Op/Eds - The Timberjay

Holiday humor, aggravation, and all that glitter

I was curled up on my sofa a couple weeks ago, listening to some instrumental Christmas music and appreciating my tree lights and my cats, thinking ahead to having a relaxing Christmas holiday to be … more

Scarlet Stone | 12/21/22

AI is getting too smart for our own good

You’re all probably channeling Ronald Regan’s classic debate line “There you go again” as you realize I’m writing once again about artificial intelligence, but I just … more

David Colburn | 3/27/24

The effects of climate change on post-corporeal humans

REGIONAL- Climate change has been impacting many different people across the globe. Given the small but non-trivial population of post-corporeal humans in the Ely area, the Timberjay reached out to … more

Catie Clark | 10/25/23

Are we in need of new role models?

I love libraries because I can wander the aisles and just browse, inviting that unexpected book title to jump out at me. I’ve certainly browsed online retailers and the Arrowhead Library … more

Betty Firth | 10/25/23

The long slow fall into obsolescence

It’s been one of the hallmarks of the most dire dystopian science fiction that human productivity in its many forms will gradually be replaced by sentient machines, robots and computers that … more

David Colburn | 10/12/22

GOP claims are historically wrong and needlessly divisive

While I knew that the minority caucus in each legislative chamber disapproved of the new official state flag because of shared concerns about process, the claims in a recent press release from … more

Aaron Wittnebel | 1/17/24

Making the U.S. work takes all of us

The northern Minnesota political drama in recent weeks has been compelling. The Ely City Council presented yet another resolution (their 8th or 9th?) in favor of copper sulfide mining. A town hall … more

Betty Firth | 3/16/23

Building community in spite of ourselves

This week Brett Ross gave an excellent presentation on the history and present circumstances of WELY radio with which he has been affiliated since 1998, rarely taking some time out for other work and … more

Betty Firth | 5/18/22

Saying goodbye and championing freedom of the press

Longtime Marion County Record editor and co-publisher Joan Meyer was laid to rest last Saturday, a week after a police raid on her home that contributed to her death at age 98, an unprecedented … more

David Colburn | 8/23/23

Immigration policy should serve America’s interests

All eyes have been on the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks as politicians and pundits assess the impact of changing rules for who can enter the United States. But the fixation on the border can … more

Lee Hamilton | 5/31/23

Facing the fear and finding the hope

When I wrote an article months back about my intention to overcome my excessive anxiety over spiders, I had no idea the reactions I would get from readers! One email thanked me for publicly … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 4/3/24

Memories of my favorite childhood holiday...

Boo! While I hold special memories of Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and other holidays, the holiday I’ve perhaps loved the most over the years is Halloween. The first Halloween I can recall … more

David Colburn | 11/2/23

As veterans dwindle, Memorial Day history repeats

“An appeal to the people of Tower and Soudan to observe Memorial Day this year in a manner that will pay fitting tribute to the soldier and sailor dead was made by Nelson-Jackson Post No. 245, … more

David Colburn | 5/25/22

Reveling in the annual madness of March

The annual American ritual of March Madness, the popular name for the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, is in full swing, and I am once again caught up in the fray.As a child of … more

David Colburn | 3/22/23

Let’s talk....why not?

From an early age, I recognized that my family was better off than some others and was aware of inequality between groups of people, as well. I questioned why that was and why we weren’t doing … more

Betty Firth | 1/24/24

What’s good for our workers is good for us all

I grew up on a tree-lined street one mile from the General Motors Tech Center. The people of my neighborhood, like iron miners on the Iron Range, organized decades before I was born for better wages … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 1/11/23

The right to write: thoughts on our constitution

What is it that makes people write? Many writers say that they can’t not write. Some people have to sing, some people have to dance, some people have to take apart cars. I am driven to … more

Betty Firth | 8/30/23

From away in Ely: reflecting on geographic exceptionalism

“From away.” That’s what natives of Maine call everyone else. It’s a succinct way of summarizing geographic exceptionalism. Geographic exceptionalism is everywhere, even in … more

Catie Clark | 8/30/23

Thoughts on the growing wedge of wokeness

To listen to Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis and others of his ilk, the greatest enemy facing America today is, oddly enough, wokeness. DeSantis has declared war … more

David Colburn | 6/7/23

Why your voice and your feet and your vote count

Why Your voice and Your Feet and Your Vote CountI’m writing on Tuesday, Aug. 9, the day of the primary elections in Minnesota, and I’m feeling nostalgic about times in our democracy that … more

Betty Firth | 8/10/22

It must be a sign...our favorite travel game

Some people collect seashells or coins. Others collect art or Hummel figurines. In my household, we collect signs. To be accurate, we drive around and take photographs of signs. The long-suffering … more

Catie Clark | 4/10/24

Will the mothers’ legacies live on?

During March, we’re reminded of the many great women who have carved frontiers and unlocked doors for women and girls. We marvel at their passions pursued, barriers overcome, and outstanding … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 3/29/23

Fearing those we see as different from us

An important subject has been on my mind for days. It’s about the innate fears we carry of people we see as “different” from us— strangers, “outsiders”, people who … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 11/9/23

Deadwood’s historic haunted Bullock Hotel

Ever since I was a little girl and would go see western movies with my dad at the Tacora Theater in Aurora, I have been interested in American history, the Wild West, the gold rush, and ghost towns. … more

Scarlet Stone | 10/26/22

I can cross Scotland off my bucket list

In the last two columns I have been writing about my trip to the United Kingdom in late March to early April. This is the third and final installment and then I will go back to my regular nonsense. … more

Scarlet Stone | 6/1/22