and communism and dozens of strains of all these movements. They were lured to America with promises of political and economic opportunity. When they realized that things here were surprisingly similar to conditions in Europe (and because they were too broke to go back) they set about to enact a democratic version of the same ideals they had been reading about back in Europe. Many who came to the Iron Range were already socialists. But, in time, they joined their own societies and clubs here as well.

The CP-USA was never all that big or important in local politics on the Range, but many immigrants were sympathetic to it. But the peak of socialist thought probably occurred before WWI and the first Red Scare, which caused Range miners to avoid talk of socialism for fear of economic reprisals.

Copper miners in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, 1905

EN: It’s my understanding that the Iron Range also has abundant copper reserves, but that there’s been an almost impossible barrier erected to prevent copper mining from occurring. It’s also my understanding that the environmentalists who oppose mining are opposed to gasoline powered cars and want more EVs. EVs are battery powered and copper is a primary resource required to make battery-powered cars. Is there no way to find a middle ground and have the mining and Green advocates find a solution that is safe and economically beneficial here?

AB: The chief barrier to copper mining in northern Minnesota is and always has been the cost of production. The general understanding that copper and other elements could be found in the region has been broadly understood for at least 80 years. The problem is that the ore is diffused within a vast amount of overburden and waste rock, requiring significant processing to extract. This has never been commercially viable. Nonferrous mining was seriously explored back in the 1970s with a large amount of political support. But that effort was abandoned because the companies doing the promising could never put the money together.

Some twenty years ago (!) talk of mining nonferrous minerals rose again, this time under the umbrella of PolyMet. In the aftermath of LTV’s closure in Hoyt Lakes there was a sucking void of political hopes and dreams, and this fit the bill. The argument was that by using new technology the company could crack the cost/benefit code to mine this site profitably. Not only that, they purported they could do it cleaner than any other copper mine in the world. Twin Metals joined in some years later promising the same near Ely.

Since then, most of what we hear about is related to the environmental risk of this form of mining. And that’s important, but not for the reasons most people think.

It might appear, for instance, that these mines would be running right now were it not for the obstinance of environmentalists. And it’s true that environmental opposition to these projects has been consistent, coordinated and, at times, effective. You might blame regulatory agencies like the MPCA or EPA for their cumbersome red tape and the piles of legal documents they collect and produce. But most of the longest delays have been related to asking the companies for cost-specific information that was withheld for strategic reasons.

PolyMet and Twin Metals are shell corporations, or what the business calls “junior miners.” There won’t be a PolyMet mine or a Twin Metals mine. Rather, there would be a mine run by a real mining company, probably Glencore and/or Antofagasta, respectively. Companies like these are cutthroat international wheeler-dealers. They won’t come in here with their billion dollars a pop unless they are getting a very good deal. So these junior miners, whose targets are really these big corporations, want to make these mines look as good as possible. That means vague permit language and non-binding promises about labor, production, and environmental impact. They don’t have to lie, they need only create enough gaps in the language for a company like Glencore to tear into vast chasms with their team of lawyers at some point in the future.

That’s why you see them talking about using union labor for construction (because all the local construction companies are union anyway) but not signing a non-compete clause with the United Steelworkers of America to seek to represent the workers in the eventual mines. The prior is an assumed cost, but the latter is something that would cost money down the line.

Chalcopyrite from Peru. 

Copper prices are low now and always volatile. It’s copper prices and cost of production that will really determine whether these mines open. The rest is rhetorical noise. Yes, demand for copper might increase going forward, but that assumes no other developments that might make copper wiring obsolete, or that recycling or other sources won't be able to provide what industry needs.

To your question, is there a way to mine Minnesota copper in an environmentally responsible way? The answer is yes, but that it’s very expensive and that efforts to make it less expensive in order to attract investors will lead to it being less environmentally responsible in the long run. The fear isn’t necessarily a large scale disaster while the mine is running — though that’s technically possible — but that the costs of mitigating the mine site after the mine is closed will be placed entirely on the state. Eventually, this would likely negate or even reverse the economic benefits of opening the mine in the first place.

EN: How long have you been writing Minnesota Brown?

AB: I’ve been writing this site since 2006. Prior to that I had used the site as a place to post my weekly newspaper column for the Hibbing Daily Tribune. (I left the Tribune in 2003, but continued to write a column on contract for them. In fact, I still do). But in the fall of 2006 I added the blog component.

EN: Thank you for taking time to share some of the insights you've gained during your life and career on the Range. 

Related Links
Karelia: A Finnish-American Couple In Stalin's Russia, 1934-1941
Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range
Minnesota Brown: Modern Life in Northern Minnesota
Dylan Town: Minnesota Brown Talks About Life on the Iron Range and Its History, Past & Present (Part 2)

One Evening, Many Insights @ #OneRiverMN

Last night we gathered for the second of several meetings in March for the One River, Many Stories project. The discussion topic for this week's panelists was Polymet: How Journalists Report On Tough Topics. I anticipated an excellent dialogue and was not disappointed. Special thanks to panelists Stephanie Hemphill, Aaron Brown and Marshall Helberger of the Timberjay Newspapers, and John Hatcher for serving as moderator for this week's discussion.

For those unfamiliar with the project, the overarching aim is to "See what happens when all the storytellers in one region turn their attention to one topic, the St. Louis River." Rivers are everywhere, and this is ours. What's intriguing is how this river connects the people of St. Louis County, which on a map consists of a vast region with seemingly disparate populations and demographics, yet runs through from its Iron Range headwaters to the shoulder of West Duluth.

UMD's John Hatcher introduces the panel.

On the table, front in center, the panelists had the task of answering this question: How do journalists navigate these kinds of polarizing issues, topics and themes?

For most of her career Stephanie Hemphill has served as news director at KUMD, and journalist for Minnesota Public Radio. She is now a freelancer. Aaron Brown is best known for his blog Minnesota Brown. And Marshall Helberger, along with wife Jody, runs three small newspapers serving the Iron Range communities of Tower-Soudan, Ely and Cook-Orr. We could not have had a better panel. (This last statement was opinion, not journalism.)

The timing for this discussion coincided with fresh news that cleared the way for the Polymet mining project to move a step forward and enter the next phase toward happening. The DNR yesterday ruled that the environmental review was adequate. The panel noted that Polymet supporters saw a victory and opponents saw it as a bump in the road. All agreed that journalism around hot topics like the Polymet mine has many challenges. "Accuracy is essential," Helberger said, noting that "misinformation spreads fast." He also stressed the importance of fairness and the importance of seeking common ground.

Though best known for his blog, Aaron makes his living teaching at a community college. He's grateful for his schooling and background in journalism which helped him to become a better blogger. One of Brown's credos is "seek to understand before trying to be understood."

The room was full as anticipated. Don't arrive late!

Stephanie Hemphill cited her three journalistic ruling principles as follows: fairness, seeking to understand and balance. She noted that sometimes presenting the fair and balanced perspective is difficult when one side refuses to return phone calls. "Companies that don't reply will look bad."

Hatcher's next question: How do you handle the polarization of views on an issue like this?

Hemphill said, "I try to maintain balance, not advocacy."

Helberger said they try to write for a general audience. They're aware that issues have diverse viewpoints. On a controversial issue like this one which has been so ongoing for so long, they know it is important to write about other things. This is not the only news story in the region. They also take pains to keep their opinions on the opinion page and out of the news.

Brown said, "It's different, but not that different, being a blogger. He emphasized the importance of being a person of good will. "When you mix news and opinion too much you will not perceived as a person of good will." It also gives more impact if he keeps opinions and reporting separate.

Hatcher zeroed in on some of Aaron Brown's recently expressed exasperation with the adversarial nature of the discussion on Polyment.

"It's frustrating because it's time to move on, to talk about other topics. This story has become an obsession for the whole region. [There's a] disproportionate amount of time spent discussing something that may or may not happen. There are many other issues that need to be talked about."

Ms. Hemphill, being Duluth-based, has not done many stories on Polymet, and added that "here in Duluth there are [currently] no issues that generate heat like Polymet does on the Range."

Mr. Helberger shared how getting people to sit around a table face-to-face in dialogue is useful. It's much easier to hate people you don't have to look straight in the eye.

When Aaron Brown writes he's aware that some of his readers are people he will be running into at the deli or grocery store. The Iron Range is a tight knit community. Families have been connected for generations. People don't like to disagree because they don't want to be disagreeable. "Polymet is portrayed as a political story, but I believe it is a cultural story. It's a set of communities that have strong identities with mining contrasted with people who perceive Northern Minnesota as a pristine getaway. There are two different [opposing] worldviews."

There were many additional comments and insights gained by the question and answer period afterwards. One gentleman from St. Louis shared how his brother had been a journalist in Viet Nam and missed one of the major stories even as it happened under his nose. Front row seats don't always give us the best view.

Personally, I am looking forward to seeing where this leads, and learning more about this river that feeds the largest freshwater lake in the world.