Star Tribune
On the Iron Range, the most evenly divided city in Minnesota simply doesn’t talk politics
“I was raised to be a Democrat, period. If you were a working-class person, you voted Democrat no matter what,” said Pat Lesemann, 37, an electrician at Minntac who plans to vote for Trump. “That’s changing now. The Democratic Party, they’re not looking out for the blue-collar worker.”
Shelby Karakas holds a photo of her group of friends who graduated from Roosevelt High School in the neighboring city of Virginia in 1966. The group had gathered at BG’s Bar & Grill in Mountain Iron, Minn. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Mountain Iron’s downtown used to be vibrant. But decades ago, the mines purchased downtown homes, knocked them down and mined the iron ore beneath. Now downtown has a few dozen homes but is mostly shuttered businesses, a post office and a vacant school. Action centers on the highway bordering Virginia or in newer development on the west side of town — a gleaming new school, a new subdivision of big suburban homes, a Wal-Mart-anchored shopping area.
The town’s biggest business success in recent years is indicative of change. On top of an old tailings pile sits a 90,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for Heliene, the third-largest solar cell manufacturer in America. The town that for generations was defined by the old-world mining industry has added 400 jobs in the new-world green energy industry.
As the former mayor of Mountain Iron for 18 years, Gary Skalko knows how jobs have determined the politics of the Iron Range for generations: The mining boom years that led to this becoming a DFL stronghold, the downturn that severed that connection, the Democratic embrace of environmental concerns that turned many miners against the party.
At 75, he’s still an old-school Range DFLer with a big Harris-Walz sign out front. When Skalko spoke at a Biden rally two months before the 2020 election, Trump fans protested. But things seem quieter now. Skalko has breakfast with a group of retired miners, mostly Trump fans, once a week at Village Inn, and political talk has become muted.
Still, politics can disrupt relationships. Skalko has been friends with Shawn Goerdt, a blaster at Hibbing Taconite, for years. In 2020 Skalko asked his friend, an ardent Trump supporter, to stop texting about politics. “Shawn, I’m not going to change you, you’re surely not going to change me, so knock it off,” recalled Skalko.
“It will still be pretty low, and it’ll set before the sky gets completely dark,” she said. “That’s the trade-off here. This weekend is when it’s going to be its brightest, but it’s also not in the sky when it’s dark,” Brummel said.
If you look to the west, you can probably see Venus, the really bright planet. Then scan to the right of Venus. If you have a pair of binoculars, just point them on Venus, and then slowly scan toward the right to see the comet, she said.
This comet is getting a lot of notice because it’s a rare comet that’s bright enough to see even through the light pollution of cities. A spot with a clear view of the western horizon, without trees or buildings in the way is good.
But the farther away from the city you get, with less light pollution, the better it will look.
Star Tribune
Minnesota Supreme Court rules that duty to retreat differs when someone else is under attack
The stepbrother told Gutierrez “calm down bro.” At which point, Gutierrez said, “I’m not your bro, bro,” and lunged at him. The stepbrother cracked him upside the head with his pool cue, swinging it “like a baseball bat.” Gutierrez stumbled, then continued attacking him. The stepbrother tripped over a pile of trash outside the garage and Gutierrez, a much larger man, climbed on top of him. He began strangling the stepbrother, smothering his face and punching him. Valdez testified that he knew Gutierrez was unarmed. His stepbrother was screaming in fear and begging Valdez, “Shoot him!”
Valdez came into the alley of the garage and shot Gutierrez once in the side.
Gutierrez screamed that he had been shot. Valdez told his brother to call 911 and Valdez called his mother. By the time paramedics arrived, Gutierrez had no pulse. A helicopter arrived to transport him but the flight crew declared him dead.
Valdez was charged in Renville County with second-degree intentional murder and second-degree unintentional murder. A jury found him guilty of unintentional murder.
At trial, the jury was instructed that Valdez, who was using a “defense-of-others” claim, had a “duty to retreat or avoid the danger if reasonably possible” before shooting Gutierrez.
Valdez appealed the verdict. The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the conviction and sent it back for a new trial. The State of Minnesota appealed that decision and it was sent to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
According to program details given to the City Council in September, 27% of St. Paul children live under the federal poverty level, $31,200 for a family of four. More than half live under 185% of the federal poverty level — a threshold used by the state to indicate the need for early learning scholarships. The committee formulating the St. Paul plan recommends covering the full cost of care for children under 185% of the poverty level.
In the program’s first year, the subsidies would likely help cover child care for 154 infants from some of St. Paul’s neediest families, according to estimates. By the 10th year, 650 infants, 1,169 toddlers and 1,096 preschoolers would be receiving child care subsidies, organizers said.
Noecker said 4,000-7,000 children up to age 5 will have been helped over the 10 years.
Fifty other cities across the country have voter-approved children’s funds, Noecker said, “And they’ve seen a lot of success.”
According to “Vote Yes” organizers, the average St. Paul home would pay an additional $16 in the first year, less than $2 extra per month. After the 10th year, when the program is fully funded, the average home would pay an extra $160 each year.
Records filed with Ramsey County show that, as of Sept. 10, the Vote Yes campaign has raised $65,380 and spent $26,880.20. The campaign had an account balance of $38,639.80.
