Iron Range
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- For the former USAF Bomber base in North Queensland and the National Park, See Iron Range, Australia
The Iron Range and Arrowhead are overlapping regions that make up the northeastern section of Minnesota in the United States. "The Range", as it is known by locals, is a region with multiple distinct bands of iron ore. The far eastern area, along the shore of Lake Superior, and the far northern area, along the Canadian border, of the region are not associated with iron ore mining, and are collectively referred to as the Arrowhead region of the state. The total population of the region is 322,073.
The area consists of seven counties: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis.
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[edit] The Iron Range and its economy
From a geological perspective, the Iron Range in Minnesota includes these four major iron deposits:
- Mesabi Range, The largest iron range, largely within Itasca and St. Louis counties;
- Vermilion Range, northeast of the Mesabi, in St. Louis and Lake counties;
- Gunflint Range is in the extreme northern portion of Cook County and extends into Canada; and
- Cuyuna Range, southwest of the Mesabi, largely within Crow Wing County.
The large size of the Mesabi Range leads many Minnesotans to equate it directly with the Iron Range, in exclusion of the other, smaller ranges.
The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), sometimes known simply as Iron Range Resources, is an economic development agency funded partly by taxes levied by the state on taconite-producing companies and charged with creating jobs. Detractors consider it an example of pork barrel politics.
[edit] Geography
The area is one of several distinct regions of Minnesota. It is characterized by a mixture of deciduous forests populated by maple, oak, poplar, and birch, as well as areas of coniferous forest that include red, white, and jack pine, and various species of spruce. The area includes thousands of small lakes, and is home to the Chippewa National Forest and Superior National Forest.
[edit] Cities
The Iron Range contains several smaller cities. Some of the more significant communities in the region include
- Chisholm (pop. 4,960) lies near the center of Mesabi Range. It is the home of Ironworld Discovery Center, the Minnesota Museum of Mining, and the Iron Range Research Center. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, subject of the motion picture "Field of Dreams" (partially filmed there) settled in Chisholm.
- Crosby (pop. 2,299) is an old mining boomtown on the southwestern edge of the Iron Range, home of the Crosby-Ironton Rangers.
- Duluth (pop. 86,918) is the birthplace of Bob Dylan. Once, during the early 20th century, it had the most millionaires per capita in the USA. The port of Duluth allows for the iron ore to be easily shipped through the Great Lakes system. Recently tourism has become more prominent in the local economy. While technically not a mining town, it's prominence as a major shipping port for the Iron Range warrants its mention here.
- Ely (pop. 3,724), in the Vermillion Range, is perhaps best known as the most popular entry point for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
- Eveleth (pop. 3,865) briefly entered the news in 2002 when U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone and seven others died in a plane crash 2 miles away from the municipal airport. It was also the site of the conflict that resulted in the Supreme Court case Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. and the semi-documentary film North Country. It is also home of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
- Grand Rapids (pop. 7,764) is named for the local rapids in the Mississippi River, which was the uppermost limit of practical steamboat travel during the late 1800s. Today, those rapids are hidden underneath the dam of the Blandin Paper Mill, which has its papermaking facilities in downtown Grand Rapids. To the proximate north and northeast of the city are the iron mines, which are declining in importance today. The current economy has a large tourist footing, with many local resorts, golf courses, and excellent regional hunting and fishing. Grand Rapids is famous as the birthplace of entertainer Judy Garland.
- Hibbing (pop. 17,071) is the former boyhood home of Bob Dylan, basketball great Kevin McHale and the location of the Hull-Rust-Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine, which has the largest iron-ore pit in the world. Hibbing is also the birthplace of Roger Maris.
- Kinney (pop. 199) is an old mining boomtown on the Iron Range, located between Buhl and Mountain Iron. The City of Kinney seceded from the Union on July 13, 1977, to form the Republic of Kinney.
- Nashwauk, Minnesota (pop. near 1100) is a small town bewteen Grand Rapids and Hibbing, 4 miles from Keewatin. There are a few pit lakes in the area that now hold, bass, Lake Trout, and Northern Pike
- Mountain Iron (pop. 2,999) is home to Minntac, the world's largest taconite processing plant.
- Two Harbors(pop. 3,613) is the county seat of Lake County, Minnesota along the shore of Lake Superior. The town was historically an important port for loading and shipping iron ore from the Range. However, like Duluth, Two Harbors is not itself a mining town.
- Virginia (pop. 9,157) is the major retail shopping center of the northern part of the Iron Range, and has the Thunderbird Mall.
- Winton (pop 185). Once several times larger than Ely, Winton sits just 3 miles north of Ely, and was once home to a very large lumber mill and was a lumber boomtown.
[edit] Culture
The area has a recognizably Central European and Scandinavian heritage. A strong Minnesota accent is present in the area (which isn't present in southern Minnesota), especially among the older part of the populace, hence the popular nickname, "Da Range". See also North Central American English.
[edit] Politics
Although the area is mostly white and rural — conditions favoring the Republican Party — it has remained a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party stronghold because of the presence of laborers and farmers. In 2004, John Kerry carried most of the counties in the region by a comfortable margin. This was perhaps aided by George Bush referring to the area as the "Iron Ridge" in a campaign speech. The area remains the greatest Democratic stronghold in Minnesota along with the urban centers of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
[edit] Climate
The region is known for unrelentingly harsh winters, and pleasant, albeit mosquito-infested summers. The average year-round temperature is in the 30's °F (between about 2 °C and 4 °C). Temperatures below -40 °F/°C occur somewhere in the region during most winters. For example, statistics from the Midwestern Regional Climate Center climate summaries[1], record that Virginia has a mean annual temperature of 38 °F, with an average January low temperature of -6.2 °F (about -21 °C) and July high of 77.4 °F (25 °C). Precipitation there averages 27 in (690 mm) annually and snowfall 53.2 in (135 cm). Near Lake Superior, the temperature differences are somewhat less extreme.
[edit] External links
- Iron Range Beginnings with a map
- Mining Communities in Northeastern Minnesota with a map
- Mn DNR
- Minnesota Historical Society
- RangeCities.com - "The Hub of Minnesota's Iron Range!"
