REGIONAL— Gov. Mark Dayton confirmed on Wednesday what has been widely rumored for days— he has chosen Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to replace U.S. Senator Al Franken, who announced his resignation on … more

REGIONAL—Slowly but surely, the missing pieces of the Mesabi Trail are beginning to fall into place. And a $2.26 million grant from the Legislative and Citizens Commission on Minnesota Resources, … more

ELY – Hundreds of Dorothy Molter fans filled Washington School Auditorium last weekend for the premiere of “Root Beer Lady – The Musical,” based on Bob Cary’s biography of the last resident … more

REGIONAL— A national nonprofit has taken the first step in a multi-year process to extract the state of Minnesota’s school trust lands from the federally-protected Boundary Waters Canoe Area … more

ELY – The International Wolf Center is coming off a very successful season that saw a huge increase in the number of visitors to the Ely Interpretive Center. In an annual report presentation to … more

TOWER— County Attorney Mark Rubin called the circumstances behind last week’s house fire that claimed the life of 11-month-old Bentley Joe Lewis Koski “unbelievably tragic,” and said he will … more

ELY – The Ely School Board voted 4-2 on Monday night to table or delay making a decision on allowing the construction of a 50,000-square-foot recreation center on school property. A … more

TOWER— The city council here has approved a proposal by Brainerd-based Consolidated Telecommunications Co. to extend high-speed fiber optic Internet service to city hall, the fire hall, and the … more

GREENWOOD TWP- The third time was not the charm as the town board once again refused to raise the fire department pension amount from its current rate of $1,900 per year of service. The fire … more

ELY –Veterans who have experienced the mental challenges of returning to normal civilian life following their service to their country just finished a winter camping trip in the Boundary Waters … more