Looking Back at 2012 in Northern MN

On the Morning Show Friday, Aaron Brown and Scott Hall started this list of memorable events that affected many of us here in northern MN in 2012.  Feel free to add to the list or comment on ours. In somewhat chronological order:

- The demolition of the old DuPont Blasting Powder plant in Hibbing last February (pictured before the demo).  It was a remnant of an earlier mining era, and site of a couple of unplanned explosions in its heyday.

- KBXE goes on the air in March!

- The election in June of Carri Jones (at left) as the new Chairwoman of the Leech Lake Band, and Melanie Benjamin, Chairwoman of the Mille Lacs Band.  Now four of the seven bands of Minnesota Ojibwe are led by women.

- Extreme weather events: the heavy rains and flooding on June 19th. By fall, most of northern MN was in severe drought conditions. The July 2nd blow down caused widespread power outages and lots of devastation to property and forests.

- A variety of events (and radio programs) commemorating the150th anniversary of the U.S. - Dakota War of 1862, one of the more tragic events in 19th century Minnesota and U.S. history. 

- Magnetation expands in and out of northern MN. The innovative mining company continues to expand its capacity to extract high grade ore from mine waste dumps here, but will build a new plant to process the ore in Indiana.

- In November, Minnesota allowed the hunting and trapping wolves.

- Also in November, DFLers retook control of both houses of the MN legislature. For the first time in twenty two years, we'll have a DFL Governor, and DFL majorities in the House and Senate. And DFLer, Rick Nolan,defeated Republican incumbent, Chip Cravaack, to represent MN's 8th District in Congress.

- More mining exploration adds to the size of the known copper-nickel deposits in northeast MN, and increases the pressure to develop that potential.