Iron Range Archives - Perfect Duluth Day

The Slice: Olcott Park Greenhouse and Botanical Garden

Aug 23, 2023 No Comments

The Olcott Park Greenhouse and Botanical Garden in Virginia is open year-round during volunteer-staffed open hours on Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. It offers the chance to view a variety of tropical plants in the comfort and warmth of a unique green space during the long winter months.

In its series The Slice, PBS North presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

Videos Iron Range, The Slice, WDSE-TV - PBS North

Minnesota Historia: Boomtown!

Jun 01, 2023 2 Comments

The history of Minnesota’s Iron Range is full of boomtowns. That word usually refers to any town that grows rapidly due to economic prosperity. But in the case of Eveleth, “boomtown” took on a more literal definition. Twice.

Minnesota Historia is a PBS North web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.

History, Videos Documentaries, Iron Range, Mike Scholtz, Minnesota Historia, WDSE-TV - PBS North

Postcards from Sellers Mine, north of Hibbing

Feb 21, 2023 No Comments

The Burt-Poole and Sellers mines were the first to ship iron ore out of Minnesota’s Iron Range in the summer of 1895. In its first five years the Sellers Ore Company shipped 188,000 tons. By 1919 the figure had shot up to 8.9 million tons, according to the 1921 book Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota; Their Story and People by Walter Van Brunt.

Video: Sledding at the Laskiainen Finnish Festival in Palo

Feb 08, 2023 No Comments

Videographer Adam Jagunich took his drone for a winter flight in the small Iron Range town of Palo, about 40 miles north of Duluth, to capture sledding scenes from the 85th annual Laskiainen Finnish Festival last weekend.

When Blossom went to Hibbing and got bad directions

Apr 25, 2022 No Comments

Actress and Jeopardy! host Mayim Bialik was a guest on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on April 4. At about the 4:50 mark in the clip above she tells the story of traveling with her father to the Iron Range to visit their “personal Mecca, which is Hibbing, Minn., the birthplace of Robert Zimmerman — also known as Bob Dylan.”

Of course, the Jeopardy! question that would lead one to the place where Robert Zimmerman was born is “What is Duluth?” The Zimmerman family moved to Hibbing when Robert was 6 years old.

Videos Bob Dylan, Hibbing, Iron Range

Postcard from Third Avenue in Hibbing, 1921

Aug 06, 2021 No Comments

This postcard was mailed 100 years ago today — Aug. 6, 1921. The image shows Third Avenue in Hibbing looking north, including the Oliver Hotel at 422 Third Avenue. The card was published by T. C. Congdon.

Bob Dylan on Hibbing from 1966 Playboy interview

Jul 24, 2021 No Comments

Dude reads highlights from the 1966 Playboy interview. Dylan on Hibbing: @6:40-8:53.

Redhead Mountain Bike Park Overview

Aug 25, 2020 No Comments

Red Head Mountain Bike Park opened this summer on former Iron Range mineland near the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm.

Postcard from the Spruce Mine at Eveleth

Jul 29, 2020 No Comments

The undated postcard shown here is a scene from the Spruce Mine in Eveleth, about 50 miles north of Duluth. The card was published by David Milavetz News Company of Virginia, Minn. and produced by E. C. Kropp Co. of Milwaukee, Wis.

The Slice: Red Head Mountain Bike Park

Jul 27, 2020 No Comments

The Slice follows the recreation group Mesabi Outdoor Adventures as members try out the new Red Head Mountain Bike Park, built on former Iron Range mineland near the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, about 60 miles northwest of Duluth.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

Outdoors, Videos Bicycling, Iron Range, The Slice, WDSE-TV - PBS North

Postcard from Mesabi Open Pit Iron Mine in Virginia

May 14, 2020 No Comments

This undated postcard shows scenes from the Mesabi Iron Range, the largest of four iron ranges in northeast Minnesota. The card uses a spelling more often associated with a roadway in Duluth — Mesaba Avenue.

PDD Video Lab: Old Iron Range Footage

Apr 16, 2020 No Comments

In this edition of the PDD Video Lab we take a cruise through Virginia, Chisholm and Hibbing circa the 1960s with footage from Richter Home Movies set to the tune of Iron & Wine’s “Weary Memory” from the 2002 album The Creek Drank the Cradle.

History, Videos Iron Range, Video Archive, Video Lab

The Slice: Historic Hibbing Pipe Organ

Dec 11, 2019 No Comments

Victoria Lundberg Gornick shows off the 1,900+ pipe Barton organ in Hibbing High School’s auditorium.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

Music, Videos Iron Range, The Slice, WDSE-TV - PBS North

Steve’s Overpopulated One-Man Band – “Iron Ore”

Dec 02, 2019 1 Comment

Steve Solkela shares the musical story of his great-great grandfather’s journey from Finland to Minnesota in search of a better life. “It was backbreaking work down in those Minnesotan mines,” Sorkela writes on the YouTube description. “Many were injured, and many died; but of course, many were successful in feeding their families countless times and watching them grow to live beautiful lives.”

The video was shot over the summer at various locations across northern Minnesota, and edited using a free iPhone app.

Music, Videos Iron Range, Mining, Steve Solkela

Taps are flowing at Rapids Brewing in Grand Rapids

Aug 09, 2019 No Comments

Executive Chef Erik Halverson, General Manager Bill Martinetto and Head Brewer Darin Jensen are ready to spread beard and beer culture in Grand Rapids.

The newest brewery on Minnesota’s Iron Range has begun serving up suds. Rapids Brewing Company opened Aug. 2 for its first “Summer Sneak Peak Weekend,” with limited beer and food options. General Manager Bill Marinetto said he expects the business to be open seven days a week before the end of the month, and his target is next weekend.

Iron Range Posts